I am hopeful you are enjoying the beautiful weather we have had over the last several days. It was just perfect last Friday for our annual Field Day event. I am sure your child came home buzzing with excitement after a fabulous day of physical activity and sunshine. Mrs. Leam and all of our volunteers did a phenomenal job organizing and running the day for the children. I would like to thank the PTA for their involvement as well. Not only did we have strong representation in the volunteer arena, all the children enjoyed pizza for lunch due to the generosity of the Aldrin PTA. We are so lucky to have such a supportive parent group always working to make Aldrin the best place to learn.

Speaking of learning, we recently received our results on our Spring MAP tests. We are so proud of the children and how much they have learned this year. We have seen fabulous growth and have no doubt the children will continue to learn all the way up until the very last day of the school year. Again, we will be sponsoring our Aldrin Summer Reading/Exercise challenge. Our hope is to keep our kiddos reading throughout the summer in order to keep those skills strong going into the 2012-13 school year. Your child will also be bringing home additional math practice this summer to keep their mathematical mind sharp too. We are excited to offer these activities to your child and are hopeful you will find some time each day for him/her to work on the activities.

If you are looking for a way to beef up your child’s reading library for the summer, please consider joining us at Barnes and Noble this Saturday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Our band and orchestra students will be on hand at this event to delight you with their musical talents. You can then pop over to Fudruckers for a delicious burger. All proceeds from both of these events will go into our Aldrin Really Cares (ARC) fund to help support Aldrin families in need. Be sure to mention you are from Aldrin School.

Please be sure to take a look at the Aldrin Announcer. It is full of upcoming events including information about the Burgers and Books event mentioned above. I have highlighted a few of them at the bottom of this email. Enjoy your day!

Sincerely,

Mary Botterman

Upcoming Events:

May 15 – Birthday Books at Lunch – Provided by the PTA

May 16 – PTA Meeting @ 12:15 at Aldrin

May 17 – Market Day Pick-up

May 18 – Aldrin’s Ice Cream Social – 4:00-6:00 p.m. outside of Aldrin

May 19 – Burgers and Books – 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Barnes and Noble

May 22 – 6^th Grade Poetry Slam

May 22 – 2^nd Grade to the Field Museum

May 23 – Safety Patrol Outing to Waterworks

May 23 – Kindergarten Round-up for incoming kindergarteners and their parents – 9:15-10:15 at Aldrin

May 24 – Frost Orchestra Concert at 11:10 a.m.

May 25 – 6^th grade trip to Medieval times

May 25 – ¾ multi-grade and 4^th grader to the Naper Settlement

May 25 –Spirit wear – Red, white and blue day

May 28 – No School

May 29 – 1^st and ½ multi-grade to the zoo

May 29 – BMX Assembly – sponsored by Aldrin PTA

May 31 – 6^th grade trip to Enchanted Castle

June 1 – No School

June 4 – 6^th grade Rite of Passage @ 1:00 p.m. (last day for kindergarten and EC)

June 5 – Last Day of School for students in 1^st – 6^th grade – students dismissed at 10:40 a.m.

Announcer 5-14-12

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Barnse and Noble Bookfair Flyer with Vouchers

Fuddruckers Flyer

As you know, we started our spring MAP testing yesterday. The children have been working so hard this year and we are confident you will see much growth from your child’s Fall RIT score. Please make sure that your child has a good breakfast and gets plenty of rest. As I have mentioned before, this has a huge effect on how a child is able to concentrate. It would also be helpful to just let them know to make sure he/she takes his/her time on the test and reads carefully. In the past, we have found children who rush through the test tend to be unable to show us what they truly know. We will be sending home the results as soon as they become available. It typically takes about 4 weeks.

On May 11^th, we will host our annual field day event. In order for this day to go smoothly, we are in need of parent volunteers to help with the event. It is always a lot of fun and especially enlightening to see your child interact with his/her peers. If you can possibly help, we would greatly appreciate it. You will find information about how to contact Mrs. Leam in the attached Aldrin Announcer.

Also, if you have not already done so, we are in need of your registration for the 2012/13 school year. At this point, we are assuming your child will not be attending next year if you have not returned the registration. It is imperative that we have this information in order to make sure we place your child on a class list for the upcoming school year. Please see the Announcer for additional information.

Enjoy your day and I hope you stay dry!

