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.

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

Hinsdale Rotary is offering a flash sale September 4-13: $25 for individuals and $75 for families of 4 or more. 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/.

Homework Helpers 

Walk and Roll to School Day

Elm School is participating in National Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. 

Sign Up to Become a Room Parent!

Are you interested in becoming more involved in your student's classroom? Sign up HERE. Interest form submissions are due no later than Sunday 9/8. Please reach out to roomparents@elmschoolpto.org with any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your support!

Maya Atassi and Christina Shima
VPs of Room Parents

Elm Spiritwear Available for Purchase through 9/9!

The Elm Online Spiritwear Store is now open and taking orders! This online store will close on Monday 9/9 at midnight.

Click HERE to access this year's spiritwear! Please note - not all colors are available in both adult and children’s sizes so please select carefully! Once all orders are submitted on 9/9, it will take 3-4 weeks for production and distribution. Your purchase will go home with your child once received. If we do not meet a minimum of 24 items for a particular logo, a decision will be made as to whether to order the additional quantity for inventory or to cancel the order. You will be contacted if this happens. Embroidered items are guaranteed as there are no minimums for these styles. This will be the only time that this store will be available for the remainder of the year so please order wisely! We will be ordering some extras to have on hand for some upcoming events, but it will not be guaranteed nor will we be able to order additional items at a later time.

Library News