March 4 - March 10, 2022 | Week #24

Dates to Remember

Special LSC Meeting - Monday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m. Join with Google Meet Or Join by phone (US) +1 508-507-9102 (PIN: 264170895)
LSC Election Application Deadline - ~~Friday, March 4~~ Now Wednesday, March 9 at 3:00 p.m.
PTO Meeting - Monday, March 14 at 5:30 p.m.
LSC Meeting - Tuesday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m.
School Improvement Committee Meeting - Tuesday, March 22 at 4 p.m.
Spring Picture Day - Thursday, March 24

Thank you Dr. Smith!

Friday, March 4th was Dr. Smith's last day at Skinner school. Our Superstar students and staff sent him off with cards and special projects as well as a book that highlighted many of the wonderful initiatives he created during his short time as Administrator in Charge. This list is just a portion of what Dr. Smith's time has given our school community, as a true list is immeasurable.

Your time at Skinner was short, but your influence will be long lasting...

Formed an MTSS team

Reorganized the ILT

Hired additional staff-

· PE teacher

· Special Education teacher

· School Counselor

· Security guard

· Librarian

· Special Education Classroom Assistants

Developed a weekly staff newsletter

Brought the “Buddy Band” program

Set up bathroom procedures for student safety

Created and initiated homework passes for positive behavior

Assisted in developing an upper grade behavior protocol

Facilitated an upper grade reward system

Was a positive daily presence for our students and staff

Thank you again to Dr. Smith for all the time and effort you have given our school and community.

LSC Elections Application Deadline Extended

Are you interested in running for the LSC? It’s not too late. You now have until Wednesday March 9th at 3:00 PM to submit your applications!

Download LSC Application Forms

Skinner Spirit Week

March 7 - 11, 2022

We’ve got spirit! Yes we do! We’ve got spirit! How ‘bout you? Skinner School Spirit Week will be from March 7 through March 11! Skinner Superstars are encouraged to show their school spirit by sporting the following:

Monday, March 7 - Pajama Day
Tuesday, March 8 - Hat Day!
Wednesday, March 9 - Decades Day! (Classes can vote on the decade they’d like to represent.)
Thursday, March 10 - Sport/Jersey Day!
Friday, March 11 - School Spirit Day! (Wear you Skinner gear or purple/yellow.)

Current COVID-19 Statistics at Skinner

As of March 4, Skinner's COVID-19 statistics are as follows:

Percentage of students in quarantine: 0.008%
Percentage of student population vaccinated: 66% (Reported)

Classroom Connections

Third Grade African American Hero Wax Museum

The third graders have completed their annual project during the month of February, with a smaller live audience than in the past. Each student chose an inspirational African American Hero to research. They wrote a speech in the first person narrative and dressed the part to "come alive" and share information about their life. FlipGrid recordings will be sent to parents and may be viewed by other classes during the Virtual Wax Museum event on Friday, March 4. Great job, third graders!

Happy National Women’s History Month!

It’s National Women’s History Month! In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March as “Women’s History Month” to celebrate the amazing contributions women have made to the United States and to recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. Women rock!

Reminder: Daylight Savings Time will begin on March 13th, 2022

It’s almost Spring which means it’s also time to “spring forward” and set clocks an hour ahead on Sunday, March 13. “Alexa. What time is it?”

In case you missed it....

Farewell from Dr. Smith

Dear Skinner West Families,

My last day as the Administrator in Charge at Skinner West will be Friday March 4th. As a retired CPS employee, I am only allowed to work 100 days each school year. I am approaching the limit on the number of days I can work.

Dr. Brown, the Assistant Principal, will be in charge until a new principal is in place. I am hoping that will occur sometime in mid-March.

It has been a pleasure to be a small part of the Skinner West family these past 4 months. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know your children and the incredible staff at Skinner.

Most importantly I want to thank all of you for the tremendous support you have shown me during my time at Skinner. The patience, understanding and flexibility demonstrated by the Skinner West families during the recent surge in Covid-19 and during the teacher work action in January is something I will not soon forget.

I know the support you have shown me will continue with the new principal.

