Conrady Students take a day-long tour of the Illinois Capitol

A Capitol Tour

7950 W. 97th Street • Hickory Hills, IL 60457 • Phone: 708-598-5721 • Fax: 708-430-8964

DATES TO REMEMBER:

11/4 TEAM Day - 1:04 Dismissal

11/7 Placement Test @ Stagg

11/10 Placement Test Makeup @ Stagg

11/11 Veteran’s Day - No School

11/13 Progress Reports Issued

11/23 P/T Conferences 12:00-2:30

11/24 P/T Conferences 1:00-8:30

11/25—11/27 No School

November 1, 2015 • VOLUME 12, ISSUE 2

Upcoming Assemblies

One of the largest field trips in

recent Conrady history took place on

Oct. 17, when 135 sixth graders and

12 chaperones traveled to our state

capitol for a day-long tour.

Three packed buses with more

than 120 students and 12 chaper-

ones departed Conrady just after 7

a.m. with a plan to arrive in Spring-

field by mid-morning. With so many

students, the plan was to divide the

scheduled sites, and come back to-

gether in the evening for dinner.

Among the more popular stops

was a visit to Abraham Lincoln’s

home, the cemetery where his tomb

is located, and a military museum,

where students learned about the

life of our 16th president during his

formative years as a land surveyor,

lawyer, member of the militia, and

legislator.

Students also got a chance to tour

the state capitol, where the cham-

bers of the Illinois House and Senate

are located along with the gover-

nor’s office. Lincoln’s Presidential

Library was also a popular site, with

Civil War memorabilia and theater

dramatizations in 3-D sparking stu-

dent conversation. Finally, all three

groups of Conrady students came

together for a buffet dinner, arriving

home just after 9 p.m.

On Nov. 23, Conrady will be

having its annual Anti-Bullying

assembly. This year we will be

welcoming Matt Wilhelm. Wil-

helm is known as the fastest

spinner in the world on a BMX

bike and is sure to entertain.

His amazing BMX bike tricks

have earned him 3 X-Games

Medals and a host of other

awards. Wilhelm is equally

known for his personal stories

of character. He was most re-

cently seen on “America’s Got

Talent” in 2011.

Also taking place on Nov. 23

will be a presentation of The

Resource Force, an improvisa-

tional comedy duo who teach

students about renewable re-

sources and energy conserva-

tion. Sponsored by ComEd, the

goal of the Resource Force is to

help students and their fami-

lies save 1.2 million kilowatt

hours of electricity.

Students gather to observe a helicopter at the Illinois State Military Museum

November 1, 2015 • VOLUME 12, ISSUE 2

7950 W. 97th Street • Hickory Hills, IL 60457 • Phone: 708-598-5721 • Fax: 708-430-8964

Many Conrady teachers have

approximately 90 to 170 students

for classes each day. As a result,

the teaching staff must be very se-

lective in identifying which parents

would benefit most from a confer-

ence.

Teachers will be working to-

gether over the course of the first

two weeks of November to sched-

ule conferences with parents. Par-

ents who are needed will receive a

conference request and then

scheduled for a specific time.

Since Conrady operates under

the teaming concept, some parents

will be able to meet with several

teachers from the teaching team at

the same time. They may also meet

individually or with a few members

from the teaching team whenever

warranted or when it is most con-

ducive to scheduling.

Parents who are not notified of a

parent conference do not need to

attend parent conferences. Any

parent that is not notified of a con-

ference but would like to request

one should contact one of the

child's teachers during the first

week of November. Of course, at

any time throughout the school

schedule a parent may schedule

time to meet for any parent con-

cerns. Parents are encouraged to

notify the staff member closest to

the concern.

MONDAY, NOV. 23, 2015

Students attend classes from 7:50 -

11:08 a.m.; Conference times are

12 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOV. 24, 2015

No School: Students do not attend.

Conference times are scheduled

between 1-4 p.m., and again from

5:30-8:30 p.m.

Parent Teacher Conference Information

MAP Test Update

Teachers in the Math and Eng-

lish-Language Arts Departments

are reviewing the personal growth

goals of all students in preparation

for the MAP tests that will be tak-

ing place in December. These re-

views create targeted goals for the

students to achieve. Please be sure

to discuss the goals that have been

set for your student.

Schoology Accounts

Parents who have not activated

their Schoology account should

strongly consider doing so to make

tracking homework, test scores,

and overall student progress much

easier.

Parenting Partners

Stay tuned for an exciting new

program for all parents called Par-

enting Partners. This program is

to be launched in January 2016.

The program will feature fellow

parents leading the discussion of

the joys and challenges of parent-

ing and how making some minor

changes at home will make a posi-

tive impact on the social, emotion-

al, and academic performance of

kids.

Fall Sports Update

With another successful Cross

Country season, and both Girls’

and Boys’ Softball teams making

deep playoff runs; Jaguar sports

are moving indoors. Boys’ Volley-

ball has spent quite a bit of the ear-

ly season on the road, but have

been able to manage opponents

well. Girls’ Basketball is making

things difficult on their opponents

with strong defense and great ball

movement.

Science teacher Mr. Offord su-

pervises an experiment at

Family Read Night recently.

Bus Stop Safety Tips for Students

SAFETY BEGINS WITH YOU!

