Daily Announcements

Picture Retake Day is Tuesday, October 8th – Wear your smiles!

Picture retakes are for the new students or students that were absent on the original picture day, or for students that would like a retake. Students that would like a retake DO NEED TO BRING their original picture package back in order to receive a new one. If they forgot the original picture package, they can still have their picture retaken; however, Inter-State Studios will not print a new package until they receive their old pictures, so it’s very important for students who are requesting a retake to bring in their original picture packet ON OR BEFORE picture retake day.

Please visit our Registration Information page to download registration forms and view residency verification requirements. If you have any questions about these forms or requirements during the summer months, please contact the District Office at 847-464-6005. Once registration paperwork has been received, staff will enter students into Skyward, our student management system, and parents will need to complete online registration.

We look forward to welcoming your students into the District 301 family!

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 19^th, 2019.  We invite you and your child to come and see a short presentation on Kindergarten First Ridership.  After the presentation, we will offer a short ride in a school bus.  We will hold the presentation at Prairie View Grade School located at 10N630 Nesler Rd., Elgin, IL 60124, from 4:30pm–6:00pm. If you should have any questions concerning further transportation issues such as: rules, routing or safety please contact us at (847) 464-6052.

On behalf of the Transportation office and the drivers of District #301, we look forward to transporting your “precious cargo” for the upcoming school year.

Early Childhood

I can’t believe the year is over! We had an amazing month learning about bugs and butterflies. We have caterpillars in our classroom and we are waiting for them to transform into butterflies. Our theme was author studies about Eric Carle and Mo Williams. In the AM, we worked on printing letters in our Green Books. Green Books will come home, over the summer feel free to practice printing using the books. In the PM, we practiced Jolly Phonics, spring vocabulary words, initial letter sounds, patterns and teen numbers. Over the summer continuing practice Jolly Phonics sounds and teen numbers! Have a wonderful SUMMER!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten has had an amazing year exploring about how to be a learner.  We became leaders, listeners, singers, dancers, scientists, readers, mathematicians, explorers, artists, friends and superstars. We will continue to learn and grow as we read more over the summer.  Keep reading and writing this summer as well as add and subtract. Most importantly have fun with your family!

First Grade

First grade encourages all students to read and write  during the summer. Check your library for summer reading incentives.  There are so many fun programs offered. Have a wonderful and safe summer!

Second Grade

Second graders have been solving three digit addition and subtraction problems. Students have been demonstrating their knowledge of regrouping and basic facts to solve these problems. During this spring, second graders have been exploring different ways that seeds are dispersed. Different methods of seed dispersal, such as wind, water, and animals, allow plants to grow and make nature beautiful.  Perhaps the second graders will take a cue from the plants and continue to grow this summer.

Third Grade

Third grade students have accomplished a lot this year!  One area that they would like to showcase is their writing.  These students have worked hard to compose narrative, expository, and opinion pieces.  Students worked their way through the writing process to complete their published pieces.  

Fourth Grade

• In Reading 4th grade continues to learn about Greek Mythology and allusions.
• In Math we are exploring fractions, specifically adding and subtracting mixed numbers.
• Over the summer, be sure to practice your math facts and read daily.

Fifth Grade

Math:  We are in the midst of geometry, our final unit.  In this unit we are learning about ordered pairs, coordinate grids, and line plots.  The unit will conclude with polygon and angle classification. In this final quarter, we will also be practicing our new skills through group and independent projects.

Science:  We have just begun our final science unit on matter and its interactions.  In these lessons, we will be learning about elements and atoms, and how they can combine.  We are learning the differences between mass, weight, density, and volume. We are also studying the different states matter can take: solid, liquid, or gas.

ELA:  We are entering the final phase of our tri-fold book report.  Work will continue on this for the next few weeks as we complete the five components of our report:  character, setting, plot, and theme, as well as a book recommendation. We are continuing or practice with figurative language and writing skills through our poetry unit.  We will also be starting a final research project on a college of our choice. Students will be choosing a school they would like to attend and complete a short research project that includes available majors, cost, requirements for admission, etc.  We hope that it will get us excited about our continuing education.

Other:  We are also looking forward to celebrating the end of our time at Country Trails with our Fifth Grade Send-Off.  A lot of hard work has gone into the planning and we know it will be a memorable party.

