Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Lots of reminders!

Good morning!  Please read the following reminders/announcements:

From Mrs. Grost in the library--

Katherine Applegate, author and Newbery Medalist for The One and Only Ivan, will be visiting with 2nd-5th grade students on Wednesday, December 18. If you wish to purchase a book to be signed by the author all orders are due into the library by Friday, December 13




From Mrs. Lucci in the music room--

Indian Trail School Song

Please use the following video to learn and practice the Indian Trail school song! We will be singing the song next week at the opening ceremonies of our Indian Trail Winter Olympics and we'd like everyone to sing along!

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_LbinXGdYTE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

From the 4th grade team--

Dear 4th Grade Families,
In conjunction with our novel study of "perspective" using the novel, Shiloh, we partnered with Orphans of the Storm today.  Orphans of the Storm is a Lake County animal shelter that provides care for animals that have been abused, neglected, lost, and/or abandoned.  Students drew connections between the animals in the shelter, and Shiloh in our novel.
In addition to learning about how Orphans of the Storm helps local animals, we are partnering with them to collect items the shelter needs on a regular basis.  Below are some suggestions for donation items to send to school.  Our grade-level will be collecting donations until December 20th, and will donate all collected items to the shelter!
Help us provide for animals who have been in unfortunate situations like Shiloh!
  • Newspaper (we go through hundreds each day)
  • Blankets (during the winter months every dog goes to bed with a blankie) (not too large or heavy as we wash and dry every blanket daily)
  • Towels
  • Dog bones, chew bones, treats, balls
  • Cat trees, toys, beds, treats
  • Sturdy dog and cat combs and brushes
Learn more about the wonderful animal shelter, Orphans of the Storm:

Sincerely,
The 4th Grade Team

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The Classroom Coin Challenge is COMING!!

CLASSROOM COIN CHALLENGE 
We are challenging the students to raise money for our 
ALL FOR BOOKS 
book fair program by bringing in:
November 18th – 22nd
PENNIES on Monday
NICKELS on Tuesday
DIMES on Wednesday
QUARTERS on Thursday
ANYTHING GOES on Friday
The money will be used to buy books at our fair for children and families in need. For every dollar raised, Scholastic will donate to a children’s charity. ie.$300=300 books

The class that raises the most money wins a breakfast party on the Friday of the book fair!

Thank you for your help in promoting literacy!!!

Katie Cohen Book Fair Chairperson

Monday, November 11, 2013

Making the Band!

Our current science unit is on sound and light. We are focusing on sound first. The students' first challenge was to work in a group of four to create their own instruments out of the following materials:
                               --1 sheet of paper        --1/4 cup of rice
                               --2 paper plates           --2 styrofoam cups
                               --3 rubber bands         --4 straws
                               --1 metal hanger         --1 piece of foil
                               --1 plastic container    --1 ruler
                               --2 plastic spoons       --tape

After they created their instruments, each group had to write a 30 second song on sound waves. Check out our work!








Monday, September 30, 2013

Support the PTO!

Good morning!

Please remember to support Indian Trail's PTO.  Currently, there are two fundraisers going on:

--The Innisbrook wrapping paper sale

--Family BINGO night this Friday, October 4 at 6:30 pm.

It’s bingo time! Is your family ready for fun? Join us in the Big Gym on Friday, October 4, 2013 from 6:30-8:30. Bingo cards are $4 each. Maybe your family will be a lucky winner of one of our fun prizes.
Delicious snacks will be on sale. Please join us for this exciting fundraiser!

Help us make Bingo Night a success. If you can volunteer by baking or bringing a snack, helping to solicit prize donations or working on bingo night, please contact Bingo Night Co-Chairs Wendy Bloom (wendy.bloom@kirkland.com) and Elva Arend (elvaarend@gmail.com)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Orchestra Announcement!!

Attention 4th grade students and families interested in signing up for Beginning Orchestra:
Due to the cancelation of school and after school activities this week, Orchestra sign-up meetings will take place on Thursday, September 12 from 3:20-7:00 PM and on Friday, September 13 from 2:00-5:30 PM.  If you would like to reserve a time slot or find an alternate time due to Open House, holiday, and/or other schedule conflicts, please contact Mr. Makula as soon as possible (dmakula@nssd112.org - 224 765-3328).  Thank you for your continued flexibility and sorry for any inconvenience.

Monday, August 26, 2013

The first FULL week!

Good evening!  This first FULL week of school is already off to a busy start.

A couple of reminders:
1. Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 27, has been modified to a 1:00 Early Release Day.  This change was made due to the extreme heat and humidity.

2. Our first spelling list of the year was sent home today.  It is a test on the student names of 4W.  The basic requirement is first names.  Students can choose to challenge themselves and memorize the spelling of the last names.  Each correct last name will earn a bonus point!

3. The fourth grade homework policy was introduced to the students today!  Please ask your child about the homework warning system and how they can "redeem" themselves.  This will be explained in detail to parents during Open House.

Have a great night!  See you tomorrow.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Back to school!

Welcome back to 4th grade in 4W! Today was the first day of school, and I had a wonderful time meeting all of my new students.  We learned a lot about each other, and spent some time reviewing the routines and procedures in our classroom.  I am really looking forward to the year ahead.

Tomorrow, we have the chance to earn our first marble if the ENTIRE class returns their first homework assignment of the year!  Tonight's homework was to share a letter about fourth grade with your family.  The last page of the packet should be returned tomorrow--with a signature from each student and his or her parent.

I hope that you are all as excited about this year as I am!  See you tomorrow.  
Mrs. Weinstein's 4th grade class  2013-2014

The silly version.....

