5/31/24

Happy Friday! We are in the home stretch! Four more days to go! 

If your child will not be here next week or leaving early for the summer break, please let me know so we can make sure they have all of their belongings. 

Field Day is next Tuesday! 5th grade time is from 10:15-11:15. Should be a fun day and fingers crossed we have no rain! 

Oops! Forgot to hit publish!

Have a wonderful weekend!

5/16/24

Happy Friday! We are nearing the finish line! 

Just a few announcements to end the week:

• 318 and 316 will be taking the spring STAR 360 in both Reading and Math next Monday and Tuesday. Make-ups will be the rest of the week, if a student is absent on testing days.  

• Our annual Pride Parade is next Weds afternoon! Staff and students will be walking around the school showing their pride and acceptance of all people.

• Taft is right around the corner! If you have not signed up for alerts on Remind, please review the digital cover letter with that information. 318 will be discussing what to wear and bring on that day. Fingers crossed for good weather!

Enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead!

5/10/24

Just 4 more weeks to go! I absolutely adore my door decor! Super cute and creative! Also a big thank you for the Starbuck's card and goody bag! It was so thoughtful of the class to think of me:) Definitely feeling appreciated this week.

A few reminders:

• Taft permission slip and health forms are due Monday!

• Bands for Bell is tonight! Sure to be a fun night! Bell's very own Teacher's Pet will be performing, but unfortunately without Ms. Furgason:( She's been under the weather this week and has no voice. 

• Fine Arts Night is Monday, May 13th from 6-8. Lots of fun activities planned for the whole family!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers! Hopefully, there is some special treatment planned for all you do!💐

05/3/24

Happy May! 

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter! Just 5 more weeks to go! Quite a few announcements to share with you this week:

• Q4 Progress reports are coming home today. 

• Taft permission slip and health forms are due Monday, May 13th. Thanks for getting these turned in quickly!

• Bands for Bell is next Friday, May 10th. Bell's very own Teacher's Pet will be performing with Ms. Furgason on vocals! A great night of music for all.

• Fine Arts Night is Monday, May 13th from 6-8. Lots of fun activities planned for the whole family!

• Here you will find the Wishlist Fund information for rising 6th graders. Please take the time to read and support our students if you can!

Have a wonderful weekend!

04/18/24

Happy Friday!

The students did great during the ISA testing this week. They felt confident and took the time that was needed. The dreaded Candor Health visit was on Weds.  All the students were extremely respectful and had thoughtful questions to ask our presenters. We know how uncomfortable these types of conversations can be for students at this age. They did great! Health lessons will continue during Science class. Please have or continue to have these conversations with your child. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out at anytime.

Announcements:

• Shrek Jr. the Musical is next week! Students will be watching the performance on Friday at 9:00am. Tickets for Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday performances can be purchased at the door or here until 4/22. It will be a fantastic show! You won't want to miss it!

• TAFT Outdoor Ed permission slip and information will be coming home next week. Please be on the lookout for that information. Our trip is Tuesday, May 28th!

Enjoy the weekend!

4/12/24

Hello!

Just a few reminders:

• ISA (Illinois Science Assessment) will be next Tues-Thurs. If you know your child will be absent, please let me know in advance, so we can add them for make-up testing. Tues. and Thurs. will be in the morning at 9:15 and Weds. will be in the afternoon starting at 1:15. 

• Our Candor Health visit is next Wednesday! You will be receiving some information via email on Monday. If we have not received the permission slip, please turn in by Monday. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

• Spirit Week is next week! A flyer was sent home yesterday.

• Report Cards for virtual conferences will come home on Monday. Sorry, for the lateness on this delivery!

Enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead!

4/5/24

Happy Friday! Hope everyone is having a great week.

A few reminders:

• Parent Teacher conferences are next Weds. April 10th. Please sign up here if you have not done so already. 

• Solar Eclipse consent forms are due by Sunday. Please fill it out ASAP to ensure your child gets to participate. You will find the link here. Glasses are provided and will be distributed on Monday.

• Students will be visiting the Book Fair Monday morning from 8:15-8:45. Cash only or e-Wallet. The book fair will also be open on Weds. during conference hours if your child will not be here on Monday or forgets.

