November 5 - November 11, 2021 | Week #10
This week: Greetings from Our Administrator In Charge | LSC Virtual Meeting Information | A Note from the Skinner West LSC | Welcome Dr. Smith | Report Card Pickup Day | Superstar Spotlight | Meet the Teacher | Happy Diwali! | Veterans Day Camp
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Dates to Remember
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No School - School Improvement Day - Friday, Nov. 5
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PTO Meeting - Monday, Nov. 8 @ 5:30pm
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LSC Meeting - Tuesday, Nov. 9 @ 5:30pm
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No School - Veteran's Day - Thursday, Nov. 11
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No School - Vaccine Awareness Day - Friday, Nov. 12
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No School - Report Card Pickup - Wednesday, Nov. 17
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Greetings from Our Administrator In Charge
Dear Skinner West Community,
My name is Dr. Richard Smith and I will be the Administrator in Charge at Skinner West until the Local School Council has selected a new principal.
I am a retired CPS administrator and have held several positions with the Chicago Public Schools including; School Psychologist, School Principal (19 years), Chief Network Officer, and Chief Officer for the Office of Special Education and Supports. For the past 10 years I have been a Leadership Coach/Mentor for The Illinois Principals Association and an Administrator in Charge at approximately a dozen schools. I am also a baseball coach at Mather High School.
I have known Mrs. Clark for many years and am amazed at the tremendous legacy she has left at Skinner West. It is truly a remarkable school. The new principal clearly has big shoes to fill.
My biggest priority during the time I am at Skinner is to ensure the health, safety and welfare of every child and staff member. I will be a visible presence and accessible to everyone. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible during my time at your wonderful school.
Please feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Dr. Richard G. Smith
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LSC Virtual Meeting Information
The next LSC meeting will be held on
Tuesday, November 9 at 5:50 p.m.
All are welcome to attend.
Agenda to follow.
Join with Google Meet:
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A Note from the Skinner West LSC
Dear Skinner West students, teachers, faculty, parents and community members,
The Principal Selection Committee has been formed and we are energized to select our new principal. The committee will consist of our LSC members, Dr. Brown (AP) and Mrs. Christiansen (7th grade). Our intent is to make sure the committee represents the voices of all constituents. We recognize you have high expectations.
We're sure you have a lot of questions about how this process will run. In addition to open committee meetings, we will begin sending weekly communications via the newsletter to keep you updated on our progress alongside a timeline with key dates and milestones.
We want to hear from you! We are planning several ways for you to share your input about our school needs. Stay tuned for more information about how you can share your input about Skinner’s school culture and climate.
An exciting journey lies ahead!
Warm Regards,
Your LSC
Fadi Matalka - chair, parent representative
Melinda Young (Sgariglia) - vice-chair, parent representative
Aisha Crump - parent representative
Sheila Howard - staff representative
Brett Hughes - parent representative
Ryan Johnson - teacher representative
Matt Letourneau - parent representative
Stephanie Macja - community representative
Marla Sedler - community representative
Nell Strong - parent representative
Ramel Warner - teacher representative
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Dr. Smith is a retired principal who will be temporarily at Skinner West for the next 2-3 months until we hire a permanent principal.
Dr. Smith adores children and spent the week popping into classrooms and introducing himself. In the next couple weeks, he will be stopping in the primary grade classrooms to play his guitar and sing with the little ones!
He is very hands on and approachable! Dr. Smith is enthusiastic and extremely happy to be here! It is so great to have him!
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Important Report Card Pickup Information
for Parents/Guardians
Report Card Pick up day is Wednesday, November 17th
There will be no school for elementary students this day.
This year you can choose to pick up your child’s report card
either in-person or remotely.
Remote pickup will be from 11:45am to 3:15pm
In-person pickup will be from 4:00pm-6:00pm
Your child’s teacher will be contacting you before the end of
the day on Wednesday November 10th to schedule your report
card pick up conference.
Please call the school if you have any questions at 773-534-7790.
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4th Grade Student Sophia Mohammad
Room 216: Mrs Johnson's Class
On October 27th, Sophia Mohammad co-hosted Chicago's Once Upon Our Time Capsule Sealing Ceremony. The First Lady of Chicago Amy Eshleman and Commissioner Chris Brown were in attendance. They had kind words to say about Skinner Fourth Grader Sophia. This event was covered by the WGN News and the Chicago Sun Times.
The family would also like to take this opportunity to thank Skinner for providing Sophia with incredible learning opportunities and a love for reading and learning. Earlier this year she was the only child featured on a podcast produced by the Obamas. Her artwork is also on display at the Royal Ontario Museum - part of their pandemic series.
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Meet Mrs. Hoesel Gonzalez B.Ed (She/Her) |
Meet Mrs. Hoesel Gonzalez. She just moved to Chicago, IL from Las Vegas, NV. This is her 9th year of teaching. She has taught in both the Las Vegas and Phoenix Valley. Mrs. Gonzalez graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education with an ESL and Early Childhood Endorsement from the University of Phoenix in 2016 and is currently in the process of obtaining a Master's Degree in Education, Culture, and Society.
She lives with her husband and 2 dogs. Her favorite hobbies are photography, hiking, baking, candle making, and sculpting clay.
Fun Fact: She loves all things spooky.
