Aspen Updates September 16, 2016

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The Hawthorn PTO is sponsoring a 5K Hawthorn Hustle on Saturday, October 15 at 9:00 a.m., rain or shine, at Century Park North in Vernon Hills.  We would love to see a great showing of Hawthorn families there.  Sign up now!  Forms have been sent home and more information can be found on the PTO website.

Mark your calendars now for the next Aspen Family Night on Friday, October 14.  More information will be coming out soon, but you won’t want to miss this great event!

MAP testing is finishing up this week and make-up tests will be given on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

There is an Aspen Family Partnership Council Parent Education meeting on Thursday, September 22 at 7:00 p.m.  Come and learn more about academic programs and educational philosophy, focusing on Choice Theory, from parent/teacher facilitators. The main event presented by this Team is Aspen’s Family University on February 4, 2017 where parents and kids attend programs taught by our principal, teachers and parents.

Friday, September 23 is the birthday breakfast with Mr. Fredricksen for students with birthdays in September.  Look for your invitation soon and RSVP!

Weekend Experience for Academically Talented

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The Accelerated Weekend Experience (AWE) provides academically talented students a full, single weekend to explore an area of study in depth with an expert in the field. Spots are limited. Register now for the October 22 event at Middle School South.

Comité de Padres Bilingües/ Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee

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Nuestra misión este año es: Información es poder para hacer conexiones para  ayudar a la comunidad”

Our Mission is on the following: Information is power to create connections to help the community.

Our First Event/Nuestro Primer Evento

Evento: Jueves 22 de septiembre, 2016: Dual Language School: Tema / Enfoque: Recursos de la comunidad: Nuestro objetivo es crear una feria de recursos para la noche. Nos pondremos en contacto con varias agencias locales para establecer puesto de información / pantallas para nuestra comunidad para explorar. Los recursos podrían incluir las siguientes agencias / organizaciones:

Event: 9/22/16 – Location: Dual Language School – Theme/Focus: Community Resources: Our goal is to create a resource fair for the evening – we have contacted various local agencies to set up informational booth/displays for our Hispanic community to explore. Resources could include the following agencies/organizations:

Please see attached flyer.

Volunteer for PTO Classroom Parties

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Another amazing school year at Aspen is just around the corner!  We hope you will consider volunteering to help at the three PTO-sponsored classroom parties.  Please read this letter for more information and click on this link to sign up.  Sign ups are due by Friday, September 9th.  Please email Robyn Kaufman at robynkaufman24@yahoo.com with any questions.  Looking forward to celebrating a great year!

Orchestra/Band Date Change

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4th Grade South Campus Students – Band & Orchestra Registration & Rental Open House, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, Elementary South cafeteria.

Drop-off and Pick-up

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Thank you to everyone who has been so patient and attentive while dropping off and picking up students at Aspen.  We appreciate your attention and extra caution while driving around the school.

We would like to ask for some help with a couple of items as it relates to drop-off and pick-up.  Most people are using the crosswalk, but we still have a few who are forgetting.  We will continue to remind families to use the crosswalk and to wait for staff to stop traffic before attempting to cross the drop-off line.  We need to keep traffic moving and that may require waiting a minute so that traffic can pull forward before using the cross walk.

For those people dropping off or picking up, please help us keep students safe by only having them exit or enter your car on the curbside.  This helps us to make sure everyone gets in and out of their cars safely.  Also, please remember that we ask parents/guardians to stay in the car while picking-up or dropping-off.  If you feel you need to get out of your car to help your child for any reason, please use one of the parking spots so you may assist them.  We try to keep the curbside moving so that traffic does not back up on Aspen Drive.

We have so many wonderful families who are able to walk to school this time of year.  Many have pets who are well behaved while at school.  However, we have some children who are very uncomfortable around animals and are becoming increasingly anxious because of pets being too close to the front doors of the school.  We would like to ask that families leave their pets at home when picking up students so that all of our children can feel comfortable at school.

Finally, we are asking for those who are picking up students and standing outside the front doors at dismissal to stand in front of the red line, between the parking lot and the red balls. It seems that there is a lot of space to wait for your children, but it gets very crowded once all students are dismissed and we need the space to make sure all students get to the correct car during dismissal.

Thank you for all of your help in making arrival and dismissal as safe and organized as possible.

Back to School/Curriculum Nights

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Aspen’s Back to School/Curriculum Night for students in Kindergarten, First and Second grades will be on Tuesday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. for parents only.  Come and meet your child’s teacher and hear all about what is planned for the year.

Parents with students in grades 3, 4 and 5 are invited to attend the Back to School/Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. These are great evenings to get involved and find out all about your child’s school day.

PTO Store – How Easy is This?!

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The Hawthorn PTO works very hard every day to bring our students extras that the school budgets cannot cover.  Every family is encouraged to join in and support our PTO in whatever way possible.  Here, in one website, are a number of simple ways you can help:

The Hawthorn Dist. 73 PTO Store

Shop in the PTO Store and purchase the Discount Card (save even more $ online), get your Dial (discount for PTO Store purchase), pay for your child’s room parties, support the Teacher Appreciation lunch, or just participate with one donation.

What does the Hawthorn PTO do for you?  Click on the PTO Link for a full run down of what goes on throughout the year.  Then join in and give our students those extras that mean so much.

Reporting a Student Absence

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When reporting an absence, parents have the option to contact Aspen Elementary school office by phone, 847-990-4314, or by email, aspen-attend@hawthorn73.org.  It is not necessary to contact your student’s teacher when reporting an absence.

This information is posted on the left side of the home page, under Important Quick Links.

Successful First Week of School

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What a great first few days of school!  We were so excited to have the smiling faces of students back in the building.  We hope that your child/children have been happy when they have arrived home and excited each morning for another day of school.

Teachers at Aspen have been taking time this week to get to know their students and to build a positive classroom environment.  We have worked hard in related arts classes, PE, lunch and recess to make sure students know the expectations and how we work together to make the school a safe place.

Our school year always begins with an assembly on the first day.  We like to greet each of our students and make sure they know who all of the adults are that will support them at Aspen.  At our assembly this year we challenged all students to find a way to make Aspen a school where all of our students feel like they belong, have friends and are cared for.

As this short week comes to an end, remember that we are here to provide a safe, comfortable, positive environment where students are engaged in meaningful learning.  If you are concerned, have a question, or want to share a comment, please don’t hesitate to contact us at school.

If you have not yet had the chance, please take some time to sign up for our weekly email blast and our Remind text alerting system.

Thank you for helping us to make this first week happy and successful.

Sincerely,

Bill Fredricksen