• Holocaust Museum Field Trip is next Thurs. April 11th. Students will need to bring a brown bag lunch to school that day as we will be eating at the museum.

• Candor Health permission slips should've come home on Wednesday. These are due Friday, April 12th. ( I accidently put 11th on the slip.)

Have great weekend!

3/22/24

Happy almost Spring Break!

The students rocked the IAR test this week and we are all ready for some much deserved time off! 318 and 316 will be taking the ISA(Illinois Science Assessment) April 16-18th in the morning. Please, if you need to make any appts, try and schedule them for the afternoon. Testing will take place in the morning. Thank you!

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy break with family and friends!

**No School for students on Monday April 1st!**

3/15/24

Happy St. Paddy's Day weekend! Hope you have a little fun planned this weekend. Not too many announcements this week. Just a few reminders...

• IAR testing begins next Tuesday for 3-5th grade. ELA will be in the morning on Tues, Weds and Math will be in the afternoon Tues, Weds, and Thurs.

• Students should get a good night's sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and have a water bottle at school. 

• If you child will be missing any of the testing, please let me know ASAP.

• Friday will be a school wide movie day! The 5-8th graders will be watching a movie in the afternoon. A little reward for their hard work during testing.

Have a wonderful weekend!

3/8/24

Happy Friday! 

This is some crazy weather we have been having as of lately. Just a reminder to set your clocks back as hour. We loose an hour of sleep, but we are gaining more daylight! Spring is very near:) 

Thanks to all who volunteered to chaperone our field trips. The chaperone for our Holocaust Museum is Mr. Schneiderman (Maddie) and our TAFT: Outdoor Education trip is; Ms. Wehrman (Alaric), Ms. Woods (Noa) and Ms. Ferrer (Diego). I'll keep the list of names in case we take another field trip or unexpected cancellation.

Have a great weekend!

3/1/24

Happy March!

We are inching closer to spring! Love that it is staying lighter later. If your child is absent and needs to know what they have missed, they see me upon their return. An absent sheet is created so students can stay up to date with lessons and assignments. 

5th grade is starting our Fulcrum Point residency today! For the next 2 weeks, students will be learning about music culture, instruments, songs and geography from around the world. Today is an introduction of all the countries we will be learning about during this time. Ask your kids about it! They should have lots of information to share with you. 

Thanks to everyone who volunteered to chaperone a few of our trips coming up in April and May. We have quite a few of you, so I am going to draw names. I will let you know who our chaperones will be and if for some reason you are not able to attend, please let me know.

Just a few reminders:

• Our gala is tonight! Hope to see many of your there.

• Next Tuesday is "Read Under the Stars" day. Students may come dressed in comfy clothes, bring a stuffy, blanket and SMALL pillow. **All students should come to school with a book to read.**

• IAR testing starts next week for some of the school. 5th grade will be tesing the week of the 19th. 

Looks to be a beautiful weekend ahead!

Enjoy!

2/23/24

Happy Friday everyone!

Hope your week is going well. Next week in ELA for Monday/Tuesday and Math on Thurs, 318 will be taking  practice tests in preparation for the IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) test later in March. These tests will help familiarize and manage navigation of the testing tools, so students will feel comfortable when taking the real time tests. Our week for testing is the week of March 19th (week leading up to Spring Break).We will test Tues-Thurs and make-ups will be on that Friday, if needed. I will send out the schedule in the next week or so. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

Our gala is next Friday, March 1st at Sarabande. We hope to see many of you in attendance. It's a great night for the adults:) and a chance to raise more funds for our wonderful programs here at Bell!

Have a wonderful weekend!

2/16/24

Happy Friday!

Hope everyone has had a good week and is looking forward to the long weekend! I know I sure am! With that being said, No School on Monday; President's Day. We have started our new novel, The Watson's Go to Birmingham and the students are loving it! While it's a great read aloud, some chapters will be assigned to be read at home to keep us moving along. This is a great opportunity for some shared reading.

**Tuesday is National Comfy Day**! 

Brought to you by our Student Activities Committee! Students and staff are encouraged to wear comfy clothes, bring a blanket, maybe even a small pillow and get cozy! I am highly recommending students come to school with a good book to read!

Have a great weekend!

