William Hatch Elementary School PTO
William Hatch Elementary School PTO
... September 2008Greetings from Hatch School! It is a pleasure to welcome everyone to another exciting year!
We have many innovative projects and activities scheduled for this new school year. I hope every family will take the opportunity to participate in these worthwhile events. We encourage everyone to become active members of the Hatch School Community.
The Bank at School Program will begin Friday, October 3 for students holding saving accounts. Applications for new accounts will be available during Fee Day, Thursday, September 4. This program is sponsored through the State of Illinois and The Fifth Third Bank of Oak Park.
It is our goal to provide a comfortable, relaxed and safe noon hour for our children. Our program's guidelines are as follows:
Lunchroom supervisors are responsible for maintaining a safe, pleasant environment. Students are to respect ALL adults as well as other children. We are in need of substitute supervisors for the lunch program. If you are interested, please contact the school office.
To hear weekly activities and meetings at Hatch School, please call the Hatch School Voice Message System. Use the message system to leave messages for our faculty and staff. Dial 524-5830, listen to the prompts, and then press the teacher's four-digit number. The teachers' voice message numbers will be included in the fee day packet.
I know, as a former teacher, that reading stimulates the mind. Students increase their learning in so many ways, when they are actively involved in reading at home. Students improve their critical thinking ability, comprehension, and verbal skills by simply investing the time to read.
Therefore, we are looking for students who enjoy reading at home. The goal is for students to earn a minimum of 176 points during the school year by reading at home. The added goal is to celebrate the joy of reading, while earning points. Students that love to read will enjoy getting this deserved recognition. I know we have students that will earn more than two thousand points during the school year! The flyer will be in the Fee Day Packet.
The P.T.O. World Language Program will begin the week of October 6. We will offer German, Spanish, and French. Please watch for more information on Fee Day.
This is a reminder that school starts at 8:00AM. The first bell rings at 7:57AM. Excessive tardiness is unacceptable. As adults, we need to help students develop good habits to carry them through life. Please be sure your child arrives on time each day! I have an open door policy. If you have questions or concerns, please call me at 524-3095.
We hope to see everyone at the P.T.O./S.I.T Picnic, Thursday, September 4 at 5:00PM on the playground!
Let's make it another great year!
Sincerely,
Sheila Y. Carter
... October 2008The school board established seven goals for the district in 2007. They included:
All of these goals are now outlined in District 97's new mission statement. Please visit the district's website (op97.org) for additional information on the seven strategic areas that we, as a district, will be working on for the next five years.
We are ready to do our best to bring the district forward in accomplishing these plans and we would welcome any input from the Hatch Community.
For the last eleven years we have told students not to bring toys to school. We are continuing this policy. Parents, please help your children understand that their toys should be kept at home.
I am also asking parents to make sure students are not bringing skateboards, scooters, roller blades and bicycles to school. A busy playground is not the place for these potentially dangerous toys. Please help us keep everyone safe at school.
It was a pleasure seeing so many parents on Fee Day, Thursday, September 4. Many programs and activities at Hatch School were presented by our PTO. I would like to thank the many volunteers and teachers [who] donated their time to make it a success. The P.T.O/S.I.T Picnic was cancelled due to the weather. We will reschedule it in the spring! Let's hope for clearer skies!
Again this year, we successfully combined our annual "New Parents' Night" with our first P.T.O. meeting. The attendance was impressive! Our P.T.O. Presidents, Mary Cavanaugh and Sanford Greenberg, warmly welcomed the parents and invited everyone to participate in our PTO activities. If you missed New Parents' Night and would like to learn more about Hatch School, please call the school office.
Our Ice Cream/Smoothie Fridays are fun for the students at Hatch School. The money collected is used to:
Teachers are now busy planning field trips for the first part of the school year. Parents will be receiving information and permission slips to sign as the trips are arranged. Field trips take learning beyond the school and into the community. These trips are taken in conjunction with teaching units and are part of your child's educational experiences at Hatch. We are fortunate that, again this year, our PTO is supporting all field trips by paying for the buses. This generous gift enables us to provide many exciting field trips for our students.
On Friday, October 31, our daily schedule will be adjusted to give students more hours of academic time and less party time. Students in grades 1-5 will have a longer morning and a shorter afternoon. The schedule for October 31 is as follows:
All parents are invited to go to the auditorium or remain on the playground to watch the Halloween Parade at 1:20 PM. Classroom parties take place after the parade. Important: Kindergarten students will follow their regular schedule. Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Kemper will have a parade and Halloween Party for both classes!
