Letters from Limestone Walters

Jan. 3rd: No School! Teacher Institute

Jan. 4th: School Resumes

Jan. 5th: 5th-8th Grade Field Trip 8:15am-11:30am

Jan. 8th: PTO Meeting @7pm

Jan. 10th: House Council Meeting @7:15am

Jan. 12th: Wheel Spin Day & SIP Afternoon (students dismissed @11:20am)

Jan. 15th: No School!

Jan. 18th: Vision & Hearing Screening

Jan. 21st: Choir performs @ The Peoria Riverman Game @3:15pm

Jan. 22nd: Board Meeting @6pm

Jan. 24th: House Meetings & Competition (wear your house shirt)

Jan. 26th: House Spirit Day (TBA) & SIP Afternoon (students dismissed @11:20am)

Jan. 28th: LW's Pages, Popcorn, and Pals Book Club @6pm (see below)

Jan. 30th: 7th Grade Challenger Learning Center Field Trip 8am-12:45pm

Jan. 31st: Vision & Hearing Make-Ups

2024 Pages, Popcorn & Pals Book Club!

Welcome to the 3rd year of our virtual book club! This year we are partnering with The Popcorn Shoppe in the Metro Centre to have popcorn as we enjoy our monthly read aloud. You will want to sign up ahead of time so you can take home your very own little bag of popcorn the Friday before Book Club. This way you can enjoy it while we listen to our story!

*Inspired by: Growing Book by Book: A Year of Good Food and Books Each month there will be a focus food or food-related theme to the month. There's everything from tea, to cookbooks to dumplings. Best of all, we are going to learn about different cultures. So, let’s get reading and eating.

January's Book - Masala Chai, Fast and Slow (Tea)

January is Hot Tea Month so let’s drink lots of hot tea during this typically cold month. Our focus book for the month will be Masala Chai, Fast and Slow by Rajani Larocca.

ZOOM Read Aloud Event will be Sunday, January 28th @6pm. The link is emailed to parents by Sunday afternoon. Please fill out the form below to be emailed the link

We need your help in our drop off line in terms of making sure your child is ready to exit the vehicle and letting your child out anywhere along the sidewalk vs. waiting until right at the front door:

• Make sure an adult (usually Mrs. Pitzer) is out before letting your students leave your vehicle.
• Please make sure your child exits the vehicle anywhere within the white box on the arrival map picture.
• This way several cars are unloading at the same time vs. some pulling all the way up to the main door which causes the line to stop and then get backed up.
  
• Please have your child ready to exit the vehicle.

This month Aramark's monthly limited time entrée will highlight flavors from Latin America with Turkey Barbacoa Birria Quesadilla. This dish features cilantro and will be offered Jan. 16th-19th. Students simply need to let their teacher know they want the monthly special.

Featured Ingredient: Cilantro

DID YOU KNOW? Cilantro seeds are called coriander, which add a spicy tang to any dish you add it to. Both the plant and seeds are heavily used in Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern, and southeast Asian cuisines. It is often used as a culinary herb due to its distinct taste, which is slightly bitter, similar to parsley. Cilantro’s leaves are also made into a herbal tea that has been used traditionally to treat coughs and colds.

It has been great to see so many of our students trying new foods and discovering new favorite meals.

In the event of inclement weather, you will receive a text message from the school and information will be posted to local news stations. In the event of a school cancellation, please know this will be a snow day with no remote learning. To accommodate possible emergency days without adding days to the end of the year, there are 3 built into our school calendar. This allows us to hopefully be finished prior to Memorial Day and not add as many make up days to the end of the year.

Similar to last year we have 3 emergency days have been build into our calendar. This allows us to hopefully be finished prior to Memorial Day and not add as many make up days on to the end of the year.

The following Mondays we will not be in session unless an emergency day is used:

• Monday, May 6th
• Monday, May 13th
• Monday, May 20th

If we do have emergency days we will have session on the above Mondays depending on how many we need. We would start with the fist Monday and then go in order. Our other two emergency days will be after May 24th and May 25th.

Into Reading K-6

This month, K-6 students will be either be starting or in the middle of Module 5 at various time depending on the class. Below you will find the grade level essential questions and the social emotional/learning mindset focus.

Social Studies

This month, grades 4th-8th will be wrapping up Topic 3 and starting Topic 4. Topics can last anywhere from 5-6 weeks. Below you will find the graphic that shares grade level questions and social emotional focus.