2/11/24

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful day. Progress Reports were sent home on Friday. Hopefully, you have seen these and discussed with your child. Again, this is a 5 week report. There is plenty of time for improvement. 

A few reminders:

•  Monday and Tuesday are the valentine sales to support our 8th grade DC scholarship fund. These items will be sold at both lunches on these days. **CASH ONLY**

• Valentine's Day is Weds. Students are allowed to bring valentines for the whole class; 29 students.

• No School Monday, February 19th in honor of President's Day.

Have a great week ahead!

1/19/24

Happy Friday!

The students were rock stars this week with the craziness of moving our lives around and planting ourselves for a few weeks in the music room! In all honesty, it's a nice change having space to actually move around comfortably. We are hoping to be back in 318 by the first week of February...fingers crossed! 

Next Tuesday and Wednesday the 5th grade will be taking the STAR 360 winter assessment in both ELA and Math. This is just a middle of the year assessment to find areas of need that will be incorporated in our academic planning for the rest of the year. 

Also for next week, is the Title IX student training. This is a yearly, mandatory training for students, which will teach them tools on how to prevent and report any abuse or bias-based harm. Here is the letter with an explanation of the training. You will find information and steps to take if you choose to opt your child out of the training. Students will be watching the training video on Wednesday, Jan. 24th.

Have a wonderful weekend!

1/12/24

Happy Snowy Friday! 

We had a great first week back from break. Taking it slow definitely helped us in getting reacquainted with our schedule/expectations in our classroom and throughout the building. 

Our school-wide spelling bee will take place on Friday, January 19th and I'm super proud to announce that Theodore and Asher will be representing 318 this year! We wish them the best of luck!

A few reminders:

• Q2 Report Cards will be coming home today. 

• No School this coming Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

• Check in with your child in terms of supplies that may be needed for the second half of the year.

Please stay safe and warm this weekend!

12/15/23

Happy Friday!

We are in the final stretch before winter break! Not sure about all of you, but I am definitely ready for some family and down time! The students are, too! 

Spirit Week is next week! The week's themes and days are posted in the 318 homeroom google classroom, along with the Shrek Jr. audition form. There will also be a spirit week flyer coming home via back-pack this afternoon.

The 5th grade will be having a full day of holiday fun on Dec.21st! Movie in the morning and games/activities in the afternoon.

Please look below for reminders:)

Enjoy the weekend!

12/8/23

Happy Friday and a very Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends! Hope you are spending this special time with family and friends.

If you need to get a message to your child during the school day, please call the office and they will get the message to us. Most of the day I am not on my computer and may not see your email in a timely manner.

Spirit Week will be the last week before our winter break! Information on the week will be coming shortly.

A few reminders:

• End of Quarter 2 is December 22nd. 

• No School for students on the 22nd.

• Please check in with your child about school supplies. It's always a good idea to have extras on hand or grab more over break. With that said, all students need headphones. A few still do not have them here at school. This could be a Hanukkah or Christmas present:))

Have a wonderful weekend!

12/1/23

Hello and Happy December!

We have a busy month ahead here at Bell. Next Friday, December 8th, is our Bell Holiday Market. This is where students get to do a little shopping for their families and friends. In the past the students have wrapped the gifts here at school. I will let you know by early next week if we will be doing that again. On an exciting note, this morning Shrek was announced as Bell's spring play! More information on the play and auditions will be out soon. Our school wide annual Spelling Bee will be in January, but our class spelling bee will be before the winter break. Students will receive a list of words most likely next week and our bee will be the following.

Have a wonderful weekend!

11/17/23

Just a few reminders before the fall break.

• Picture Retake Day is Tuesday, November 28th.

• Progress Reports will be coming home today. Remember, this is just progress for the first part of Q2. Students will have plenty of time to improve. Please speak with your child about their progress. It's always helpful getting information right from the source:) 

Wishing all of you a very safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving with loved ones and friends!

11/9/23

Hello everyone! My announcements/reminders are a day early, as we are off for Veteran's Day tomorrow.

Reminders:

• Book Fair for 318 will be next Wednesday. Please scroll down to last weeks announcements to see the informational letter from Ms. Aldrin. 318 could always use some new books! We are currently in the process of updating our classroom library. If you are interested in donating books for our library, we would be deeply grateful for any donation. Thank you for considering!

