Family Newsletter - 11/4/22

Pennoyer Families, 

We are just 5 days aways from knowing the future of Pennoyer School. November 8 is the last day to vote for the referendum that will provide much needed infrastructure repairs to our school.  I sincerely hope all of our Pennoyer families that are able to vote (and anyone in your household, neighbors, friends) get out and either early vote this weekend or Monday or come out on the November 8th Election Day.   We thank you for your support!

We had a great week at Pennoyer from start to finish!  Halloween celebrations and our parade were a great way to kick off the week on Monday.  In reference to my costume, I had to explain to a lot of students who John Lennon was, and that I wasn't dressed up like a character from Stranger Things.  We had a fun day and our students and staff enjoyed the festivities!  Later in the week on Thursday night, we celebrated at our annual STEAM night with our students, families, and staff.  A special thanks to Mrs. Strecker and Ms. Kopoulos for helping to put this successful event together and to all of the teachers that volunteered to support on the night of the event.  It was amazing to see all of the creative stations and opportunities for our Pennoyer students to explore!  They built things, engineered objects, learned about areas of science, technology, and mathematics, and had real hands on experiences that were so fun to witness.  It was a great way to roll into the end of our week. 

Pennoyer families...don't forget about the exciting new clubs we are offering at Pennoyer in collaboration with the Norridge Park District this year.  Make sure to check out these cool opportunities for our K-8th graders.  The final deadline to register for these clubs is Monday, November 7th, so don't wait!  There is a minimum number of students that must enroll in order to run these clubs, so we hope to get a lot of interest.  HERE is a flyer that provides information on how to sign up, along with the different options in Session 1.  

School Information and Reminders:

Updating Skyward for Grades -  Teachers will do their best to have all current assignments/assessments in Skyward within 1 week of the due date. Larger projects, late assignments and reassessments could be in Skyward within 2 weeks. Our staff will work hard to be consistent with these practices.

Wearing/Bringing Gym Shoes to School - Just a friendly reminder as the weather changes, all students are required to have appropriate gym shoes with them at school every day to participate properly in gym class.  We want to make sure students are safe, able to engage in activities, and the gym floor is preserved.  The easiest thing to do is to make sure all students come to school in some type of gym shoes each day.  When they have to wear boots or something else, please send them with an extra pair of shoes in their backpacks.  Thanks so much!

Want to get involved, volunteer, or have ideas for our school...Check out the PTC Link!

We Celebrate at Pennoyer!

We're so excited to continue our collaboration with Maine South High School and kick off their Internship Program again this year.  We had the high schoolers visit for their first time last week to get things going and they were so excited.  Main South offers a course called Exploring the Teaching Profession.  This class is geared to upper level high school students who are on the career pathway to become teachers.  Using dual credit and curriculum from St. Francis University in Joliet, the students learn about curriculum, classroom management, diverse learners, and professional development.  The students also have a practical with hands on experience with an Internship here at Pennoyer.  This group of eager and inspired students will join us at Pennoyer a couple times a month throughout the school year and work directly with classroom teachers to observe, help, and work with our students.

What’s Around the Corner?

• No School on Monday, November 7th (Parent/Teacher Student Led Conferences) and Tuesday, November 8th (Election Day)
• Daylight Savings Time Ends on Sunday, November 6th - Don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour this weekend!
• Peer Leaders are sponsoring the Pennoyer/Salvation Army - Hat and Glove Drive
• Check out this flier for more information and how to get involved!
• Pennoyer T-Shirt Fundraiser to Support Refugees
• Check out this flier for more information.  These will be handed out during Conferences as well.
• 8th grade Krispy Kreme fundraiser - Check out this Cool Flier!
• PTC Pennoyer Domino's Pizza Fundraiser - See flyer sent home this week.  Please return all orders by Tuesday, November 15th
• Fall Parent Teacher Conferences on Monday, November 7th 
• HERE is a link to all of the sign ups if you're still interested.  Please sign up before 10pm on November 6th if you'd like to set up a conference.  Remember these are Student Led Conferences for the K-8th graders, so make sure they attend with you.  Also, our PreK-8th grade will have 15 minute time slots to sign up for, while 6th-8th will have 10 minute time slots to accommodate families who may want to see multiple teachers. 

Sincerely,

Adam

Pennoyer Principal

agreenberg@pennoyerschool.org