MARK T. SKINNER WEST SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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2018-2019 School Year
Week #32: May May 10th - May 17th



Skinner School Tour Dates: 
May 13 @ 10am - Main building only (1260 W. Adams) 
May 22 @ 10am - Branch only (225 S. Aberdeen)

Other Key Dates:
7th Graders to Camp Edwards - May 13-15th
NWEA Testing Begins May 14th - June 7th
School Improvement Committee - May 16th 4:00
FOSW Golf Fundraiser -  May 20th
May 21st @ 5pm - Communications Committee (Library)
May 21st @ 6pm - LSC Meeting (Gym)
Neighborhood Registration - See below
No School Monday, May 27th - Memorial Day

Last Day of School: Thursday, June 20th
CPS 2018- 2019 Calendar: here
New Articles
 
Neighborhood Registration Datesregistration


Neighborhood registration dates are as follows: 
May 29 & May 30th - 4-6pm
June 5/6, June 12/13 & June 19/20
After these dates, registration will begin again in late August (TBD) 

You can find CPS' registration checklist here.  Registration will not be completed without required materials.
Debate Team Shines Again at State Championshipsdebate2



The Skinner West Debate Team participated in the first ever Illinois Middle School Debate State Championship Tournament on Saturday, April 6th. 
 
The overall topic for the year is: 'Immigration', and the cases being debated at this Tournament were 'H-1B Visas' , 'Open Borders', and Refugees. 
 
Only the best of the best even qualified to compete in the tournament. To qualify in the Chicago Middle School Debate League, students had to be one of the Top 8 Novice Teams, Top 4 Junior Varsity Teams, or Top 4 Varsity Teams at the City Championship tournament in order to advance and compete in the State Championship tournament. 
 
Skinner West had 9 teams advance to the State Championship Tournament: 7 in the Novice Division and 2 in the Junior Varsity Division.
 
Novice Division State Qualifiers
- Nathaniel W. and Micaela J.
- Jonathan C. and JunHui G.
- Barry G. and Gabriel K.
- Maya S. and Ashna S.
- Isabella G. and Sirrena J.
- Darian K. and Arhan G.
- Rebecca B. and Mary Y.
 
Junior Varsity State Qualifiers
- Anna S. and Nikita A.
- Trey T. and Sunshine P.
 
Some highlights we would especially like to point out are: 
 
1) Of the 16 teams that qualified for the State Tournament, Skinner West sent 9 of them, more than the rest of the entire CMSDL combined.
 
2) Three Novice Teams advanced to the Quarterfinal Round:
- Nathaniel W. and Micaela J.
- Darian K. and Arhan G.
- Rebecca B. and Mary Y.
 
3) Arhan G. and Darian K. are the first ever Illinois Middle School Debate Novice State Champions!
 
This is a tremendous accomplishment, as they had to debate against the best debaters in the entire state, round after round, and they came out on top over and over until they were the last team standing. 
 
Please join us in offering congratulations to all of this year's Debate Team members for a fantastic season!

1st Grade POW! Fieldtripfield




Mrs. Priola's kindergarten class had an engaging and fun-filled field trip to POW Martial Arts in the West Loop. The students participated in a variety of fitness games and used teamwork to complete physical challenges. 
FOSW Golf Outing is almost here!Golf 



Dear Parents, 
 
The deadline is quickly approaching to sign up for the inaugural Friends of Skinner West Golf Outing.  Golfers, non-golfers, friends, family, parents and neighbors are all welcome to join us to help raise money for new technology in the annex. Our goal is to complete the installation of projectors in the new annex classrooms, so that these classrooms ready to use for next school year.  
 
Tickets include lunch, drinks, reception and 18 holes of golf on one of only two private country clubs that exist in Chicago, Ridge Country Club.  You can find more information here
 
You can register for the event here:

 We hope to see you on the green!
Shoe Drive for AutismAutism




Skinner will continue to collect shoes for Chicago Autism Network through the end of May.  Please donate your gently worn or new shoes to the collection box near the elevator of the 1st floor lobby.
Volunteers Needed for Book Fair May 28th-June 7th!
bookfair

 
Skinner West's Book Fair needs adult volunteers! Any amount of time donated is helpful and appreciated.  Younger siblings are welcome to come with while you volunteer.
 
As a thank you, volunteers will receive 20% off
Book Fair purchases!
 
Volunteer roles include:
  • Helping students as they make wish lists
  • Supervising and assisting shoppers
  • Keeping the Book Fair displays neat and stocked
  • Bagging items at the check-out table
 
Book Fair Dates
  • May 28-June 7 during school hours, 8:45-3:45.
  •  After School shopping sessions will take place Wednesday, June 5th, 3:45-6:30 pm. 
Please respond by Monday, May 20th if you are able to volunteer.

