Illinois School Report Card - 2012
District 62 students consistently perform at or above the state minimum target for attendance, reading, mathematics, and graduation. Reading score 83.1% is close to meeting the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) target of 85.0% meeting or exceeding standards. Students in grades 3, 5, 6, and 8 made gains from 2011 to 2012. Scores in grades 4 and 7 remained consistent. Hard copies are available in each school office.
Memorial Day Weekend Reminders – Students do not attend school on Friday, May 24. Students and staff will not attend school on Monday, May 27. May 24 is Records Day and May 27 is Memorial Day. Have a safe weekend. School resumes on Tuesday, May 28.
South School honored Veterans at its annual Veterans Day Program. – Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade sang patriotic songs and shared stories of national pride, diversity, and U.S. History with a grateful audience.
Special guests included many veterans from the Des Plaines and Mount Prospect VFW units. Also, to celebrate the anniversary of the song, the founder of Bugles Across America, Tom Day, performed “Taps” for the morning performance. Trumpeter Marsha Jancsovics from Forest School performed “Taps” in the evening performance.
South celebrates Red Ribbon –
“I Elect to be Drug Free!”
Crazy Hair Day, October 30, 2012
South Alum Shares Love of Reading – Former South student, Nadine McBeth, returned to South Elementary School where she read to second grade students. This summer, McBeth stopped by South to see how the school had changed and to share her report cards. Principal Lori Poelking asked McBeth to return. McBeth, who is a retired actuary, writes poems and songs, and is a speechwriter. South students were very curious about what school was like when Mrs. McBeth attended. She told them that there were 30 students in her class, that physical education was not offered, and that girls had to wear dresses to school.
South School to Unveil Mural and Celebrate Learning and Renovations – The lessons taught by mural artist Beth Shadur are coming to a close for South Elementary School, but the impact of the art classes for students and staff, have culminated in a mural painted by the students. The Illinois Arts Council generously awarded South a grant for a four-week artist-in-residence program, and the PTO provided additional funding. Visual artist Beth Shadur worked with South Elementary School 4th and 5th grade students to create a large-scale mural that reflects the unique character and population of our students.
Ms. Shadur immerses the 4th and 5th grade students in the collaborative process of designing, creating and imaging. Students learned the skills involved in mural painting, color study, drawing, scale and design. In addition, the artist provided watercolor workshops for all other grades.
South Elementary School is located at 1535 Everett in Des Plaines.
During the week of March 19 - March 23 South School hosted a "Read to Raise" Read-a-thon. Parents, family, staff, and community members were recruited to read to students. Superintendent Jane Westerhold and Associate Superintendent Paul Hertel dropped by to share their favorite books.
Can you guess my riddle? - The second graders in Mrs. Bradley's class spent time reading and writing different riddles. Riddles are jokes or questions that sometimes have a trick answer. Listen to the second graders as they read their riddles. Can you guess their riddles before the answer is given? Give it a try!
Riddles 1
Riddles 2
Riddles 3
Des Plaines City Hall was recently visited by Tiger Scout Pack 997 Den 1 from Iroquois Community School and South Elementary School. The Tiger Scouts, ages 6 and 7, visited with Mayor Martin J. Moylan and Police Officer Colin Johnson in the Mayor's Office where they talked about local government and the community. (pictured above back row left to right) Tiger Scout Jared Luksik, Tiger Scout Dorian Schrader, Mayor Martin J. Moylan, Police Officer Colin Johnson, front row from left to right - Tiger Scout Sergey Thomasino, Tiger Scout Max Thomasino, Tiger Scout Mohnish Soni, Tiger Scout Dhruvil Kotak and Brownie Juhi Soni pose for photograph while reciting the Tiger Scout promise in the Mayor's Office at City Hall.
Happy Holidays! – Fourth and fifth grade students kicked off the holiday season spending time together at craft club. The students used their artistic talents to design and decorate gingerbread houses. Thank you to Mrs. Bowie who led the students in this creative and festive craft. Enjoy the holiday season!
Be A Bluestem Reader! - There is a list of Bluestem books that is picked each year by the Illinois School Library Media Association. Students in grade 3-5 read the books on the list. At the end of the school year, students across Illinois vote on one book on the list that was their favorite. The book with the most votes is given the Bluestem Award! Fourth grade students at South School have been reading the books on the list, and they have found some great reads! Listen to their book reviews, and find out if one of the Bluestem books would be a good read for you!
Students review 4/5 stars
Students review 4/5 stars
Students review 5/5 stars
America Sings! – South Elementary School perfomred its annual patriotic music program to celebrate Veterans Day on November 10th, 2011. Veterans Day celebrates the lives and legacy of America's 23 million living Veterans. We encourage all Americans to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our Veterans for their service.
Soccer brings schools together – As part of the Extended Day program, the South soccer team was able to play both Plainfield and Orchard Place soccer teams for some friendly inter-school competition. The South Soccer team finished off their Fall season with an amazing 1-1 record. Classmates, staff members, and parents are pleased with the team's accomplishments. Excellent job, athletes!
Happy Halloween
Monday, October 31st – South students and staff celebrated Halloween with a festive parade around school and classroom celebrations. Students enjoyed this time with their classmates, playing games in their classroom and having a couple of special treats. A special thank you goes out to room parents who helped planned the classroom celebrations for students!
Calling all third graders and parents! Please visit Mrs. Janzen's third grade webpage for great website links. These quick links can lead you to excellent reading and math games/activities. Please take a look around and have fun!
White Pines Ranch
Every fall, fifth grade students, teachers, and parent volunteers from South School travel to White Pines Ranch in Oregon, Illinois for their outdoor education program. During their three-day stay, students develop wilderness survival skills; learn how to identify dangerous plants; study bats and echolocation; develop horsemanship skills; learn how to use a compass and measure paces; study fossils and rock layer formation; and strengthen their cooperative problem solving skills. Free time is spent on country line dancing, hayrides, campfires, the corn maze, and bingo.
The White Pines Outdoor Education Program is one of the most memorable learning experiences for South School students.
South School 2011-2012 Student Council Members
African Drumming assemblies
Thursday, April 29th - The assemblies were a culmination of a month-long Artist in Residency program. South welcomed Andrew and Taylor who spent a month with students during their music time and taught them about the geography and culture of Guinea, West Africa, through the use of rhythm and skill while drumming. The students of Joan Abrams, Music Teacher, played different types of drums and each grade level, including preschool and kindergarten, had an opportunity to perform for a day-time concert and an evening performance for parents.
On Monday, April 26th, South School Student Council members brought over 500 items to the Des Plaines Food Pantry and toured the facility. Student Council members collected the items during a week-long food drive, and they surpassed their goal of collecting 300 items. One student was heard saying, “I had no idea we could make such a difference in our own town.” Well done, Student Council!
Pre-School Visit - Dr. Jane Westerhold with Katie Fortmann's preschool class
Student Council recently sent 12 care packages to some of the soldiers in Afghanistan. We are proud of the Student Council’s dedication to community service. Thank you to the families who contributed to the care packages that were sent.
District 62 uses AlertNow to notify parents, staff, vendors, and the Board of Education of emergency and weather related school closings, cancellations, late starts, and general announcements.
AlertNow Message Replay Click Here – Enter a phone number or email to search for messages sent in the last 15 days.
