Midwest Central Primary School - Home of the Raiders

Hello Raiders, I'm happy to be almost to the end of January and just now communicating about the weather. As you're aware, winter weather will soon be upon us. Several people have asked about whether a snow day will be used as a remote learning day. Should we need to cancel school for weather, Midwest Central plans to use a snow day just as we have in the past. We will not have any remote learning on those days. We will simply add them to the end of the year as we've done traditionally. I hope this clears up any confusion. Best, Dr. Todd Hellrigel

The fourth grade classes are learning about different types of energy in science. Today, the classes made ice cream to learn about heat transfer. Ms. Hamblin’s class enjoyed this tasty experiment and declared it the ‘best day ever’.

Save the Date!

February Menus

Primary School Lost and found. Whatever is not claimed by Monday at the end of the school day will be donated.

The mobile dental clinic, Miles of Smiles, will be holding a dental clinic at the Primary School on February 19th. They provide exams and preventative services (cleaning and sealants) for students in Early Childhood through 5th grade; plus 6th, 8th, and 9th grades to fulfill dental services required by the state for school attendance. They will accept private and Medicaid/All Kids insurances. Forms went home with students this week. You must provide the billing information that is located on the form. Please be sure to complete all areas, sign, and date at the bottom of the form. Contact the school nurse if you need another form. The exam provided meets the State of Illinois school dental requirements due by May 15th. Remote learners can participate. Parents are responsible for transportation. Please be aware that there are no appointment times. Contact the school nurse with any questions.

What a fun Friday in preschool! Ms. Dougherty and Ms. Vaughn’s class has been learning all about signs in our environment and today we went on a sign hunt in our building! Our favorite was the exit sign! We are also enjoying learning through play in our classroom centers!

Danny Brackney earned a Subway lunch today in Ms. Gough's class. He filled in one state per day that he displayed expected behaviors! Way to go, Danny! Keep up the great work!

It was a fun-filled day of crafts, building, socializing, and reading in Ms Forsythe’s preschool room this morning!

There is no school today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We look forward to seeing students back on Tuesday, January 19th.

Reminder - Today (1/15/21) is a 1/2 day for students. Also, there will be no school on Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Friday, January 15, is a half day with an 11:40 AM dismissal. We are offering our students a self-care, wellness day including the following activities. Please ask them about this first-ever, exciting day and use these resources at home on those evenings, weekends, and breaks that you want some quiet and calm in your house! • New Breathing Exercise: Finger Breathing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bvYNX6Roge2mQ8iS89AXXYEb6rYeLp_w/view?usp=sharing • Yoga: Cosmic Kids https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=cosmic+kids+yoga • Mindfulness Video: This woman does a great job explaining mindfulness and why it is a good exercise to start practicing. https://youtu.be/8rp5bpFIUpg • YouTube playlist for Just Dane videos: These videos are of all difficulties. These videos are great for movement. Children need to move throughout their day to keep their minds focused and body’s ready to listen. Here is a great way for kids to move and have fun at the same time. Mr. Forbes gave a tip: I usually simplify harder ones by focusing on the top half of the body, then you can add in lower half when you’re comfortable (the feet are usually the hardest parts of the choreography). https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFtrDKHAEj7VleHJ5L7wLjroM4_JvwI4 • Stress ball activity: Go Noodle has this activity in case anyone wants to use it Friday along with their stress ball activity. https://app.gonoodle.com/activities/how-to-make-a-squishy-stress-ball?sp=search&sn=search&st=video%20versions&sid=96 • Read alouds My Many Colored Days by: Dr. Seuss (All Grade Levels) https://youtu.be/EjNNE-cLQ-o Llama Llama Mad at Mama (Pre-K/K) https://youtu.be/-YyFW8Nm37c When Sophie Gets Angry…. Really Really Angry (K-2) https://youtu.be/ZJboHWzVgp8 Wilma Jean the Worry Machine (K-5) https://youtu.be/Px8pj-vIErY Dr. Seuss’ Sleep Book (2-5) https://youtu.be/4N-ULcZOKI0

