Pennoyer Family Newsletter - 3/1/24

Pennoyer Families,

I can't believe it's March 1st today!  We are certainly rolling along at Pennoyer with this crazy weather we've been having lately, and students and staff are looking forward to beginning our final Trimester 3.  This past week was all about Pennoyer Spirit and celebrating all of the amazing things our students and staff do as part of our learning community.  Pajama day was a real hit, as well as our first hotdog lunch, and our Spirit Assembly with so many incredible surprises, including our school band performing at one of these assemblies for the first time ever!

If you haven't had a chance yet, please take the time as parents/guardians,  to take the parent portion of the Illinois 5 Essentials survey. Your participation in this parent portion of the survey is truly important and will help us reflect on family perception of the Pennoyer experience. We need at least 20% of our parents to participate in this in order to get the results and use them, so please take a few minutes to complete the survey. Your feedback will certainly help guide our continued growth and improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.  We had such a good percentage of our parents take this survey last year and it was very usual data that informed us. Thanks so much for your time and support with this!

 
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be open through March 29, 2024. To take the parent survey please visit http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/ and select the appropriate survey to begin.  Please make sure to put in “Cook” as the county and start typing in and select Pennoyer Elem School in the appropriate box when it pops up.

Finally, we've been working hard as a staff to fully support all of our students with their behaviors and providing them with tools, skills, and feedback to grow, mature, and be successful with expectations in and out of the classroom.  HERE is a presentation we shared with all grade levels this past week.  Our new Behavior Flow chart will go into effect this coming week to start the 3rd Trimester on Monday, March 4th.  We couldn't do all of this without your support as parents/guardians, so thanks for your partnership in raising our students to be the best they can be, both in our school and community.  We're certainly in this together, and the teamwork between Pennoyer and our families is crucial for the success of all of our students.

School Information and Reminders:

*Just another reminder about our first construction phase at Pennoyer that will be starting in after this coming week.  We will be sharing a student presentation with all of the grade levels next week about some of the changes during construction with not only arrival/dismissal time, but also moving around the school, and lunch/recess as well.  I plan on sharing that presentation with all of our families next Friday so you can see it too.  The construction fencing will go up the week of March 11th, so below shows our new procedures for arrival and dismissal time each day starting on that Monday, March 11th.  We don't anticpate this will disrupt the flow of traffic and our current process that is already in place too much.  The key takeaways are...

1. ONLY the EAST gate will be open during arrival and dismissal time each day.

2.  Flow of traffic will continue in the same manner as it always has, but we'll be having the car line pull up a littler further to the district office at drop off and pick up times so we can accommodate families and students having to walk down the sidewalk in front of the school to and from the EAST gate.

3.  We'll have some staff spaced along the sidewalk path to help students along and extra staff by the EAST gate to support that area and arrival/dismissal.

4.  We'll be sharing this with our students as it gets closer so they know the updated arrival/dismissal process and where they're lining up

K and 1st grade line up on the East side area of Pennoyer and enter through K doors

2nd, 7th, and 8th enter through far doors on East side of the building in the back

3rd-6th grade enter through middle doors in the back of the building

Preschool area will remain the same

5.  Families can certainly choose to park at the Salvation Army for arrival/dismissal time if they wish and think it's closer and more convenient.  *(PLEASE just remember, it's very important that you park in actual spaces in the Salvation Army parking lot for safety concerns.  Please do not pull up and park in their circle drive or near the sidewalk at the front of the building...thanks so much!)

Please reach out to Principal Adam Greenberg with any questions or concerns.  Thanks for your patience, understanding, and flexibility with these minor adjustments as we start our exciting construction projects.

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

We Celebrate at Pennoyer!

We have an amazing celebration to share this week!!!  Our very own Reading Specialist, Melissa Tronco, was nominated for the prestigious Chicago Bears Classroom Legend award, and she was 1 of only 10 teachers in the entire state that was chosen for this honor during the Bears off season!  This is such an amazing accomplishment and certainly well earned.  Mrs. Tronco is truly a pillar of our school and community that lives and breathes Pennoyer Pride.  She's an amazing advocate for students, staff, and families, and goes above and beyond in everything she does.  As our only Reading Specialist, Mrs. Tronco takes the lead on literacy interventions for all of our students and helps to support their learning in and out of the classroom.  Mrs. Tronco is also both our ELA and MTSS Department Chair, helps to run the successful Travel Club with Mrs. Kula, runs our Literacy Night, is the Camp Edwards Director for 5th graders, a mentor to our new teachers, and so much more!  Mrs. Tronco was also an integral part of our success with passing our referendums last year as a teacher and community leader in this effort every step of the way!  In addition, she also happens to be one of the biggest Chicago Bears fans I know, so this award couldn't be more fitting.  We surprised Mrs. Tronco this past Thursday at our PBIS Trimester 2 Spirit Assembly, and it was an awesome sight!!!  For this special honor, Mrs. Tronco was awarded $1000 for her programming and students, custom Chicago Bears swag, which included an official jersey and football, and tickets to the NFL draft party at Soldiers Field in April.  Last, but certainly not least, she had some exciting visitors at our assembly, which included:  Mrs. Tronco's family, the official Bears mascot, Staley Da Bear, Chairman and owner George McCasksy, and public relations coordinators of the Chicago Bears.  They were so impressed with her accomplishments and our school as a whole.  Our students were freaking out when they entered the gym, and I know it's a day they'll never forget as well.  Their energy was amazing!!!

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO HERE TO SEE THE SURPRISE!

What’s Around the Corner?

• IAR (Illinois Assessment for Readiness) state testing in Reading, Writing, and Math will begin for all 3rd-8th graders at Pennoyer next week on Tuesday, March 5th.  We'll continue testing through the week of March 11th.  Please make sure you get your student(s) to school on time starting March 5th, with a good night's rest, charged iPad, and supplies they will need during and after testing is completed each day such as working headphones, etc.  Reach out to your student's teacher with anymore specific questions.

• It's the end of Trimester 2 today, and that means official final grades/comments will be made available for students and families to see next Friday, March 8th, after 4pm.

• We're super excited to announce the 1st Annual Pennoyer 3 on 3 March Madness Basketball Tournament event coming up on Friday, March 15th for any Pennoyer 3rd-8th graders interested!  This was an idea that came out of our Principal's Crew this year, and I can't wait to make this happen.  Packets were sent home with all 3rd-8th graders, but HERE is a flyer with some information, HERE is the Team Form that should be handed in with money, and HERE are the rules.  Please have these in NO LATER than Friday, March 8th next week if students want to be a part of this special event.  We need to have multiple teams at each grade level and boys/girls divisions in order to play games, so help promote this with your children and get them signed up if they're interested.  Proceeds will go to support the American Cancer Society. Any questions, please reach out to Principal Adam Greenberg.

• Pennoyer Fundraiser on Friday, March 8th - Panda Express Giveback.  Click HERE for more information and to support!

• Check out the Ridgewood High School Winter Newsletter HERE!

• Young Rembrandts Spring Session is Coming to Pennoyer!  Click HERE for more information.

Sincerely,

Adam

Pennoyer Principal

agreenberg@pennoyerschool.org