Thank You for Attending the Daughter's Dance!

The Parent List

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let's work together as a community to create the most access to resources for our children. The Hinsdale Central Parent List is an “Angie’s List” type resource where parents can find support if they see changes in their child’s behavior or have other concerns about their child. The Parent List needs parents to leave fresh reviews of health care providers to keep the resource viable. It takes less than 5 minutes to add your first-hand insight to our list of provider reviews on The Parent List. There are only three multiple choice questions to complete in addition to the contact information of the provider you recommend. Your review is anonymous. Click HERE to help our children. Providers that treat emotional, developmental, learning and health problems affecting children of all ages such as anxiety, depression, grief, stress, eating and processing disorders, insomnia, school avoidance, peer relations, ADD/ADHD, and autism spectrum, are reviewed on The Parent List.
To read the existing reviews of recommended providers, go to hcpto.org/parent-list/
Questions can be emailed to: parentlist@hcpto.org
In no way does the Elm School PTO or staff, Hinsdale Central High School PTO or staff, school districts 86, 181 or 63 endorse or recommend any specific provider reviewed on The Parent List. The Parent List is a subjective forum set up by the Hinsdale Central PTO for your convenience. Parents and guardians are solely responsible for deciding to use any of the service providers on The Parent List in any capacity, and the Elm School and Hinsdale Central PTOs, as well as school districts 86,181 and 63, disclaim all liability for any damages, injuries, losses, expenses, or claims of any kind arising out of the provision of services by anyone or any agency appearing on The Parent List.

Principal's Corner

The Community Speaker Series

Staff Appreciation Week - May 5-9

Spring NWEA MAP Assessment

Our Spring NWEA MAP assessment window opens on Monday, April 21st and will extend through Friday, May 2nd. Elm’s schedule is as follows:

While we realize that some absences are unavoidable, we ask that you make every effort to avoid scheduling appointments or other absences during this time to minimize the amount of instructional time missed for make-up assessments. 

Preparing for MAP:

A student who is well rested, well fed, and has a positive attitude about assessment is best prepared for testing. You can help your child do his or her best by considering these tips:

• Make sure that your child is in school and on time on test days.

• Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy breakfast before each day of testing.

• Be sure your child fully charges their device and brings it to school each day. 

• Remind your child that this assessment is only one measure. Emphasize that you have confidence in his or her ability to do the best job possible.

• Remind your child to listen to the directions and read each question carefully during testing. 

Communication of MAP Results:

Your child’s scores will be available in Skyward after administration is complete and all reports are available. We will reach out when scores are available for parents to view.

Satchel Pulse Screening Information

Elementary students and teachers will once again participate in the Satchel Pulse Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener, a tool to help us monitor and improve the social-emotional skills of all our students. Teachers of students in grades K-5th will complete the screener about their students, and students in grades 3rd-5th will complete the screener about themselves.

SEL skills include developing healthy habits, managing emotions, setting and achieving goals, developing empathy for others, establishing and maintaining supportive relationships, collaborating with others, and making responsible and caring decisions. 

Satchel Pulse is a student-friendly screener with 25 simple questions. Information gained from this screener will provide our school teams with additional insight to best support our students’ social, emotional, and academic growth. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Student Registration for 2025-26 School Year

Staff Appreciation - Stock the Staff Kitchen Sign-up - Monday 4/28

We are in the home stretch of this school year! Please help us stock the kitchen to fuel our Elm Staff as they continue to pour their support, care, and compassion into our students. Sign up HERE to purchase and drop off items at Elm's front office on Monday, April 28th, 8:30-9:00am.

1st Grade Music Program: We're Going on a Bear Hunt! - Wednesday 4/30 1pm

First grade students will present their musical program, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," on Wednesday, April 30 at 1:00 p.m. in the Elm Gym. Doors will open at 12:45 p.m. All first grade families and friends are invited to attend. Students have been busy learning songs, dances and instrument parts to tell the story of the classic book by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. First graders are invited to wear any safari attire of your choice (i.e., browns, khakis, greens, safari vest, hat, binoculars, etc) the day of the program. We hope to see you there!

PTO Meeting - Friday 5/2, 9-10am

Please join us on Friday, May 2nd at 9am in the staff lounge for our monthly PTO Meeting. You can also access the meeting via Zoom HERE if you're unable to attend in person (Meeting ID: 833 9431 6349, Passcode: 347206).

Elm School Daughter’s Dance - Friday 5/2, 6:30-8:30pm

Please join us on Friday, May 2nd, 6:30-8:30pm for our first ever Elm School Daughter's Dance in the Elm School Gym. Tickets on sale now via SchoolPay. Don't delay as door sales will not be guaranteed. Everyone attending will need a ticket to enter.

Tickets: $15/daughter + Dad (or your favorite dance partner/adult guardian). $5 each additional daughter and each additional dance partner attending. **Dance partners/adult guardians must stay the duration of the event. This is not a drop off event.**

Come and enjoy the DJ, face painting, photo booth, and a sweet treat!

Click HERE for more details on the event and pricing. Please reach out to familyfun@elmschoolpto.org with any questions.

Thank You, Elm Families!

Thank you to all the wonderful Elm families who spent their Saturday afternoon making bird feeders out of bagels and cleaning up Harvester Park! We are also grateful for the District 181 Foundation for supporting our community service project with a KIDS Grant.