 Sincerely,

 Mary Botterman

Announcer 4-24-12

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 We are excited that next week will kick off our Multi-cultural event at Aldrin School. I would like to send out a HUGE thank you to those of you who have supported this event over the last two weeks. We can’t wait to share the artifacts you sent in for our artifact museum and taste all the delicious foods you so generously offered so we could experience your family’s culture. Our big night event will take place this Wednesday, April 18^th from 6:00-8:00. Please take a look at the Announcer for further details.

MAP testing at Aldrin will begin the week of April 23^rd . The window for MAP testing is three weeks in length. If you know your child will be absent from school during this time period, please let your child’s teacher know so we can plan accordingly. We will be switching things up a bit this time around by having our students test within their classrooms. Our thought is that the familiarity of the environment will put the children more at ease, thus helping them to do their best on the assessment. Please be sure your child has a healthy breakfast and plenty of rest. As you know, this really does help all of us to think clearly. We are very eager to monitor the growth of our students. They have been working so hard day in and day out. We have no doubt they will reach the goals they set earlier in the year.

The Hoffman Estates High School Community Literacy Outreach Barnes & Noble Book Fair is scheduled for April 14th. All proceeds will benefit District 54 literacy programs. To maximize the fundraiser potential they have also coordinated with Fuddruckers for a Books and Burgers fundraiser on the same day. If you are unable to make it, the Barnes & Noble Book Fair is good for online purchases, just put in the Book Fair ID when checking out. Here is the website with more information: http://www.hehs.d211.org/ . Please consider supporting our schools by attending this very worthy event.

The Announcer is full of great information about upcoming events including how you can get involved in helping out at our annual field day event. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give the us a call.

 Upcoming Events:

• · April 13 – Aldrin Pizza Day (cash and carry)
• · April 18 – Multi-Cultural Night – Taste of Aldrin
• · April 23 – MAP window Opens
• · April 25 – Sports Jersey Day
• · April 27 – Reading Recognition Dinner
• · May 2 – ½ Day In-service – 1^st – 6^th dismissed at 11:40 a.m. (no school for kindergarten and Early Childhood)
• · May 11 – MAP Window Closes
• · May 11 – Field Day (Volunteers Needed- See Announcer)

Mary Botterman

Announcer 4-10-12

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It is time again for our bi-annual tradition here at Aldrin School, Multicultural Week, our celebration of the diversity that exists in our community. Over the next several weeks each classroom concentrates on learning about one of the ethnic cultures that are represented in our school. This learning then culminates in a week of celebration. This year’s celebration will take place the week of April 16^th- 20^th, with Family Night and the Taste of Aldrin scheduled for Wednesday, April 18^th. There will be separate dinner seatings at 6:00 pm and 7:00pm. You must have a reservation to enter the Taste of Aldrin. No tickets will be issued the evening of the Taste (see website for reservation form). Of course, you may attend Family Night without going to the Taste. If you have any questions about this event, please contact Mrs. Haack at 847-357-5400.  For further information, please check out the Food Donation and Taste of Aldrin reservation form.

MULTICULTURAL CELEBRATION

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful stretch of weather. It has been warm in the building; however, our air conditioning is now up in running to help cool it down.

I wanted to remind you about our Culver’s Family Fun Night that is occurring tomorrow, March 22^nd. This is a quick and easy way to support our PTA. The proceeds from this event help support the many wonderful programs our PTA offers to your child. All you need to do is to go to Culvers on Wise Road between the hours of 4:00p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and enjoy taking your family out to dinner. We are excited to say Culvers has elicited a number of staff members to be there to greet your family. The following is a quick line-up of which staff members are able to join in on the fun:

4:00-4:30 – Mrs. Kuczynski, Ms. Urban, Mr. Cunningham, Mrs. Mellicker, Mrs. Foley and Mrs. Klepper

4:30-5:00 – Ms. Ryan, Ms. Koncel and Mrs. Brown

5:00-5:30 – Mrs. Homp, Mrs. Botterman and Mrs. Haack

5:30-6:00 – Mrs. Shawala and Mr. Shawala

Attached you will find the most recent edition of the Aldrin Announcer along with information about a summer tech camp. We have also included information about an upcoming Recycling Event. Please take an opportunity to read through the information so you are up to date on the upcoming events.

Finally, spring break officially begins at 3:00 this Friday, March 24^th. We hope you enjoy the week with your children and that the weather remains as beautiful as it has been. School resumes on Monday, April 2^nd.

