HB | January 2023 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER JANUARY

Beginning Tuesday, September 7th, 2022, vehicles will not be allowed to park in the main lot during morning drop-off or during afternoon pickup. Respectfully, we ask those wishing to park their vehicles to use the overflow lot (the lot we share with the church). There you may park your vehicle and safely exit to walk your child to the building. We have had several “close calls” during drop off/pick up that we hope to avoid by enlisting

DEAR HICKORY BEND FAMILIES, I PRAY EVERYONE HAD A SAFE, RESTFUL, AND MEMORABLE

HOLIDAY BREAK.

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER

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 2023, this is a perfect time to reinvigorate our sense of Focus and Commitment toward excellence.

In perfect alignment with our District Character Theme for the month (Respect and Responsibility), our continued focus on PBIS will lead us into the new year, ready to foster a learning environment suited for excellence. Our “Expectation Stations” are due for a second round to remind our students how to behave in the various areas of the building. Our focus in January will be cafeteria and indoor recess behavior.

Dubose Principal rdubose@brookwood167.org

School Hours

Students’ school day is from 8:30 a.m. until 3:10 p.m.

Students should not arrive earlier than 8:10 a.m.

If ever you have questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our staff. No question is too small, and no concern is too big for us to handle as a team. As always, we look forward to working in partnership with our families to ensure our AllStars continue to grow and succeed

Ronisha

Academically, we are proud to report significant gains through our benchmark MAP testing. Well over 90% of our students

showed growth from the fall benchmark, which gives us much confidence that we are on the right track. 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.

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. 2023 will host some of our BEST days by far.

Attendance/Absences/Tardies

To ensure that our students excel academically, they must attend school daily and be on time. When students are tardy, they miss valuable instruction, primarily in reading and language arts. Attendance will be tied into our school’s PBIS expectations in which students will be able to earn rewards and participate in fun activities.

When your child has to be absent, please inform the front office. Our absentee number is 708-757-2120.

COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION

Our teachers do an excellent job of communicating with families. Here is where you can stay informed proactively:

• School and District Website - www.brookwood167.org

• All-Star News - Weekly school newsletter that will be sent home on Fridays

• ClassDojo - It is essential that you sign up for the Principal’s ClassDojo. If you have not already joined, an invitation will be sent to you during the first week of school. To join, you will need either your phone number or email address.

• A phone call or an email is an efficient way to communicate with your child’s teacher. Please remember that our teachers are with students throughout the day and will return the call/email as soon as possible. At times, this may be the next school day.

BREAKING NEWS!

Beginning December 5, 2022, early dismissals will not be allowed after 2:30 pm without advanced warning and a doctor’s note.

SENSATIONAL SINGERS

The Hickory Bend Sensational Singers did a Sensational job performing at their Holiday Concert. Great job choir! Thank you to all who attended the performance. We hope you enjoyed our show…and the pizza! Following the Winter Concert, the Hickory Bend Sensational Singers had a great time caroling around all the classrooms on December 21st and spreading holiday cheer. To celebrate their success, they enjoyed their annual hot cocoa and cookie party. Yum!

BOWLING TRIP

After learning the rules of the sport, our entire student body enjoyed the culminating experience of going to the bowling alley. Big Thank You to our many parent volunteers for helping. Super Big Thank You to Ms. Burras for teaching the skills needed to be successful in bowling!

If a child has any symptoms listed below, they should stay home in the morning or go home if these symptoms first occur at school.

IF MY CHILD IS SICK, WHEN SHOULD I KEEP THEM HOME?

When a child can return to school is based on the specific symptom they have.

• 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 you answer “yes” to any of the above, your child MUST stay home. Please call the school to report your child’s absence (708) 708-757-2120 (Option 1.)

ANTI-BULLY PLEDGE...

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.

POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTENVENTIONS & SUPPORT (PBIS)

A major focus area of learning for our K-4 students is that of behavior. Maintaining a physically and emotionally safe learning environment is a priority before we can expect our children to learn academic content. In each area of the school, we have developed expectations that we use to teach children how to Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful. This work is through PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). For the first few weeks of our school year, we model and practice what these expectations look like and sound like. When we observe students who struggle with following the expectations, the student is not automatically punished but is instead reminded of the expectation and given the opportunity to modify his/her behavior to demonstrate the appropriate behavior. We believe that devoting a significant amount of time to working on expectations is beneficial to all of our students.

Now that we have become well acquainted with these skills, the expectation is that students demonstrate the skills in every area of the school day. When students need constant reminders or when behavior becomes disruptive, we will take the necessary steps to reteach the skills and remind students of the expectations. Our goal is to provide the support students need to significantly decrease the number of distractions and unwanted behaviors. A paper copy of our expectations was sent home in your child’s take-home folder. Please take time to review the expectations with your child(ren). We appreciate all the support families have shown in working collaboratively toward student behavioral success.

SOME of the 2:00 pm Dismissals Canceled…

Please note the following 2:00 pm dismissals have been canceled and we will be in school for the FULL DAY on the following dates:

• March 3rd, 2023

• May 5th, 2023

SAVE THE DATE

POWERSCHOOL

All Brookwood teachers use an online grading system called “PowerSchool” that they update every Thursday.