Good Afternoon Parent and Guardians, We have had a lovely week getting back into a solid routine and it feels good to be here! We are currently sitting, for a second week here at the Primary School, with zero COVID cases among staff and students. We do have some quarantines but those exposures are occurring outside of the school setting. Please stay aware of any COVID symptoms and remain home with all children if you or someone in your home is testing for COVID and do not hesitate to reach out to us for general guidance about quarantine and attendance when you need. We are benchmark assessing over the next two weeks using STAR (online benchmarking) and BAS (one on one reading assessment) so please encourage your children to try their very best on these. We will continue to go outside for recess daily as often as possible. Please dress your children accordingly and if your child needs a coat, hat, or gloves please, please let us know. We have received a donation of items and would love to help your family if needed! Lastly, for the safety of all children, we MUST walk your children into the building to sign in if you arrive after 8:00 AM. You must also walk your preschool children to the east side, preschool doors. We want to make sure that all students are accounted for safely and these are two areas we are committed to in promoting this safety and accountability. Important dates: Half Day Friday January 15: Dismissal at 11:40 AM No School Monday: MLK Jr Day Please stay tuned to your email and Facebook page for two additional notices. One describing some assistance we are seeking here at the Primary School and another outlining our Student Wellness Fair tomorrow. Thank you for your continued efforts in partnering with us as your local education provider!

Congratulations to Ms. McDaniels who won a $300 grant from the IL Retired Teachers Foundation! She was one of the few selected from 247 applicants.

Congratulations to DeEtte Garman who received a $750.00 grant to buy books for MCPSl! Way to go Ms. Garman!!!

Chris Payne has had enough good daily behavior to fill out his "State" of Behavior! Showing expected behaviors gives the kids the right to fill out one state per day. He earns a free lunch from Ms. Gough from a local restaurant on Monday. Keep up the great work, Chris!

Ms. Gough’s class worked VERY hard on a class goal coming back from break. Their goal was to earn 50 tally marks Monday through Thursday. They had to show genuine acts of kindness and expected behaviors. They did it and earned a puppy party, compliments of Ms. Livengood!!! We thoroughly enjoyed our puppy cuddles today!

Happy Thursday Parents and Guardians! We had a bit of a slow start, I think we were all feeling a little sluggish after those two weeks off. I know many of us, students and staff alike, had to readjust to all of the COVID requirements of masking, temp checks, distancing, etc. But, we have picked up the pace and are feeling a little more into a routine by today. I have a few reminders for some of our building procedures and upcoming dates to note: 1. Transportation Please call the transportation department with any daily or permanent bus changes by 1:00 PM at (309) 968-3020 so we can plan accordingly. When dropping off your children, if you will exit your car you must park in the lot and walk them to the building. Please do not leave unattended vehicles in the car drop off lane. • Preschoolers must be escorted to the outside classroom doors by a parent as well as retrieved from the classroom doors in the afternoon. They cannot be left alone to navigate down the busy sidewalk with the moving buses and middle and primary schoolers. • Kindergarteners must also be picked up at the front doors with line-of-sight contact from the teacher that is monitoring. We appreciate your attention to those transportation reminders to keep all of our students, especially our youngest ones, as safe as possible. 2. Outerwear We are continuing to go outside as weather permits to get that fresh air and sunshine, if the clouds and fog would ever leave us. Please send hats, gloves, coats, etc. to keep your children warm out there. If they forget something, please tell them to ask a teacher or the office and we will lend them what they need to stay warm. 3. COVID We continue to temp check, distance, clean and sanitize often, and wear masks. Though some guidelines are changing for essential workers, including educational staff, due to several factors, there will be no changes to our current COVID policies for the general student population per health department guidance. Most importantly, if you or your children are being tested and/or awaiting COVID test results, please isolate at home and do not send any children in the home to school until you have negative test results. If anyone in your home is symptomatic, please contact the school at (309) 968-6464 so speak with Nurse Shyla. If you receive test results or anything urgent you need to share over a weekend, please email Nurse Shyla at thorne@midwestcentral.org or Principal Timm at timm@midwestcentral.org. We appreciate your diligence to all of the above matters and we continue to be successful because of your partnership with our staff! 4. Upcoming Dates January 15 Half day, dismiss at 11:40 AM January 18 No School: MLK Jr. Day Have a great end to your week and weekend!

Join our team!

MCPS staff is showering Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Ashlaw (and husband), and congratulating them on their upcoming arrival of their first born. Welcome Baby Ashlaw to the MCPS family!