3Q Highlights

Greetings Blackhawk Families,

Congratulations, we have officially completed our 3rd quarter here at Blackhawk Primary Center. Thank you to all of our parents who supported our Black History Month Table Talk to commemorate Black History Month. Our Blackhawk students did an amazing job. Thank you to our Blackhawk leaders who continue to remain relentless as they pursue excellence through each interaction with our students.

#Together,WeSOAR

With Children in Mind,

Dr. Felix Anderson

Blackhawk Principal

District 163 celebrates student achievement by spotlighting "Excellence Popping up" around the neighborhood. We are proud to recognize all of our Blackhawk scholars and Students of the month who have continued to work diligently during our3rd Quarter. We appreciate all families for ensuring students are in attendance each day. As we begin the 4th quarter we encourage all students and families to continue to exhibit excellence by doing their best each day.

March came in like a lamb but went out like a Bulldog. Blackhawk's afterschool XSTEAM program closed out in March with our very own March Madness basketball game Staff vs XSTEAM scholars. We had a fantastic time engaging with students through a friendly fun game of basketball. Thanks to all the parents who supported such a wonderful event. The halftime show was fantastic as we watched the students perform a wonderful dance and cheer showcase.

Thank you to all of our Blackhawk families for joining us for an evening to remember. We enjoyed celebrating our love for Mathematics during our Primary Mathematics Night, where families and school leaders engaged families in engaging mathematics sessions. Families learned new strategies to support learning at home while enjoying mathematics bingo, edible fractions, Mathematics family feud, and measurement activities. Students and families create lasting memories full of smiles.

This is the engineering design process at work! These two young aspiring engineers asked each other what they wanted to build and decided on a car. They imagined what their car would look like and how it would function. They planned out which rig-a-ma-jig pieces they would need and created their car. The next class period, Cynthia and Layla tested two different seat designs. They chose the best seat, checked all of the bolts and nuts and shared their car with the class. Students were literally riding the car around the room.

A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. In this era of increased accountability for states, districts, and schools, the connection between student attendance and learning is being studied more than ever before. As a result, education agencies are asked with increasing frequency to report attendance data in a standard manner to allow comparisons across organizations and jurisdictions.

The primary rationale for high-quality attendance data is the relationship between student attendance and student achievement. Teacher effectiveness is the strongest school-related determinant of student success but chronic student absence reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first-grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge.

At Blackhawk, we are here to support our families during any unforeseen circumstance. Together we can ensure students are in attendance to support student mastery and social-emotional development even in a remote learning environment. Please reach out to your teacher if you need support with attendance concerns. We are here to service our Blackhawk families.

Dr. Felix Anderson, Principal

2022 IPA South Cook Elementary Principal of the Year

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” “We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Email: fanderson@sd163.com
Website: sd163.com
Location: Blackhawk Elementary School, Blackhawk Drive, Park Forest, IL, USA
Phone: (708) 668-9500