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Upcoming Events:
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November:
Parent/Teacher Conferences
November 21
November 22
Thanksgiving Break
November 21 thru
November 25
December:
PTA Family Night
December 2
Green Day
December 6
Helping Hands Club
December 8
PTA Staff Movie Night
December 9
Market Day
December 14
Board of Education Meeting
December 14
PTA Meeting
December 15
Winter Break
December 19 thru January 2
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President's Letter
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Dear Whiteley Families,
I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week. We have done a lot in the first couple months of school with a lot more activities still to come. A BIG thanks to Christine McGuire and Carrie Schalk for running the MultiCultural Event this year and to all the volunteers who helped make the night possible. It was a great sucess.
The Bookfair has started and will continue until 11/22, the PTA Family Fun Night is on Friday, 12/2. Please be on the look out for eNews bulletins, flyers or check our PTA calendar for more information about each event.
The PTA Board would like to encourage everyone to try and attend our monthly meetings to better understand what is happening around school, as well as, help us continue to improve the PTA. We have seen several new faces this year, and hope to see more!
Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Sincerely,
Amy Langston PTA President |
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Letter from Our Principal
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Dear Parents,
Thank you to Mrs. McGuire and the Multi Cultural Committee for organizing a wonderful Multi Cultural Event at Whiteley School on Friday, November 11th. Thank you to all the families that hosted a country and prepared a favorite food item or activity to share.
Students will not be in attendance this week, November 21-25, 2011. The staff and I look forward to Parent Teacher Conferences this Monday, November 21, and Tuesday, November 22, to discuss your child's progress. Please make sure to check the Lost and Found table outside of the School Office for clothing items your child might have misplaced.
I would greatly appreciate your feedback on Whiteley School for the District's School Satisfaction Survey. You can complete the survey online
here. You may also request a paper copy from Whiteley's School Office or complete a survey in our computer lab during Parent Teacher Conferences.
Recently, Whiteley School was honored as a Site Visit for the 1st Annual No Excuses University National Convention held in Chicago, IL. As part of the No Excuses University Network, our staff is committed to creating a Culture of Universal Achievement supported
by exceptional systems and a belief that all students can learn.
I need to acknowledge and thank our five staff members who were outstanding presenters at the conference: Mr. Armamentos, Mrs. Danielczyk, Mrs. Hyla, Mrs. Zeman and Mrs. Zeivel.
 | Mary Szuch
Whiteley Principal |
While students are with us on a daily basis, we believe they are packing for college and careers.
If you are interested in sharing knowledge about your career with our students would you please complete the Whiteley Career Speaker Form here and return it to your child's teacher.
Thank you for your support,
Mrs. Mary Szuch
Whiteley Principal
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PTA Meeting
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December 15 - 2:00 PM March 15 - 2:00 PM 
January 26 - 7:00 PM April 19 - 2:00 PM
February 16 - 7:00 PM May 17 - 7:00 PM Be sure to join us when you can. New faces and ideas are always welcome. Mark your calendar and see you there!
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A note from the Eco Committee
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We have had some great successes from our last two waste free lunches, but we still would love to see more kids have a chance to win on our Green Tuesdays! Last month, 8 lucky students took home some cool reusable lunch containers. Our next Green Tuesday is December 6th. It might be a little chilly, but kids are encouraged to bundle up & walk to school, wear green, & pack a waste free lunch. We look forward to seeing all the kids in the lunchroom on December 6th. In December, we will be holding a special teacher & staff raffle. Teachers get ready to wear green to be entered into this special raffle!
REDUCE - Cut down on packaging and food waste by purchasing fresh produce and bulk bin items and using reusable bags (not Ziplock bags).
REUSE - Pack lunch in reusable containers. Use a refillable drink bottle, a cloth napkin, and reusable utensils.
RECYCLE - Search out recycle bins instead of tossing recyclables in the trash. If you can't find a recycle bin at work or school, take your recyclables home with you.
Eco Fact: A child taking a disposable lunch to school creates an average of 67 pounds of lunch waste annually. go green!