Sign up to volunteer at Book Fair Volunteer Form
or email Ms. Ranftl at klranftl@cps.edu by May 20th 
INTUIT Art Show - Saturday 5/11art
  
Ms. Christiansen and Ms. Bovit have been part of the Intuit Teacher Fellowship program at Intuit and would like to extend a welcome to everyone for the art show opening taking place THIS Saturday from 1-4. It will feature selected work from the 7th graders resulting from our ELA & Visual Art collaboration. Please see the postcard above for details.
SKINNER WEST SUMMER FAIR EVENT POSTPONED
summer
  
Our fundraiser will be rescheduled to a new date.  Thank you to everyone who considered contributing to our cause.  If you have questions, please contact: Shivi Jain@ swsensorysuperstars@gmail.com
Summer Debate Camp Registration Is Open!
debate
 
 Please find more information about Chicago Debate Camp here!
Repeat Articles  
Principal Clark's April Reportprincipal


Click HERE for the principal's report from the last LSC Meeting. 
Skinner West Debate Represents at the City Championships, lauded by Mayor Emanuel and the City Council
mayor



Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with members of Skinner West's Debate Team during his recent City Council meeting on April 10, 2019.  The City Council provided the students with a standing ovation along with copies of the City Council's Resolution congratulating them for their championship performances at the Chicago Middle School Debate League City Championship. Congratulations to our Skinner West Winners and Thank you to Coach Mr. Lee!

Sunshine P and Trey T - Junior Varsity 2nd Place Team
Mary Y and Rebecca B - Novice 2nd Place Team

Anna S - Junior Varsity 1st Place Individual Speaker
Sunshine P - Junior Varsity 2nd Place Individual Speaker 
Nikita A - Junior Varsity 3rd Place Individual Speaker

and to the entire Skinner West Debate Team....your hard work is truly amazing!
 
Classroom Connections: Ms Daigle's 3rd Gradedaigle

In light of April being Autism Awareness Month, Mrs. Daigle's third grade class read two wonderful books about autism.
    

After a thoughtful discussion, students wrote about how they can be good friends to someone with autism.  Here are a few of their ideas, in their own words:

"You should act regular because kids with autism are still kids and you should show the same respect that you would to kids without autism." - Sonya T.
"I would ask if they want to have a sleepover or a playdate because people with autism are just like us." - Jayda S.
"Understand the different and unique ways people with autism think." - Gabi T.M.
"Don't bully them just because they act different.  We're all human beings." - Roshan S.
"Autism is nothing bad, it's just a different way of thinking." - Arman N.
"They might learn differently, but we have feelings and emotions, and so do they." - Danielle J.
Battle of the Books - 1st Place Winners in Network!aspenupdate


Two weeks ago, our Skinner West inaugural Battle of the Books Team competed in the City Finals at Little Village Lawndale High School. Team Skinner placed as one of the top 15 teams in the City of Chicago and won first place in our network. Participating in the Battle of the Books competition was truly a rewarding and memorable experience for Mrs. Christiansen's 7th grade team made up of Bella B, Adrian C, Ingrid L, Lauren N, Olivia S, Trey T, and Mary Y.

Two of our members, Ingrid L and Mary Y entered t-shirt designs into a contest for the battle. Mary's was selected and worn by all participants this weekend.

The team met weekly at lunch since October reading, journaling, and discussing 21 diverse and challenging books, selected by the CPS Department of Literacy. At the battle, our team received the first five books for the competition as a reward, and they are already diving into them in preparation for next year's battle.
Need Help with Aspen?
aspen


Parents, 
We hope you have logged onto your new ASPEN account in the last week. You should have received an email from ASPEN at around Monday 4/22 (sender: <aspen-sysadmin@myfollett.com>) providing you instructions.  This is a multistep process, and we appreciate your patience!  On occasion, we have heard that some parents are having trouble.

If you did NOT receive an email or instructions, please do the following:

1. Check your email (that CPS has on record) and its spam folder for an email from <aspen-sysadmin@myfollett.com> or search for Keyword: Aspen.

2. If you did not receive an email or cannot access the new parent portal, please complete this google form HERE,  and include your child's name, parent name, email and parent phone number.

3. The office will work with each account, and respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.  Thank you for your patience.
5th Grade Health Class - Video Update from Coach Westywesty


Hello 5th Grade parents! Click on video link from Coach Westy  LINK HERE 

All 5th grade classes will participate in human reproduction, growth and development class.  Please see the memo below.  If you would like to excuse your child from these informational classes please email Ms. Westendorf at jwestendorf@cps.edu and indicate your child's name along with their home room teacher's room number.  Thank you!
Skinner BAC invites you to Around the World in 80 Dishes #15bac


Chicago French Market on June 1st at noon! Located downtown in the Loop.
All Skinner families and staff are welcome.
Email Mr. Baron with any questions: mlbaron@cps.edu.
                 
Skinner Summer Camp is Open for Registration

camp


We are proud to report that camp will return to Skinner this summer! Our webpage has been updated with all pertinent information. 

Tuesday June 25th - Ends - Friday August 16th
No camp on July 4th due to observance of Independence Day
Hours - 7:30a-6:00p
Day Camp - Ages 5 through 12
Junior Counselor - Ages 13 through 15

Our hard copy registration form can be printed and submitted to the office for Mr. Johnson or you can fill out and email us the electronic registration form at superstarssummer@gmail.com. Click HERE for registration. 

Registration begins on Monday, April 22nd.  Our camp calendar will be released soon. 
Click  HERE for registration. 
Music House Summer Camp
music


 
Brooklyn Builders Summer Camp
brooklyn
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.
Communications Volunteers are welcome. Donate your time to help increase communications and contact us!
Would you like to add another parent, guardian or caregiver? 
Sign up for this newsletter here.
 
Deborah M. Clark
Principal
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