As the school year is winding down, I have a few staffing announcements to make you aware of for the 2017-2018 school year:
- First, due to low kindergarten enrollment this school year, we will be down to just one section of first grade next year. As a result, Mrs. Zanchelli has made the decision to stay home and focus on her family. Also making a similar decision to stay home in order to focus on her family is our fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Naponelli. While our staff is sad to be losing two wonderful teachers and individuals, we are happy for them as they embark on the next phase of their family lives.
- To fill the void in fifth grade next year that has been left due to Mrs. Naponelli's departure, our second grade teacher, Mrs. Djurdjevic, requested and was granted a move from second grade to fifth grade. She is excited for a new challenge, and she is looking forward to working with Mrs. Turner and the students she taught two years ago.
- To fill the second grade position left open by Mrs. Djurdjevic, we have hired a brand new teacher! We welcome Maryam Lotfalizadeh, who has just graduated from Northeastern Illinois University. She student taught in D62, and she is very excited to begin her work here at Terrace next year.
- Our STEP enrollment has declined as several students will be attending their home schools next year, which is a great thing! In 2017-2018, we will have just two sections of STEP instead of three. Mrs. Williams will be traveling to Algonquin Middle School with our fifth grade STEP students next year, where she will teach STEP for them and other middle school students. We will miss Mrs. Williams and wish her and the students the best of luck next year.
- It has been determined that our BEST classroom will be more adequately supported at Cumberland Elementary School next year. This way the entire elementary BEST program will be under one roof and can get even more support than they have right now. Ms. Nasci will be moving over there with our current students for the 2017-2018 school year. We will miss them and wish them success next year.
- Finally, our part-time ELL resource teacher, Ms. Leving, will be headed to Chippewa Middle School next year to teach in a full-time role. We wish her the best of luck in her new role at the middle school. To fill the part-time position, we welcome Jackie Fuentes. Jackie has been an ELL resource teacher in D62 for many years, and she brings a lot of experiences with her to Terrace.
PTC Ice Cream Social TONIGHT: We encourage families to shop at the Book Fair at the Ice Cream Social on Friday, May 19, from 6:30-8:00 in the gym. Come for fun with friends, $1 ice cream treats, $1 raffle tickets, and face painting provided by the Des Plaines Park District. Be a lucky winner in the Raffle Extravaganza! Some of the prizes include the highly anticipated donations made by Terrace staff, summer fun theme baskets donated by Terrace families, and much more. We hope to see everyone there!
Girl Scouts: Terrace’s Daisy Girl Scout Troop #45223 will be participating in a Shoe Drive through Friday, May 26, in conjunction with Roll Over Animal Rescue (ROAR), a Des Plaines-based non-profit animal rescue/foster organization. All shoes that are in new or good used condition will be accepted in a collection bin located in the front lobby of the school. Shoes should be clean and dry, have laces (if necessary), intact soles, and no holes. ROAR will receive funds based on the total weight of shoes collected, and proceeds will go towards necessary surgery for one of its rescued animals, Hayley. We appreciate your donations!
FitnessGram: Beginning this school year, all Illinois public schools are required to administer a physical fitness assessment to students in grades 3-12. District 62 has used FitnessGram as part of its fitness curriculum since 2009. During the months of April and May, District 62 will once again use FitnessGram in our grade 3-8 Physical Education classes. FitnessGram assessments focus on the areas of aerobic capacity, flexibility, muscular endurance, and muscular strength. Districts are required to report fitness data to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for 5th and 7th grades. The fitness data reported to ISBE will not contain any individual student name or individual assessment results. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Lair.
School dismissal pick up reminder: Parents, if you pick up your students in the circle in front of the building at dismissal time, I am requesting that you please be mindful of the driveways of the houses on the west side of Westgate, as well as the entrance to the fire station on the east side of Westgate. We have had a request by a community member to please not park or stand on the west side of Westgate upon dismissal. Those homeowners need to be able to enter and exit their properties. In addition, the fire department also needs to enter and exit the station in case of emergency. Please be advised that should a police officer come and see a car parked or standing in front of a property, they may be ticketed. Thank you for your understanding.
Online Registration: Thank you to everyone who has already registered for next year! If you still have no registered, please see below:
How to access Online Registration:
On a computer or phone, go to the Parent Portal website bit.ly/parentportal62
- NOTE: You will need a Tyler Parent Portal account. If you have not created this account yet, please use these instructions:
- Spanish Instructions: bit.ly/parentportalspanish
- Polish Instructions: bit.ly/parentportalpolish
- English Instructions: bit.ly/parentportalenglish
- For additional support: Email [email protected]
- If you need help with online registration, we have videos, step-by-step instructions and more information at our website: bit.ly/62registrationinfo
- If you do not have access to a computer, or need a translator, you can attend one of our Registration Support Open Houses. These will be held the weeks of April 24th and May 1st. You can attend any location, regardless of the school your child attends. The exact dates, times and locations are here: bit.ly/62regoh
Please read the following reminders:
Parking Lot Safety: Please remember that the safety and well-being of our students and staff are our #1 priority. After school you are welcome park your car in a designated spot in our lot and walk to the front to pick up your child. Or, you may drive through the front circle and pick up your child in the pickup line. DO NOT double park your car in the lot and ask your child to run over to your car. I have personally seen students do this and nearly get hit by a car in the lot. Please listen to and work with our traffic supervisors. We need you working together with us to ensure students and staff are safe. Thank you so much.
WeatherBug:
Please download the WeatherBug app and set Terrace as your home page. Here are the directions to download:
- Open the app, and tap the WeatherBug icon in the upper left corner to expose the main app menu.
- Select “Sign in”
- At the bottom of the login screen, tap “Sign up” and either login using your Facebook account or by creating a WeatherBug account.
- Then go back into the main app menu and select “Communities”
- Tap “Terrace Elementary School” – the plus sign should turn into a check mark – hit “Close”
- You should see the Terrace Elementary School Community card.
Internet Safety:
Families, as your children are getting older and are having more exposure online, a host of questions can arise about Internet safety. If you would like to learn more about what your children may be doing or what you can do as a parent/caregiver to protect them, please click here to read more.
Additional Notes:
- If you are on Facebook and would like to see what is going on at Terrace, be sure to check out the Terrace Facebook page. Pictures are regularly posted to better give you an insight into all the great things that go on at school each and every day. Remember to click the "like" button so our updates appear regularly on your feed. Or, under the school address near the top left of this page, you can click Facebook, and it will direct you straight to the page.
- It is important for us to have a current email address and phone number for you at all times. If you want to ensure that you receive emails and notifications from Terrace and D62, please make sure our office has your most current email and phone numbers on file. If you send us your contact information, I ask that you please write very neatly so we can make sure we are entering the correct information in our student information system.
Have a wonderful weekend!