Friday, May 24, 2013

Running for Rory!

The fourth grade team had a great day showing our support for the Rory David Deutsch foundation.  We can't wait to hear the final totals of our fundraising!  We will keep you posted!


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Running for Rory Week


Just a reminder to our Indian Trail Community, this is Running For Rory Week! 
Dear Indian Trail Families,
We are well underway in our Running for Rory week here at Indian Trail. Last year we were so pleased to see our community rally around the cause. Our students ran over 670 miles and raised nearly $10,000. 
This year we are joining forces with Elm Place school and plan on having a grand finale run together on may 24th.  Two weeks ago we sent home an informational flyer and donation sheet with all students. As of today, we have raised $405 towards the cause and we hope to see additional donations come in as the week progresses. 
As a reminder, this is the background on the Rory David Deutsch foundation and information on our school fundraising event. 
Who’s Rory?
Rory Deutsch is a former student of Indian Trail School. Seven-year-old Rory died of a brain stem glioma, a type of pediatric brain tumor. His courage and optimism in the face of inevitable death was an inspiration to all who knew him. The mission of The Rory David DeutschFoundation is to eradicate pediatric brain tumors and other devastating childhood diseases as well as to make a difference in the lives of afflicted children and their families. It accomplishes these purposes by: 



-Funding medical research and programs.
-Increasing public awareness of the Foundation's mission. 

-Creating opportunities to engage young people and adults in activities that can make a positive difference in their lives.

Running for Rory 2013 Event
May 20th- May 24th both Elm Place and Indian Trail will work together in their first collaborative Running for Rory event. In order to make this fundraiser more meaningful for students, they will participate in a week long distance running program that fosters the importance of exercise, teamwork, and goal setting during physical education classes.  Our goal is to run over 1000 miles in one day and raise over $10,000.00 in donations.

Indian Trail students participated in their first “Rory” fundraiser last year and received an unbelievable response from our community. Indian Trail was able to run nearly 670 miles in one day with only 400 K-5 students. In addition, our community also helped raise over $8,000.00 for the Rory David Deustch Foundation.

Donations
In addition to their training and education, the students will also have the opportunity to collect donations for the Rory David DeutschFoundation. Being a non-profit, all proceeds go to their cause. There is no administrative fees or promotional costs that take away from your donation. Our goal is to reach $10,000.00 in donations this year. We know that can’t be done without a huge effort on your behalf. So please, spread the word. Let your family, friends, and neighbors know about Running for Rory and see if they’d like to donate. Every student has been given a “Donation Sheet” but please do not feel obligated to participate in this part of our program. All instructions and details to donate can be found on your student’s “Donation Sheet”. You can also donate online at http://www.roryd.org/ simply find the donations tab at the top of the page and scroll down to fundraisers and click onto the “Running for Rory” link.

How else can you help?

-Encourage your kids to make the most of Running For Rory week. Talk with them about the importance they will play in raising awareness about pediatric brain tumors.

-Volunteer… Elm Place School and Indian Trail School warmly welcomes you to volunteer during our Running For Rory week (May 20th-24th). We could use support in many different areas. Last year, parents came out to help with training, water refills, and food distribution. If you would like to volunteer to help please contact jfunke@nssd112.org or shenkel@nssd112.org

Our school community is so thankful for your support and we look forward to a great fundraiser this year. We would love the opportunity to answer any questions or concerns you may have about Running For Rory. On behalf of our all our students, teachers, and The Rory David Deutsch Foundation we thank you.

Sincerely,


Craig Keer                                                            Josh Funke
Principal - Indian Trail School                        PE- Indian Trail School
ckeer@nssd112.org                                                jfunke@nssd112.org

Richard Schroeder                                                Sheri Henkel
Principal – Elm Place Middle School                        PE – Indian Trail School
rschroeder@nssd112.org                                     shenkel@nssd112.org

Rory David Deutsch Foundation

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Date change for FUN FEST!!

Due to the forecasted rain and cooler temperatures for Thursday, May 9th, we are rescheduling Fun Fest for Wednesday, May 15th from 5:00-7:30pm.  Preregistration packet pick up will now be on Tuesday, May 14th in our front circle drive from 8-8:45 am.  In addition, we will still have teacher raffle boxes and raffle baskets at lunch on Tuesday.

The 4th/5th Grade Orchestra Concert will still take place at Elm Place at 7pm on May 15th as planned.  The orchestra students will have the unique opportunity to enjoy fun fest for almost two hours and then showcase their talents across the street at Elm Place.


Thank you!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Public Service Announcements

Dear Parents,

Over the past two weeks, our class has been learning about and creating Public Service Announcements.


Public Service Announcements are non-commercial advertisements focusing on social issues. They are intended to change public attitudes by raising awareness of a specific issue or concern.  


In order to kick-start our argument/opinion unit, we learned about P.S.A.s. We watched several different examples, analyzed their features, and brainstormed relevant social issues that kids may face in their lives. Students then conducted research and put together a P.S.A. with intent to inform and influence their peers. Students were given free-reign to use any media source to create their final products.

Enjoy our P.S.A.s and hopefully you are inspired to take action on these important issues!
Kyle, Noah, and Michael--Endangered Animals

Albert and Adam--Sportsmanship
Kathryn, Matylda, and Bryn--Healthy Eating

Aidan, Cora and Sophie--Animals

Jaden and Eli--Cheating
Alex and Lorenzo--Bullying
Lucy, Eugenie, and Izzy--Bullying

Abbie and Joseph--Work hard at school