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Critter Corner
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 Our "Critter Corner" has a new name & a new look! In addition to featuring your little critters from home, we invite you to tell us about your pets that are too big to come and stay in our tank. Special thanks to The Luby Family for allowing Sugar and Petunia to stay for a visit in our tank. They were so cute and entertaining! Another special thanks goes to John Busch for being the first student to create an awesome poster board featuring his pet at home. His wonderful work is hanging on the wall just above the tank. Be sure to come and admire his outstanding masterpiece! We'd love to host your little critter, so please consider bringing him/her to our Critter Corner tank. If you have any questions, please contact: Alma Kraft - Critter Corner Committee
 | Hello, My name is SUGAR!
I belong to Olivia Luby in
Mrs. Ehrhardt's 3rd grade. |
 | Hello, My name is PETUNIA!
I belong to Alyssa Luby in
Mrs. Cocanig's 1st grade. |
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Wildcat Helping Hands Club
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WOW!!!!!!! The response we received for this new club was astounding! We are so proud to be a part of such a wonderful community. We had nearly 100 students join us for the first club meeting on October 20th . We had so many helping hands we could hardly keep them all busy at the same time. The kids all asked what they could do to help as they walked in the door. We were able to completely finish the PHD Holiday gift project and we are about 60% of the way through the turkey pins for Clearbrook residents!
Our next meeting will be Thursday, December 8th during the children's recess time at lunch. There was a little confusion about this for our first meeting. Please help your child understand that they should come to the meeting during their lunch recess time and they will eat their lunch in the cafeteria (i.e. first graders eat during the first 20 minutes in the cafeteria, then during the next forty minutes they will come to the meeting). An email will go out to all members who we have email addresses for to give you more detailed information about this next meeting's projects. If you haven't emailed us yet, please do! New members are still welcome. We need to know your child's full name, teacher and your email address.
Thank you again to all of the students, parents, PTA, Mrs. Szuch and Mrs. Piskule for making this club a success!! See you at the next meeting! |
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Community Outreach
| Reach out! Share the spirit! It's fun!
Throughout the years we have always proved to be generous  and kind neighbors. Keep that spirit alive for the Children Helping Children toy and clothing drive for Palatine Township that will take place the week of December 5th thru the 9th. This drive helps spread the joy of the holidays to our neighbors that may not have  much to give to their own families due to these hard economic times. These donations will go to some of our own at Whiteley along with others in the Palatine Township community! A flyer with more information will be coming out around Thanksgiving time so please look for it. New toys or  clothing can be donated for any age child or adult.If desired, match your own child's age and gender and buy for that specific person. If you plan to do some holiday shopping early, please keep these children and families in mind.
Thank you for your generosity and kind spirit.
Community Outreach Coordinators |
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Coat Drive
| Coat Closet is Open!
The cold weather is right around the corner and soon we will have many children in our community without proper outerwear. Due to your generosity over the years, the Coat Closet is fully stocked with the exception of boys and girls sizes 8 through 14. If you have any outerwear in these sizes that you would like to donate, please put them in the box located by the front entrance of Whiteley marked "Coat Closet". If you are donating several items, we would appreciate if you would put them in a trash bag to help with transport. The Coat Closet accepts outerwear only - including coats, gloves or mittens, hats, snow pants, scarves and boots. The sizes range from toddler to adult. Also, the coat closet is in need of extra hangers. If you have any extra hangers, please send them with your donation. All items will be greatly appreciated.
If you are a family in need of outerwear from the Coat Closet this winter season, please contact our school nurse or our social worker.
Health and Safety Coordinators
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Market Day
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Along with our regular Market Day sale, we will be having a Super Bowl Pizza Sale! Packets will be coming home right before winter break and are due back January 4, 2012. Pizza delivery will be at the regular Market Day pick-up, January 25, 2012 - Just in time for the Super Bowl. The top pizza seller will win an Ipod! Any family that sells more than 10 pizzas will be invited to a lunch pizza party with Mrs. Szuch!
