Important Dates February 1 – Bookmobile

February 1- ITSCO Winter

Carnival planning session,

7PM Trail library

February 7 – ITSCO Hot Lunch

February 8 – BOE

February 13-17 – Heart Healthy

Week

February 14 – Half Day (am)

Teacher In-service (pm)

February 15 – Bookmobile

February 17 – Winter Carnival

February 20 – Presidents’ Day

No School

February 21 – Market Day P/U

February 21 – Progress Reports

Issued

February 22 – BOE 7 pm @

Mary Drew

February 22 – Second grade

Field Trip

February 23 – Six Flag log

sheets due

February 24 – ITSCO Treat Day

February 27 – PBIS Store

February 28 – Fourth Grade

Field Trip

February 29 - Bookmobile

Indian Trail School

Home of the Trailblazers 20912 S. Frankfort Square Rd.

Frankfort, IL 60423

815-469-6993 phone

815-806-8352 fax

www.summithill.org

Trailblazer Trib. February 2012 Edition

We’ve been having a weird winter so far- it seems that Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind yet! Please continue to keep up to date with the weather so the students are well-prepared for recess. As long as it isn’t wet, we go outside for recess when it’s over 10 degrees. Also remember that you can sign up for the district’s emergency notification system through the district website. January was a pretty busy month even though we weren’t here the first week. Our second quarter came to a close right after we returned from winter break. It was great to see so many students make continued progress. Please continue to communicate regularly with your child’s teachers regarding progress. We also recently finished our winter NWEA MAP testing. Again, it’s great to see the children progressing so well academically. The teachers continue to use student benchmark data to assist with planning for instruction. January 31 was our 100th day of school. Details of 100 day celebrations will be included in our next newsletter. I hope many of you will be able to assist the SCO with planning and putting on the Winter Carnival. There is another planning session on Wednesday, February 1st at 7:00 in the Indian Trail library. Winter Carnival is scheduled for Friday, February 17. Please let the SCO know if you cannot attend the planning session, but can still help out the day of the event. Have a great February everyone! We’ll see what the groundhog has to say about the duration of winter. -Mr. Pierson Reminders:

Office Hours are 8:25-3:40

Attendance Hours Are 8:50-3:20

Please report your child’s absence by 9:00 AM the day of the absence

Please remember to send a lunch with your child daily. Be sure the

lunch is labeled with the child’s name.

If a lunch is forgotten, parents may drop off a lunch on the cart in

the vestibule outside the office (by 11:20, please!). Please have the

child’s name and teacher’s name clearly labeled.

Campbell’s Soup Labels, BoxTops for Education, and Capri sun pouches

are collected to benefit our school. Please send them to school in a

baggie with your child’s name and teacher’s name

If you shop at Target with a Target card, you can elect to have

Indian Trail receive a percentage donation when you shop. Info is

available online or at your local Target Store.

Please maintain regular communication with our teachers.

Frankfort Square Road in front of the school is a designated no

parking zone- please use the 78th Avenue Lot or North Lot for pick-up

and drop-off.

First Grade News

The First Graders at Indian Trail School read stories and completed activities

about Martin Luther King Jr. Projects included a writing prompt entitled, “I Have

a Dream”. Students also used their ideas from their “I Have a Dream” prompt and

related them to Dr. King’s message. The students discussed how Dr. King’s

philosophy relates to their lives at school and PBIS expectations.

Second Grade News Indian Trail 2nd graders have been working on blowing bubbles! The 2nd graders at

Indian Trail worked on a writing lesson involving their bubble blowing abilities.

Students were given bubble gum and then were able to practicing blowing bubbles

and then were required to think of each step they took and write out the

sequence of the events. After all students completed their writing activity

students created a graph based of their bubble blowing abilities!

Third Grade News

The third grade students at Indian Trail complete States and Capitals projects at

the end of their second Social Studies unit, “Where People Start Communities.”

Throughout the unit, the students learn map skills such as intermediate

directions, borders, reading a map key, and locating places and features on a map.

Being able to locate and identify states and capitals will give students the

background information needed to be successful throughout the Social Studies

curriculum.

Fourth Grade News When the fourth graders came back from Winter Break, the teachers and

students began discussing a very important historical figure in our classrooms; Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Although each classroom conducted different activities

involving Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., each student learned about his life, as well

as his hard work and dedication to civil rights.

