October 10-15, 2022 | Week #8
This week: Updates from Dr. Bush | Academic Center and High School Open House Info | Walkathon Update | Birthday on the Marquee | Online Math Tutoring
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Dates to Remember
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Virtual High School Fair: Tuesday, Oct 18th
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LSC Meeting: Tuesday, Oct 18th
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End of 1st Quarter: Thursday, Oct 20th
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Q1 Report Cards: Week of Oct 24th
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No School - School Improvement: Friday, Oct 21st
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No School - Election Day: November 8th
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Parents Conference - November 21st
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COVID-19 Update
Actionable Cases: 0
Non-Actionable Cases: 0
Absences
Attendance Goal: 98%
For absences: Email Mrs. Eskridge, assistant principal:
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LSC Meeting: [virtual] October 18th at 5:30
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October Anti-Bullying Awareness Events:
- Cyber Bullying Awareness Assembly for Middle School Students
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Quarter 1 Report Card Distribution:
Quarter 1 Report Cards will be distributed the week of October 24, 2022.
Parent conferences will take place Monday, November 21, 2022 (even though report cards will have already been distributed).
A Parent Conference Schedule will be shared by your child's homeroom teacher (as we get closer to 11/21/22.)
Conferences can be virtual or in-person.
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Academic Center and High School Open House Information |
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Location: 700 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605
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Academic Center Open House
7th and 8th Grade Program
10:00 AM in the Whitney Young High School Theater
High School Open House
9th Grade Admission
Presentations are scheduled every half hour between 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM
Location: 211 S Laflin St, Chicago, IL 60607
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Academic Center Open House
Tuesday, October 25th from 6 PM - 7:30 PM
High School Open House
October 20th and 27th from 6 PM - 7:30 PM
Location: Taft Freshman Academy (4071 N Oak Park Ave, Chicago IL 60634)
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Academic Center Open House: 9-11 AM
High School Open House: 12:00-3:00 pm
Location: 2501 W Addison St, Chicago, IL 60618
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In-person open house was held on Sunday, October 2nd.
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6) Kenwood Academy High School: Open House on November 5th. |
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Academic Center Open House: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (Last Tour at 3:00 PM)
High School Open House: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Last Tour at 11:30)
Location: 6130 S Wolcott Ave, Chicago, IL 60636
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A HUGE thank you to all who donated for the Walkathon. We set an ambitious goal of $80,000 and with your help, we surpassed it and raised $84,000, the most we have ever raised! We could not have done this without you! - Friends of Skinner West |
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IvyMath is offering free comprehensive math assessments and parent conferences to discuss your child's math strengths and weaknesses and how they compare to grade level
IvyMath will set up a custom learning plan for your child, and schedule 2 free private virtual coaching sessions to work on their weaknesses. This is a great way to make sure your child is on track in math as we start the school year!
These coaching sessions are free for all Skinner Elementary families. Popular times fill up, so please register quickly! Signup now at: IvyMath.com/Boost
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Letter from Dr. Bush: 3rd-5th Grade Walking Math Update |
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Greetings Parents and Guardians,
Thank you for all of the efforts in organizing walking math. I want to share a quick update regarding walking math homerooms. This message applies to 3rd – 5th grade students in neighborhood classrooms.
After consultation with the CPS Scheduling Department, it was advised to refrain from changing students' math homerooms until after the first quarter ends. A change [now] would result in grades not being correctly calculated on students' final transcripts.
While students will continue to walk to different math homerooms (based on changes as of 9/26/22) you will continue to see your child’s original homeroom math teacher reflected in ASPEN (until the 2nd quarter begins 10/21/22). Teachers have been notified to collaborate with each other to ensure that students are receiving grades based on their current walking math homeroom. Our goal is to ensure that every child is graded fairly and accurately, as well as to ensure that no transcripts have erroneous grades.
As soon as the 2nd quarter begins (October 21, 2022) your child’s walking math teacher will be reflected as their math homeroom teacher in ASPEN.
Kind regards,
Dr. Bush
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Skinner West would like to welcome the following new staff members to our school.
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Ms. Davila, SECA (Bio)
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Mr. Keating, Teaching Assistant (Bio)
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Ms. Adamczyk, Teaching Assistant (Bio)
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Skinner Superstars had the best time jumping in the bouncy houses, running around the track, dancing, and riding their bikes and scooters at the walkathon on Thursday (10/6). The purple and gold Skinner school spirit was in full display on Adams Street.
Thank you to our incredible school staff and parent volunteers for making this day special for our Superstars. Friends of Skinner West's Annual Walkathon is our biggest fundraiser of the school year. Thank you parents and caregivers for your generous donations!
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CPS High School Admissions Test for 8th Grade |
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Safety Communication from the Principal
I want to bring a serious community alert incident to your attention. On Wednesday, Sept 28 during recess, several Skinner students were approached by an unknown person. The person offered pepper spray to a student. (The person later stated that they live in the West Loop. They stated they believed the student was in distress, which is why they offered pepper spray to a student.) A known Skinner parent advised that they did not recognize the person as a West Loop resident. Skinner recess supervision staff approached the person and asked them to not engage students. The person left the park and returned minutes later. Mr. Lomax intercepted the person, the second time, and asked them not to communicate with students. The person left and returned a third time. Dr. Brown stopped the person the third time. The person left the park.
Following the incident:
- The Chicago Police Department (CPD) was called and a police report was made.
- An announcement was made for no classrooms to go to Skinner Park for the remainder of the school day.
- A call was made to parents whose children were directly involved.
- A CPD car was requested for dismissal.
- This incident is being logged in ASPEN.