*Profits from our pizza sale will go towards Child's Play, which is an interactive in-school writer's workshop that will take place in February for all grades. Students will learn how to write a script and get the opportunity to write a script of their own. Then in April, 8 student written scripts will be chosen to be acted out. Please help support this wonderful experience for our students!
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Inflatable Party at Whiteley
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Let's Party at Whiteley!!! The First Inflatable Party!!!
Jump, Bounce, and Have Fun!!!
Where: Whiteley School
When: Friday, December 2nd at 6:15 pm - 8:00 pm
Cost: $6.00 per student (Whiteley students only please)
(students who sold 5 items or more for the fundraiser
will receive a voucher to get in free)
Parents drop off their children and pick them up at 8:00 pm.
Any parents interested in volunteering please,
"Hope to see you there!"
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Project-A-Thon
| The Project-A-Thon will take place on Friday, December 9th beginning at 6:30pm and ending at 8:30pm.
Doors open at 6:10pm and movies starting promptly at 6:30pm. Student Pick-Up will be at 8:30pm.For more information and a permission form, click here. |
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Mark Your Calendar!
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Whiteley PTA will be hosting a garage sale this spring. Start saving your gently used items to donate for this event. More details will follow.
Melissa SchlesingerGarage Sale Committee |
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Whiteley Fun Fair - Mark your Calendars
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March 2, 2012 is Whiteley's Annual Fun Fair. 
We are starting our volunteer list and collecting donations for the event. Any help is greatly appreciated. Let's make this fun fair a success for our Whiteley students and their families!
Jennifer Ferrar, Clarissa Palikowski & Jennifer Price
Fun Fair Committee
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Great News About Accelerated Reader
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Parents and Students Can Now Find Accelerated Reader (A.R.) Books from Home!Now, anyone can search for AR books online for free! That means parents, guardians, and students can conduct book searches by author, readability level, point value, and topic. Then, they can place the titles in their online AR BookBag, print it, and take it to their public, school, or classroom library. Students can also type in books they have at home to find the readability level. AR Bookfinder will let you know if there is a test available. Remember, we now have access to every single test put out by AR. This is different from past years. So Happy Reading!!!
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Birthday Book Club Committee
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Are you looking for a special way to celebrate your child's birthday at school? Joining the Birthday Book Club is a great way to do this while increasing our library collection at the same time. Celebrate your child's birthday by donating a book to the Frank C. Whiteley Resource Center. Your child's name will be on a permanent label inside the book and they will be the first to check it out.
Your child should receive their birthday greeting and information about joining the club the week of their birthday. If interested, send your donation ($10 - $15 for an entire book) and the form to school in an envelope marked Birthday Book Club. We will then invite your child to the RC to select a book from "the vault". Students who had a birthday over the summer received a card a couple weeks ago.
Mrs. Hogan and I would like to thank the following students for adding "s'more great books" to the Resource Center!
Ella French Dear Tabby
Misaki Matsuno Guyku
Nikhil Sriram Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty
Lucy Riskus Labracadabra
Jefferson Lee I Broke My Trunk
Lisa Kim Fairly Fairy Tales
Sean Warner The Kid Who Became President
Yansong Tang Battles for the Galaxy
Kentaro Nagaya Summer of the Sea Serpent
Braeden Newby Animal Playtime
Rylie Kruse Love, Aubrey
Quincey Pawlikowski German Shepherds
Stephanie Zhan Ruby the Red Fairy, Sophie the Sapphire Fairy, Lauren Puppy Fairy
Charlie Steneck The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Laura Whiteside Great Danes
Avery French Biscuit Takes a Walk
Anthony Zablocki Star Wars Character Encyclopedia
Megumi Wada Pie
Kenny Lee The Talent Show
Sayo Yamada Six Sheep Sip Thick Shakes
Elia Spyratos Why do I Have to Make My Bed?
Norah Odle Bad Kitty Vs. Uncle Murray
Matthew Park Big Nate on a Roll
Ikumi Oba 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel - 1 Dog = Chaos
Yoonseo (Jenny) Kim Opals
Allen Kim Son of Neptune
Eri Yamada Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
Megan Warner Dachshunds
Daiki Kamoshita Mac and Cheese
Liesel Bakk-Hansen Can You Make a Scary Face?