Getting Ready for School

Put everything in your backpack or school bag so that you don’t drop things along

the way.

Arrive at your bus stop ten minutes early.

Walking to the Bus Stop If an adult does not walk you to your bus, walk in groups with other children if you

can. There is safety in numbers. Groups are easier for drivers to see.

If you must walk in the street, walk single file, face traffic and stay as close to the

edge of the road as you can.

Stop and look left, right and then left again if you must cross the street. Do the

same thing at driveways.

Waiting at the Bus Stop

Don’t play running games or push and shove at the bus stop. It is dangerous near

traffic.

Make sure you stand at least 10 feet (5 giant steps) from the road while waiting

for the bus so you are away from traffic.

If your bus stop is on a corner of another person's property, be courteous and

never leave litter behind.

Getting On and Off the Bus ALWAYS cross in front of the bus, NEVER behind. Make sure that you are at least

10 feet (five giant steps) ahead of the bus before crossing. When crossing in front

of the bus, you should be able to maintain eye contact with the driver.

Do not cross a street until the bus has come to a COMPLETE stop, the RED stop

lights will be on and the driver will signal when it is safe to cross. NOT all drivers

stop for school bus lights so always look to the right and left to make sure all

traffic has come to a complete stop before stepping into the roadway. Always cross

in front of the bus at a distance so you can see the driver and the driver can see

you.

If you drop something, NEVER pick it up. Instead, tell the driver and follow the

driver’s instructions. If you bend over to pick up a dropped object, you might not

be seen by the driver and could be hurt if the driver pulls away from the stop.

NEVER CRAWL UNDER THE BUS FOR ANYTHING!

Make sure when exiting the bus on the trip home you look to the right before

stepping off the bus. Impatient drivers may try to pass the bus on the

right. Again make sure to cross in front of the bus and maintain eye contact with

driver.

Never walk close to the side of the bus. Always keep a distance between you and

the bus.

Do not have any strings hanging from jackets or sweatshirts. Hanging items can

get stuck it the door of the bus and put you in danger.

Do not walk near the bus or close to the street while talking or texting on a cell

phone.

November 1, 2015

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Your child has been learning mathematics based on Illinois’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards.

Since 2010, a number of states across the nation have adopted the same standards for English and math.

These standards are called the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Having the same standards helps all

students get a good education, even if they change schools or move to a different state. Teachers, parents,

and education experts designed the CCSS to prepare students for success in college and the workplace.

Our sequence of units has been carefully planned to prepare our students for success on the new PARCC

(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessments. These assessments have re-

placed the ISAT as the Illinois State Assessment and will be given in April of this school year. Students will prac-

tice many skills and concepts by revisiting them in daily routines throughout the school year.

Our curriculum consists of these units:

1) Fraction and Decimal Operations: Students will have learned all whole number and decimal opera-

tions and all fraction operations, except for division of fractions by fractions, by the end of 5th grade.

This unit is an opportunity to review these concepts and clarify the fluency that is achieved by the end

of 6th grade.

2) Ratios, Rates and Percent: This is a study of ratios, rates, and percent, where students learn the lan-

guage of ratios and rates, the concept of unit rates, and use various representations of ratios and rates

to solve real world problems. They are also learning to solve percent problems by reasoning about

equivalent fractions.

3) Rational Numbers: In this unit, sixth graders are introduced to integers and will represent them with

real-world contexts and plot on number lines. They will develop a deep understanding of absolute val-

ue.

4) Expressions: This unit gives the opportunity to apply what students have learned about integers to

write, evaluate and interpret algebraic expressions. They will also identify and create equivalent ex-

pressions.

5) Equations and Inequalities: This unit builds upon the expression work by having students study various

representations of equations and inequalities. They relate these to real-world situations to develop a

deeper understanding of equations and inequalities and what they represent.

6) Geometry: In grade 6, geometry has a focus on area, volume, and surface area, including drawing

polygons in the coordinate plane.

7) Statistics: The last unit is a study of statistics, including measures of central tendency, measures of vari-

ability, and data distribution representations.

Purpose:

It is our goal that you can assist your child with content knowledge, and this will help make gains in his/her

math skills and become a more confident and enthusiastic student. During this session, you will be discussing

the content of Expressions and Numerical Properties. Conrady’s Math Department personnel will be leading

the instruction for parents. You will want to bring a calculator, pencils, and notebook paper. There will be a

packet provided for parents to take home from this meeting.

7950 West 97th Street * Hickory Hills, Illinois 60457

Telephone (708) 233-4500 * Fax (708) 430-8964

The meeting will be held in Conrady’s cafeteria on Saturday, November 13, from 9:30 – 11 am OR Tuesday

November 17, from 6:30 – 8 pm, depending on which date has more parental votes. Please check our web-

site to see the official date once the sheets are collected. We look forward to working with you and your child

to strengthen our learning community at Conrady!

Please check:

______ I am not interested in attending. Thanks for the offer.

______ I would be willing to attend the parent curriculum night training on Saturday November 13, from 9:30 –

11 am

______ I would be willing to attend the parent curriculum night training on Tuesday November 17, from 6:30 – 8

pm

Student Name _______________________________________________________

Parent Signature ______________________________________________________

Thank you for your consideration,

Ms. Adrienne Pavek

Math & Science Team Leader

708-233-4570