From Mrs. McCoy: August/September

Messages from McDole

Welcome back! I am excited to be writing my first newsletter as Principal. It is so great to see the excited faces of the students coming to school.

Welcome our new staff Over the summer, we had a few changes in staff. Mrs. Dawn Marmo (Reading Spe-cialist) accepted an administration position in another school district, Miss Christy Rink (3rd Grade teacher) decided to pursue a career in the business world, and Mrs. Emily Sutton (Early Childhood Speech Therapist) is staying at home with her new baby. We wish each of these staff members luck in their new adventures, while we welcome our new staff:

• Mrs. Mona Fergus, Lunchroom Monitor

• Mr. Kevin Gordon, Assistant Principal

• Mrs. Jenelle Mance, Reading Interventionist

• Mrs. Laura Mueller, 3rd Grade teacher

• Mrs. Maria Murabito, Recess Monitor and Crossing Guard

• Mrs. Niki Schomas, part-time Cross-Categorical teacher

• Mrs. Maria Valdovinos, Bilingual

• Mrs. Cathy West, Early Childhood Speech Therapist McDole’s School Improvement Plan Before the first day of school, the staff participated in two institute days. We worked on planning our School Improvement Plan for the 2009-2010 school year. You will see the goals for our planned improvement within each newsletter. Students are already engaged in putting into action one of the goals by participating in “Expectation Walks” throughout the common areas of the school. The specials teachers taught students what the expectations are in the hallways, entrances, cross-walk, stairs, bathrooms, assemblies, office and nurse.

This school year we are able to fully implement our Response to Intervention (RtI) plan for reading. This is a multi-step approach that helps meet the needs of stu-dents. I am proud of the dedication our staff has at meeting the needs of all stu-dents and working collaboratively to improve student learning.

Curriculum Night We will host Curriculum Night for grades 1-5 on Tuesday, September 8th from 6-8 p.m. We will meet in the gym at 6 p.m. and then you’ll meet with your child’s class-room teacher. Please remember that Curriculum Night is intended for all parents and it is not an appropriate time for individual conferences. This is also the time when you can sign up for a Parent Teacher Conferences in November and any volun-teer opportunities within your child’s classroom and through the PTO.

We’re saving a few trees To reduce confusion and waste, we will be sending information from the PTO and the school, home to the youngest child in the family, so that families only receive one copy of this information.

Calendar of Events Sept. 1 Market Day Pick-Up

6:00-7:00 p.m.

Sept. 7 Labor Day/No School

Sept. 8 Curriculum Night

1-5 grades/6:00-8:00

Picture Day

Abrakadoodle Room 124

3:00-4:15

Sept. 9 Parent Information Talk

regarding Mutual Ground

Personal Safety Presentation

Grades 1 and 3

6:30 p.m. in LRC

PTO - Wendy’s Night

Sept. 14 Lorado Taft—5th Grade

Sept. 15 Lorado Taft—5th Grade

PTO Meeting at McDole

7:00 p.m.

Sept. 16 Lorado Taft

Sept. 21 Young Rembrandts

3:35 - 4:35 p.m.

Sept. 22 Fun Lunch

Abrakadoodle 3:30—4:15 p.m.

Sept. 25 Progress Reports Go Home

Sept. 26 PTO “Mother & Son Fling”

Sept. 28 Spirit Week Begins

Young Rembrandts

3:35 - 4:35 p.m.

Sept. 29 Market Day Pick-Up

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Abrakadoodle 3:30 - 4:15 p.m.

Welcome back, McDole families!! My name is Kevin Gordon, and it is my pleasure to be the new Assistant Principal here at McDole. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself. I am entering my 8th year in education; this is my first as an administrator. Prior to coming to Kaneland, I taught 5th grade for 7 years in Geneva. My wife, Heather, and I have a 4 year old daughter, Megan, and a 5 month old son, Matthew. I enjoy spending time with my family, playing golf, and en-during the ups and (mostly) downs of being a lifelong Cubs fan. I am very excited about the upcoming school year and look forward to getting to know you and your children.

