Letters from Limestone Walters

May 1st: Kiwanis Banquet @LCHS at 6:30pm

May 3rd: 5th-8th Band and Choir Spring Celebration at the Courthouse 10am-1:30pm

May 6th: TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEEK!! Spring MAP Testing Begins, Spring Band & Choir Concert @6pm, PTO Meeting @7pm

May 7th: Honors Banquet @ American Legion staring at 5:30pm

May 10th: Last day to earn House Points & K-4 Grandparents Day 10:30am-12pm

May 13th: Sports Banquet @ Raber Packing Co. starting at 5:30pm

May 15th: K-2 Field Trip to Idlewood Park 10am-2:30pm & 8th Grade Graduation @6pm

May 16th: 1st Grade Field Trip to Germantown Hills School 9:30am-2:30pm

May 17th: End of 4th Quarter, 8th Grade Six Flags Field Trip, 5th Grade Kartville Field Trip 11am-2:15pm, and 3-4th Grade Idelwood Park Fieldtrip 10am-2:30pm

May 20th: Title Advisory Committee Meeting @5pm and Board Meeting @6pm

May 21st: Field Day K-7th Grade

May 24th: Final Day for students! 1st-7th Awards @8:30am and students are dismissed @11:20am

Thank you to all of the wonderful teachers here at Limestone Walters. We appreciate all that you do day in and day out to ensure our students are on the path to become life long learners. We are so lucky to have you!

May's Book - Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwal (Dumplings)

Lili loves to cook baos, and Nai Nai has taught her all the secrets to making them, from kneading the dough lovingly and firmly to being thankful for the strong and healthy ingredients in the filling. But when Nai Nai realizes that they are out of cabbage (Secret #8: line the basket with cabbage leaves!), she sends Lili up to Babcia’s apartment on the sixth floor to get some. Babcia is happy to share her cabbage, but she needs some potatoes for her pierogi. . . .

What follows is a race up and down the stairs as Lili helps all the grandmothers in her building borrow ingredients for different dumplings: Jamaican beef patties, Italian ravioli, Lebanese fatayer, and more. Dumplings for Lili is a joyful story of sharing food, friendship, and love in all their forms.

ZOOM Read Aloud Event will be Sunday, May 19th @6pm. The link is emailed to parents by Sunday afternoon. Fill out the form below by Monday, May 13th to be emailed the link AND ensure you receive your popcorn from The Popcorn Shoppe.

*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.

Please make sure we are following these procedures below in order to ensure our drop-off line is efficient and safe:

• 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 (LTO) will highlight flavors from the Pacific with Tropical Chicken Bowl. This dish features pineapple and will be offered May 13th-17th. Students simply need to let their teacher know they want the monthly special.

Featured Ingredient: Pineapple

DID YOU KNOW? Pineapples do not grow on trees. Instead, they grow from leafy pineapple plants that are rooted into the ground. Unlike other fruit, you do not need seeds to grow a pineapple. In fact, if you want to grow your own pineapple, you can just twist the crown off a pineapple and plant it into the ground.

As of now we have May 6th, 13th, 20th, and 23rd that will be in session days meaning students will have school. May 24th will be the last day of school for students with a 11:20am dismissal.

Our awards day will be May 24th at 8:30am. Parents are more than welcome to attend. If you drop off your student in the morning, we ask that you wait until 8:15am before entering the building.

Into Reading K-6

This month, K-6 students will be wrapping up Module 8 and beginning Module 9 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 5 and beginning Topic 6 at various times depending on the class. 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 almost the end of the year. Check out this note from our school nurse detailing medications going home prior to summer break.

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 (unless otherwise noted) 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:

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 talking all things poetry with 5th graders, 7th graders proposing a new game they have been enjoying during PE class, recess chats with K-2nd graders, and putting things learned at the SEL collaborative into practice.

Gratitude

I'm grateful for sunshine, book chats, and collaborative meetings with staff to set each student up for success.

Goals

• prep for end of year banquets and graduation
• work on LW Master schedule for 2024-2025 school year
• soak up and savor the final moments of the 2023-2024 school year

~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