ISSUE: 008 / APRIL YEAR: 2022
HICKORY BEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL I don’t need a four-leaf clover to make me feel lucky. I am blessed everyday that I have the privilege to be the Principal at Hickory Bend School. Our students and staff show up every day and give 110% of their best effort to grow and do great things. Around this time of year, many educators express feelings of not only fatigue but also “cabin-fever”: It’s been a long seven months already and the weather is taking too long to break! We all need a break. Still, it’s important to keep in mind there is still work to be done for the sake of our future. As they say, “It gets Greater Later!” But you have to put in the work NOW in order to get there. Our All-Stars have tapped into what it means to be a community of learners, teammates, and champions. By pushing through the fatigue and working to motivate and encourage each other, we are not only #Winning, but we are shaping our future adding a bit of brightness to it everyday.
KEEP GOING, ALL-STARS. MAY THE ROAD RISE TO MEET YOU… Ronisha Dubose | Principal
TECHNOLOGY HELPLINE If your child is having any technology problems connecting to their teacher’s Google Classroom, please contact our help desk at (708) 300-3553 or email our help desk: helpdesk@brookwood167.org What is ClassDojo? Reporting of Absence(s): Parents must call the school to report their child absent before 8:30 a.m. The number for reporting absences is (708) 758-5190. Official attendance will be reported every morning at 9:00 a.m. If your child joins a teacher’s classroom late, they will be marked tardy in PowerSchool, and you will be notified through the Principal’s ClassDojo.
PLEASE JOIN OUR CLASSDOJO’S AND STAY INFORMED! It is important that you sign up for the Principal’s Class Dojo. I post important information such as if a bus is running late, important reminders regarding picture day, graduation information and other important topics. Please sign up today! ClassDojo is actively used in 90% of U.S. K-8 schools.
child’s feedback, and can message directly with teachers and school leaders. Please join my ClassDojo so you can stay informed on what is happening at Hickory Bend School. If you would like to join, please accept the invitation that we emailed to you or texted you, or contact the school at (708) 7584520, email, rdubose@brookwood167. org. All you will need to provide is your cell phone number or email address. Get Involved and STAY INFORMED!
ClassDojo is a free app that helps build amazing classroom and school communities. Teachers give feedback to students for any skill, like “Working Hard” and “Being Curious.” From the mobile app, parents view their
ANTI-BULLY MONTHLY ACTIVITY | ODD SOCK DAY To encourage kindness in our community, we focused on our differences as a way to highlight each person’s valuable uniqueness. Odd Sock Day was a fun way to say we are all different and that is quite alright! There is strength in our diversity, and we are awesome when we can bring it all together.
VISION Our
overall
Vision
becoming lifelong learners and decision makers.
is
to
improve the achievement of all students, regardless of
•
or
ability
levels
(disabilities). We share the accountability of
student
achievement
throughout the school. We
•
believe in using researchbased practices to achieve our goals. We promote school and community involvement because we believe that these
•
partnerships help us meet the needs of all of our students.
We are Committed to: •
to state-of-the-art technology. •
The school system
confidence, and
should teach students to
academic success by
think critically enabling
being interested and
them to become
involved in their overall
contributing citizens in
development.
our global society.
All students are unique
POWERSCHOOL
environment with access
Families shape their children’s motivation,
In educating our children in a safe and nurturing
We Believe:
race, socio-economic status, gender,
•
•
In continuous
All Brookwood teachers use an online grading system
and should be challenged
improvement in all
to the highest level of
aspects of the school
called “PowerSchool” that
academic and artistic
system to foster a
they update every Thursday.
excellence.
culture of excellence,
In the importance of
accountability and
staff development
integrity.
check your child’s progress
In responsible
regularly. This program is
opportunities based
•
on best practices and
stewardship of financial
educational research.
and physical resources.
Providing students with
We
encourage
completely
you
to
confidential;
therefore, you will need an access username and
highly qualified teachers
password to see your child’s •
Providing our staff
progress. If you need your
with professional
username and/or password,
development
please contact the school
MISSION
office at (708) 758-4520. There is a PowerSchool app
Brookwood School District 167,
in
partnership
available for your cellular
with
parents and community, will
phone that makes it easy for
create a learning environment
parents to stay updated on
in which all students excel at
their child’s progress.