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Students at McDole can be caught being a K.N.I.G.H.T. This means that they were spotted by a staff member doing something extra special or above and beyond what they would normally do. When a student is “caught” they will receive a KNIGHT ticket. There is no limit as to how many times a student can be caught. Every student that has re-ceived a KNIGHT ticket will receive a certificate stating that they were caught that month. Your child could potentially bring home one certifi-cate EVERY month. In addition, on a monthly basis, students will be ran-domly drawn from all the KNIGHT tickets in that given month. The stu-dents chosen will be invited to sit at the KNIGHTs OF THE ROUNDTA-BLE luncheon. This is a monthly celebration lunch for those stu-dents. At the luncheon, these students will receive a personalized blue sash that signifies that they were KNIGHT’d. The more times a child is caught being a KNIGHT, the better chances they have to be chosen to be KNIGHT’d. To be fair to all our students, kids will only be KNIGHT’d (roundtable and sash) once in their years at McDole but are invited and welcome to wear their sash on the monthly roundtable lunch days (while sitting at their class table). At the end of the year- all students that have been KNIGHT’d (roundtable and sash) will be invited to an all school KNIGHTS of the roundtable lunch on the stage. Will your child be caught?

I was caught being

A KNIGHT: (Please circle one)

K ind to others

N eat and organized

I ncluding others in play

G iving respect to adults

H elping others

T elling the truth

Name:__________________

Grade:__________________

Caught by:_______________

CAUGHT BEING A KNIGHT

Welcome to McDole Mr. Gordon

Certificate of K.N.I.G.H.T. Behavior Your child has received this certificate because they were caught showing good character within the walls of the McDole Kingdom. They have been recognized by a staff member for one or more of the following behaviors:

ind to others

eat and organized

ncludes others in play

ives respect to adults

elps others

ells the truth

CONGRATULATIONS!__________________________

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Last spring, Ms. Plattos won a $2,500 Classroom Make-over Gift Certificate from West Music to purchase new instruments for the music departments at McDole and John Shields. At McDole, she used the gift cer-tificate to purchase 8 brand new Tubano drums. West Music also offered to replace the Tubanos we already had with brand new ones! In May, Mrs. Pine and Ms. Pierson from West Music came to McDole to take pic-tures to use in their fall catalog. The kids did a won-derful job representing McDole Elementary during the photo shoot!

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McDole Expectations

RESPECT SELF RESPECT OTHERS RESPECT PROPERTY

Classroom:

Do your best work Use kind words Pick up after yourself

Be on Task Keep hands/feet/objects to self Treat materials with care

Be Prepared Let others do their best

Be Cooperative Respect personal space

Speak with good purpose

Hallway:

Face forward Use inside voices Use only what you need

Walk Do not cut in line/accept your place Keep water in sink

Hands to side Walk in a straight line Throw towels in garbage

Report bullying Walk on the right side Maintain clean bathroom environment

Allow others to pass Leave materials in class

Keep hands/feet/objects to self

Go directly to your destination

Lunchroom:

Eat your own lunch Use inside voices Pick up garbage

Sit on seat, Keep hands/feet/objects to self Throw milk in bucket

not on your feet Use table manners Dispose of garbage gently into the

Chew with your Listen to monitors garbage can

mouth closed Walk

Report bullying Wait patiently for the garbage can

to come to your seat

Recess (inside and out):

Play fair Include everyone Use equipment/games correctly

Use equipment Keep hand/feet/objects to self Play in designated areas

appropriately Listen to monitors 3 W’s: Watch, Whistle, Walk

Report bullying Report bullying

Use kind words

Share all equipment

Assemblies:

Sit on seat, not feet Use appropriate applause Keep hand/feet/objects to self

Eyes forward Keep hands/feet/objects to self

Listen to speaker(s) Enter and exit quickly

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School Improvement Goals for 2009-2010 School Year

Goal 1: During the 09-10 school year, use established rubric and probes (from 08-09 SIP) to develop grade level base-lines for measuring student improvement of comprehension skills on the reading extended response for the purpose of facilitating student learning.

Goal 2: Increase student awareness of consistent school-wide behavioral expectations to promote a safe and positive learning community measured by the completion of the following activities: expectation walks, knight tickets, and the use of a safety patrol during the 2009-2010 school year.

Goal 3: Maintain community awareness of student successes at McDole during the 2009-2010 school year by communi-cating monthly with the district, parents and the local community.

Mrs. Livermore is very proud to announce that one of Gianna Villanueva’s art pieces was chosen to be in the Illinois Art Edu-cation Association travel-ing Art Show this year. This is a great honor; only 40 pieces in the state of Illinois were chosen to be in the show. Gianna is a very talented artist whose creativity always shines through. We’re looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish in sec-ond grade this year!

ART EDUCATION ASSOCIATION TRAVELING ART SHOW

WINNER