Our [Eleventh] Annual Hatch School Pumpkin Festival is scheduled for October 30 and 31. The Pumpkin Festival is a pumpkin-decorating contest with four categories: grades K-1, grades 2-3, grades 4-5, and the family category. Watch for the flyer during the week of October 13.
Our combined Open House and Curriculum Night was well attended. Thank you so much for your ongoing participation in school activities.
For the past three years, I have visited classes in grades 1-5 to talk about bullying. It has been successful in giving students the tools to identify and deal with bullying. If you would like a copy of the packet, please call the school office.
In the past few weeks, we have reviewed school safety rules with our students. We emphasized safe conduct in the lunchroom, on the playground, on buses and walking to and from school. I would like to remind parents of the following procedures:
Thank you for helping support a healthy, happy, and safe environment for your children.
Sincerely,
Sheila Y. Carter
... November 2008Conferences were held during the week of October 20. We had between 95-100% parent participation! If you did not get the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher, please call the school. It is important that parents participate in their child's education by conferencing with their child's teacher. This offers an opportunity for sharing information and planning the best educational program for each child.
We want all parents to be actively involved in their child's education by:
Hatch School had a winner in the Fire Prevention Contest sponsored by the Oak Park Fire Department. Congratulations to Riley E. in Mrs. Ficca's fourth grade class! Riley and his family enjoyed having dinner at the Fire Station. We are so proud!!
Congratulations to Hatch parents who participated in this year's Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 12. Mrs. H. (Andrew: 5-K), Mr. K. (Sam: 3-K) and Mia: (2-D) and Meredith S. (George: (3-K) and John V's (1-K/K) Aunt) completed the entire 26 mile race!!
On November 19, Michaela R. [5-D/L] will be honored at the Oak Park-River Forest Optimist Club annual luncheon. She will receive a plague for being an outstanding citizen. Students from all public and private schools in Oak Park and River Forest are eligible. The fifth grade teachers selected Michaela for demonstrating leadership in the school and maintaining a high scholastic average. Congratulations, Michaela! We are very proud of you.
The twentieth-first annual District #97 Young Authors Conference will be held Saturday, October 25, at Lincoln School. Many Hatch students will be given the opportunity to participate this year. Thank you for your support of this excellent conference for students!
Adult supervision on the playground is necessary for student safety. Students should not be on the playground before 7:45 am, unless they are participating in the breakfast program. Supervision on the playground begins at 7:45 am. After school, there will be supervision until 3:10 pm (2:10 on Wednesdays).
Important: For the security and safety of the students and staff at Hatch School, the playground doors will be locked at all times. Please use the doorbell by the lunchroom to participate in the breakfast program. You may also go to the main entrance to enter the building each morning.
Many parents are on the playground to greet their children at the end of the school day. They are not there to supervise any students. If students wish to play on the equipment after school hours, it becomes their parents' responsibility to see that these children are properly supervised. We want all students to feel safe at Hatch School.
The PTO sponsored, tuition-based World Language Program is also doing well. We have excellent instructors. Mrs. Lisa Peters teaches German, Ms. Isabelle Henry teaches French, and Ms Olga Callupe teaches Spanish. German, French, and Spanish (Kindergarten) meet on Tuesday during the lunch hour. Spanish (Grades 1-5) meets on Thursday.
A reminder! Parents need to call the school office (524-3095) when their child is absent from school. The office opens at 7:30 am.
The Homework Helper Program began October 7. This program is designed for students that may need additional support in completing homework assignments. We also create packets of additional work in language arts and math, for students to complete once they have completed their assignments. We are selecting students based on teacher and parent recommendations. The program meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, from 3:15-4:15 pm. If you would like your child to participate in this program, please call the school office.
The following teachers participate in this program: Mrs. L'Heureux, Ms. Winfield, Ms. Stack, Ms. Quickery, and Mrs. Noel. We want to make every effort to help students complete their homework assignments and to realize the importance of academic achievement.
Improving school climate is a district goal. Again this year, Hatch School will continue to emphasize the damaging effects of bullies. My anti-bullying program has been designed to teach our students that being a bully is not acceptable behavior. I have visited every classroom to talk with every student about the importance of not bullying others and what students can do to help students [who] are being bullied.
Sincerely,
Sheila Y. Carter
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