HB | May Newsletter

ISSUE: 009 / MAY YEAR: 2022

HICKORY BEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Here is a quote I am sure many have already heard: “April showers bring May flowers.”

We all want the beauty of the flowers, but are we willing to endure the rain?

Our All-Star community had to endure quite a few challenges over this past school year. It was not always easy, certain, or successful. Still, in the end we are still standing, victorious despite the obstacles.

Here is another fun quote: “What doesn’t kill you, will only make you stronger.”

Now isn’t that the truth?! Not only have we survived our first year back post-Covid, but we are stronger than ever and looking forward to great things in our future. One more month to go…

LET’S FINISH STRONG! 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

VIOLIN CLUB After a full year of learning to play the violin, our musical All-Stars showcased their talent in a violin recital. Thank you to the Illinois Youth Symphony Philharmonic and Mr. Brian for the opportunity given to our students.

VISION Our

overall

Vision

is

to

improve the achievement of all students, regardless of

becoming lifelong learners

environment with access

and decision makers.

to state-of-the-art

We Believe: •

race, socio-economic status, gender,

or

ability

levels

(disabilities).

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.

•

The school system should teach students to

children’s motivation,

think critically enabling

confidence, and

them to become

academic success by

contributing citizens in

being interested and

our global society.

•

In continuous

development.

improvement in all

All students are unique

aspects of the school

and should be challenged

system to foster a

to the highest level of

culture of excellence,

called “PowerSchool” that

academic and artistic

accountability and

they update every Thursday.

excellence.

integrity.

In the importance of

•

In responsible

Providing students with highly qualified teachers

an online grading system

We

encourage

you

to

stewardship of financial

check your child’s progress

opportunities based

and physical resources.

regularly. This program is

on best practices and •

All Brookwood teachers use

staff development

educational research.

We are Committed to: •

technology.

Families shape their

involved in their overall

We share the accountability

POWERSCHOOL

completely

confidential;

In educating our children

therefore, you will need

in a safe and nurturing

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

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.

BJHS RETURNS TO HB Another huge Thank You to Brookwood Junior High School for visiting our young students.

In an effort to complete service hours, the BJHS Honor Society visteded Hickory Bend to complete craft projects with our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students. Much fun was had as the students worked to complete crafts and even have an egg hunt. It means the world to a young student when the “Big Kids” take time to visit. Thank you, BJHS for being great role models and for making the day special for our All-Stars.

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 May 2nd - 6th

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week May 4th A.C.E.S. Walk May 12th Choir Awards Assembly May 14th Girls On The Run (GOTR) Race Event May 19th HB Talent SHow May 20th Daddy & Daughter Dance May 27th HB Field Day

QUOTE OF THE MONTH...

“april showers bring may flowers”

ALL-IN GLOW PARTY As a way to encourage positive behavior through our PBIS system and promote a collective effort, any grade level who reached 12,000 Dojo points in the months February and March were invited to a Glow Party. The students enjoyed the fruits of their labor in the form of cartoons, snacks, music and dancing, and all things glowing.

In our first ever glow party, back in December, only three (3) of our five (5) grade levels earned the Glow Party. This time around EVERY GRADE LEVEL HIT THE GOAL AND EARNED A GLOW PARTY! Whoot Whoot! Man, Oh Man, did we have a blast!!!!

FOR OUR EARTH In honor of Earth Day, Ms. Angell’s Kindergarten class celebrated with a Recycle Carnival! The students made games out of recycled materials and had a super fun day playing games while helping the Earth. They enjoyed games like ring toss, bozo buckets, shark toss, bags, feed the baby and more! What a fun way to learn how to reduce, reuse & recycle!

KINDERGARTEN HEADS TO BELLABOO’S! Our Kindergarten All Stars had an amazing trip to Bellaboo’s in Lake Station, IN. Bellaboo’s is a Play and Discovery Center. Students were able to play in many different areas, including water, blocks, trains, and everyone’s favorite, the soft play area which included two big slides.

They also got to get creative in the art studio, the pretend village and the shipwreck pirate area! All the kindergarten students also had an opportunity in the cooking area to make an edible xylophone out of graham crackers, M & Ms, frosting, pretzel sticks and gummy bears!

Yum! A great day of learning and fun was had by all.

JOIN HICKORY BEND FOR PROJECT A.C.E.S. Project A.C.E.S. began back in 1989 by Physical Education Teacher Len Saunders, of New Jersey. Len wanted to get one school in every state to exercise at the same time on a specific day in May to motivate his physical education classes to exercise. The program was also designed to show the importance of Physical Education in school!

The 34th annual global event will occur at 10:00 AM (local time), Wednesday, May 4th, 2022.

--All Children Exercise Simultaneously (ACES) --

GIRLS ON THE RUN (GOTR) IS SO MUCH FUN! This season we have thirteen (13) Hickory Bend girls participating in the program. GOTR encourages girls of all abilities to recognize their individual strengths and celebrate connections with others. We blend physical activity with skill development that enables girls to adapt to whatever comes their way. On May 14th these amazing All-Stars get to show off their skills at the annual 5k in Chicago! Way to rock it Girls on the Run 2022!!

STEM IS BACK! Students in grades K through 4 are back in the STEM lab. We are focusing on coding and programming using the KIBO and Sphero robots, Scratch, Jr. and code.org. Computer science and coding at this age level encourages problem solving and teamwork, which are the cornerstones for being the STEM All-Stars that we are, and it is a lot of fun, too!!

4th grade STEMScopes focused on sense receptors. Students had to create an animal using given materials and include a sense receptor that helps that animal adapt to its environment.

MATH BOWL SUCCESS Congratulations to all of our Math Olympians for their hard work in representing Brookwood District 167 in the South Cook Math Bowl Competition.

Super Congratulations to 4th Grader Amadeus Cambric for his 6th Place win in the Individual Competition. We are so super proud of you all!

K-2 CANVAS PAINTING Hickory Bend students enjoy the opportunity to be creative and expressive through canvas painting.

+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!