Wildwood Elementary School

May 20, 2012

Dear Wildwood Families and Friends

Please check the events and calendar sections of this website, your room parent emails, and the Wildwood Weekly to keep up with everything going on!

Thanks!

Mary Beth Cunat

May 14, 2012

Dear Wildwood Families and Friends

This week we welcome our IB External Evaluators who will give us feedback on our Middle Years Programme.They will be here May 17-18.

Please support the teachers as best you can, as you always do.

This is the time of year that the train seems to be speeding up with activities and events, and it is very hard to keep track of everything.

Please check the events and calendar sections of this website, your room parent emails, and the Wildwood Weekly to keep up with everything going on!

Thanks!

Mary Beth Cunat

April 29, 2012

Our Poetry Slam was really great

Most surprizing, I must relate

Some students wrote their very own

Recited to school- each one shone!

McKenzie, L., and Sydney Y.

Anna P., not a one shy!

Emily L. and K.D.O.

Our local poets stole the show!

Ms. Braun's poem was pretty gross!

Ella and Grace played the host

I LOVED IT!

Scroll down to sign up for the Wildwood Weekly Email. Emily's poem is in this week's post.

April 18, 2012

What a terrific and productive report card pick up and conference day.

Thank you all parents, teachers, and staff for your support, thoughtfulness, and real desire to make Wildwood a special place for children.

Please look through the announcements and calendar events.

MBC

April 16, 2012

Dear Wildwood Family and Friends,

Our warmest condolences to the Leaning Tower YMCA staff and families, who tragically lost a beloved swim instructor last week.

Despite the lure of warm weather, our students and teachers are working very hard on targeted learning goals in preparation for the spring adminstration of NWEA. Please support your child in completing all assignments, getting to school on time, and not taking days off except those accepted within the district policy. It is critical that students do their best on these assessments.

We are encouraging teachers to provide an opportunity for each child to speak about his/her own growth and learning goals sometime during this week of report card pick up. If your child brings home a data folder, or a learning portfolio, or a reflective writing assignment, please take the time to listen and ask questions about his/her learning. This reflection and goal setting is an aspect of IB that is critical and where we continue to seek growth as a school community.

A wonderful video was produced last spring about the PYP in Chicago, and Wildwood features prominently as one of the schools. You can access the video at http://vimeo.com/31759968 The password is IBPYP. I think if you view it you will learn more about the PYP and you will be proud of Wildwood!

As always, thank you for your support.

Mary Beth Cunat

March 26, 2012

Happy Spring!.......Is it really here?

A million thanks to the organizers of the WPTA Spring Fling. It was a great night with lots of fun and socializing.

I regret being a nag, but with the advent of warm weather, please be sure your children are following the school dress code. If you refer to the Student Handbook in the front of the Wildwood assignment notebook (also under Students on this website), you'll notice we mandate modest and appropriate dress- that is, no short shorts or short skirts, no tank tops, no spaghetti straps. This is really important for upper grades as I'm sure you can understand.

We'll be supporting four students from CPS Northside Learning Center in their goal to go to Washington D.C. this spring. The students will be visiting our classes- each one will have a couple of grades sponsoring them to raise the last few hundred dollars for their trip. This is one way we are encouraging our students to give back.

It may seem like we are winding down the year, but believe it or not we still have a run of standardized assessments that impact both the school's performance evaluation and each student's academic record. 8th graders have four assessments (Common Core, Spring NWEA, the District Writing Test (for graduation), and EXPLORE) and other grades have two (K-1: DIBELS and mCLass Math;grades 2-8 Common Core and Spring NWEA). It is important that students keep up good homework, study, and attendance habits until the end of the year!

IB Is making some press in Chicago. Please see the events section on the website or this week's Wildwood Weekly eNews letter for an article about IB success in CPS high schools. It seems the district is expanding the IB opportunity, so let's keep Wildwood on the cutting edge of best practice AND the BEST PARENTS EVER!

Thanks as always for your remarkable support.

MBC

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March 12, 2012

Dear Wildwood Friends and Families,

Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a calm testing environment last week. Keep it up as we are still testing many students during the first few days of this week.

The PTA continues its amazing preparation for the Spring Fling. Please consider how you will make your contribution to the success of this event.

Enjoy the amazing weather!

MBC

March 4, 2012---------PLEASE REVIEW ISAT REMINDERS!