We encourage you to check your child’s progress regularly. This program is confidential; therefore, you will need an access username and password to see your child’s progress. If you need your username and password, please contact the school office at (708) 758-5350. A PowerSchool app for your cellular phone makes it easy for parents to stay updated on their child’s progress.

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

Please leave a detailed message with your name, child’s name, phone number, and the issue you are having with the device.

“There is only one person in the world who’s responsible for your success, and that’s you!”

MISSION STATEMENT

Brookwood School District 167, in partnership with parents and the community, will create a learning environment in which all students excel at becoming lifelong learners and decision-makers.

WE BELIEVE

• Families shape their children’s motivation, confidence, and academic success by being interested and involved in their overall development.

• All students are unique and should be challenged to the highest level of academic and artistic excellence.

• In the importance of staff development opportunities based on best practices and educational research.

• In educating our children in a safe and nurturing environment with access to state-of-the-art technology.

• The school system should teach students to think critically enabling them to become contributing citizens in our global society.

• In continuous improvement in all aspects of the school system to foster a culture of excellence, Accountability, and integrity.

• In responsible stewardship of financial and physical resources.

VISION STATEMENT

Our overall vision is to improve the achievement of all students, regardless of race, socio-economic status, gender, or ability levels (disabilities). We share the accountability of student achievement throughout the school. We believe in using research-based 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

1. Providing students with highly qualified teachers

2. Providing our staff with professional development

ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOL!

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 2 days per month!

Please, please, please work at all costs to ensure your student is in school daily. Being on time and staying for the entire day is also crucially important.

We only have our students for a few short hours, and we don’t want them to miss anything! 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.

RESOURCEFUL TIPS...

• Help them use different methods to find answers

• Support them when they struggle but allow THEM to work it out.

• Rather than giving answers to questions, give questions to help lead them to answers

• Ask children for their help and suggestions.

• Coach your child more often than you control your child; show that you have confidence in their ability

IT’S FLU SEASON

Flu season starts in October and peaks in February. Influenza (flu) is a contagious, airborne transmitted respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, pneumonia, and though rare, can lead to death. Symptoms may last over two weeks and can include: fever/chills, body aches, fatigue, headache, congestion, cough, breathing issues, sore throat, and vomiting/diarrhea.

There are several things you can do to help prevent your student from becoming ill such as making sure that they are properly dressed for the weather (warm clothes, hat, heavy coat, gloves, and a scarf), getting the proper amount of sleep at night, children’s multivitamin, Vitamin C, get vaccinated, practice good hygiene, and decontaminate.

We will be so excited to see our little ones return on January 10th and we always want to help to keep them happy and healthy. So, let’s do our absolute best to help keep them safe from colds and the flu.

If you need assistance or have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our School Nurse, Nurse White at 708-758-4520 ext. 5229 or via email at ewhite@ brookwood167.org

Don’t give the flu a chance to infect you!

• If your student needs medication to be administered in the school setting, the medication and accompanying doctor’s orders must be provided by a parent or guardian to the school nurse. Medication should NEVER be sent in with the student. No medication may be given without a doctor’s order. This includes inhalers, emergency epinephrine (EpiPen), daily medications, antibiotics, eye/ ear drops, cough drops, over-the-counter medication, or any other form of medication.

REMINDER REGARDING MEDICATIONS

KMC (KIDS MAKING CHANGE)

For the month of November, Kids Making Change (KMC) hosted a drive for our local animal shelter, South Suburban Humane Society! The children created posters to advertise and made boxes to collect donations. Thanks to the generosity of our Hickory Bend families, KMC was able to donate 3 reams of copy paper, 15 cans of pet food, 3 large bags of dog/ cat food, 36 paper towels, 17 hand sanitizers, 5 bags of dog treats, 7 gallons of bleach, 11 disinfectant wipes, 11 dog toys, 10 blankets, 10 towels, 1 box of gloves, 1 box of garbage bags, 1 collar, and 1 smart pet feeder! Wow! In addition, one of our KMC Crew members, Kailey Uhter, went above and beyond and attained a $100 donation to the shelter. The kids loaded up all the donations, and they were delivered to South Suburban Humane Society. We are so proud of these kids and their efforts to help those in need.

KINDERGARTEN… AT IT AGAIN!!!

The Kindergarten students were in the holiday spirit all month long in December!

They were building their fine motor and following direction skills while creating some awesome projects for their families.

JANUARY ANTI-BULLY ACTIVITY

As part of our Anti-Bully culture, our All-Stars will share compliments on our Compliment Tree. During the coldest months, we will warm up by being kind and sharing a kind word.

4TH GRADE ANNOUNCERS

Thank you, 4th Grade Announcers, for helping us to start the day with great energy and positive vibes!

CLASSDOJO

What is 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 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) 758-4520, email, rdubose@brookwood167.org. All you will need to provide is your cell phone number or email address.

GET INVOLVED AND STAY INFORMED!

HAPPIEST CHRISTMASBIRTHDAY!!!! PJ DAY

HICKORY BEND SCHOOL 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.