It is hard to believe it is already time to be thinking about LCHS registration for our 8th graders. On Friday, February 16th from 11:45pm-2pm LCHS counselors will be coming to LW in order to help your child register for their freshman classes.

Starting last year, we have appointment slots for this event to provide less wait time for you and your family, smoother and quick transitions from one appointment to another, and counselors knowing who they will be seeing so they can prepare more effectively.

That being said we are going to use the same system we have used for parent teacher conferences. This way you aren't having to navigate a whole new system. Since counselors are assigned based on last names, Mrs. Powers has already organized it to go directly to the counselor you will be seeing. If you could please select a time by Friday, February 9th this would be greatly appreciated. To access the sign up, please click on the button below.

We look forward to savoring last times at LW with you and your child over these next few months.

Jan. 8th: Away Game @ Princeville @5:30pm *bus leaves at 4:15pm

Jan. 9th: Home Game vs. Metamora @4:15pm

Jan. 16th: Away Game @ St. Vincent @5pm *bus leaves at 4pm

Jan. 17th: Home Game vs. Christ Lutheran @4:15pm

Jan. 18th: Home Game vs. Germantown Hills (7th B Game) @4:15pm

Jan. 20th: 7th Round Robin Tournament @9am at LW

Jan. 22nd: Away Game @ Hartsburg @6pm *bus leaves at 4:15pm

Jan. 24th: Home Game vs. Bartonville (B Game) @4:30pm

Jan. 25th: Home Game vs. Hollis @5pm
Jan. 29th: Home Game vs. Dunlap Middle @4:15pm

Jan. 30th: Home Game vs. St. Mary's Metamora @4pm

Jan. 2nd: Away Game @ Monroe @ 5pm *bus leaves at 4pm

Jan. 4th: Away Game @ Brimfield @5pm *bus leaves at 3:45pm

Jan. 9th: Away Game @ Hartsburg @5pm *bus leaves at 4:30pm

Jan. 10th: Home Game vs. Pleasant Valley @5pm

Jan. 15th: Home Game vs. Mossville @5pm

5th & 6th Grade

Jan. 29th: Away Game @St. Thomas @5pm *bus leaves at 3:45pm

Jan. 31st: Home Game vs. Christ Lutheran @4pm

Lunch time read alouds are one of my favorite ways to build a culture of readers here at LW. On Wednesdays, I read picture books to all K-4th grade students and on Friday's I read the first chapter of a novel to all 5th-8th graders.

Readers thrive when they are surrounded by a supportive reading community. I curated this list over the last couple of years that covers a wide variety of ages, genres, topics, themes, etc. Your purchase means it will be shipped directly to the school, find its way into a classroom, and have a label with who donated it! Please make sure to include your name when purchasing.

Please feel free to share our list with family and friends! I can't wait to see where our farthest book comes from!

Our PTO meets the first Monday of the month at 7pm in the library. This is a great way to get involved in fundraisers and activities that support our school. If in person doesn't work for you, they also have a virtual Zoom option. The links are always emailed out closer to the date.

PTO updates:

BoxTops for Education--Remember to scan those receipts to earn credit towards a treat party for your childs' class! 6th grade is still in the lead with 4th grade moving into 2nd place. This is available to anyone including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc! Competition ends on November 30. See the attached flyer for more details.

Concessions Sign-Up for LW Boosters-- We are needing help with the concession stand for girls basketball games this year. Please use this link to sign-up.

Volunteer for PTO Sponsored Events-- Do you want to be involved with the PTO or would like more information? The PTO sponsors or helps with several things throughout the year and we need your help! Use this link to indicate where you'd like to volunteer. Please see the attached flyer for more information about LW PTO or attend a meeting on the first Monday of the month!

Remember

I remember all the holiday spirit spread throughout the building.

Gratitude

I'm grateful for time that allows us to rest, recover, and recharge.

Goals

• conduct formal observations for tenured staff members
  
• launch second semester staff book study on Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
• launch Pages, Popcorn, and Pals Book Club

~Mrs. Stefanie Pitzer, Principal

Email: spitzer@limestonewalters.com
Website: https://www.limestonewalters.com/
Location: 8223 West Smithville Road, Peoria, IL, USA
Phone: 309-697-3035
Facebook: facebook.com/LWrockets316
Twitter: @lwrockets