Mrs. Bush
Mrs. Bush
Embedded Files
Principal's Update
Principal's Update
Dear CIS Families,
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful spring break. It is hard to believe we are already in the last part of the school year. April and May are busy but fun months, and I am looking forward to all of the exciting activities planned for the end of the year.
Thank You, Paraprofessionals!
Thank You, Paraprofessionals!
We celebrated our CIS Paraprofessionals on Wednesday, April 3! I want to take a moment to thank these individuals for their hard work and commitment to students. Our students and staff are so lucky to have you!
Feel free to send these dedicated individuals a note of appreciation for their hard work!
Mrs. Ahten
Mrs. Alexander
Mrs. Bennett
Mr. Betson
Mrs. Brent
Mr. Brent
Mrs. Brown
Mrs. Budde
Mrs. Coker
Mr. Cremeens
Mrs. Cunningham
Mrs. Heffta
Mrs. Kramer
Mrs. Williams
Thank you, Ms. Martin!
Thank you, Ms. Martin!
Assistant Principal Appreciation week is April 1 - April 5. I wanted to use this opportunity to thank Ms. Kim Martin, CIS Assistant Principal, for being an amazing asset to CIS! Ms. Martin is in her third year at CIS, and we are so thankful for her work with students and staff. Feel free to send Ms. Martin a note of appreciation at kkmartin@central51.net.
ROCK
ROCK
The second and final ROCK of the school year is Friday, April 19, and invitations will be coming soon! Students with no detentions/suspensions between Monday, February 12 and Friday, April 12 are invited!
5th - 8th Grade Awards - Save the Date!
5th - 8th Grade Awards - Save the Date!
We will celebrate CIS students at our Awards Ceremony on Monday, May 13 in Holford Gym during grade level PE times.
Be on the lookout for more details and the live stream link in the next couple of weeks!
Field Day
Field Day
CIS Field Day is coming soon! Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 23! A rain date is set a
More field day details and volunteer information are coming soon!
Erin's Law
Erin's Law
Mrs. Cherry sent communication to families on Thursday, April 4 regarding Erin's Law Presentations for 5th - 8th grade students. Presentations will take place during ELA classes on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26. We encourage all families to have discussions with their children to prepare them for these presentations.
Communication
Communication
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns!
Email: ebush@central51.net
Office Phone: (309)444-3943 ext. 2402
Ms. Martin
Assistant Principal's Update
Assistant Principal's Update
Welcome back from Spring Break! Hopefully, you all had a wonderful, restful break!
Drop off/Pick up
Drop off/Pick up
As the temperatures warm up, it will be great to see more students ride their bikes and walk to school. In the meantime, please remember the following when dropping off/picking up your children at school:
If you choose to park in the lot, please walk with your children from your vehicle to the crosswalk. We want to make sure students are safe and seen.
Please refrain from turning left into the parking lot as this clogs traffic.
Please use caution driving through the parking lot.
Please watch out for students walking and riding their bikes around the school.
ISA Testing
ISA Testing
The 5th and 8th grade students will be taking the Illinois Science Assessment April 16, 17, and 18. For those students taking the test, please encourage the following:
Charge your Chromebook nightly
Get a restful sleep prior to the test dates
Eat a healthy breakfast on the days of the test
Bring a set of WIRED headphones to school on the testing dates
Bring a book to school (Students are only allowed to use their Chromebook for testing during the tests.)
Cell phones and smart watches are not permitted by students in the testing environment. All student cell phones should be in their lockers. Any smart watches worn will need to be placed on the teacher's desk while testing or placed in the students' lockers.
Mrs. Brosch
Counselor's Corner
Counselor's Corner
I hope everyone had a great spring break! The Thursday before break, we held a CENTRAL Code assembly where students were recognized for Aware. We will have one more CENTRAL Code recognition assembly for Lead on Friday, May 3.
If you or your child have any questions or concerns that you think I can help with, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at kbrosch@central51.net.
Mrs. Perko - Reading
Skill Building
Skill Building
Why do humans benefit from struggle? The answer is in the structure of our brain’s inner workings. Not pretending to be a brain expert, articles available like this one in Edutopia The Neuroscience Behind Productive Struggle | Edutopia compare the connections in our brains to roads. When we learn something new we have to forge a new path. After additional practice or exposure, the path could be compared to a dirt road. We can get there but not very efficiently or easily. Roads to concepts we revisit often are eventually upgraded by our brains to super highways so we can effortlessly find and use the knowledge needed for the tasks we encounter.
How does this apply to parents and teachers as they seek to use productive struggle to build lasting knowledge and skill in student minds? The article recommends four techniques for using productive struggle to create super highways in our minds.
Encourage retrieval: Ask questions to encourage students to recall skills they may have learned that day or during the week. This signals the brain that the information is important enough to create more efficient paths to get to the information
Mix skill practice. This technique called Interleaving suggests that integrating past knowledge may be the best form of productive struggle. It may lead to errors (productive struggle) but encourages the use of long term memory and …you guessed it: builds better brain paths to the knowledge. It is tempting to sit and help our students learn spelling or vocabulary or math facts all in one session. It is ultimately better to work with them in short bursts and mix up the recall of knowledge and skill.