- All Skinner security, Mr. Lomax, and Dr. Brown circulated the campus and Skinner Park to ensure scholars are safe during dismissal.
In partnership and student safety,
Dr. Bush
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Talk to Your Superstars
Our goal as a community is to keep everyone safe. In light of recent neighborhood events, here are a few safety reminders to review with your child:
- Never talk to strangers.
- If a stranger starts to talk to you or your friends, tell a trusted adult immediately.
- When walking to and from school, walk with others.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Keep your device in your pocket until you get home!
- If you see something that doesn't seem right, say something.
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Chicago Police: Community Conversation
The CPD is holding two meetings where community members can help create the 2023 strategic plan for the 12 th District. Register at chicagopolice.org/convo. |
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Virtual Meeting
Thursday, Oct 13, 2022
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Zoom Meeting ID: 851 2268 7117
Passcode: 743790
Join via App or dial 312-626-6799
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In-Person Meeting
Thursday, Oct 20, 2022
6:00 p.m.
Whitney Young
211 S Laflin Street
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Meet Ms. Makris, 4th Grade |
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Ms. Katina Makris is a new Skinner West fourth grade teacher. She has taught in Chicago for more than 12 years and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
"My teaching philosophy is that all students can learn and will do so when provided with a safe, nurturing, and engaging educational environment," says Ms. Makris.
She enjoys crafting, sewing, biking, walking, and spending time in the heart of downtown Chicago. "However, my work is my life, and I dedicate much of my own time to pursuing new and innovative ways to teach children. I am extremely enthusiastic about joining the Skinner West community!"
We're glad you're here, Ms. Makris!
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Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)
Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
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This week at the Branch, our youngest Superstars spent time exploring Hispanic Heritage Month! |
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While our fifth graders had a day of robotics coding with MBots. |
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Volunteers Needed!
Do you want to get involved but don't know where to start? We're in need of volunteers!
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Walkathon
Do you have a few hours to spare on Thursday, October 6? Friends of Skinner West (FOSW) needs parent volunteers to help with the school's largest fundraiser! No need to volunteer the entire day. There are several different activities with different times to fit busy schedules, including:
- Set-up
- Clean-up
- Bounce house monitoring
- First-aid station
- Bike monitoring
- Water hand out
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Are you looking for a fun, creative way to get involved at Skinner West? Join Gallery111!
Gallery111 is a committee of parents, teachers, and community members who bring in outside arts partners to provide workshops or longer residency programs to enhance our core curriculum. For example, during 4th grade poetry unit, a poetry teacher from The Poetry Center of Chicago comes into class and works with our teachers to plan and present lessons to brainstorm, draft, and publish poems with our students.
The committee meets once a month to discuss programming, how to connect with teachers to communicate options for their classes, and plan fundraising efforts to keep these programs at Skinner West.
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Room Parents
- Pre-K: Ms. Bottorff
- K: Ms. Novitski, Ms. Sobut, and Ms. Growe
- 1st: Ms. Salameda and Ms. Sittner
- 2nd: Ms. Petrosino and Ms. Ford
- 3rd: Ms. Haddad
- 4th: Ms. Nelson, Ms. Travis, and Ms. Kawa
- 5th: Mr. Hinterlong and Mr. Lewandowski
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CPS Volunteer Application
When submitting a volunteer application:
- Make sure you identify Skinner [West] as the school and not Skinner [North]
- Input information exactly as it appears on your ID or passport
- Bring a current ID to the school (for Level 2 applications)
- Email rrbush@cps.edu a screenshot of your application if you are waiting for a Level 2 approval
- For Level 1 approvals, CPS Volunteer Department will share information regarding fingerprints and TB tests (we do not direct that at the school level)
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Lockdown Drill Update
CPD Officer Edwards was on-hand this week to help students and staff with Skinner West's lockdown drill.
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Thank You for Your Support!
Thanks to everyone for stopping by Jeni's for ice cream to support Friends of Skinner West. And, thank you to Jeni's for helping make this fundraiser a tasty treat! |
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Principal's Report
Every month, Skinner West's principal prepares and presents a report at the Local School Council Meeting (LSC).
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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage
Pre-K through 8th grade Superstars are exploring Hispanic Heritage Month in class via instructional activities and projects. We are also hosting a contest to engage students in Spanish culture and history.
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大家好(Hello)! My name is Chan Wu. I have taught Chinese in elementary school for many years in China. I moved to Chicago in 2016 and received my bachelor’s degree in world language education – Chinese from DePaul University in 2022. I recently completed my student-teaching at Whitney Young.
I care about students and love teaching. My teaching style is flexible and I focus on motivating students' learning interest to achieve goals. I will guide students to learn a language by understanding the culture behind the language. I am excited and honored to be a new teacher of Skinner!
And, Skinner is happy to have you, Ms. Wu! Thank you for securing our acceptance into the 2022-2023 Chinese Artists in Residence Program provided by the CPS Chinese World Language Program.
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Open House Success
Thanks to all of the parents, guardians, students, and families that made this year's open house a success! And, big thanks to the teachers who opened their classrooms and answered questions.
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If you weren't able to attend, children will receive the following reports from their teachers:
- 5th week progress reports (1st – 8th grades)
- Beginning of year iReady individual student reports (K-2nd grade)
- Beginning of year STAR360 individual student reports (3rd – 8th grade)
- Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) individual student reports (current 6th grade student: scores from 5th grade ISA)
- Illinois Assessment of Readiness individual student reports (current 4th – 8th grade students: scores from school year 2021-2022 IAR)
- Five day notices (students with 5 or more unexcused absences)
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Mark T. Skinner West School
Front Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
(773) 534-7790
By Appointment Only
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