ROCHELLE MIDDLE SCHOOL - Rochelle Community Consolidated ...

ROCHELLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT #231444 N. 8 TH STREETROCHELLE, IL 61068April 15, 2011Todd Prusator, Superintendent 815/562-6363tprusator@d231.rochelle.netPLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARFriday, April 22 No School Good FridayMonday, April 25 No School Easter MondayThursday, May 5 No School School Improvement DayThursday, May 26 Report Card Day – last day of student attendanceROCHELLE MIDDLE SCHOOLJoe Schwartz, Principal 815/562-7997Rick Dornink, Ass’t PrincipalRMS PTO NEWSThe RMS PTO sponsored the Scholastic Book Fair to coincide with the annual CrawfordBreakfast and Science Fair. Thanks to Mrs. McNitt for taking the lead in organizing the book fair.Over $2000 worth of books were sold to students and the school received free books for the libraryand classrooms. Thanks again to Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Golden for helping work at the book fair.Next RMS PTO meeting: Wednesday, May 11 th , starting at 4:30 p.m.8TH GRADE PROMOTION EXERCISESEighth grade graduation will be held on Friday, May 27 th starting at 7:00 p.m. in the RochelleTownship High School Gymnasium. Each graduate will receive eight tickets for the promotionexercises and all graduates will be required to wear a gown. There will be a graduation dance from9:00-11:00 p.m. for all Rochelle Middle School graduates after the ceremony at the Holcomb StateBank. A packet of specific information with details concerning the graduation ceremony will be senthome the week of April 18 th with all 8 th graders. Please look this information over when your childbrings it home as it will explain all the details of the graduation ceremony and dance. If you havequestions after you receive the packet of information, please call the Rochelle Middle School office at815/562-7997.1

TEAM 8-2 VISITS THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUMTeam 8-2 took a field trip on April 7 th to the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois. After themuseum tour, students listened to a speaker, Larry Shelton, who was one of the 10,000 children savedthrough Kindertransport during WWII. Mr. Shelton was kind enough to ask the students to write tohim, and several of the 8-2 students have.MAY SCHOOLBarbara Cantlin, Principal 815/562-6331SECOND GRADEMrs. Wilkinson's second grade class has been enjoying watching three newly hatched babyeaglets. We have been anxiously awaiting the hatch of these three eagle eggs. We've learned a lot ofinteresting facts about the eagle. The website we have been visiting is at raptorresource.org. Theinfrared camera is mounted in a tree in Decorah, Iowa.Here are some interesting facts we've learned;Did you know eagles can live about 30 years? They mate for life and usually the female canlay eggs at four years of age. The nest, on the webcam, weighs about 2 1/2 tons or 3,000 lbs. It isabout six feet wide. The male makes the nest and if the female likes it she stays with him. Babyeaglets grow fast and soon out grow the egg cup in their nest. Both mom and dad take turns sittingon the nest and caring for the eaglets. We have seen a rabbit, birds, a duck, a fish, and other critters inthe nest used to feed the eaglets. They are usually ready to leave the nest at 11 or 12 weeks of age.Second grade classes will be visiting the Burpee Museum on April 28 to study dinosaurs andthe Native American culture.FIFTH GRADE TRANSITION TO MIDDLE SCHOOLMay School 5th grade students will be visiting Rochelle Middle School during the morning ofTuesday, May 10th. During this time, counselors have coordinated a tour of the building, anintroduction to the rules and expectations with the principal or assistant principal, and answers tofrequently asked questions by current middle school students. This activity is an excellent way for5th grade students to feel supported and get ready for the new adventure after elementary school. Ifparents have any questions about transitioning to the middle school, please contact Mrs. StroussCounselor) at May School or Mrs. Graff (Counselor) at RMS.RESPECT RANCH: SUCCESSFUL THIRD QUARTERMay School Mustangs have completed another successful quarter meeting school-wideexpectations for behavior and academic achievement. An assembly was held to draw names for2