• Picture proofs should've come home with your child Tuesday or Wednesday. All information about orders and retakes are on the proof. Retake day for all students is November 28th. You can fill in this form for any retakes or if your child was absent that day. 

• Common Food Pantry food drive is November 8-15th. Please consider donating non-perishable food items to Chicago land families in need. Students can bring items to school and/or drop off in boxes outside the main office.

Have a nice weekend!

11/3/23

Happy Friday! If you did not see the announcements from last week, please note that Ms. Furgason's website has been added for SS content and information. Students are coming home with their math tests today. ALL STUDENTS have the opportunity to make corrections. We discussed this in class today and attached to the test is a correction sheet or division sheet. All corrections are due on Monday. I'm asking that parents sign the correction/division sheets when completed. 

No School next Friday, November 10th, in honor of Veteran's Day. Thank you to all our veterans!

Book Fair is the week of November 13th! 318 will be visiting the book fair on Wednesday, November 15th between 8:15-8:45. Attached is Book Fair letter from Ms. Aldrin in preparation for 318's visit.

Don't forget to fall behind this weekend! I can sure use the extra hour of sleep!

Have a wonderful weekend!

10/30/23

Happy Hallow's Eve! 

Sorry this is late coming. I have added Ms. Furgason's website information on the curriculum tab. Here you can see what the students are doing in SS throughout the year.

Tomorrow is Halloween! Students are all allowed to wear costumes. No masks, props, weapons, face painting allowed.

It was a pleasure meeting all of you on Thursday! For those that were virtual, your child will be bringing home the report card, along with the STAR 360 Fall reports.

Have a wonderful week!

10/20/23

Hello everyone! We made it through the first quarter! It was a rough road for me, but I am so ready to start the second quarter fresh. 318 and I had a nice discussion this morning on positive take-aways from this first quarter along with some difficulties. Mostly, just getting used to the 5th grade structure and schedule was shared as challenging. Little homework each night was a positive!:) I tell the students first quarter is like taking that first step; learning about the structure and especially the expectations. It's completely different up on the 3rd floor. They navigated beautifully! 

**Please be sure to sign up for P/T Conferences if you have not done so already** The link is directly below in last week's news.

Reminders:

• No school next Thurs or Friday; October 26-27th.

• Students are allowed to dress in costumes for Halloween.

• Be sure to sign the birthday treat permission slip!

Have a wonderful weekend!

10/13/23

Happy Friday the 13th! 

A few reminders:

• Picture Day is Monday! Dress your best!

• Parent Teacher Conferences are Thursday, October 26th. The link is up and ready to go! Be sure to schedule your appointment, as times fill up very quickly. We have the option of in-person and virtual. (Please be aware there are two options listed for the type of appt.) Here is the link to sign-up.

• Be sure to sign the birthday permission slips! (came home in backpack mail today)

For Halloween, students will be allowed to wear costumes. No masks or weapons allowed. We also ask that face painting be saved for trick-or-treating that evening.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay dry!

10/6/23

Happy Friday everyone! If you are anything like me, you are enjoying this beautiful, fall weather.😀 Since I was not here for Curriculum night, included under the more tab, is 318's Curriculum Night slide show presentation. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Just a few quick reminders for October:

• No School next Monday, Oct 9th; Indigenous Peoples Day

• Picture Day is Monday, Oct. 16th

• Report Card Pick-Up is Thursday Oct. 26th (more information will be coming soon)

Students will get to dress up for Halloween one last time in 5th grade! We will be discussing more about Halloween as a class next week.

Have a wonderful, long weekend!

8/25/23

Hello everyone! We had a fantastic first week! The students were rock stars! Looking forward to a wonderful year ahead. I will be updating the website on a weekly basis so stay tuned...

 Just a few important reminders:

• Parent homework is due ASAP, if you have not emailed to me already. 

• CPS/Bell School forms are due ASAP.

• Please review Bell's Schoolwide Expectations.

• Back to School Bash: Saturday, September 9th starting with a 3k at 9am, followed by fun and games between 10-2pm. Come out and get your Bell spirit on!

• Curriculum Night: Thursday, September 7th starting at 6:30. More info to come soon!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Have a wonderful weekend!