Reading

The students have learned a variety of important strategies throughout the year to improve their literacy skills and confidence as readers.  The key components of literacy include:

1. Phonemic Awareness (the ability to hear and use sounds in words)
2. Phonics (the relationship between the written language and their sounds)
3. Fluency (the ability to read smoothly with appropriate phrasing, expression,

    accuracy and a steady reading rate)

4. Comprehension (the ability to understand what the text means)
5. Vocabulary (using and understanding the key words in the text)

Some of the specific comprehension strategies include activating background knowledge, predicting, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determining importance and synthesizing information.

Here are some literacy websites for additional information:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/

http://reading.ecb.org

http://www.corestandards.org/

Pages will open in a new browser window.  External pages are not endorsed by CCUSD 301.

ELL

The end of the year was a time where students got to show off all the skills that they have been practicing all school year long. Students completed projects about the books they read and presented them to their groups to practice their speaking skills. New vocabulary has been incorporated into both speaking and writing activities, and students always impress us when using words we learned in the past. We are proud of the hard work students have put in this school year developing their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Enjoy Summer Break and we look forward to seeing everyone in the fall.

Art

Kindergarten-Third grade spent the year creating art centered around the elements of art, famous artists, and different cultures. They did painting, drawing and created things with clay. Fourth and fifth graders worked on developing their own artistic voices.  They designed their own projects and worked independently or with groups. They planned, created and reflected on their work. They used their imaginations and creativity to create artwork that was unique to them.

Here is a link to a summer art challenge for any students who would like to participate.

Music

This month in music class, upper grades are wrapping up their assessments on reading notes on the treble clef music staff.  Students used kahoots to practice their note-reading skills for the test.

Picture:

4th grade students doing a Kahoot to practice note reading.

First and second graders talked about expression, dynamics and tempo markings, this month in music. They learned various symbols for loud, soft, fast and slow.  Second graders then added those symbols and markings to a poem and performed that poem for the class.

Pictures:

2nd graders practicing their poems

2nd Graders working on their poems.

Physical Education and Health

In Health students are working on their bones project in groups.  Throughout this unit students will be exploring the bones and joints used in their favorite movements/activities.

In PE students are participating in the baseball unit.  During this unit we teach skills such as fielding, hitting, catching, and strategy for the game.  We also do a tournament and a home run derby for grades second through fifth. Something to look forward to next year will be our new bean bags unit.  We are hoping your kids stay active during the summer and use the games we taught them throughout the year.

Early Childhood

WOW! Its APRIL already! This month our theme was Spring (despite the snowfall). We talked about spring animals, clouds, rainbows and plants. Some of our favorite books were: It Looks like Spilled Milk, A Rainbow of my own and Spring Animals. In the P the favorite story was Creepy Carrots, we made some creepy carrots and put them around the school. During centers we had a flower shop in the kitchen area, dirt in the sensory table and bugs in the block area. In the PM, we practiced Jolly Phonics, spring vocabulary words by writing the words and building them with letter beads. Also, in the PM we are practicing rhyming words, initial word sounds and patterns. Next month, we our theme will be an author study for Eric Carle and we will have caterpillars! Don’t forgot about our field trip to Hickory Knolls Discovery Center on May 15th, please bring a snack and water, no lunchboxes or backpacks.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten has been engaged in learning about living and nonliving.  We have gone on living and nonliving hunts outside as well as created experiments about what plants need to grow.  We are so excited to learn about life cycles and how living things grow and change. We continue to work on subtraction as well as learn how to figure out those tricky word problems.  Continue to practice with us at home. Happy Spring!!!

First Grade

First grade has been learning about maps.  After reading The Orange Splot we created and wrote about our special dream houses.

Second Grade

The 2nd graders have been learning about the different plants and animals of the Rainforest along with seed dispersal in Science. Our focus in Math has been on measurement, telling time, and data.   

Reading/ELL

One of the key strategies the students have been learning this month is making inferences.  When students make inferences, they use background knowledge and clues from the text to infer information that is not directly stated by the author.  This strategy is important to apply in many subject areas such as reading, science and social studies. Marzano (2010) states that it’s important for students to think about four key questions:

• What is my inference?
• What information did I use to make my inference?
• Did I examine my own thinking?
• Do I need to change my thinking?

