Picture Day is Tuesday 9/24

3rd Annual Fall Fest and Kickball Game - Friday 9/27, 3:30-5PM

Our 3rd annual Fall Fest and Kickball Game is taking place this Friday, September 27th from 3:30-5:00pm at Elm Elementary. There will be craft tables, temporary spirit tattoos, spirit wear, apple cider doughnuts, cotton candy, and of course: kickball!

TICKETS:
Player Entry: All students that have an entry ticket will have the opportunity to play! Entry fees: 1 student = $10, 2 siblings = $18, 3 siblings = $25. Purchase tickets HERE. Ticket sales close Sunday, 9/22 at midnight.

Your child does not need to play kickball to participate in Fall Fest! Tickets are not required for non-kickball players; however, PTO donations are always welcome to help support this and future student events! Donate HERE.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We are still in need of parent volunteers to help with the event! Please sign up HERE!

Please note: This is not a drop off event! Parents must accompany their children.

Elm Kindness Club

Elm School's Kindness Club is returning! The club will be offered to students in grades 2-5 before school on Mondays from 7:45-8:25 a.m. starting on September 30th. The club will be offered for 14 sessions, concluding on Monday, February 10th.

The group’s goal is to provide an opportunity for students to promote kindness in our school and community while also increasing participant's leadership abilities, fostering an attitude of teamwork and problem solving by working cooperatively in a respectful manner. To sign your child/children up, please complete this Google form by September 27th. Questions? Feel free to contact the club co-sponsors Mrs. Santini at esantini@d181.org or Mrs. Guzaldo at mguzaldo@d181.org for more information. In a world where you can be anything, be kind!

Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball Skills Clinic - Sunday 10/27, 2-3:30PM - REGISTER TODAY!

We're excited to announce the 2nd annual Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball Skills Clinic for girls in grades 1st-6th. Last year's clinic sold out so be sure to register today! The Skills Clinic will be held on Sunday, October 27th from 2p-3:30p at Hinsdale Central (Main Gym & Fieldhouse). Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball Head Coach Brett Moore, his staff, and players from the Hinsdale Central team will lead the clinic - some of the players are Elm alums! Whether your daughter is beginning her basketball journey or advanced, the clinic will have something for all experience levels. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball program. Come be part of the excitement that is Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball and learn basketball the Red Devil way! Click HERE to register before it sells out!

Principal's Corner

Rotary Run

The Hinsdale Rotary Run Charity Classic is on October 6, 2024. This event supports the Rotary Club in its international and local efforts, including these local non-profit organizations:

• The Community House

• D181 Foundation

• Hinsdale Hospital Foundation

• Rotary Foundation

• Hanson Center-Ray Graham Association

Click Here for More Information

Help your school take home the prestigious “Mrs. B” and “Mr. K” trophies!

Click Here to Register

MAP Reports

The fall administration of Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) for 1st-5th grade students has ended. Your child’s scores will be visible in Skyward starting Friday, September 13th. To access your child’s scores:

• Browse to http://skywardfamily.d181.org/

• Click on TEST SCORES in the left side menu

• Scores will be listed in a table format, with the most recent MAP scores listed at the top

When viewing your child’s MAP scores, you will see two types of numbers. The first, called a RIT score, stands for Rasch UnIT.  This is a measurement scale developed to simplify the interpretation of test scores. It is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches on a ruler. The RIT scale ranges from 100–350. RIT scores make it possible to follow a student’s educational growth from year to year. 

The second score you will see is a percentile rank. A percentile rank tells you how your child’s score compares to other students of his/her age and grade. For example, a percentile rank of 50 indicates that a student performed the same as or better than 50% of his/her same-age peers. Both scores help families and educators track student learning over time. 

This fall, NWEA introduced their enhanced item selection to take additional factors into consideration when selecting test items for students. This new test design selected test items closer to a student’s rostered grade level, which allowed NWEA to more accurately measure the content a student is learning in their core curriculum.

If you would like more information about NWEA MAP, please visit the family toolkit at https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/.

Walk and Roll to School Day

Elm School is participating in National Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 9. Parents and students are all invited to walk/bike to school. This movement is aimed at inspiring our school community to come together in promoting health and safer routes for students to walk and bike to school. 

Tech Ambassadors

We are pleased to embark on the third year of the Tech Ambassadors leadership program at Elm School. Students who complete the application process and are chosen as Tech Ambassadors will serve as leaders within our school and district. 

K-2 Tech Ambassadors will meet during the recess hour on a day tbd, once a month.

3-5 Tech Ambassadors will meet on Friday before school at 7:45am, every other week. 

Goals and Mission of the Tech Ambassadors: 

• To develop leadership skills in order to help their school community

• To serve as technology integration leaders in their school

• To foster positive digital citizenship

We ask both new and returning students to indicate their interest in the program by September 20th. Please discuss this opportunity with your child prior to starting the application process.

• If your student is in grades K-2, please complete this interest form by September 20th, and a Seesaw application for the student will be forthcoming.  

• If your student is in grades 3-5, please have him/her complete this Google Form application by September 20th.

Order by Wednesday 9/18 12PM for Special Lunch on Thursday 9/26

The next Special Lunch (Tropical Smoothie Cafe) is on Thursday, September 26th. Orders must be placed by 12pm on Wednesday, September 18th. See ordering instructions HERE. 

The Wild Robot Movie Premiere - Sunday 9/29 at 12PM

Join Mrs. Petersen and the Elm PTO for a special private viewing of The Wild Robot at AMC - The Quarry (9201 W. 63rd St, Hodgkins) on Sunday, September 29th at 12pm (doors open at 11:30am). This is NOT a drop-off event, and parents are required to stay for the entire movie. Tickets are $10 per child/parent pair and $5 for each additional child or parent. Please RSVP HERE by selecting the number of slots for the number of people attending and add each person's name in the notes section. Capacity is 150 people. Once we have confirmed your RSVP, we will send you a link to the Elm School PTO Zelle for payment.

Save the Date - Bike Rodeo on Tuesday 10/8

The Elm Bike Rodeo will take place after school on Tuesday, October 8th. In this course, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will learn about bike safety rules, get their bikes checked, and most importantly, bikers will take a road test and get a bicycle license. Sign-up information will be forthcoming.