ISSUE: 005 / JANUARY YEAR: 2022
HICKORY BEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL I pray everyone had a safe, restful, and memorable holiday break. After a few months of going strong and focusing on both academic and social emotional learning, it was time that our All-Stars took a respite to enjoy family and a couple of days to sleep in late! As we enter 2022, this is a perfect time to reinvigorate our sense of Focus and Commitment towards excellence. Our PBIS incentives will continue to be a highlighted reward for our students, both as individuals and collectively as a grade level. Our “Expectation Stations” are due for a second round as a way to remind our students of how to behave in the various areas of the building. Academically, we look forward to benchmark testing that gives us insight as to how our students have progressed and how we can tailor instruction moving forward. Our 3rd graders are looking forward to taking the IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) in the Spring. We are working every angle to ensure our students are indeed ready for this very important state exam. During these brutally cold few weeks in our calendar year, it is important to remind our families that attendance in school is the best way to support learning and growth. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of school. In our district that boils down to about 17-18 days which is only about two (2) days per month! Please, please, please work at all costs to insure your student is in school daily. If you can pull the young ones from their warm beds and get them to school, we are confident that we can take care of the rest. Along with wishes for a “Happy New Year,” I offer our firm commitment to ensuring every student has an equal opportunity to grow at Hickory Bend. 2022 will host some of our BEST days by far. 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. 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
SANTA VISITS When Santa needed some work done on his sleigh, he knew the only place to go for the best mechanics would be Glenwood, Illinois. While his sleigh was in the shop, he stopped by Hickory Bend to take a few photos with our students. How Cool?! Each child had a chance to take an individual photo with Santa as well as a group photo with their classmates. Santa was sure to ask if all of the students had been safe, responsible, and respectful according to our PBIS expectations. As they confirmed good behavior, Santa was sure to put them all on the “Nice List.” Special thank you to Mr. Marvin Martin, Sr. for making sure that Santa had some time with our All-Stars.
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!
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: •
Providing students with highly qualified teachers
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.
We
encourage
completely
you
to
confidential;
therefore, you will need an access username and password to see your child’s
•
Providing our staff
progress. If you need your
with professional
username and/or password,
development
MISSION Brookwood School District 167,
in
partnership
with
please contact the school office at (708) 758-4520. There is a PowerSchool app available for your cellular
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
ANTI-BULLY ACTIVITY
their child’s progress.
Every morning, our school will recite the following anti-bully pledge. Help strengthen the commitment by practicing the pledge at home: We make a COMMITMENT to stand against bullying. 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.
WINTER CONCERT & PIZZA W/SANTA
CONGRATULATIONS, MS. NEWMAN! What joy we share with the arrival of Ms. Newman’s baby boy, James! Congratulations to her and her family. While she spends time getting to know Baby James, Mrs. Brandt will take over her class. Thus, the STEM Specials class will take a brief pause for now, but will return in the Spring.
What an outstanding job in presenting the Winter concert! Complete with all of the traditional Winter songs, the 3rd and 4th grade choir showed their ability to handle diverse styles of music and dance. Joining them was the HB Spirit Squad for yet another exciting performance. Much to our surprise, when Santa heard that the students were presenting a winter concert, he canceled his dinner plans with the elves and made a second appearance at Hickory Bend! He was simply delighted to pass out candy canes to our audience members and students. The elves were more than happy to donate their pizza dinner so that every member and attendee would have a pizza snack for the night. Big thanks to Santa, the Elves, Ms. Brown, Ms. Richards, and Mrs. Westerfield for making the event a huge success.
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 17th, January Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day | No School 21st, January Early Release Day | 2:00 p.m. Dismissal 28th, January Half Day School Improvement | 11:30 a.m. Dismissal 31st, January Parent/Teacher Conferences Report Card Pick Up | 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. | No School
QUOTE OF THE MONTH...
"if you cannot do great things. do small things in a great way." -napoleon hill
MOTHER & SON, PIZZA AND FUN Due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, we have decided to cancel our “Mother & Son, Pizza and Fun” event, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, January 12th. We hope to reinstate this event at a much safer time. Thank you for understanding.
RACE THROUGH SPACE Much fun was to be had by the two grade levels who made it all the way to 12,000 points in our PBIS Race Through Space. Congratulations to the Kindergarteners and the 2nd Graders for winning the race and being rewarded with a glow party. The race starts all over in January and goes through the end of February. Classes that meet the point requirement will be rewarded with a glow party In March. We encourage all of our students to be safe, be responsible, and be respectful at all times. The glow party is just icing on the cake!
MAP TESTING Map testing is scheduled to take place between January 10th and January 21st .This is our students’ time to show growth and progress. It is crucial that all students complete these tests so that teachers may customize their instruction to meet the needs of every student. If your child is absent on the day your classroom completes testing, your child will be given a makeup opportunity. If you have questions regarding these tests, please feel free to reach out to your classroom teacher. These tests are not used to determine your child’s grade on report cards or progress towards the next great level. These tests are benchmarked tests that are designed to diagnose the instructional level of your children. It is crucially important that each child does their absolute best on these tests so that we may best understand how to meet their instructional needs.
+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!