All of these questions help students understand the ideas when the information in the text is implied.  This strategy takes practice and will develop over time. After the Fall by Dan Santat is a wonderful resource to use when teaching inferential thinking.

This year Country Trails is going to be participating in a Caring Mall. Each grade level has adopted a charity and will be learning about the charity, the community it serves and the items that are needed. Throughout the month of April, grade levels will be learning about the power of giving, needs in our community, kindness, hunger, poverty and homelessness. We will be engaging the children with conversation and great books. During the week of April 29-May 3rd, students will be able to bring in any items from any of the adopted charity’s lists and deliver it to the charity (which will be set up in the lunch room) during their grade level times.

Below is a list of the adopted charities:
The Elgin Police Department
Anderson Animal Shelter
Go With the Flow
The Elgin Crisis Center
Ronald McDonald House-CDH
Edward Hines VA Hospital
Cal’s Angels

Please click here for more information including a wish list from all of the above charities if you are interested in donating. Along with the adopted charities we will also be doing a coin drive to purchase gift cards for each of the charities.

Thank you so much in advance for your donations and kindness. Together we can change our community for the better. Sir Winston Churchill said it best, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give”.

Dear 4th Grade Parents and Students,

Greetings from the District 301 Band Program! We are very excited to begin the registration process for another great year of music-making in our 5th Grade Beginning Band program! This letter serves as an introduction to this exciting and truly unique experience.

The beginning band program provides students a one-of-a-kind experience to learn how to play an instrument. Our program provides instruction on:

• Specific instrument sound production and techniques

• Music reading skills including reading note names, rhythms, and vocabulary

• Irreplaceable Full-Band musical performance concepts

• Concert performance preparation and etiquette

During these two weeks of April, students will be learning about the band instruments and trying out their top two choices during their music classes. Students who are interested in joining band in 5th grade will then talk with their parents about attending registration night.

Our registration times are: Friday, April 26th at CMS from 4-7pm and Saturday, April 27th at PKMS from 9am-noon. Interested families need only attend one event. The entire process should take approximately 30 minutes.

For more information on the band program and sign up procedure, please click on our Google Presentation (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HXMZjMOo-zjwljdIpoVF-OHyzTtZMyeElxalYH2jMCY/edit?usp=sharing), and read the attached PDF. Students will be receiving information to take home during the week of April 22nd. If you have any questions on the attached material, please feel free to email:

Annaliese Siegel (annaliese.siegel@central301.net) – Prairie Knolls, Country Trails, Prairie View

Or

Kevin Fredrick (kevin.fredrick@central301.net) – CMS, Lily Lake, HBT

We look forward to meeting your children in upcoming weeks, and you at registration night!

Sincerely,

Annaliese Siegel and Kevin Fredrick

Early Childhood

This month our theme was Pets. The kitchen area was turned in an animal hospital, with X-rays, band aids, food bowls, chip boards and many different animals like: an alligator with blue spots, bird, dogs and cats. In blocks, there were small plastic pets that student can build houses for, using the pictures of animal houses for support.

In the sensory table with had oatmeal with different colored bears and matching colored bowls for students to practice sorting.

We read many books like: What Pet Should I get?, Where is my cat? Elephant Parade, Yellow Spotted Frogs and Strictly No Elephants.

In the AM our finger play was 5 Green and Speckled Frogs and we added the Matman Song to help students identify body parts.

In the PM we continued with Jolly Phonics and reviewing the sounds and actions already learned and matching pictures and letter sounds.

What a FUN month!!!

With the weather improving please bring jackets, hats, mittens and play shoes.

Kindergarten

First Grade

First grade just completed learning about famous Americans. They wrote and created a craft about their favorite President. These projects are now hanging in the first grade hallway.

Second Grade

In second grade, we have been learning about influential people of the past and discussing their important life events through timelines. Students have researched an influential person of their choice and created a slideshow presentation to share with their peers as to how impactful they were in our history. This past week, our students participated in the St. Patrick’s Day themed breakout boxes where they had to put their heads together in order to crack the 5 codes!

