We hope everyone is having a wonderful winter break and that you have a very happy new year!  

*Remember students return to school on Monday, Jan. 4.  See you then!*

Students in grades K-6 created show pieces for the Skinner North Art Show, which was this evening, Dec. 16.  Student work was showcased in matted frames and showed their creative sides.  Thanks to all our parent volunteers and to Ms. Bradley for all their work in organizing this show.   What a great way to show student talents!

Today your child will be bringing home individualized PARCC scores. Please see the attached letter (also included in the envelopes) for more details.

Congrats to our students, staff and families for your dedication and efforts around PARCC last year. 

We scored #2 overall in the state (behind Edison Gifted), #1 in Math and #4 in Literacy.

On Friday, December 11, Skinner North hosted our annual Science Fair.  Thanks so much to Ms. Kleinertz for all her efforts in organizing the event.  

The 2015 Skinner North School Science Fair was a huge success! The judges were impressed by the enthusiasm our students have for science and the pride they took in their work. Our students showcased their scientific skills as well as their ability to convey information through oral and written presentations. 

This year, students had the opportunity to share their work with fellow Skinner North students during classroom visits. It was a treat to watch students from different grade levels learning from each other! Congratulations to all science fair participants and to the 4 students who will be moving on to Regionals in January!  

Congratulations to our Regional Qualifiers.  Their names are listed below.  
7th/8th grade
1st Anagha- The Effect of Melatonin on Cancer Cells
2nd- Julie- Freezing Point Depression- The Meltdown
3rd- Madison- Turning Heat into Electricity

6th grade
1st- Roshni- Impact of Ambient Temperature on Solar Panel

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On December 5, two Skinner North Lego Robotics teams competed at the regional competition at the Chicago Math and Science Academy and did outstanding.  The overall theme this year for the First Lego League competition is "Trash Trek" with a focus on recycling.

The Purple Team won first place in the overall competition and will be going to the state competition on January 16!!!   They also won the award for robot design.

The Gold Team won the award for their presentation.
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As a school, they won more awards than any other school.  That is impressive!  Well done Lego Robotics teams.  

Many thanks also to coaches Dave Garcia, George Thiruvathakal and the other coaches for the many hours  they worked with the kids to prepare them.

Students were able to participate in the Hour of Code this week.  Students were able to practice computer programming skills during this time.  Students had fun while using logical reasoning to create code.  

"The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 40 languages. No experience needed. Ages 4 to 104."  https://hourofcode.com/us

For more opportunities for students, go to studio.code.org.

​Happy Coding!!!

Congratulations to the 7th and 8th grade students who defended their inquiry-based math projects during Math Circles of Chicago's QED: Chicago's Youth Math Symposium on Saturday at Walter Payton College Prep!  Students chose or created an open-ended math problem to investigate over the past few months and worked hard at developing a solution.  The project placed emphasis on perseverance, curiosity, mathematical reasoning, and clear written, visual, and verbal communication.  As students investigated patterns and attempted to create generalizations, their work led to further questions to investigate in the true spirit of problem solving.  Students submitted written essays and presentation boards which deeply communicating their mathematical thinking and presented their ideas to judges who provided constructive feedback and ideas for next steps. 

Skinner North had a strong turn out and was recognized as being one of four schools who contributed the highest number of student entries.  Students who attended also got to listen lecturer, Dr. Emily Peters from Loyola University, give an interesting presentation on Knot Theory.

These students received the following recognition at the event:

Successful Mathematics Research:  Sadrish and Kadir
Distinguished Mathematics Research:  Fannie, Zoe, and Chelsea
Highly Distinguished Mathematics Research:  Anagha, Madison, Marvin, Isaac, and Julie


Here is a link, to Math Circles of Chicago, which may be of interest to many parents and students:  https://mathcirclesofchicago.org/

This year, the Skinner North Student Council was able to vote on our spirit day themes (see below).  Spirit week starts Monday, Dec. 14 and goes to Friday, Dec. 18.  It serves as an opportunity to celebrate our school community.  

Monday- Pajama Day
Tuesday - Sports Day
Wednesday - Crazy Hair Day
Thursday - Dress Identical Day/Dress Like Your Friends Day
Friday - School Spirit Day