Barack Parent Newsletter

February 2023

We have completed the first half of the school year and are prepared to finish the second half of the school year stronger than ever. We need parents and community partners to help us by supporting our scholars by ensuring they are safe and have all the necessary tools needed to transition to the next grade.

Please join us Tuesday, February 7th for an important meeting for all parents. We are concerned about a lot of media our scholars may be exposed to through social media and the internet. We also have concerns about ensuring scholars are equipped with supplies and other necessities for the remainder of the school year. The PTO flyer has the Zoom link information for this meeting. We will meet promptly at 6:30 pm. We want to work cooperatively to support our scholars.

We invite you to 2nd quarter Honor Roll assembly Friday, February 10th. 9 am for 4th grade and 10 am for 5th grade.

Join us Thursday, February 23rd at 1:15 pm for our Black History Program: "In Living Color" a history of the 90s in politics, television and athletics.

With Pride, Dignity and Respect!

Mrs. Veneeta Phelps

Principal

5Essentials for Parents Survey

We need your support by completing the 5Essentials Survey for our school.

5Essentials is an evidence-based system designed to drive improvement in schools nationwide—it reliably measures changes in a school organization through the 5Essentials Survey and provides individualized, actionable Reports for each school.

Please use the following link to complete the survey:

Link for parents to take the survey: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/

The class with the most parents completing the survey will have a pizza party.

Your support is appreciated.

Dates To Remember!

Tuesday, February 7th - Early Dismissal @ 12:30 pm

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Parent Teacher Conferences

Tuesday, February 7th - 6:30 pm - PTO Meeting including Parent Support Meeting

Thursday, February 9th - 9 am District 163 Spelling Bee @ Barack Obama School - Enter Door 21

Friday, February 10th - 2nd Quarter Honor Roll Assembly - 9am for 4th grade and 10 am for 5th grade.

Tuesday, February 14th - Valentine's Day

Monday, February 20th - President's Day - No School

Thursday, February 23rd - Black History Program - "In Living Color"

Thursday, February 23rd - Board of Education Meeting @ 7 pm

Friday, February 25th - 3rd Quarter Midterms available

STEM and SCIENCE Night

Our families had a great time with our teachers for STEM and Science Night. Thanks to our Science and Innovation teachers for wonderful activities for everyone to enjoy!!

Barack Obama Spelling Bee

We are proud of all the scholars' that represented Barack for our school Bee. Congratulations to:

3rd Place - Makhi Lofton

2nd Place - Tamariah Hoskins

1st Place - Kyra Simmons

Our District Spelling Bee will take place Thursday, February 9th at 9 am at Barack Obama School.

SEL Strategy for February - Self Advocacy

Students who know how to self-advocate have an important skill that supports lifelong success, yet few children actually are taught how to understand their needs and communicate those needs to others.

Please review the video to help understand the importance of Self Advocacy for students.

Reading Strategy of the Month - Summarizing!

This month we feature SUMMARIZING! Why do students struggle with summarizing?

“Students struggle with summarizing a text because it is counterintuitive to so many other things we have taught them.

Usually, we want students to incorporate what they already know about a topic. We even take time in class to activate prior knowledge, knowing that students will better understand what they have read if they can relate to it.

But when summarizing, students aren’t supposed to incorporate any additional information – only the information that the author chose to include.

Usually, we encourage students to think for themselves. We want students to share their opinions, and to justify that opinion.

But when summarizing, students aren’t supposed to have their own opinion – they are simply supposed to explain what the author says and thinks.

Usually, we want students to share as many details as possible. How many times have you told a student that they need to add more details, write more, or make it longer? The more details students include, the better – except for in summarizing.

But when summarizing, students are supposed to only include the most important information. Which means students have to have a firm handle on how to find the main idea. No wonder students struggle with summarizing text!