prizes of those students who earned Respect Ranch Rewards. All students were rewarded for theirefforts with a trip to Lincoln School for another celebration. Thanks to the Rochelle AreaCommunity Foundation grant, Mrs. Strouss was able to coordinate 3-Screens Productions to show usa 45-foot wide video representation relating to our future choices, helping others, and being our best.The video was called "Me @ My Best" and was shown on three side-by-side video screensthat covered the whole front of Lincoln School gym! Student behavior was wonderful! We hope tobe able to provide future experiences like this again. Please continue to review rules with yourchildren.MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS EDUCATION UPDATEFamilies with children who lack a fixed, permanent, adequate night-time residence shouldcontact Erin Strouss for more information. The federal government requires all school districts toidentify children that meet this criteria and may qualify for services to support their education andprovide resources to parents. Some common situations may include staying with friends or relativesdue to loss of housing from natural disasters, foreclosure, domestic violence, or other economichardship, living in buildings or cars not intended for residence, staying at domestic violence sheltersor other types of shelters, staying in hotels or campgrounds due to the lack of alternative adequatehousing, or having no shelter at all. Migrant families also may qualify for additional services.Qualifications are determined on a case by case basis. Mrs. Strouss can be reached at May School orLincoln School. Help is available.P.E. PAGE AT MAY SCHOOLHello and welcome to our physical education page for the month of April.Classroom Activities:This past month, the kindergarten through 2nd grades have been doing a bowling unit wherewe have borrowed equipment from T-Bird Lanes here in Rochelle. We will be participating in a jumprope unit coming up in the next few weeks.The 3rd through 5 th grades have also been active participating in a bowling unit wherestudents learn technique and skills on bowling and keeping score. We will begin our fitness testingunit this month.Home Activity:You may remember your child bringing home an envelope for jump rope for heart or hoopsfor heart this past month. We had a great turn out for our event this year. We are so thankful for thetime and effort that our students put in for this event at our school. Outstanding job! As a reward forour hard work, we will be participating in a jump rope for heart and hoops for heart event at 1:00 p.m.on April 21st. Feel free to come out and join us on that day. Once again thank you for your hardwork and support during this activity.Thanks for your time and we will talk to you next month. –Mr. Lodico3

CENTRAL SCHOOLJean Kisner, Principal 815/562-8251GOOD CITIZENSThe good citizens at Central School for the month of March are: Adeline Morrissette,kindergarten, Jaime Martinez, first grade, Blake Haley, second grade, James Doering, third grade,Giovanni Hueramo fourth grade and Angel Aguirre, fifth grade. To be chosen for this honor, thestudents must practice the six Pillars of Character, which are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility,fairness, caring, and citizenship. Congratulations to all of you!CRAWFORD FOUNDATIONThe following students sold tickets to the Crawford Foundation Pancake breakfast heldSaturday, March 12, and were chosen in the drawing to win money: Max Orlikowski, $25, HannahEldred, $10 and Angelle Pottinger, $5. Congratulations to these lucky winners!SPRINGFIELDCentral School’s fourth graders went on their annual field trip to Springfield, IL in March.Both children and parents had a wonderful time. Our tour started off with an exploration of NewSalem, which is representative of what New Salem was like when Abraham Lincoln was there in hisearly years. We had a chilly day to check out the buildings and get a “lay of the land.”Next, we headed in to the city of Springfield to investigate some government and historicsites. We were lucky enough to see our politicians in session at the New State Capital. While at theNew State Capital, Miss Gardell’s class had the special honor of meeting Secretary of State, JesseWhite. He invited the students in for a tour of his office. Mr. White let the students choose somesouvenirs to take home. The children then toured the Old State Capital and compared the New StateCapital to the Old State Capital, noticing quite a difference!The Illinois State Museum gave the kids quite an overview of Illinois, both past and present.To learn more about Lincoln’s life, children visited Lincoln’s Tomb and Lincoln’s PresidentialMuseum.Lincoln’s Presidential Museum was the highlight of the trip for most. The kids enjoyed theUnion Theater where they experienced the show “Through Lincoln’s Eyes.” A state of the art specialeffects presentation gave an overview of Lincoln’s life from birth to death. They also enjoyed“Ghosts of the Library” which uses Holavision to examine artifacts found in the library. Thehost/historian describes the collections and the discoveries made. The collections include actualobjects that Lincoln and others had touched and used throughout history.We want to thank all of the parents who took time out to accompany us on this trip. Withoutour strong parental support we would not be able to experience all that we do while in Springfield.We also want to thank PTO for their continuing support of our trip. We appreciate their dedication toour students and families. We would also like to thank Mr. Meisner, who also contributes to our fieldtrip in his own special way. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone!4

