ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

Arbury Hills School

19651 Beechnut Drive

Mokena, IL 60448

(708) 479-2106

www.summithill.org

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

UPCOMING DATES

3/2- SHEF Bandana Orders Due

3/2- 2nd Grade Guest Speaker

3/3- SHEF Pizza Fundraiser

3/7- No School - Pulaski Day

3/8- II Classes – Community Based Instruction to Thunder Bowl / Culvers

3/9- 2nd Grade Guest Speaker

3/9- Board Meeting 7 P.M.

3/10- AVIC 2nd Grade

3/11- AVIC 1st Grade

3/11- Treat Day

3/11- Irish Dancers Assembly

3/11- STARS Evening Dominos Fundraiser at Restaurant

3/14- SHEF Meeting

3/14- 1st Grade Field Trip to Rialto

3/15- No School - Election Day

3/16- Fire Prevention 1st-3rd

3/17- Hot Lunch

3/18- STARS Evening Dominos Fundraiser at Restaurant

3/19- Art Works at LWE

3/20- SHEF Battle Balls at LWN

3/21- Spring Picture Day

3/22- 4th Grade Field Trip-Will County Farm Bureau

3/22- STARS Meeting

3/22- Choir Concert 7:00 P.M. at LWN

3/23- End of 3rd Quarter

3/23- Board Meeting 7 P.M.

3/24- 3rd Grade Physical Education Field Trip to Tinley Park Roller Rink

3/25- No School – Spring Break Begins

3/28-4/1- No School-Spring Break

4/4- School Resumes

4/4- Family Martial Arts PBIS Assembly

4/5- PARCC Testing Begins

District 161 Online Calendar

March is Here!

The Summit Hill Educational Foundation’s Battle Ball event is quickly approaching! SHEF is very excited to announce the main event for this year, “BATTLE for the CUP.” The Summit Hill School District 161 Battle Ball Tournament will take place on Sunday, March 20th at Lincoln-Way North High School. Tickets can be purchased at www.SummitHillFoundation.org or at the Arbury Hills School office. The staff members representing Arbury Hills School are Mrs. Wojcik, Mrs. Diehl, Mrs. Cissell, Mrs. McGreehin, Mrs. Johnston, Mr. Motykowski, Mrs. Vlosak, & Mr. Snipes. For more information on the event, please visit the Summit Hill Education Foundation’s website at: www.SummitHillFoundation.org.

PARCC Testing, the new State-wide assessment, will take place in April throughout Summit Hill School District 161. At Arbury Hills School, our third and fourth graders will participate in this assessment series. Please see the detailed information below.

STARS is sponsoring our Spring Scholastic Book Fair at the end of April. Please look for more information to come home regarding book fair sales taking place Thursday and Friday, April 28-29 with an evening Family Night on Thursday, April 28.

STARS: Raging Waves - Plunge into Fitness Program:

Completed logs need to be turned in by April 11. (Logs were e-mailed last month in the February newsletter.) Once completed, your student will receive a free admission to Raging Waves.

If you have any questions please contact Lena Halawa at lenahalawa@gmail.com.

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

PARCC Assessments – 3rd and 4th Graders

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC assessment will measure student attainment of standards in the areas of English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics using the new level of rigor expected in the learning standards. PARCC testing is an Illinois State Board of Education mandate for all public schools in the state. We are working hard to ensure our students are fully prepared for a rewarding school experience - which will pave the way to a successful career. Testing is computer-based and completed electronically using our computer lab and tablet devices. PARCC testing is currently scheduled to take place beginning April 5, 2016.

Our teachers are doing everything possible to help our students prepare for the PARCC

assessment. We ask that you also work with your children at home to help them feel well

prepared and confident when the time comes to take the test. Below, please find several

student and parent resources for ongoing support at home:

Type to Learn – Provides additional typing practice to build speed and accuracy o Download Instructions:

http://www.summithill.org/static.asp?path=4205,8049

Teacher Pages – Check out some of the educational links on each teacher’s webpage. Here is an example from Mrs. Hudziak’s Technology Class.

PARCC Online / Pearson – Provides online tutorials and practice tests; students will need to become familiar with the testing format as well as the content

o Click Test Preparation: http://parcc.pearson.com/

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

Notes from Mrs. Binzen in the Music Room:

March is “Music in Our Schools Month”. Fourth graders are busy learning how to play the guitar, harp, and keyboard. Once the basics are learned, the possibilities are endless. Students might be inspired to pursue playing in the band at Hilda Walker. Or, they may decide to purchase one of these instruments and take private lessons. Our world needs a lot more music. So…play on students…sing…be creative…feel the emotions that music stirs up inside of you!

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

Tech Bytes with Mrs. Hudziak

Our first grade students used Microsoft Word in technology class this month. While learning

about Groundhog Day, the students practiced highlighting text to make changes to text font,

size, and color. They were also introduced to changing text effects such as bold, italics, and

underline. Students also used Wixie this past month. In talking about Valentine’s Day, they

added stickers and text to a page.

Our second grade students also continued to use Microsoft Word this month. While learning

about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, the students have continued to highlight text

to make changes to text font, size, and color, as well as change text effects such as bold, italics,

and underline. They also typed written assignments and practiced editing skills in MS Word, as

well as practiced counting money on various interactive websites.

Our third grade students continued to use Microsoft Word this month. Students learned and

practiced how to cut and paste in a Word document. They also continued to practice utilizing

the various font tools to make changes to a document when learning about President’s Day.

Students created a vocabulary graphic organizer for their science unit on electricity and

magnetism using Wixie this month.

Our fourth grade students finished reading the e-book “The True Story of the Civil War” and

answered text-based questions about the informational text they were reading. Students also

researched a famous person from the Civil War and used Microsoft Word to write a brief

biography paragraph to share what they learned. Students finished this month learning about

President’s Day and utilizing the font tools in MS Word.

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016

ARBURY HILLS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER: March 2016