The teachers and students discussed Dr. King’s famous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

The teachers asked the students the following question, “If Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr. were alive today, he would be 83 years old. Do you think he would still

have the same dream today that he had in 1963?" The results are as follows (out

of 77 students):

YES 51 Students 66% “I think Dr. King would have the same dream because I

don’t think we have achieved all of

the goals we needed to.”

NO 25 students 32%

“Segregation is over and his

dream was to end it.”

MAYBE 1 Student 0.01%

It was very interesting to listen to

the students’ responses. Dr. King’s

dream still lives on with us today.

The TEDESCHI TRAILBLAZERS are on a quest to win the coveted

Mirror Ball Trophy! SHEF Dancing with the Teachers:

Season Two is now underway!

Mrs. Jody Tedeschi – 2nd grade teacher is representing Indian Trail this year!

So let’s join forces to show support for our school and Mrs. Tedeschi. Online donations can be accessed through the district’s website or at:

Sponsor Mrs. Tedeschi https://sna.etapestry.com/fundraiser/SummitHillSchoolDistrict/2012DWT

T/individual.do?participationRef=2854.0.36865132

Be sure to mark your calendars for March 25th for the show. This fundraising event benefits the students of

Summit Hill District 161.

From the Nurse’s Office: Healthy Hearts

Did you know that Heart Disease is our nation’s No.1 killer? While some kids are born with heart problems, others develop them because of poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and research supports that heart disease prevention must begin in early childhood. According to American Heart Association, parents regard childhood obesity as the number one health concern in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking.

February 13-17th, Indian Trail students and staff will be celebrating Heart Hero Week and Jump Rope for Heart. During this week, students will have the opportunity to learn about the importance of physical activity, healthy living, making smart choices, helping others while participating in a week of fun activities promoting heart awareness.

What is Jump Rope for Heart? Jump Rope for Heart is a community service learning program of the American Heart Association. It teaches kids:

The importance of developing heart healthy habits That being physically active can be fun; and That by raising funds to support research and education they help save lives across the

country and in their community PE teachers, Mr. Jacobi and Ms. Shea will begin a month long unit teaching our students jump roping techniques and skills. Indian Trail students will be asked to collect donations for The American Heart Association’s annual “Jump Rope for Heart” fundraiser.

Last year, our Indian Trail Heart Hero’s raised over $3200.00 for The American Heart Association. Mrs. Boudreaus’ second grade and Mrs. Pleses’ third grade classes shared the Highest Participation Award and enjoyed movie parties to watch Disney’s “Jump In”. The Heart Ambassador Award was presented our overall top fundraiser, first grader, Andrew Eldridge from Ms. Gallaher’s class for raising $215.00. Our contributions are important to helping save lives!

The American Heart Association has set up a program for students to make their own fundraising web page. Raising funds online is safe, time effective and fun. Visit www.heart.org/jump and click on “Student Sign Up” to get started. Exciting Thank –You Gifts will be awarded to students for

individual participation.

$40.00 earns an “It takes HEART to be a HERO” tee shirt, water bottle and speed rope! $50.00 earns the above plus 1 Free Day Pass to CoCo Keys Water Resort and more! The class with the highest participation will be acknowledged and receive a class MOVIE Party.

Stay tuned… Our calendar of events and fundraising envelopes will be sent home soon!

2010-2011 Indian Trail Heart Heroes: Andrew Eldridge, Kyle Rodriquez, Larissa Bauer, Kaleb Schramm, Ashley Miles, Neyeli Cuevas, Casey Goss and Catherine Miles all received special recognition for their fundraising efforts.

Scrapbook Club

The Scrapbook Club has come back to school refreshed and ready to tackle their

pictures after Winter Break. The students have been working on creating the

next section in their Scrapbook entitled, “Winter Break.” In this section, the

children created an acrostic poem about their feelings and activities during

Winter Break. Once their acrostic poem in complete, their poems will be placed

into their scrapbooks and pictures will be added.

The next theme the students will be working on is their “Favorite Vacations.” We

can’t wait to hear about their vacations and see all of the wonderful places the

children have been.

Scrapbookers….don’t forget to bring your pictures with you every Monday, you

can’t create a scrapbook without pictures.

Math A Thon

In the spirit of kids helping kids, the Make a Difference Club at

Indian Trail Elementary School sponsored a Math-a-thon to benefit the

children at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. During the month of

November and December, students worked out math problems and

collected pledges. It was a very positive experience for our first,

second, third, and fourth graders. The students really enjoyed raising

money for a great cause. Our school raised $3086.70!

Our top fundraisers: Caleb Zegar who raised $500 and Justin Miller who raised $300.