While we were not able to see you "up and down" the hallways on Wednesday during report card pick-up, it was great to hear that conferences went well. We appreciate you taking the time to attend virtually. Hard copies of report cards were sent from the District office. You should expect those in the coming days, if you have not already received them.
This week will be a short one for our students. School is only in session on Monday and Tuesday, as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th. Please have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving break.
During this week, we will be celebrating the following November Spirit Days:
Monday, November 23rd - Turkey Trot - We encourage students to put on their gym shoes and go for a walk/run during lunch/recess with a parent or parent permission. Make It A Family Event!
Tuesday, November 24th - Be Thankful and Stop, Drop, and Draw - Students are asked to create and/or wear a headpiece (hat, headband, etc.,) that represents being thankful to them. Time will be taken during the day to bring this activity to life.
Please take a moment to check out all of the important updates below: (1) Baby Magnuson Has Arrived!; (2) FIIF Forms; (3) Virtual Spelling Bee Is Here!; (4) Diversity Committee News.
Have a great one.
Derrick
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Baby Magnuson Has Arrived!: Kyle and Katie are excited to introduce Abigail "Abbie" Mae Magnuson. She was born November 18, 2020 at 4:28 pm, weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces. Everyone is doing well.
In an effort to make sure that Katie gets rest and focuses on her family, please reach to the following staff members below for assistance:
Mr. Kimbrough - General (any)
Ms. Morales - Attendance
Ms. Jacobson - Social Emotional Learning
Ms. Ritchey - Diverse Learner questions or concerns
Mr. Popowich - After school programming and sports
Mr. Santillan - Technology related questions
Office Contacts - http://www.skinnernorth.org/office-contact-information.html
Teacher Contacts - http://www.skinnernorth.org/teacher-contacts.html
Family Income Information Form (FIIF): Please assist us in reaching 100% of forms being completed and returned to the school. Currently, we are at 33% and would love to have all families included in our count. This form plays a major part in calculating our school funding. All it takes is completing the household information (you do not have to list your income). The deadline for this has been extended to December 18th. Forms can be dropped off at school, mailed, or sent electronically to our clerk, Gloria at gqmorales@cps.edu. Please take a moment to fill out the form, which is attached.
Virtual Spelling Bee is Here! (Testing Window December 1st - 18th):
Dear Parents,
This year, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has developed an online testing platform that will allow Skinner North to host a school spelling bee program.
In place of our traditional spelling bee program, we will hold one level of competition through online spelling and vocabulary tests. The first step to spelling bee participation is for you to register for the Scripps National Spelling Bee's online testing platform by visiting https://online-test.spellingbee.com.
I encourage you to watch this video tutorial that will walk you through the registration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htXzjpnMijc
Once you have registered, I will be able to assign the test to your child starting on December 1st through December 18th. Students can use any device with a web browser, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. The school champion will be determined after the test taking window closes.
Our school champion will then move on to represent Skinner North in the Chicago Public Schools regional spelling bee program, which also may include online tests in lieu of in-person spelling bee events.
The first step to spelling bee participation is to register at:online-test.spellingbee.com.
Please register at your earliest convenience as I will begin assigning tests to students on 12/1. If you have already registered in the online testing platform for another child, you can log in to your account and add an additional child to that same parent account. There is no need to register a different email address for each child in your household.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about our school spelling bee program. I look forward to having your child compete to represent our school! Also, the study lists are attached to this message.
Sincerely,
M. Elaine Cox
6th Grade Literacy-Social Studies-Writing Teacher
mecox1@cps.edu
From the Diversity Committee:
We soon will begin discussion groups on the podcast, "Nice White Parents." We would love for this to be an opportunity to create some connections among caregivers and staff while opening up an important thread of discussion. Please fill in this 1-minute survey to tell us your interest and availability. We are excited to hear from you!
Background on the Podcast (from The NY Times Discussion Guide):
"The podcast “Nice White Parents” largely focuses on the story of one Brooklyn middle school that opened in 1968 — and how white parents have influenced the trajectory of this school over and over, even when their children didn’t attend it. But the issues the podcast raises via this one case study make it a meaningful opportunity to explore the complicated realities of race, privilege and power across all American schools."