Tiger Tales

Hello Thompson Families,

Halloween parties have come and gone and we are heading into November. It was wonderful to see so many families join us for the Halloween Parade on such a beautiful fall day. Thank you to our parent volunteers who made the classroom parties extra special. Our kids had a blast!

The November edition of Tiger Tales contains a lot of important information. Please take a moment to read through the articles below.

It's a great day to be a Tiger!

Sandy Allen, Principal

We are grateful for our family partnerships. As a Leader in Me School, we believe that every member of your family has greatness and we cannot wait to learn and grow from you! Leader in Me (LiM) is an evidence-based, comprehensive school-improvement model that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in a global community.

Leader in Me is about empowering your child to reach their full potential while ultimately finding their voice. As a school, Thompson staff have made five core commitments to your child. We call these our Core Paradigms. In these paradigms you will find the belief and way we view all students. At this school we see that:

• Everyone is a leader.
• Everyone has genius.
• Change starts with me.
• We empower students to lead their own learning.
• Educators and families partner to develop the whole person.

Leader in Me provides our school community with the vision and language to lead the school in a way that addresses all areas of development. As each child discovers and develops their unique gifts and talents, they are given opportunities to lead. As leaders, they become active, engaged partners in their own education, and their self-confidence, responsibility, and initiative grows. Our children quickly understand the benefits of different gifts and talents; they learn to listen to new ideas, work together to achieve results, and motivate one another to be the best.

As the school year unfolds, the students are learning the language and meaning of the 7 Habits. By hearing the same language at home and at school, you send your child a message of what is important and that we are all on the same team - the team that wants to help your student succeed. When parents and schools support one another, the sky is the limit!

Below is a summary of each of the habits:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive (I'm responsible for me)
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind (Have a plan)
• Habit 3: Put first things first (Work first, then play)
• Habit 4: Think win-win (Everyone can win)
• Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Listen before you talk)
• Habit 6: Synergize (Together is better)
• Habit 7: Sharpen the saw (Balance feels best)

In order to encourage the 7 Habits language at home, here are some questions you can ask your child:

• How were you proactive today?
• What is your end in mind with this project/work/task?
• How do you plan to put first things first in this situation?
• What would be a win-win for us?
• I want to hear what you think first and then I will share. How do you know when you are being listened to?
• How can we work together on this?
• How would you like to sharpen your saw today?

The 1st Trimester ends on November 11th and report cards will be available through PowerSchool on November 18th. Please see the information below for accessing your child's report card when it becomes available on the 18th.

PowerSchool Parent Portal Directions

Parents can view their students' report cards in the PowerSchool Parent Portal!

Parents go to https://d41.powerschool.com/public/ and enter in your username and password. If you forgot your username and/or password please click “Forgot username or password?” and follow the instructions.

Every parent had an account created at the beginning of the school year and a letter was mailed with this information. If the “Forgot username or password” link does not work for you then please contact our School Secretary, Mrs. Walker (holly.walker@district41.org), for further assistance.

Lake Villa Community Consolidated School District 41 encourages students to be present at school when not ill. The Illinois State Board of Education defines an Excused Absence as follows: “Valid cause shall be illness, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, family emergency, student mental health day, and shall include such other situations beyond the control of the student as determined by the board of education in each district, or such other circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of the student.”

If your child(ren) will be absent for a period of ten days or more at any time, they will be unenrolled beginning on their first absence of the extended leave.

Upon your return during the current school year, please contact the school office to re-enroll your child(ren). Should your child(ren) return to the school district within the current school year, they will be placed within their original homeroom/schedule. Please know families are still required to complete the full registration process in order to re-enroll their child(ren) for future school years.

Prior to beginning the absence, please return all district materials, including your child’s Chromebook, textbooks, and library books.

• Holiday Bucks Tuesday, November 1st - Friday, November 11th: Families are able to donate towards gift cards for staff for the Holiday Season. Donations are optional. Please complete the following form and return with donations. Holiday Buck 2022 Form
• Mystery Ugly Sweater Spiritwear Monday, November 7th to Friday, November 18th. We are bringing back our Mystery Ugly Sweater this year. The mystery part is that you don't know what color you will receive. Look out for order forms later this week.
• Kash4Kids Monday, November 14th - Friday, December 2nd: Need gift cards for the Holiday Season. We got you! This WIN WIN fundraiser gets you all the gift cards you need and helps our school earn funds! List of all the gift cards available will go home Friday, November 11th. HARD CLOSE on Friday December 2nd. NO ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THAT DATE!
• Parent Teacher Conference Meals Monday, November 21st and Tuesday, November 22nd. We will be providing meals for teachers during Parent Teacher Conferences. Sign up for donations will go home later this week.

Each day, students have 20 minutes to eat lunch. If your child is bringing a cold lunch from home, please be sure to pack (or have your child pack) a nutritious lunch. A hot lunch is also available for purchase ($3.05 per lunch). While lunch is a time for socialization, please remind your child(ren) of the importance of eating first. We want to make sure students are able to finish their lunch and return to the classroom ready to learn.

The federal waiver that provided free school lunches expired June 30th, 2022. As a result, the District will no longer provide all students with a free lunch. The cost for a school lunch is $3.05. Families may follow this link to apply for Free/Reduced Lunch if needed.

To help ensure the health and safety of all our students and staff, Arbor Management asks that parents please consider funding their student’s meal account online through MySchoolBucks. This will help minimize the amount of cash/check deposits that need to be handled throughout the day, which allows us to focus on serving meals as fast and efficiently as possible.

Create your free MySchoolBucks account to conveniently view your student’s cafeteria purchases, check their balance, and securely pay for [a la carte items or school meals] from anywhere.

Get Started Today:

1. Go to myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app
2. Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID
3. View cafeteria purchases and add funds using your credit / debit card or electronic check.

November 8th

• General Election Day; Student Non-Attendance Day

November 11th

• 1st Trimester Ends

November 17th

• 4th Grade Music Performance; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

November 18th

• 1st Trimester Report Cards Available

November 21st

• Parent-Teacher Conferences; 11:00am-8:00pm (Student Non-Attendance Day)

November 22nd

• Parent-Teacher Conferences; 9:00am-6:00pm (Student Non-Attendance Day)

November 23rd-25th

• Thanksgiving Break

December 8th

• 3rd Grade Music Performance; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

December 15th

• Fall Choir Concert; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

December 23rd-January 6th

• Winter Break

January 9th

• School Resumes

January 18th

• 5th Grade Band Concert; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

February 9th

• 2nd Grade Music Performance; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

February 17th

• Teacher Institute Day; Student Non-Attendance Day

February 20th

• Presidents' Day; Student Non-Attendance Day

February 24th

• 2nd Trimester Ends

March 3rd

• 2nd Trimester Report Cards Available

March 9th

• Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 10th

• Student Non-Attendance Day

March 16th

• 1st Grade Music Performance; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

March 27th-31st

• Spring Break

April 20th

• Kindergarten Music Performance; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

May 18th

• Spring Choir Concert; 6:30pm; Thompson School MPR

May 25th

• 5th Grade Band Concert; 6:30pm; Palombi Middle School

May 29th

• Memorial Day

June 9th

• Last Day of School (Half Day)

Email: sandra.allen@district41.org
Website: district41.org/thompson
Phone: (847) 265-2488
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/William.L.Thompson.School
Twitter: @ThompsonTigers1