All the best to you,

Dr. Richard Smith

Thank you from the Principal Selection Committee

The Principal Selection Committee would like to send an extra special thank you to the following people for their work in hosting last week’s principal candidate forums: Ms. Howard, Mr. Lomax, Ms. Fisher, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Crump, Mr. Werner, and Mr. Hughes. THANK YOU! We could not have done this without you.

Current COVID-19 Statistics at Skinner

As of February 24th, Skinner's COVID-19 statistics are as follows:

Percentage of students in quarantine: 0%
Percentage of student population vaccinated: 66% (Reported)

Shoutout to our Skinner Superstars!

Sixth grade Superstars, Clarke B. and Kennedy W., were 2 of the 7 finalists that were selected to participate in the Chicago Debate’s Black History Month Oratory Contest. The program took place virtually on Thursday, February 24, where the judges selected the winners, and both of our Superstars won!

Clarke B. won 2nd place and Kennedy W. won 3rd place!!

The entire program can be found on YouTube by the following link Chicago Debates Oratory Contest

Kennedy's speech begins at the 18:00 mark.

Clarke's speech begins at the 32:38 mark.

Chicago Debates Black History Month Oratory Showcase

So exciting! Congratulations to Clarke B. and Kennedy W.!!

Debate Team Tournament Results

The Skinner West Debate Team participated in the Chicago Middle School Debate League's Tournament Four for the 2021-2022 season on Saturday, February 12. The overall topic for the year was: 'Water Resources', and the cases being debated at this Tournament were 'Fracking' , 'Agricultural Runoff', and 'Water Infrastructure'.

About 141 debaters across 72 teams from 8 schools competed at the tournament, and 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:

Skinner West won 1st place in 6 out of 6 award categories, sweeping the tournament.
Skinner West won 61% of all possible awards at the tournament (34 out of 56).
Samar M. won the Shout Out Award, which is a peer award given by debaters honoring the conduct and decorum of another debater.

19th Novice Individual Nyla M.

18th Novice Individual Joshua M.

17th Novice Individual Aayush K.

15th Novice Individual Amay M.

12th Novice Individual Connor G.

7th Novice Individual Clarke B.

5th Novice Individual Kennedy W.

4th Novice Individual Sam A.

2nd Novice Individual Deven G.

1st Novice Individual Sophia W.

6th JV Individual Vedika S.

5th JV Individual Charlotte S.

3rd JV Individual Celeste D.

1st JV Individual Allison C.

5th Varsity Individual Vishal S.

4th Varsity Individual Tanmay G.

3rd Varsity Individual Sabrina Q.

2nd Varsity Individual Darwin B.

1st Varsity Individual Samar M.

15th Novice Team Nyla M. / Maya S.

13th Novice Team Lucy K. / Simone S.

12th Novice Team Alisa H. / Katherine X.

11th Novice Team Sam A. / Grayson K.

7th Novice Team Aayush K. / Amay M.

4th Novice Team Jimmy H. / Joshua M.

3rd Novice Team Neil D. / Elio G.

2nd Novice Team Sonya T. / Kennedy W.

1st Novice Team Deven G. / Sophia W.

5th JV Team Maya S. / Ashok C.

3rd JV Team Vedika S. / Charlotte S.

1st JV Team Carter H. / Tvisha H.

3rd Varsity Team Vishal S. / Tanmay G.

2nd Varsity Team Aurelie G. / Sabrina Q.

1st Varsity Team Darwin B. / Samar M.

Congratulations to our Superstar Debaters!

Classroom Connections: Ms. Newmark and Ms. Schneider's Class

Ms. Newmark and Ms. Schneider's class began the Buddy Band Program! Buddy Band is an inclusive, musical group that aims to break down barriers by bringing children with and without disabilities together to make music and to form friendships. Participants are paired into “buddies” who are encouraged to learn about each other and support each other through fun, engaging musical activities and small group times. Each week, buddies work not only on learning parts on their instruments, but on relationship-building skills and social skills.

All students that participated in the Buddy Band Program this week had a wonderful time! Thanks, Dr. Smith, for your assistance in getting this set up!

Baseball and Softball Opportunity

The Sheridan McGuane Baseball and Softball League is a great community baseball and softball league open to players of all abilities. There are also all-star divisions for more advanced players. Registration is currently open, but spots are filling up fast! Use this link to register today!