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Skinner West would like to wish all who celebrate a Happy Diwali!
We are so fortunate to have such a diverse group of students here at Skinner. Ms. Growe’s kindergarten class had a parent volunteer come and teach us all about the Diwali traditions.
The children painted, listened to stories and even learned how to do traditional Bollywood dancing! It was such a fun day and a wonderful learning experience.
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Veterans Day Camp
West Loop Soccer Club will be running a full-day soccer camp indoors on November 11.
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In case you missed it.... |
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Goodbye Mrs. Clark!
Thank you Mrs. Clark!
Mrs. Clark, congratulations on your retirement after 28 years as Skinner West’s principal! There are no words that describe the impact you have made on our students, teachers, staff and community. You touched so many lives during your tenure and you saw the potential in every student who walked through the doors of our school. Thank you for your countless contributions. May the next chapter of your life be filled with blessings. You will always be a Superstar!
With gratitude,
The Skinner West LSC
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Mrs. Clark's Graduation Ceremony
Congratulations to Skinner’s October Graduate - Mrs Clark!
The 8th grade planned a surprise graduation for Mrs Clark. Special guests included former teachers, staff, friends and Alderman Burnett! Alderman Burnett presented Mrs Clark with a resolution passed by city council that celebrates her 28 years at Skinner. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Mr. Werner sang during the rose ceremony. She was touched. You can watch it here.
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Special LSC Meeting & Principal Selection Committee Meeting
ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND
Join with Google Meet:
SPECIAL LSC MEETING AGENDA
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021
5:30 P.M.
5:30pm Call to Order
5:32pm Approval of Agenda
5:35pm Principal Selection Committee Members
5:45pm Adjournment
PRINCIPAL SELECTION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021
5:30 P.M.
5:45pm Call to Order
5:50pm Approval of Agenda
5:55pm Committee Reports
6:15pm Old Business
6:20pm New Business
6:25pm Public Comment
6:30pm Adjournment
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Goodbye Ms. Ranftl!
Dear Skinner Families,
Thank you for an amazing 15 years at Skinner. I am moving on to a new school closer to home (5 minutes vs 60 minutes), but I will always hold Skinner and all of my Superstars and Skinner Families in my heart. My last day as Librarian is November 5th, but you will see me around occasionally when I help with the Star Program.
Families, thank you for your support and kindness, your assistance and “how can I help”s, and all the Book Fair and Box Tops volunteer hours! Most of all, thank you for encouraging a love of learning and curiosity within your children. Please continue to support the Skinner West Library, and a Librarian in EVERY Chicago Public School.
Superstars, thank you for sharing your excitement, intelligence, and humor with me every week. I hope you learned as much from me as I’ve learned from you. Keep reading, asking questions, and sharing your knowledge with the world!
I wish you all the best!
~Ms. Ranftl
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Walkathon Report
Wow! Skinner parents, friends and family really came through this year! Despite all of the tribulations of the last 2 school years, we very nearly met our goal. We raised nearly $70,000 at the Walkathon.
5 classrooms won a first place prize of $500 for teachers to spend on items for the class as well as an ice cream party. The teacher who raised the most is Jeff Merkin whose class raised a total of $4200!!! The other first prize classrooms are: Ms. Novitski (Kindergarten), Ms. Martin (1st), Ms. Sittner (1st), and Mr. Lew (5th).
We have extended 2nd place prizes of $200 to any classroom that has raised over $2000. Those classrooms are: Ms. Priola (Kindergarten), Ms. Twine (Kindergarten), Ms. Growe (Kindergarten), Ms. Petrosino (2nd), Mr. Bailey (3rd), Ms. Daigle (3rd), Ms. DeJulio (3rd), Ms. Johnson (4th), Ms. Kawa (4th).
Congratulations to ALL winners! If you are still considering donating, we are still accepting donations at friendsofskinnerwest2011@gmail.com THANK YOU to all who donated. ALL funds go right back into the classroom, for items such as chromebooks, projectors, ipads, classroom libraries, calcuators, etc.
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Keep In Touch With Mrs. Clark
If you'd like to send Mrs. Clark a quick congratulations, message of support, or send family updates please use this email!
Mrs. Clark has retired from Skinner but will always be a part of the Skinner West Family!
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A Special Message to Mrs. Clark from Star Jones |
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Covid Community Notice
Friday, October 29, 2021
Dear SKINNER Community,
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is committed to keeping you informed of the most current developments regarding COVID-19. A person who was in our school building on October 27, 2021 tested positive for COVID-19. We are sending this notification for your awareness, and you do not need to take any further action at this time. If you have been identified as a close contact, you should have received a separate notification from the Office of Student Health and Wellness with additional information.
As a reminder, we can slow the spread of COVID-19 as a CPS school community by getting vaccinated, social distancing whenever possible, wearing masks in public, washing our hands thoroughly, and avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
For district updates and resources, visit www.cps.edu. If you need help locating medical care or have any CPS-specific questions, please reach out to the Healthy CPS Hotline at 773-553-KIDS (5437) which is staffed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
I am here to support you as we move forward together as one healthy, supportive, and engaged school family.
Sincerely,
SKINNER Administration
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Mark T. Skinner West School
Front Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
(773) 534-7790
By Appointment Only
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