MARK T. SKINNER WEST SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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2018-2019 School Year
Week #28: March 30th - April 5th
 


 



Illinois Assessment of Readiness Testing - March 26- April 9th
No School, School Improvement Day - April 5th
Skinner West Family Fun Night at the Bulls - April 9th 
(pickup tickets April 8th)
No School, Report Card Pick Up - April 10th (see below)
Tours for Prospective Parents - April 8, 26th (1260 W Adams only)
Tours for Prospective Parents- April 29 (Branch only @225 S Aberdeen) 


CPS 2018- 2019 Calendar: here
 
New Articles
 
NO SCHOOL FRIDAY - SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT DAY
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Classes will NOT be in session on Friday April 5th due to School Improvement Day.  



NO SCHOOL /REPORT CARD PICKUP : Wednesday, April 10th
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Grades K-5:
11:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Report Cards Distributed
 
Grades 6-8:
11:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Individual Parent Conferences
3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.   Teachers Lunch Break
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.   Report Cards Distributed
 
Checklist for All Grades and All Families
  1. Pick up your child's report Card
  2. Complete the CPS My Voice My School Survey...WE NEED 100% response rate!
  3. Pick up Cookie Dough orders from your child's classroom
  4. Drop by Lost and Found in Cafeteria and reclaim your items 
Student Council Earth Day /Service Day
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The Skinner West Student Council proudly presents an Earth Day service learning opportunity! Students in 4th & 5th grades are welcome to join student council members on Wednesday April 24th to join the social media movement #Trashtag and clean up our community.Permission slip is required to participate. The event will end promptly at 5pm. 

Parents, we do need donations for this event to take place! We are in need of garbage bags and latex gloves. We'd really only need a couple of boxes of each. They can be given to Mr. Johnson. Thank you!


Congratulations to the Skinner Debate Team - 
Next Up... State Tournament!  
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Over 300 debaters across 90 teams from 31 schools competed at the tournament, but the students did a great job against some tough competition and won the awards listed below.

Some highlights we would especially like to point out are: 
1)  Of the 16 teams that are moving on to the State Tournament, Skinner West is sending 8 of them, as many as the rest of the entire CMSDL combined.
2) Skinner West won 35% of all possible awards at the tournament (26 out of 74).  

NOVICE
Individual Winners:                                  Team Winners:
4th- Mary Y                                         2nd-Mary Y. and Rebecca B.
5th- Isabelle G                                   3rd- Darian K. and Arhan G.
7th- Arhan G                                       4th-Isabella G and Sirrena J
9th- Rebecca B                                   5th-Maya S. and Ashna S.
11th- Darian K                                    6th-Barry G. and Gabriel K.
13th- Aadi K                                        7th- Jonathan C. and JunHui G.
15th - Sophie M                                           
 17th - Jonathan C
20th - Amber P
                       
                                              JV
Individual Winners                                   Team Winners
1st - Anna S.                                             2nd-Sunshine P. and Trey T.
2nd-Sunshine P.                                       4th -Nikita A. and Anna S.
3rd-Nikita A.                                            
6th-Max B.                                              
14th-Trey T.
20th-Katelyn L.

                                               VARSITY
Individual Winners                                    Team Winners
8th-Jake L.                                              5th-Jake L. and Alex G.
                                                                 8th-Jenny C. and Nicole B.

Special Thanks to Mr. Lee who has inspired, led and coached our Superstars to represent their very best.  Also, we thank all the students, parents and judges who have worked hard all season.  Good luck at State!
                                          
 


Friends of Skinner West Update & Golf Outing May 20th
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Friends of Skinner West would like to update parents with our progress in utilizing the Walkathon funds. We would like to invite those who haven't see our updates on Facebook to join our page to find out all about our initiatives, plans and ways to get involved. Below are our purchases from the $65,000 that we raised from the Walkathon. We would like to take this opportunity to again thank everyone who donated! You can see how much we were able to accomplish from the list below.  
 
Friends of Skinner West is planning a Golf Outing!  We would like to raise enough funds to finish purchasing and installing projectors in the new annex so that all of the classrooms are ready to use for the 2019 school year.   The outing is a great way to get together with your friends and neighbors for an event at a beautiful, private country club.  The golf outing will be May 20th at Ridge Country Club and will include 18 holes, a cart, lunch, reception and more!   We are looking for golfers of all levels to come out and have fun that day; it doesn't matter if you have never played the game or if you are an advanced player, we guarantee you will have a great time.   Please save the date for this great event and find us on Facebook for more information.  