ISAT WEEK

Dear Wildwood Parents,

Please support our efforts by:

1. Ensuring your child is getting adequate sleep. This is critical for a sharp mind.

2. Ensuring your child has a hearty breakfast and plenty of healthy fluids at home before coming to school. There will be bathroom breaks before and between tests.

3. ENSURING YOUR CHILD ARRIVES ON TIME! There are so many reasons why this is critical. Please help us!

4. Avoiding phone calls during the school day. Even with closed doors, when all is silent a ringing phone can be heard throughout the school.

5. Ensuring all and any business is done well before or after school. The doorbell is a complete disruption during testing. Please do not come to school during testing windows unless for emergencies.

6. Reassuring and strengthening your child's confidence in doing his/her best on the test.

7. Planning for some fun and relaxing activities after school. There are no after school clubs or programs during the weeks of ISAT testing. Physical activity is great for stress relief, and since PE classes are disrupted during ISATs, it's even more important to plan for it after school than usual.

We want all of our students to be able to do their very best, but ISAT success is especially critical for our 7th and 8th graders, for whom there are serious high school implications for admissions and course placement. It is also used to denote summer school for grades 3, 6, and 8. We need to have an environment in which every student can do his/her very best.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and support.

Mary Beth Cunat

February 14, 2012

Dear Wildwood Friends and Families,

Happy Valentines Day! Every student at Wildwood is special, and I feel so fortunate that we have so many big hearts in our school.

The Wildwood staff is working hard. The school is abuzz with student learning. There are small groups all over the place working on projects, reading together, or getting extra academic support or challenges. The experience of walking down the halls and monitoring classrooms is gratifying. I see continuous effort at intellectual engagement and meaningful work. The school is alive and growing. You can feel the forward momentum in classrooms and hear it in the teacher conversation.

Wildwood is on the way!

Mary Beth Cunat

January 4, 2012

Happy New Year Wildwood Families and Friends!

Welcome back to school. January and February are great months for making solid academic progress. Teachers know their students really well, and most feel a sense of urgency about the upcoming state assessment.

While I firmly believe the best "test prep" is a great curriculum and strong daily instruction, I also understand the pressure teachers feel to review and practice as much as possible prior to ISATs.

Please use these winter months to monitor and improve your children's study, work, and reading habits.

Make it a goal to read several books together as a family over the next two months...bring out the old classics like Sounder, Black Beauty, Shiloh, Charlotte's Web (I love animal stories). Talk to your local public librarian or Mr. Laske about books that your family would enjoy reading together.

I challenge each and every one of you to READ MORE THIS WINTER!

I plan to snuggle up with a few oldies but goodies myself this weekend.

Book Club, anyone?

MBC

November 20, 2011

Dear Wildwood Families and Friends,

As we approach the winter season and snow, it is critically important that you give yourselves enough time to park appropriately for morning drop off and afternoon pick up.

Considering the challenges of last year's traffic discourtesies, what I am most thankful for is that a child was not hit by a car. The snow banks were high. Tempers flaired. People seemed to think that the parking rules only apply to others. Did you know one of our parents was hit by a car last year?

EVERY CHILD DESERVES A SAFE WALK ACROSS THE STREET AT AN UNBLOCKED CROSSWALK.

What can a principal do when some parents consistently (selfishly) persist in making unsafe driving and parking decisions?

Nagging is obviously not enough. Perhaps I can plea that all I want for the holidays is polite drivers and parkers.

I mean it.

Mary Beth Cunat

November 13, 2011

Please be sure to come to school for Report Card Pick Up and Parent Teacher Conferences on November 16. Times have been scheduled for you to speak briefly with your child's teacher(s)- check your child's backpack for confirmation letter.

Babysitting will be provided by our 8th graders under adult supervision.

Mr. Z's purchases must be picked up in the gym that day. We do not have the capacity to store frozen items.

The PTA will host a table at which you can become a member, purchase Wildwear, find out more about volunteering, and just get more involved!

The Scholastic Book Fair is a great way to celebrate your child's academic growth - by reading! Books and other exciting items will be available for purchase throughout the day.

Congratulations to our 7th and 8th grade girls volleyball team. They continue to advance in competition!

Please continue to support your children in getting a good night's sleep, eating a healthy breakfast and lunch, reading independently, and growing in the IB Learner Profiles....Caring, Risk-takers, Knowledgeable, Inquirers, Principled, Reflective, Balanced, Thinkers, Communicators, Open-minded.

To all students, congratulations on your hard work and success, and have a great 2nd quarter!

