McKenzie Monitor

December 21, 2018

Principal's Note: Paw Pride Assembly

Be Respectful

Be Responsible

Be Safe

On Thursday, December 20th we hosted our 2nd Paw Pride assembly! We met our school-wide ticket goal by filling TWO BIG containers! Many students' tickets were also randomly pulled for prizes! We all had so much fun, and it was exciting working towards a goal as a school community. Because we met our school-wide goal, today we had an all school 2 minute dance party on the hour (9:00am, 10:00am, 11:00am and 2:00pm). We had a blast!!!

We will hold student prizes in the office for parent pick-up. If you have not had a chance to pick up your child's prize, you will be notified via email that the office will hold it until after winter break.

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iGNITE! Flamenco Performance

Thank you iGNITE! for providing our students with such wonderful enrichment activities. Also, thank you to the McKenzie families who contributed. This performance was possible because of your donations!

The third graders really enjoyed the flamenco show from Ensemble Español. There were three types of dances; Classical, Folkloric and Sevilliana. The students also learned how to make their own flamenco music by clapping and with castanets. The students were blown away by the talented dancers! ¡Olé!

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Paw Pride Winners!

We are happy to announce this week's students whose tickets were pulled for safe, responsible, and respectful behavior:

Kindergarten

Mehmet Pinarci

Zaya Sugar

Avery Swidler

Grade 1

Olivia Laughton

Mye Orlian

Naintara Sadhir

Joshua Weinstein

Grade 2

Rocco Castellano

Thomas Cirrincione

Ayden Lettner

Olivia Morrone

Grade 3

Leila Blomeier

Lachlan Lindquist

John Smith

Scott Spore

Caroline Tomlinson

Grade 4

Harrison Chaplick

Gavin Fink

Claudia Koutsouvas

Veronica Palmer

PTA News & Information

THANK YOU

Thank you to all the families who donated to Share the Joy. Because of your generosity, the holiday shop at Carmen-Buckner was a huge success! Thanks again to Erich Kirr and Marna Bolger for chairing this wonderful event!

Thank you to all who contributed to the staff gift fund. Your generosity is appreciated! Thanks also to Casey Brown for organizing the gift fund and organizing holiday treats for the staff lounge.

DON'T MISS THESE EVENTS!

Variety Show: Last day to register! It’s that time of year and I’m not talking about the holidays. It’s Variety Show sign up time! This year is the 39th year of the Variety Show and you can be part of this amazing McKenzie tradition! Sign up here. Signups end TODAY so register now! Not sure about the time commitment? Click here for more information about the schedule.

Junior Great Books: Last day to register! Help your child build a positive relationship with books! Junior Great Books is a great way to spark your child's interest in literature and thoughtful discussion. Each week, a story is chosen for the group. Students read the story at home, either independently or with an adult, then come to their weekly meeting to discuss and do a craft or project with other kids from their grade. Junior Great Books makes it possible for all children, regardless of their reading level, to contribute with confidence and learn from one another. Groups will meet once a week for 8 weeks (January-March) during lunch/recess and your child will need to bring a nut-free lunch from home that day. Sign up today!

Contact Courtney Radde with any questions.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Junior Great Books: We need leaders! Please consider signing up to lead a Junior Great Books group! It’s a minimal time commitment and so much fun! Groups meet 8 times January through March during your child’s lunch/recess time and you can choose a day that fits your schedule! Email courtradde@gmail.com for questions or to sign up!

PTA Nominating Committee: Interested in getting more involved at McKenzie and the PTA? Consider joining the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is comprised of McKenzie parents chosen to meet and help nominate the upcoming future leaders of the McKenzie PTA. It’s an amazing opportunity to become more involved at McKenzie and to meet other parents. Nominate yourself, a friend, or both! Email nominations to secretary@mckenziepta.com

OTHER HAPPENINGS

4th Grade Ads: Give a shout out to your child or friend AND support the McKenzie Variety Show (and all of the fabulous programming at McKenzie that it supports). Over 100 parents and teachers come together to sing, dance, and perform in the annual McKenzie Variety Show, now in its 39th year. The program distributed at each Variety Show performance features tributes to graduating fourth graders and cast members. Support your family and friends and the Variety Show! Click here for details!

PASS 39: Please join PASS 39 to kick off the New Year with a discussion on Social/Emotional Learning Wednesday, January 16 at 9:15 a.m. at Wilmette Junior High.

Community News

Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development offers Weekend Enrichment Programs for students age 3 through 8th grade.

Love to sing? Youth Choral Theatre of Chicago offers a free vocal training class with flyer. Vocal classes available for children ages 4-18.

The Center Fitness Club schedule and various park district classes for children ages 3-14 are posted.

Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.

Community News

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2nd Posting: Osmo Coding - Thank You PTA!

Thank you, McKenzie PTA for the Osmo coding games! These games incorporate the 4 C's. Thank you so much for supporting technology and the 4 C's!

1. Collaboration

Bring students together naturally. Osmo’s open game play encourages interaction and collaboration, allowing for the development of social-emotional skills. Students learn by engaging, and with Osmo, teachers are able to promote open-ended interaction and learning through discovery.

2. Communication

Open lines of communication with Osmo. As students work together to overcome the different challenges in each app, they also learn cooperation, gain social and emotional understanding of their peers, recognize the strengths of others in the group, and foster leadership skills.

3. Creativity

Osmo provides a platform for free form expression. By incorporating real world items into game play, students are not limited by the apps’ programming. Unlimited solutions encourage students to think outside the box and find answers as unique as the students themselves.

4. Critical Thinking

The different Osmo apps tap into a student’s curiosity and creativity to encourage hands-on problem solving and social skill development. Working alone or in groups, our apps provide the right amount of challenge, pushing the students to continue developing their skill sets and challenge themselves. It’s learning through play!

2nd Posting: Kindergarten Registration 2019-2020

January is the time to enroll in Kindergarten for 2019-2020. Find the details and forms online. Each elementary school will be open for parents to come in on January 17th and 18th.

January 17th 9:30am - 5:00pm
January 18th 8:00am - 3:15pm