 Fondly,

Mary Botterman

Announcer 3-19-12

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I hope you are enjoying the warmer temperatures. We are thrilled. It is great to be able to take the children outside to burn off a little extra energy after they complete an ISAT test.

Speaking of ISAT, I wanted to thank you for making sure your child is well rested and fed prior to coming to school. It really does make a huge difference in his/her attitude. We have had a few issues the last few days with children arriving late to school. If your child is not here on time, it does have a negative effect on him/her. One issue is that the child will not be able to enter his/her room if testing has already started; therefore, he/she will need to take a make-up test in a different learning environment. Also, when a child arrives late to school, the entire day feels rushed. The child comes into school frazzled and worried about coming in after the rest of the class. . Please double check your alarm clocks to make sure you have enough time to get your child fed and to school on time.

Finally, you will be receiving report cards in your child’s backpack today. Mrs. Haack and I really enjoy reading them and seeing how well the children are doing. Please celebrate the successes with your child and discuss goals for the 3^rd trimester. Having your input means so much to your child. As always, thanks for your on-going support!

Upcoming Dates:

March 8^th – Hot Dog Day – Cash and Carry

March 13^th – Birthday Books from PTA

March 14^th – Celebrate Reading and Writing Event at Aldrin – 5:30-7:00

March 14^th – Fun Food at lunch

March 15th – Market Day Pick-up

March 15^th – School Board Meeting @ 7:00

March 16^th – Aldrin Pizza Day – Cash and Carry

March 16^th – Spirit Wear – Green Day

March 20^th – Primary Election held at Aldrin

March 21^st – Hot Lunch

March 21^st – 6^th grade band concert at Frost @ 7:00 p.m.

March 22^nd – 5^th grade band concert at Frost @ 7:00

March 23^rd – PBIS Celebration

March 23^rd – Spring Break begins @ 3:00 p.m.

April 2^nd –Classes Resume

Have a fabulous day! 

Mary

Announcer 3-5-12

Summer Scholarship Coversheet 2012 (2)

Summer Scholarship Application 2012 (2)

 Just a few quick reminders. Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 23 is our official kindergarten registration day for the 2012-13 school year. I also want to remind you that our annual Winter Carnival will take place this Friday, Feb. 24^th. This is a big event at Aldrin and I have no doubt you and your children will have a wonderful time. Finally, our PBIS Family Bingo night will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28^th. Please see the attached Announcer for the specifics on all of these events.

Have a great evening and we will see you at the Winter Carnival on Friday night.

 Fondly,

Mary Botterman

Announcer 2-21-12

Summer Scholarship Coversheet 2012 (1)

Summer Scholarship Application 2012 (1)

Last night we had our parent multi-grade meeting. It was nice to be able to share the programming for next year and help clarify questions for our parent community. If you were unable to make it, please feel free to contact me if you have questions about it. We are excited about next year, and we have no doubt the change will be very beneficial for all children.

At you know, our PTA throughout the district continuously advocates for what is best for children. PTA is partnering with the Illinois State Board of Education to host several public meetings about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) flexibility waiver. Illinois is applying for a waiver and wants to provide information and gather feedback from parents, general community members and school personnel. One of these meetings will be held in School District 54. The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15, at Addams Junior High School. Attached is the meeting announcement that contains more information. Individuals planning to attend are asked to RSVP by completing the registration form available on the PTA website at www.illinoispta.org.

Our PTA is encouraging parents to attend and to RSVP by Monday, Feb. 13. The direct link to the registration form is: http://www.illinoispta.org/Legislation/WaiverRegistration.pdf

If you determine at the last minute that you will be able to attend but have not registered, you are still welcome to attend the meeting.

Speaking of our PTA, we are still in need of volunteers for our annual Winter Carnival. This is a big event and it can only happen through volunteers like you. Sadly, if we are unable to get enough volunteers, we will be unable to host it for this school year. This is one of the favorite events here at Aldrin; therefore, it would be wonderful if you could help out on February 24 to make this event a reality. Please read the Announcer for details on how you can help.

Finally, please be sure to take a look at the attachment about the summer scholarships. This is a great opportunity to get your child involved in summer during the summer months. Please consider filling it out and sending it into the STC council.