Mrs. Cunat

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October 31, 2011

Dear Wildwood Friends and Families,

I wanted to be sure you were all aware of some of our successes of the last few weeks.

NEW! Mr. Henderson writes: Our 5/6th grade and 7/8th grade boys flag football teams both came within two games of winning a city championship. The 5/6th grade boys won their division outright! We can be proud of our scholar/athletes!

Ms. Gotay writes of the volleyball team: We are still playing regular season, but the 5/6 are no wins so far, but they have improved the most I have ever seen a team do in a season. The 7/8 will be in the playoffs. They have not lost a game - they are 9 wins 0 losses. The 7/8 grade will be in the playoffs which begins Monday the Nov 7th at home.

Mr. Wiedegreen writes of the Wildwood Debate Team: Arron W. and Maddy S. were our novice team and they won 9th place out of 36 teams! Arron W. received 7th best speaker out of 72 participants. Brody F. and Kyle H. were our JV team-they did not place but they did very well for first time debaters!

Community Service Club: Our latest project is a toiletries collection. We are collecting sample size toiletries to prepare "goody" bags to donate to a homeless shelter. We will only accept travel size bottles for this project, so please do not send regular size products. Shampoo, toothpaste, mouth wash, deodorant, soap, conditioner, baby powder, and hand sanitizers will be accepted. Toothbrushes, hair brushes, and combs could also fit in our goody bags. Donations due December 9.

Cross Country: Four Wildwood students participated in City Championships in our first ever cross country team coached by Mr. Laske. Claire B. took a 2nd, Arron W. a 7th, Drake O. 17th. Jonathan C. also represented our school. Justice W. is getting this honorable mention for showing up for every practice and every meet.

Wildwood well represented at Chicago Run Halloween Hustle - 8th grader Matt C. wins 2nd Place! Thanks to Ms. Eliaps for coordinating!

Seminoles Cheer: Congratulations to our Wildwood girls- Emily B., KD O., Crystal G., Phoenix A., and Tatum T. who have advanced to the nationals for cheer competition. We are so proud of your dedication!

Our math team will be competing this coming weekend, and our Future Problem Solvers are off to an amazing start.

GO WILDWOOD!

MBC

October 4, 2011

Hello, Families and Friends of Wildwood,

I have felt an ongoing sense of gratitude and inspiraiton over the last week...Chicago Cares and Discover Finance did wonderful work for our school, the teachers have been working so hard to implement the IB philosophy of rigor, inquiry, and collaboration, and so many, many of you have helped give the school environment an amazing IB facelift...inside and out.

Thank you to all the parents who coordinated and volunteered for the Walk-n-Roll athon- especially chair Holly G. What a huge, sunny success!

Our after school programs are well under way, and we will begin adding additional academic support before and after school to the schedule. We have a stable staff, and we are ON OUR WAY!

All my best,

Mary Beth Cunat

September 25, 2011

Dear Wildwood Families and Friends,

Already we are on to week four! So many wonderful things are happening all the time, it is difficult to name them all.

Our celebration of International Peace Day was a beautiful event. Special kudos to the Japan team for their extra effort in raising funds for the Red Cross, to Nora who deserves to be on Cloud Nine for helping so many children in need, and to all the parents and teachers who helped make peace day special.

The PYP classrooms are really starting to emerge as world class centers of inquiry. I am so proud of the efforts of teachers to engage children in meaningful ways.

The Chicago Run is off and....running. Thank you to Ms. ELipas for bringing this resource to our school.

After School programs are off to a great start. There is still some room in several fee-based programs, so if you would like to have your child join a club, email Deb Phillips at longdebb@gmail.com

Thank you for all your support.

Mary Beth Cunat

The Luckiest Principal in the World

September 12, 2011

First Week Celebrations:

1. TERRIFIC, WONDERFUL students!

2. A dancing good time, great treats, and double rainbow at the PTA Welcome Back Ice Cream Social (not to mention about half the staff scooping ice cream!)

3. A remarkable show of dignity and patriotism by all attendees of our 9-11 Remembrance...imagine 411 children standing respectfully and silently.

4. An exciting kick off to our Chicago Run!

5. Making new friends

6. New staff: Rebecca Braun (grade 6 and AP), Mark Laske (media librarian), Joanne Schmidt (teacher assistant), Laura Reichert(security officer), and Juliette Moody (bus aide)

7. Getting the After School All Stars grant..and distributing the registration packets for all clubs and programs the first week of school. Thanks Deb Phillips!

8. Having the most supportive parents a school could wish for!

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Cunat