Registration for golf can be found online  at goo.gl/87nBaV . 

If you are interested in advertising your business or  supporting our school through sponsoring a hole as a family, please see our registration form or site for sponsorship opportunities. All sponsors will be recognized with signage at the event and on our Facebook page. 

Items purchased for the school (2018-2019 school year):
10 interactive whiteboard projectors and installation 
Replaced 3 broken projectors in other classrooms
200 Samsung Chromebooks to replenish and replace broken ones
Maintenance contract for 2 of the school copier machines
New Seat Sacks for all Kindergarten classrooms
Extra Apple cables
Extra lock boxes for Cellphones
6 laser printers and 18 toners
5 replacement lightbulbs for Promethean boards
Classroom rug
Laminating film 
Qball interactive question game 
 
Items purchased for the 10 winning classrooms:
Kidney table and chairs
Laptop
Classroom materials/games
Listening station & headphones
Classroom sets of books
Bookcase 
Noise canceling headphones -15
Wobble seats-6
Organizers 
Bulls Ticket Pickup - April 8th
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If you ordered tickets for the April 9 Family Fun Night at the Bulls game and selected the pick up option, get your tickets at the PTO table in the Skinner West lobby on  Monday, April 8, between 3:45-6 pm. If you selected delivery, tickets will be sent home with your child.

The game is on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 pm. (No school the next day!) 30 Skinner West Superstars will be randomly selected to high five the Bulls players as they come out of the tunnel at the start of the game! 
Shoe Drive for Autism
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Chicago Autism Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to helping local families find and afford effective autism therapy. Money raised through this shoe drive will increase their ability to give financial assistance to families who need, but can't afford autism therapy. Gently worn or new shoes can be dropped off at collection boxes in the Skinner West lobby from April 1-May 31.  Please contact Kimi@chicagoautismnetwork.org if you have questions.
Repeat Articles  

From the Desk of CPS
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This week, Chicago Public Schools CEO Jackson released the Five-Year Vision for Continued Academic Progress for Chicago Public Schools.  Parents, please read about the five-year plan here, where a video link is also available to view. 


Tours for Prospective Parents
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Skinner West is offering tours for prospective parents in April.  All tours will begin at 10 am and there is no need to RSVP.  Please share this with your neighbors who may have a child entering in the Fall. 

The dates for the tours are:  

April 8 (This will be a Skinner main bldg only 1260 W Adams)
April 26 (This will be a Skinner main bldg only 1260 W Adams)
April 29 (This will be a Skinner Branch tour only - 225 S Aberdeen)


Updates from Gallery 111 Auction
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Our Skinner West students continue to enjoy and benefit from an arts education here thanks to to the efforts of the Gallery 111 committee and the countless teachers, parents, community members and businesses that volunteer their time and energy and donate their money and services to Gallery 111.  Many parents bought amazing auction items from Gallery 111's Annual Auction over the years - including tickets to concert, theater and sporting events, museum memberships, artwork, projects designed by Skinner students, and experiences such as Principal for a Day for their child.  
Last week, several Skinner parents gathered for an art party that was auctioned at last year's Gallery 111 Gala.  Sally Ko, an artist and Skinner West parent, donated and hosted the art party at her beautiful studio in the Zhou B. Art Center.  Everyone that attended had a very fun evening creating their own masterpieces to take home.  We can't wait to see what the 20 parents who signed up at this year's Gala create at their fall party!  Thank you again to Sally Ko and to all who donate to Gallery 111!


Discount for West Loop Soccer Club Spring Break Camp
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West Loop Soccer Club is offering a $30 discount to Skinner West students who attend their Spring Break Camp, April 15-19.  


Spring Break Camp at Chicago Children's Theater
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Chicago Children's Theater - just around the corner from Skinner West- is offering a Spring Break Camp this year!  For details on their "Lost Island:Spring Adventure Camp," please visit their website.


Brooklyn Borders Adventure Days
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Brooklyn Borders is offering Adventure Day programs for upcoming dates in April when Skinner students do not have school, including April 5th.  For more details and to learn how to register for this program, please read their flyer.  


Stay Connected

 Visit our website at http://www.skinnerwest.cps.edu/ for more information about what's happening in school.
All comments, suggestions or requests to submit information to this newsletter should be emailed to skinnerwest@gmail.com.
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Deborah M. Clark
Principal
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