Hayden Kim Good Night, ipad
MinJae Lee Happy Pig Day
Nina Milojkovic Princess and the Pig
Lauren Park If You Give a Dog a Donut
Jake Lee Squish, Zita the Spacegirl, Miss Child has Gone Wild, Bad Kitty Meet the Baby, Lego Toys
The following students are waiting on an order to come in before choosing their books for the Resource Center. We can't wait to see their titles!
Alex Park
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News from The Classroom |
Mrs. Zeivel's Class has a GREEN HALLOWEEN !
 Room 212 celebrated Halloween, but didn't forget to be kind to their environment. Students that brought in a reusable cup for refreshments received an extra raffle ticket to be entered in the monthly drawing complement s of the ECO Committee. Some of the party food included organic fruits and veggies. An organic Cinderella pumpkin was signed by the class and given to Mrs. Zeivel for her Halloween Treat. Among the many fun activities, the students took digital pictures in the "haunted photobooth" that can be viewed online here. Go Green...Go Online! At the end of the party, everyone pitched in and recycled items and felt good about doing their part to enjoy a
GREEN HALLOWEEN!     ________________________________________________ The featured Classroom Website this month is... Mrs. Ehrhardt's website for her 3rd grade class. At the Classroom Website page, you can find homework assignments, updates, photos and information pertaining to your child's class. Click here to view the Classroom Website page and check back for up to date information and more websites that are continually added. Be sure to check it out!
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News From Our School Nurse, Donna Campbell R.N.
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Due to recent outbreaks in Illinois and neighboring states, starting in the next school year, Illinois has added Tdap as a vaccine REQUIRED for 6th through 12th grade students. Tdap is a booster dose of the tetanus, diphteria, and pertussis vaccines. Although most students have previously received these vaccines, the protection received from earlier vaccines decreases over time, resulting in a risk for becoming ill with pertussis. To comply with the new law and to keep your student safe, please make arrangements for your 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th grade student to receive this vaccine.
If you have any questions, please call Donna Campbell R.N. at (847) 963-7202.
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District 15 - School Satisfaction Parent Survey
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In November, parents of District 15 will have an opportunity to provide their child's school with feedback on their satisfaction. The purpose of the survey is to gather the perceptions of the parent community so that the school's improvement efforts can incorporate the thoughts and desires of the parents. The questions focus on school climate and culture, communication, the learning environment, the quality of education, and the curriculum their child receives. The results of the survey, as well as the school's action plan on how to address any opportunities for improvement identified from the data, will be shared with the parent community.
The online survey will consist of approximately 40 questions and is estimated to take about 10 minutes to complete. The survey will be available in both English and Spanish, and parents will be able to request paper copies of the survey from their school's office. The survey will open on Wednesday, November 9, and will remain open through the end of parent-teacher conferences, closing on Sunday, November 27. While parents will be able to access the survey through a link on the website as well as through the link below, each school will have computers set up during conferences and will be encouraging parents to participate during their visit. Parents that prefer a paper copy of the survey are encouraged to ask for one at their school's office.
The District and building administrators are excited about the opportunity to hear from you. We have long held the belief that feedback is our friend. After all, constructive feedback is the cornerstone of our improvement efforts. Your participation is encouraged and appreciated.
Please take the parent survey before Sunday, November 27th.
Favor de proveer sus comentarios a su escuela completando una Encuesta sobre la Satisfacción de los Padres en nuestro salón de computadoras hoy o visitando survey ¡Gracias!
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District 15 - Budget Info Forum
| Start spreading the word! We encourage you to attend this informational meeting on Monday, December 5th at Walter Sundling JH at 7 p.m. If District 15 is going to stop deficit spending, some tough decisions have to be made this winter and spring. This is a great opportunity for PTA members to be local advocates, informing other parents and community members, and encouraging people to share their opinions.