We make a COMMITMENT to stand against bullying.
ANTI-BULLY PLEDGE...
We will treat others with RESPECT and KINDNESS. We will have the COMPASSION to not be a bully. We will have the COURAGE to not be a bystander. It is our RESPONSIBILITY to help others and to report bullying.
BEDTIME STORY NIGHT Encouraging the joy of reading with our children NOW is key to creating lifelong learners and readers. An effective bedtime routine is also key to keeping our children mentally healthy and ready to face the day upon their awakening. Complete with a pajamas, stuffed-animals, a Principal’s lullaby and book giveaways, our Bedtime Story Night was an event to be remembered.
EXTRA-CURRICCULAR ACTIVITIES 3RD/4TH GRADE CHOIR
STUDY ISLAND CLUB
BAND SPIRIT SQUAD ART CLUB VIOLIN CLUB
To keep our students engaged in activities that challenge their minds and bodies, we offer a variety of activities before and after-school.
UPCOMING EVENTS 1st, April Report Card Distribution 6th, April B.P.A.C. Game Night, 6:00 p.m. @ Hickory Bend 7th, April Fine Arts Night, 6:00 p.m. @ Hickory Bend 8th, April Pizza With The Principal 14th, April PBIS Glow Party (Winners Only!) 15th-22nd, April Spring Break... ENJOY! 29th, April STEM Arcade Day (during school, students only)
QUOTE OF THE MONTH...
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.” -Maya Angelou
PI DAY | 3.14 3/14 was a day to celebrate the mathematical constant Pi (π)... while throwing a cream-pie! Students spent their hard earned PBIS points to purchase a pie to throw in the face of their FAVORITE staff member.
WHAT FUN!
4TH GRADE TILE PROJECT Each year the 4th grade class completes the Tile Project. Working as a team, students design and paint a ceiling tile to place on the ceiling of Hickory Bend. We celebrate our 4th graders for completing this time-honored, rite of passage. The tiles will remain in place as long as the ceiling is in place! Thank you, 4th graders, for leaving such a beautiful mark on our school, and in our hearts.
3RD GRADERS TAKING THE LEAD Our 3rd Grader All-Stars met up with Kindergarteners and became reading buddies for several weeks. They spent some time getting to know one another by playing some fun “Minute to Win It” games! This year’s 3rd Grade Class will be next year’s leading gradelevel. Congratulations on accepting the challenge to be a model and a buddy to our younger students.
IAR | ILLINOIS ASSESSMENT OF READINESS The Illinois Assessment of Readiness is the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois students in public school districts. The IAR assesses the New Illinois Learning Standards, which incorporate Common Core Standards and is administered in English Language Arts and Mathematics. So, the question was, “Is Hickory Bend ready for the IAR?” You can bet your bottom dollar! Test anxiety had no place at Hickory Bend. After months of acquiring not only the skills needed to crush the test, but the confidence to face the test head on. Our 3rd and 4th graders felt positive vibes of support from the entire school during our Pep Rally the day before testing began. More support was felt through the posters that lined the halls, created by the 2nd graders. In addition, 3rd Graders planned, designed and played their own math games during IAR week. Titles like Fly Pie and Escape the Math Board kept the students sharp on their math skills and allowed them to have some fun during the process, too!
We are so proud of All-Stars for accepting the challenge and conquering the IAR.
CHOIR PERFORMS AT CHICAGO WOLVES GAME What an exciting day for the Hickory Bend Sensational Singers! Joined by 12 other choirs from the Chicagoland area, our students’ voices filled the All-State Arena with song to start the game. Free Chicago Wolves hats were given as a token of appreciation for bringing the gift of music to the hockey game. There were smiles all around as the children enjoyed sweet or cheesy treats from the concession stands, danced to music from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2k and today, and spent a fun Sunday afternoon with fellow choir members.