Upcoming Events:

Feb. 14 – Valentine’s Day Parties – 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. (Spirit Wear – Red and Pink Day)

Feb. 15 – PTA Meeting @ 12:15 in the Aldrin Lounge

Feb. 15 – Fun Food Day

Feb. 16 – Market Day Pick-up

Feb. 16 – School Board Meeting @ 7:00 at the District Office (Aldrin to be recognized for earning the Academic Excellence Award through the state)

Feb. 17 – Aldrin Pizza Day – Cash and Carry

Feb. 17 – Foundation Mardi Gras Night at the Stonegate

Feb. 20 – No School in honor of Presidents’ Day

Feb. 22 – Fine Arts Extravaganza @ 6:30 p.m. (highlighting 3^rd and 4^th graders)

Feb. 23 – Kindergarten Registration (See the Announcer for specific times)

Feb. 24 – Winter Carnival – Volunteers needed

Feb. 24 – end of 2^nd Trimester

Feb. 28 – PBIS Family Bingo Night – 6:30 – 7:30

 As always, have a fabulous day and a great weekend with your children.

 Mary Botterman

Announcer 2-6-12

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NCLB-ESEA Meeting Invitation 2-15-12

Summer Scholarship Application 2012

Summer Scholarship Coversheet 2012

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 Aldrin has Soared to a New Height!

We have some thrilling news to share. We recently were honored with an award from the State of Illinois as one of the 2011 recipients of the Academic Excellence Award. This is a first for Aldrin and it is quite the honor. Out of 3, 907 schools in the state, Aldrin was one of 438 who reached the level to earn this award. If my math is correct, we are within the top 11% of the state for this academic achievement.

The Illinois Honor Roll celebrates the accomplishments of Illinois public schools that are providing high quality education for all their students. To achieve this award, schools must meet the following criteria:

• · All schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2010 and 2011.
• · At preschool through eighth grade schools, 90% of students must have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for the three most recent school year.

This morning, our State Superintendent, Christopher Koch, recognized us at a press conference here in District 54 at Collins School. Students, Hezekiah T. and Brooke M., along with Ms. Koncel, Mr. Crouse, Mrs. Haack and myself accepted this award on Aldrin’s behalf. We know that the other twelve schools who earned this distinction join us in celebrating this award with the hard-working students, staff and parent community. It is without a doubt a joint effort to achieve this accomplishment.

Please be sure to notice the new banner which now hangs above the main entrance of our building. We thank each of you for working with us to make Aldrin School a wonderful place to learn.

Fondly,

Mary Botterman

Attached you will find the most recent edition of the Aldrin Announcer.  You will find we are highlighting a number of upcoming events.  Please read to find out more about what’s happening at Aldrin School this month.  Please note, our annual  Celebrate Reading and Writing event will occur on March 14^th at 5:30 p.m.  Enclosed in this edition is more information about how you can go about ordering Bare Books to help support the finished product for this event.   We can’t wait to see what our little authors are able to produce.

Speaking of authors, we are thrilled to be having a published author, Kevin Luthardt, visit our students this coming Friday.  Kevin will be doing two presentations in the morning highlighting how he developed and illustrated the children’s books he has written.  He will then take it one step further in the afternoon by working closely with our 5^th and 6^th grade students on how a writer goes through the writing process.  It should be a great learning experience for all of our students, and we would like to thank the PTA for funding this presentation.  These types of valuable learning opportunities are only made possible through your support of our PTA; therefore, thanks to each of you for supporting the PTA activities and membership drive.

Upcoming Events:

·         Feb. 2 – Hot Dog Day (cash and carry) – still looking for parent volunteers to support this event

·         Feb. 3 – College Shirt Day

·         Feb. 4 – Birthday Books  – PTA sponsored

·         Feb. 8 – Afternoon Institute Day – 1^st – 6^th grade dismissed at 11:40.  (No school for EC, PPP, and kindergarten)

·         Feb. 8 – PTA Roller Skating Party (see Announcer)

·         Feb. 9 – Registration for Parent Paid Preschool for 2012/13 school year (see Announcer)

·         Feb. 14 – Valentine’s Day Parties – PTA sponsored – Pink or Red Spirit Wear Day

·         Feb. 15 – PTA Meeting at Aldrin – 12:15 p.m.

·         Feb. 16 – Market Day Pick-up

·         Feb. 17 – Aldrin Pizza Day – Cash and Carry

·         Feb. 17 – Mardi Gras sponsored by Schaumburg Township Elementary School Foundation

·         Feb. 20 – No School – Presidents’ Day

·         Feb. 22 – Aldrin Fine Arts Extravaganza @ 6:30 p.m.

Have a wonderful evening!

Mary Botterman

Announcer 1-23-12

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