This year D15 is projecting an annual deficit of roughly $6.2 million which will reduce the district's fund balance (reserves) to 33.72% or approximately $49 million. Forecasts of subsequent budgets show a dramatic reduction in the fund balances over the next five years. At the end of the 2014/15 school year - just 3 years from now - there will be less than 3% about $4.8 million remaining.
Currently the district is exploring ways to correct the structural deficit within its budget - ways to maintain a strong financial position and bring its spending in line with its revenues as much as possible.
D15 will share financial information with staff and community members in anticipation of budget reductions for the 2012/2013 school year.
The meeting for staff and community members will be held Monday, December 5th at 7 p.m. at Sundling JH in Palatine. |
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SPARK News
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SPARK (Special Education Parents Accessing Resources and Knowledge) programs are FREE, open, and encouraged for ALL parents, educators, and administrators to attend. SPARK, a committee of Northwest Suburban Council PTA/PTSA, was formed in response to the growing needs of families whose children learn differently or have special needs. This is accomplished at the district level through monthly evening programs with outside speakers. SPARK programs meet once monthly on Monday evenings, EXCEPT Oct. 18th, at Walter R. Sundling Junior High 1100 N. Smith Street, Palatine from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. If you would like to be contacted by or connect with SPARK, contact SPARK Chair Ani Erickson (847) 907-4732, email sparkdistrict15@gmail.com or Co-Chair Jen Kurrie (847) 963-8087.
Here is an overview for the 2011-2012 school year!
Monday, January 23: STARNET will have a presentation on how to make and keep friends!
Monday, February 27: Carla Oldham will discuss "Did puberty just sneak up on you and now you are looking at your child and saying "Now WHAT!""
Monday, April 23: Choose from two great presentations on technology! (These programs run at the same time.) The Palatine Police Department will discuss internet safety that will assist parents in protecting and educating their special needs child on-line. Also, Carla Oldham will show us how to functionally use an idevice (ipad, ipod touch, iphone) without spending tons of money in the iTunes store.
D15 SPARK Support Group
Here are the details on D15spark_supportgroup:
Group home page:
Group email address:
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Wildcat THANK YOU |
 Thank YOU to all the volunteers that give their time and talent to help our school, our students and our community. Your dedication and generosity is greatly appreciated!
______________________________________  A Warm Thanks and Appreciation for MCE Volunteers 2011!  The PTA Multicultural Event Committee would like to thank all of the volunteers, who helped plan, implement and work at this event. Whether you prepared or served food, worked a game, sold tickets, performed or created beautiful displays, without you, this event could not happen.
Special thanks to all of the representatives of our participating countries: China, Columbia, India, Japan, Korea, Native America, Poland, Serbia, USA, and Ukraine. Thank you to all of the children who participated in the morning announcements, performances and fashion show. Thank you for all of the preparation time you put into making this event great. Thank you to Mr. McCauley
 for being with us all night and to all of the Teachers who took time out of their busy lives to spend the evening with us. Thank you to the Custodians for setting it up, taking it down and keeping it together! Your help and involvement was inspiring! 
Special thanks to Carrie & Mike Schalk helped with planning and with set-up, and to Jennifer Price for taking care of tickets and to the MANY who gave their time the night of the event. This event would not have been what it was without all of you. Thanks to 6th graders who sold beverages at the event.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped with the Multicultural Event. You are the reason students and their families enjoyed the evening! We look forward to another spectacular event in 2012! 
__________________________________________
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Earn Money For Whiteley School at Target
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 Did you know that you can be earning Whiteley money every time you shop at Target? Be sure to use your Target Red Card, Target debit card, or existing Target credit card & register your card so that up to 1% of all your purchases can benefit Whiteley School through Target's
"Take Charge of Education" program. It is of no additional cost to you! Be sure to stop by Customer Service the next time you go to shop at Target! |
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Communications Committee
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 "Wishing everyone a happy holiday season
and a healthy new year!"
Visit us Online Follow us on Twitter Comment on our Blog |
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If you would prefer a printed copy of this newsletter, please pick one up from the Whiteley School Office.
Thank you for your interest in your child's school,
Katie Hogan, Dayna Steneck & Jean Swenson,
Communications Committee, Whiteley PTA
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