Pennoyer Families,
Happy 2024! I hope you all had a good break, holiday season, and New Year. I was so excited to welcome students and staff back this past week, and there was a lot of positive energy through the Pennoyer hallways and classrooms. We have so much to look forward to in this coming year, and I couldn't be more proud to be your principal and be a part of it all.
We certainly had a wild end of our week with the weather. Thanks for your support, patience, and understanding as we navigated through our E Learning day. I hope many of our students were able to get something out of it. I know our staff worked tirelessly to put things into place and be supportive.
Looking ahead to next week and beyond, it's certainly going to be cold, and I'm sure we'll have more snow in the forecast. That being said, the following are some important reminders to keep our students safe and our systems working effectively. To begin with, per our parent/student handbook, if K-5th grade (only) would like to play in the snow during recess times, students must have proper winter gear, which includes hats, gloves, and snow boots. In addition, we ask that everyone adheres to our dismissal procedures to keep students safe and our traffic moving. For pick up time, only pre-school families should be using the circle drive in front of the main entrance of the school. All other families should continue to use the Salvation Army lot or driving down Foster in a line through our West Gate and parking lot to pick up students. This is the safest flow of traffic we need everyone to support, even when it's cold and snowing outside. On Wednesday's in particular, we need ONLY preschool parents to pull all the way up to the District Office doors in a single line of cars. If more space is needed, you can certainly double up and create a new line of cars in another row, but please don't block the crosswalk area for students to pass safely across our front Pennoyer parking lot.
Again, I really appreciate everyone's support, patience, and understanding as we navigate these winter months and weather. As always, I will be out to help direct things as much as possible.
School Information and Reminders:
*Please make sure to dress your students appropriately for school each day during these cold months. We will be outside for arrival time and all recess times when the temperature is above 15 degrees, so wearing coats, hats, and gloves are really important in these winter months to keep kids safe and comfortable. Thanks for your support!
Want to get involved, volunteer, or have ideas for our school...Check out the PTC Link!
We Celebrate at Pennoyer!
For our first celebration of 2024, I'd like to highlight our new middle school math teacher this year, Mrs. Carin Chrastka! I've had numerous opportunities to pop into Mrs. Chrastka's classroom and witness firsthand so many of the amazing things she's doing to engage our students at the highest levels. She is passionate, dedicated, thoughtful, and so creative when it comes to managing the curriculum and supporting all of her students. Mrs. Chrastka puts students at the center of their learning and dynamically moves through lessons to keep students focused and truly being a part of their own learning experience. She has effective systems in place to challenge students and reward them for positive behavior and working hard. One of the coolest things Mrs. Chrastka came up with was a way to leverage some of our brightest math students at Pennoyer and have them support other middle school students. Each week, Mrs. Chrastka has 8th grade Math 2 students coming in and out of her class to peer tutor other middle school students either one on one or in small groups. What a great leadership opportunity she has opened up for many of our students! Mrs. Chrastka is #Pennoyerpride all the way!!!
What’s Around the Corner?
- School is CLOSED on Monday, January 15th in observance of MLK Day.
- Right At School, Pennoyer's trusted provider of after school programs, is accepting new registrations for the rest of the 2023-24 school year. Additionally, families who register by February 9 can save $50 on their first month with Right At School with the code 2024SAVE50. Learn more and register today! HERE is a flyer if you're interested.
- Don't miss out on being part of our 2nd Annual Middle School Dance after Winter Break on Friday, January 26th. Flyers went home to RSVP, but you can click HERE as well. This is for all Pennoyer 6th-8th graders only. We can't wait to celebrate with you!
- Chipotle Pennoyer fundraiser on Wednesday, January 17th. Click HERE for more information!
- Norridge/Harwood Heights Rotary Club Spaghetti Dinner night on Friday, February 2nd. Come be a part of this fun event! Click HERE for more information.
- Vipers Baseball program in Franklin Park. If you're interested, check out this flyer!
- Ridgewood High School Art Expo competition for ALL 5th - 8th graders. Click HERE for more information!
Sincerely,
Adam
Pennoyer Principal
agreenberg@pennoyerschool.org