Many thanks to our parent chaperones and Mrs. Harry for being of great assistance! We couldn’t have done it without you! Way to sing your hearts out AND display awesome behavior, All-Stars! Thanks Mrs. Westerfield for continuing to bring amazing opportunities to our students.
FAMILY MATH NIGHT Math and Fun should be synonymous terms! Fun was had by all families who showed up and experienced Math games in all its awesomeness. A deck of cards, a pair of dice, a bag of skittles, and a paper airplane… sounds like Math to me!
PAPER TUTORING PROGRAM STARTS We are really excited to tell you about our new tutoring services, provided by Paper.
Paper is a secure, online tutoring service that provides students with unlimited, 24/7 academic support. Whether they’re stuck on homework, studying for a test, or need someone to read and make suggestions to their essays, there will always be experts available online to assist students in over 200 subjects and more than 4 languages. Paper tutors have been specially trained to conduct expert, academic support in a secure, chatbased platform. With a commitment to helping students learn, they’ll never give students answers, but rather interact with them in an encouraging tone to lead them forward. This is a free service that we’re providing, so students are encouraged to use it as much as they need, whenever they need. Our teachers also have accounts and will be able to review all student activity to see what they’re working on and provide more targeted instruction as needed. If you’d like to learn more about Paper you can sign up for a Paper hosted Parent Info Session, available in both English and Spanish via the following link: https://pages.paper.co/ webinars-for-parents-and-guardians. Or if you’d like to speak to a member of the Paper team directly, you can reach them at parents@paper.co. To see Paper and the help it offers firsthand, we encourage you to login with your students. To get started, simply visit Paper’s student login page (https://app.paper.co/login/student) type your school’s name, and log in via Clever using your school credentials.
WHEN TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME If My Child is Sick, When Should I Keep Them Home? If a child has any symptom listed below, they should stay home in the morning or go home if these symptoms first occur at school. When a child can return to school is based on the specific symptom they have and whether it’s considered a COVID-19 symptom: • Fever of 100.4 or higher • New onset of moderate to severe headache • Shortness of breath, new cough, sore throat • Nausea Vomiting, Diarrhea • Abdominal pain from unknown cause • New congestion/runny nose • New loss of sense of taste or smell • Fatigue from unknown cause • Muscle or body aches If your child has been in close contact with someone with a known or suspected case of COVID-19 within the last fourteen (14) days. (Close contact is defined as someone who was within six (6) feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of fifteen (15) minutes or more over a twenty-four (24) hour period, starting from two (2) days before illness onset.) If you answer “YES” to any of the above, your child MUST stay home! Please call the school to report your child’s absence.
+1 708-758-4520 +1 708-758-0364 www.brookwood167.org
600 E. 191st Place Glenwod, IL 60425
VISITORS If you need to come into the school for any reason, for safety reasons, you will be required to wear a mask, and you will need to have a current Driver’s License that will be checked in our Raptor Security System. Raptor® provides a line of sight as to who is always in our school. The system provides school and districtwide reporting for all visitors, volunteers, and contractors that have signed in/out of our buildings.
This is
important for safety reasons.
HICKORY BEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT SAFETY VEHICLE TRAFFIC FLOW IN THE OVERFLOW PARKING LOT Thank you for the attention you have all given to ensuring safety in the parking lots. However, despite our best efforts, we have still suffered a number of “close calls” due to both speed and traffic flow. In order to increase safety, the following is being asked of all vehicular traffic. If you plan to park your vehicle… • Please use the overflow parking lot that is shared with the school and the church. • Please ENTER the shared parking lot from the NORTH (nearest the stoplight), and EXIT the shared parking lot from the SOUTH (near 192nd street). This will encourage one-way traffic in and out of the shared parking lot. If you plan to remain in your vehicle to dropoff/pick up your student… • Please enter and exit the parking area
•
•
through the north entrance (nearest the stoplight). Please adhere to the cone patterns and do not drive around a vehicle that is slightly delayed. Please do not drive between cones.
At All Times… • Please travel at slow speeds. • Please obey the direction of the staff.
Thank You for Your Cooperation!