Miss Pellin's Post
March 2nd to March 6th There will be no school on Monday, March 6. Enjoy Casimir Pulaski Day! Casimir Pulaski, known as the father of American Calvary, was recommended to George Washington by Ben Franklin while Ben was in France. Washington immediately put Pulaski in charge of the Revolutionary Armies Calvary. Pulaski's cavalry saved the day at the battle of Brandywine!

ISAT testing will begin on Tuesday, March 3. Here is some advice from Principal Schultz.

Parents can play an important role in getting students ready for these tests. Here are suggestions on how parents can help their children prepare for the ISAT:

1. Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep before the tests
2. Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast the days of the test
3. Let your child know that he or she should take the test seriously and do his or her best
4. Talk to your child about what to do while taking the test, including:
a. Paying attention to directions
b. Asking questions about directions if they are unclear
c. Reading each question carefully
d. Eliminating wrong answers right away, concentrating on remaining choices
e. Double checking answers

Our staff has worked extensively at aligning our curriculum to state standards, and I am confident your children are well prepared and ready to do a great job on this year’s tests. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me at any time.

The Ninth Week of 2009 at School:

Home Room
Science: We continue to study Space and the seasons! Students will also learn about the earth's position during the day versus night and about lunar eclipses.

Social Studies: We will continue to study Egypt. Students will study continue to learn about Cleopatra. Then we will make our own Egyptian timeline.

Language Arts
Spelling: There will be no Spelling this week, we will do ISAT testing instead.

Reading: There will be no Reading this week, we will do ISAT testing instead.

English: There will be no English this week, we will do ISAT testing instead.

Math: We will review everything we have learned this year. We will take a practice ISAT test.

Things to Remember:
Monday 3/2: This is Casimir Pulaski Day. There will be no school.

Tuesday 3/3: There will be ISAT testing.

Wednesday 3/4: There will be ISAT testing.

Thursday 3/5 : There will be ISAT testing.

Friday 3/6: There will be ISAT testing.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org
Voice mail: (630)783-5065

Miss Pellin's Post
February 17th to February 20th
Monday, February 16th is President's Day! There will be no school!

Here are some fun facts about our Presidents from the white house website:
1. Before he became president, Lyndon Johnson was a teacher at a small school in South Texas.
2. Before he became president, Woodrow Wilson was president of Princeton University.
3. Only one president was a preacher -- James Garfield.
4. Did you know that William Howard Taft is the only president who served as both president and Chief Justice of the United States?
5. President John F. Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for his collection of essays, Profiles in Courage.
6. Both George Washington and Jimmy Carter were farmers before they became president. President Washington was a planter and a farmer at his home in Mount Vernon. Jimmy Carter ran his family's peanut farm in Plains, Georgia.
7. Before he became president, Barack Obama was a U.S. Senator. Before that, he was an Illinois State Senator, and before that he was a community organizer in Chicago.

Thank-you to all the parents who made our Valentine's Day Party lots of fun!!!

The Seventh Week of 2009 at School:
Home Room
Science: We will focus on Social Studies this week.

Social Studies: We will continue to study Egypt. Students will read about the ancient Egyptian pyramids and mummies.

Language Arts
Spelling: There will be a Spelling "List 21" test on Friday, February 20th.

Reading: We will work on a Ramona Quimby, Age 8 project. While doing this project students will be asked to describe different characters in the story.

English: We will continue to study Unit 5 in our English book on punctuation. We will study how to use transition words, commas and quotation marks. Look for a test in the week of 2/23/09 in your child's assignment notebook on Unit 5.

Math: Students will need to pass a mixed multiplication test on or before Friday, February 20th. We will take a practice mixed multiplication test everyday leading up to the test date of Friday, February 20th. If a student passes the practice mixed multplication test(gets fewer than one wrong) before the final test day, then they pass the test and do not need to continue taking mixed multiplication tests. Students need to complete 40 problems in 4 minutes! This week we will be studying perimenters and areas. We will also work on probability.

Things to Remember:
Monday 2/16: This is President's Day. There is no school.
Tuesday 2/17: There will be a PTO fundraiser at Fuddrucker's restaurant this evening.
Friday 2/20: There will be a Spelling test.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org
Voice mail: (630)783-5065

Miss Pellin's Post

February 9th - February 13th

Thursday, February 12th is Abraham Lincoln's birthday! Every American knows President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. "Honest Abe" was born in the wilderness country of Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. Lincoln spent much of his adult years in Illinois. Lincoln became president in 1861. Although he hated war, he was drawn into it as he believed it was the only was to save the nation after the southern states declared their secession to the Union.

Friday, February 13th we will celebrate Valentine's Day. If students bring cards to share at school, they must have one fro every student in their home room class. A class list was sent home on Friday, February 6th.

The Sixth Week of 2009 at School:
Home Room
Science: We will finish our study of weather, Chapter 9. On Thursday, February 12th there will be a Chapter 9 test. A study guide was passed out on Friday, February 5th.

Social Studies: We will continue to study Egypt. Students will read about the ancient Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife, their pyramids, and mummies.

Language Arts
Spelling: There will be a Spelling "List 20" test on Friday, February 13th. On Wednesday, February 11th Amy and Zach will be competing in our district Spelling Bee! Good Luck!

Reading: We will continue to study inferencing. We will finish reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8 -- a story the models inferencing. We will work in our Illinois Reading Book working on pages that emphasize inferencing.

English: We will begin Unit 5 in our English book on punctuation. Some of this will be a review of the rules we learned earlier.

Math: Students will take a mixed mad minute multiplication test on Friday, February 20th. Starting on Monday, February 9th students will take practice mixed multiplication tests each day leading up to the test. If a student passes (gets fewer than one wrong) before the final test day, then they pass the test and do not need to continue taking mixed multiplication tests. Students need to complete 40 problems in 4 minutes! We will also be working on space figures.

Things to Remember:
Friday 2/6: There will be a Spelling test. There will be a "mad minute" quiz. It is the 100th day of school!
Monday 2/9: We will begin mixed multiplication tests.

Thursday 2/12: There will be a Science test.
Friday 2/13: There will be a Spelling test. There will be a Valentine's Day Party.
Monday 2/16: This is President's Day. There is no school.

Contact Information:
E-Mail address: mpellin@ccsd66.org
Voice mail: (630)783-5065