SECOND GRADE FIELD TRIPSecond graders from Mrs. Alfano, Miss Anderson and Mrs. DaCosta’s classes took their fieldtrip to Burpee Museum in Rockford on March 8 th . The students were given a tour of the new AfricanDinosaur exhibit and took a class on fossils. In their fossils class they were even able to make theirown “fossil” to bring home as a souvenir. The last part of the field trip was spent exploring the herefloors of Burpee’s displays and exhibits.LINCOLN SCHOOLChristina Horner, Principal 815/562-4520FIRST GRADE – EGG HUNTING WE WILL GO!First grade has finished learning all 45 total reading phonograms. Phonograms are two lettersput together to make one sound. We have been working hard since we returned from winter break tolearn as many phonograms as possible. First grade will be celebrating their reading success byhaving a phonogram egg hunt. Ms. Medellin, Mrs. Downey, and I will be hiding over 200 eggsaround the playground of Lincoln School for the kids to hunt. They will visit a “bunny” and readtheir phonograms to him after they fill their baskets with eggs After reading their phonograms, theycan sit and munch on some yummy spring candies! ~Ms. ZilmSECOND GRADE – GRAND EVENTS IN BACK TO BACK MONTHSMany of our second graders attended our First Ever Rainbow Reading Night last month. Afew of them were featured reading poetry in our Poetry Cafe. Snap! Snap! to those who performedand attended this multi-dimensional literacy event. We are busy getting projects ready for Lincoln'sAnnual Open House this month. A lot of hard work has been put forth and we can't wait to show themoff on the big night. Make sure to set aside time each night to read with your child. When reading ispart of the everyday routine the benefits are substantial. ~Mrs. Smith and Mrs. KidaP,E, PAGE AT LINCOLN SCHOOLHello and welcome to our physical education page for the month of April.Classroom Activities:This past month, the kindergarten through 2nd grades have been doing a jump rope unit wherewe have been practicing skills to enhance jumping coordination. We will be participating in ajuggling unit coming up in the next few weeks.The 3rd through 5th grades have also been active participating in a fitness unit where studentslearn about their current fitness levels through participation in cardiovascular activities andmonitoring heart rates. We will begin our fitness testing unit this month.5

Home Activity:You may remember your child bringing home an envelope for jump rope for heart or hoopsfor heart this past month. We had a great turn out for our event this year. We are so thankful for thetime and effort that our students put in for this event at our school. Outstanding job! As a reward forour hard work, we will be participating in a jump rope for heart and hoops for heart event at 1:00 p.m.on April 20th. Feel free to come out and join us on that day. Once again thank you for your hardwork and support during this activity.Thanks for your time and we will talk to you next month. ~Mr. LodicoFROM THE COUNSELOR’S OFFICEFifth Grade Transition to Middle School - Lincoln School 5th grade students will be visitingRochelle Middle School during the morning of Monday, May 9th. During this time, counselors havecoordinated a tour of the building, an introduction to the rules and expectations with the principal orassistant principal, and answers to frequently asked questions by current middle school students. Thisactivity is an excellent way for 5th grade students to feel supported and get ready for the newadventure after elementary school. If parents have any questions about transitioning to the middleschool, please contact Mrs. Strouss (Counselor) at Lincoln School or Mrs. Graff (Counselor) at RMS.PAWS PRIDE: Successful Third Quarter - Lincoln School Leopards have completed anothersuccessful quarter meeting school-wide expectations for behavior and academic achievement. Anassembly was held to draw names for prizes of those students who earned PAWS Pride Awards. Allstudents were rewarded for their efforts with another celebration with Lincoln School students.Thanks to the Rochelle Area Community Foundation grant, Mrs. Strouss was able to coordinate 3-Screens Productions to show us a 45-foot wide video representation relating to our future choices,helping others, and being our best. The video was called "Me @ My Best" and was shown on threeside-by-side video screens that covered the whole front of Lincoln School gym! Student behaviorwas wonderful! We hope to be able to provide future experiences like this again. Please continue toreview rules with your children.McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Update - Families with children who lack a fixed,permanent, adequate night-time residence should contact Erin Strouss for more information. Thefederal government requires all school districts to identify children that meet these criteria and mayqualify for services to support their education and provide resources to parents. Some commonsituations may include staying with friends or relatives due to loss of housing from natural disasters,foreclosure, domestic violence, or other economic hardship, living in buildings or cars not intendedfor residence, staying at domestic violence shelters or other types of shelters, staying in hotels orcampgrounds due to the lack of alternative adequate housing, or having no shelter at all. Migrantfamilies also may qualify for additional services. Qualifications are determined on a case-by-casebasis. Mrs. Strouss can be reached at May School or Lincoln School. Help is available.6