A perfect segway to the next technique: Spacing. Working on a skill for shorter amounts of time but at regular intervals with time in between also encourages those neural connections to improve. That is why cramming never really worked in high school. It may have gotten us through a test, but we are unlikely to really remember the skill or concept long term.
Relax. Taking time to breathe has physiological benefits. Regular mindfulness sessions build myelin which is a key component to the neuro superhighway your students are building in their brains.
As interventionists, we are always seeking innovative ways to build student’s brain connections. If you have any questions or concerns about your student’s math or reading learning highways, please reach out. Mandi Perko mperko@central51.net. Elizabeth Hahn ehahn@central51.net
Mrs. Hahn - Math
Mrs. Clarke - PE
Mrs. Lang - PE
Physical Education & Health
Physical Education & Health
Students are learning the importance of sleep, as well as tips to get better sleep!
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends. This helps your body get into a routine.
Turn off the TV, computer, and other devices, including cellphones at least 1 hour before its time to sleep.
Limit the intake of caffeine, especially in the afternoon and evening.
Exercising during the day can help you sleep better at night.
Mr. Godinez- Health
Mr. Betson - PE Paraprofessional
PTO
PTO
We've had a great (cold) spring! We thank you for the opportunity to work with Ms. Heffta and share in the author visit!
This month: Spring ROCK - April 19th. Be on the lookout for the invitations! **Volunteers will be needed**
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-10th: Follow this link to check out staff favorites - we'll be in the schools throughout to help share our appreciation for our teachers.
We'd love to see you at our meetings! The next and last one for this school year is May 2nd @ 7pm in the CIS Library! Come Join us!
Mrs. J. Uftring
Student Council
Student Council
Our last two donut days of the year are April 3rd and May 1st.
Looking ahead for the remainder of the year, Student Council will have another spirit week in May, focus on teacher appreciation items, and possibly have another fundraiser such as Smencil Sales.
If you have an idea you are wanting to share, please reach out to a Student Council member to email me :)
Mrs. Heffta
Library News
Library News
The Spring Scholastic Book Fair will be April 22-25 in the Holford Lobby from 4-6. We are excited to open the fair during Study Hall April 23-25! We earn Scholastic Dollars for every purchase and we use the dollars for books and reading incentives.
We are in need of volunteers!! Please use the link to sign up for an hour time slot. High school students looking for volunteer hours are welcome.
Volunteer Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B44AFAE2EA2FC1-48414123-cisspring
Book Fair Site: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/centralintermediateschool
Mrs. Youngman
Central Care Club
Central Care Club
BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!
The Central Care Club is asking for donations of gently used books for our upcoming book sale in May (date TBD). This is a great opportunity to clean out book shelves and all of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude.
The Central Care Club book sale will take place in May for all CPS and CIS students and each book will cost $.25.
Our goal is to help start summer off right with "new to you" books to read over the summer!
All donations can be dropped off at the CPS or CIS offices.
Please be on the lookout for more detailed information about the CCC book sale. We will be sending it out soon.
Important Dates:
Important Dates:
April 5
Track & Field City Meet at WCHS, 4:30 pm
April 8
No Early Childhood Classes
April 9
Track & Field vs. Pekin at Pekin Community High School, 4:15 pm
Scholastic Bowl hosts Metamora Grade School, CIS Library, 4:00 pm
April 11
5-8 Grade Cross Cat Field Trip, 9:30 am -11:30 pm
Washington Township Choir Festival (7th/8th Grade Choir), Five Points, 7:00 pm
April 12
Mrs. Oehlke's 6th Grade Resource Math Class Field Trip, 11:50 am
Track & Field vs. East Peoria at Eastside Complex, 4:00 pm
April 13
Bowling IESA Sectionals, details TBA
April 15
Track & Field vs. Dunlap Middle at Dunlap High School Stadium, 4:00 pm
April 16
Scholastic Bowl hosts Pekin, CIS Library, 4:00 pm
April 18
5-8 Grade Cross Cat Field Trip, 9:30 am -1:30 pm
Track & Field vs. Morton at Morton High School
April 19
CIS Spring Rock
7th Grade Field Trip, 8:30 am -2:30 pm
Bowling IESA State Finals, details TBA
April 20
Bowling IESA State Finals, details TBA
Track & Field Tazwood Tournament at Eureka High School, 9:00 am
April 22
Spring Book Fair
April 23
Spring Book Fair
Bradley University Bandoramapaloozafest (select 6th-8th grade students), Bradley University
April 24
Spring Book Fair
Scholastic Bowl Regional Tournament, details TBA
Track & Field hosts Washington Middle School at WCHS
April 25
Spring Book Fair
April 26
Spring Book Fair
Track and Field Meet at WCHS, 4:30 pm
April 27
Track & Field at Hornet Invite - Eureka High School, 9:00 am
ISU Band Festival at ISU Performing Arts Center, Normal, IL
April 29
Scholastic Bowl Sectional Tournament, details TBA (State Tournament is May 3, details TBD)
April 30
Spring Choir Concert [5th Grade Art Show] - 5th/6th Choir, 7th/8th Choir Boys Ensemble, Girls Ensemble in CIS Holford Gym, 7:00 pm
May 1
Spring Band Concert in CIS Holford Gym, 7:00 pm
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