Reading/ELL

Students have been visualizing the story, which is painting a picture in their minds.  This strategy helps students think about the setting, characters, events, problem and solution in the story.  When they are reading nonfiction text, students are thinking about the facts they learn and how the information can have an impact on the environment around them.  An example of one activity is when students pause after reading a few lines from the story and they take a moment to create a visual image in their minds. They think about the words that helped them create the image.  Next, they continue reading a few lines again, and use their five senses (see, hear, taste, smell and touch) to describe the events that take place in the story. Students compare and discuss their visual images with a partner.  In addition, the teachers read stories out loud and the students practice visualizing the stories in their minds.

Third Grade

Third grade students created a fraction kite using the concepts that they have been learning about throughout their math unit on fractions.  They have been working on using specific vocabulary when talking about fractions. Some of those important words include partition, numerator, denominator, and equal parts.

Fourth Grade

4th Grade is gearing up for IAR (formerly known as PARCC) Testing.  Students will be bringing home a practice packet to review concepts we have covered so far this year.  Students will also be reviewing concepts and test taking strategies in class. Please be sure your child is practicing his/her math facts at home each day.

Fifth Grade

Math:  We have one more unit of fractions left: division of fractions & mixed numbers.  When we return from Spring Break, we will begin the next unit on algebra, patterns, and coordinate graphs.  We will also be taking time to practice multi-step word problems, as well as review previous concepts, in preparation for the IAR tests in April.

Social Studies:  We are just concluding our unit on the colonial regions of America.  This included the founding, geography and climate, available jobs, and government of the New England, Middle and Southern colonies.  Over the next month we will also be learning about the beginning of slavery in America, followed by the reasons behind the colonies’ decisions to separate from England, and how that led to our U.S. Constitution.

ELA:  Immediately after break we will begin our in-depth study of the elements of a story:  plot, character, setting, and theme. The culmination of this unit will be the tri-fold book report for a book of each student’s choosing.  We are also continuing our work on word-study, vocabulary, grammar, and writing.

Specials

All of the students have been working to finish up projects for the upcoming art show.  The art show will be held on Thursday March 21st from 6-7:30. Please stop in and see the amazing things that our students have been working on all year long.  Every student, K-5, will be represented in the show.

Reading/ELL

The students have been learning about questioning, an important reading strategy.  Students think about questions before, during and after they read the text.
Readers find the answers to their questions when they reread the text and find clues.  The students may even code how they find information in the text such as T for finding clues in the text, I for inferring information, and OS for outside source such as researching the question online or looking up information in another book.  Readers ask questions to clarify the meaning of words or ideas, make predictions, determine the author’s purpose, format or style, and think about the specific information they are trying to find.

Third Grade

Third grade has been working hard on problem solving skills in all content areas! We had a great time doing a Valentine’s Day STEM activity working on our communication and problem solving skills. We are also enjoying our new math unit on fractions!

Fourth Grade

In reading, we have been focusing on nonfiction text.  Students have been identifying text features and the 5 structures of text.  They will be applying these skills in their writing as well.

In math, we are concluding our focus on long division. Students have been working on interpreting the remainder and solving two step word problems.  We will be giving the unit assessment the last week of February.

Fifth Grade

Math:  We are now deep within the realm of fractions.  We have learned how to add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators, and are now moving on to doing these same operations with mixed numbers.  These computations can be much more involved, but we are trying to think of them as fun puzzles to solve. This unit will be completed in a few weeks, at which time we will begin our unit on fraction multiplication.

Science:  Our third quarter has begun with how matter and energy moves through ecosystems.  We are learning how plants (producers) use photosynthesis to turn energy from the sun into food, and how that energy then gets transferred to other organisms (consumers and decomposers).

ELA:  We are continuing our work on informative writing.  Some of the classes are working on biographies, and others are working on other subjects directly related to their reading.  We will then take our new information and write a longer essay on the subjects. We are especially focusing on organization of the essay, as well as the research involved in compiling enough quality information for the report.

Specials

In Music class, four grade levels are getting ready for their upcoming music programs.  Kindergarten and First Grades have a winter theme and will be performing on Thursday, February 21st. Second and third grades have their performances on Thursday, March 7th and they have a health and fitness theme. Consult Mrs. Mack’s webpage for more information!