HEALTH OFFICE NEWSPHYSICALS FOR INCOMING 6 TH GRADERSIn October 2007, the State of Illinois changed the requirement for school physicals. Incoming5 th graders no longer need a school physical. The 2011-2012 school year, marks the third year thatincoming 6 th graders will need a school physical. These physicals are due to the RMS health officeupon registration. Currently, there are no state required immunizations to be given at the 6 th gradephysical. Many physicians are encouraging parents to have their children immunized againstpertussis, HPV, meningitis and hepatitis A. Talk to your physician about the best choice for yourchild.If your child is in 4 th grade, you do not need to worry about getting a school physical untilthey are ready to enter Rochelle Middle School (6 th grade).If you have questions about this law, please contact your child’s health office. The healthoffice staff would like to encourage you to consider yearly check ups and physical examinations foryour children. Regular check ups are important and may be the key to healthy growth anddevelopment for your children.TETANUS CLINICRMS is holding a tetanus clinic on May 4, 2011. Tetanus immunization is needed prior toentering high school. This clinic is open to all 8 th graders at RMS. STUDENTS MUST BE PRE-REGISTERED TO ATTEND THIS CLINIC! Please call the RMS health office at 815-562-7997 toregister your 8 th grader. Cost of the immunization is $16.DENTAL EXAMSThe State of Illinois requires that each student in kindergarten, 2 nd and 6 th grades have a dentalexam. These exams are due to your child’s health office by May 15, 2011. Please contact your child’shealth office immediately if you are not going to be able to get this important exam for your child.Any dental exam performed (or dated) after December 15, 2009 is acceptable!ASTHMA, INHALERS AND SPORTSAs the season’s change, asthma tends to flare up. If your child has asthma, or has been givenan inhaler for breathing problems, please make sure the health office has this inhaler. Please save thehealth office valuable time by having the inhaler at school, instead of bringing it to school, after wenotify you of a problem. The health office can assist you in getting a doctor’s note so your child canhave their inhaler at school.7

If your child is participating in sports after school, please make sure they have theirinhaler with them. Inhalers that are kept in the health office are for use during the school day. Yourchild should have a separate inhaler to take with them to any games or practices that occur afterschool.Tilton SchoolTony Doyle, Principal 815/ 562-6665OLD STONE SCHOOLThe fifth grade spent a day set in the year 1900 when they took their field trip to Old StoneSchool at Midway village. The students had a wonderful day getting dressed up, using ink wells andpens, and playing games like Drop the Handkerchief. Thank you to all the parents that went with uson this trip.DONUTS WITH DADSTilton School's Donuts with Dads on April 8 th was a big hit. There were many dads, grandpas,uncles, etc. who showed up to have breakfast with their children. Thanks to Tilton PTO forcoordinating this fun event. We look forward to Muffins with Moms on May 6 th .MINI COURSESTilton School will have mini-courses from April 6 th through April 12 th . The mini-courses are for4 th and 5 th grade students to work on a special hobby for one week from 2:00-2:45.NEW BABYMrs. Dawson had a baby boy on March 17 th . His name is Ryder Garrison Dawson and he was 7lbs 8 oz and 20 ½ inches long. Congratulations to Mrs. Dawson!OPEN HOUSEOnce again, Tilton School had a very successful Open House this year. The Art Show and BookFair were held at the same time and we had a great turnout for all. Thanks to Sarah Schaffner forcoordinating the Book Fair and to all of the PTO volunteers for their help with Open House.ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CLUBHave you seen the "litter bugs" in the hallway? The 4th and 5th graders in Tilton's newEnvironmental Awareness Club made "bugs" out of recyclable materials to help discourage littering.The Environmental Awareness Club meets every Tuesday to learn about ways we can help ourenvironment and to have some fun doing so.8