Principal’s message

May 11, 2012 Newsletter
Boomers Flyer 2012

Dear Stevenson Community,

“Thank You” does not seem sufficient when considering all of the special things the Stevenson community did to show their appreciation for the staff last week. We are truly grateful for all of the yummy treats, special notes and the amazing lunch. Thank you to the PTA for organizing this very special week for all of us.

Please join us for our last PTA meeting Tuesday, at 7:00 pm in the staff lounge.

Have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

April 27, 2012 Newsletter
Spring Fling Ticket
Yearbook Order Form

Dear Stevenson Community,

It was great to see the many families that turned out for our Science Fair and  Celebrate Reading and Writing Night. Your children love to share their great work. Those families that were unable to attend, your child’s classroom teacher has your author ribbon.

You may have noticed the colorful handprints on our front doors this last week. The hands are the works of our early childhood and kindergarten students as we celebrated The Week of the Young Child. The students enjoyed a fun-filled week starting off with crazy
hair day, pajama day, hat day and bring your favorite stuffed animal to school. On Friday, early childhood families and teachers spent the day at the Schaumburg Sports Complex enjoying family activities.

As you know, we started our spring MAP testing last week.  The children have been working so hard this year and we are confident you will see much growth from your child’s Fall RIT score.  Please make sure that your child has a good breakfast and gets plenty of rest.  It would also be helpful to just let them know to make sure he/she takes his/her time on the test and reads carefully.  In the past, we have found children who rush through the test tend to be unable to show us what they truly know.  We will be sending home the results as soon as they become available.

Each school year, District 54 schools reevaluate goals to ensure we are best meeting our students’ needs and providing the best services. Throughout this past year, we have had many successes with our multiage program at Stevenson School. Classroom teachers have
multiple opportunities throughout the week for team time to plan and work together to maximize student learning. All staff members that service each grade level meet weekly to ensure we are meeting all of the students’ need including students who need extra support to students who would benefit from enrichment as they are working at or above grade level. We are so fortunate to have so many knowledgeable staff members that work together on a team. As we move into next year, multiage will continue at Stevenson School. In our multiage configuration, students who are currently in 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th grade will be staying with their current teacher for another school year, while students in grade 2 & 4 will move on to the next grade level with a new teacher. If you have any questions about this configuration, please contact me so I can clarify any information for you.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our Spring Fling and Silent Auction on Friday, May 4. So many volunteers have made this a wonderful event. Please note that for the safety of all our children parents need to accompany their children to this event. We appreciate your support!

Have a wonderful week!

Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

April 13, 2012 Newsletter
Click here for newsletter attachments

Dear Stevenson Families,

It was so nice to see the students back from Spring Break and hear about their adventures at home or their travels with family. Thank you so much to those of you who have returned your registration materials for the coming year already. Please remember that due to changes in Board Policy effective February 2008 an annual renewal of parental permission for internet, email and district network will be included on your child’s registration form for the upcoming school year in the spring of 2012. Failure to sign and return these documents by the deadline date will deny your child’s access to the internet, email and district network for the 2012-2013 school year and he/she will not be able to access the above until the new registration and internet forms are returned.

This past Monday, we welcomed author, Reina McKenzie, to Stevenson School. Reina is currently a junior at Conant High School and former Stevenson student. She is also the daughter of our 1/2 teacher, Mrs. McKenzie. Reina shared her wonderful writing experiences from her Stevenson School days and her passion for reading and writing. Her positive experiences led her to publish her first novel this past year. The students were so excited and even got a chance to look at Reina’s 1^st grade writing journal and other stories she wrote.

Please mark your calendars for our Science Fair and Celebrate Reading and Writing evening, which will be held on Wednesday, April 25. This will be a great opportunity to see the terrific science projects as well as the great pieces of writing our students are excited to share with you. Our science fair will be held from 6:00-7:00 pm and Celebrate Reading and Writing from 6:30-7:30 pm.

The Hoffman Estates High School Loyal Parents (their boosters) are hosting a Barnes & Noble book fair and Fuddruckers event this weekend. Their goal this year is community literacy, so they voted to donate all the money from these two events toward the District 54 initiative to put 1,000 books in every classroom library. The event is this Saturday, April 14.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,
Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

March 23, 2012 Newsletter
Tech Camp School Flyer

Dear Stevenson Community,

Attached you will find the most recent edition of the Stevenson newsletter along with information about a summer tech camp.  Please take an opportunity to read through the information so you are up to date on upcoming events.

The students have worked very hard in the month of February to keep the number of major classroom referrals to less than 10. Once again our goal was reached! The students celebrated two goals:  donating over $200 to the Foundation and keeping our major referrals to a minimum, with a focus on classroom respect. Today’s celebration was an hour of fun at the end of the day by playing board games and electronics. The students were super excited and did a great job!

Please watch for the mail-home registration packet you will be receiving from the District 54 main office. It will be mailed to all families at the end of March. It is very important that parents return all the registration forms for their children by the deadline in order to insure that their child’s name is placed on a class list for the 2012-13 school year.

Spring break officially began today at 3:00.  We hope you enjoy the week with your children and that the weather remains as beautiful as it has been.  School resumes on Monday, April 2^nd.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,
Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

February 17, 2012 Newsletter
Art to Remember
Summer Scholarship Application

Dear Stevenson Community,

The attached edition of this month’s Stevenson Stallion contains a lot of good information. Please take some time to read the attached newsletter including our PTA president, Mrs. Filby’s, letter about elementary scholarships for summer camps.

We are looking forward to kindergarten registration on Thursday, February 23. If you have a child entering kindergarten this fall, you will need to register at your child’s base school. You can register between 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 pm or 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Our continued work with PBIS is having a positive impact on our students. Our student leaders did an awesome job at our last assembly in creating a new game referred to as “Stevenson’s Code of Classroom Respect.” During our all school assembly, students were selected from the audience to play along as well. Our Super Stallion Club is growing and is making a positive impact with students. Students are checking in daily every morning and at the end of the day to review how their day has gone. Daily goals are being met and the contact the students have with their teachers throughout the day is very positive.

We will be giving your child state-required assessments (Illinois Standards Achievement Tests) during the weeks of March 5th and March 12th. Students in grades three through six will be tested in reading and mathematics. Students in grade four will be tested in science. More information will soon be coming home.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,
Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

Dear Stevenson Community,

This morning Stevenson School was recognized for receiving the Academic Achievement Award from the Illinois State Board of Education. The Illinois Honor Roll celebrates the accomplishments of Illinois public schools that are providing high quality education for all their students.

State Superintendent, Chris Koch presented the awards to our school. Students Marlena and Eduardo, along with staff and building administration were on hand to accept this award on our behalf.

This is the fourth consecutive year we have received this year. Twelve other District 54 schools were recognized as well. On behalf of Schaumburg School District 54 and the entire Stevenson community, thank you to everyone ( students, staff and families) for supporting
our students. It is through commitment and hard work that we receive these acknowledgements.

Thank you to the families and staff who were able to attend Saturday’s Barnes and Noble Bookfair. A percentage of sales benefit Stevenson. If you did not get a chance to join us,  you can still order books online through Thursday, February 9^th.  Visit BN.COM/bookfairs to support us online from 02/04/2012 to 02/09/2012 by entering Bookfair ID 10641254 at checkout.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

January 27, 2012 Newsletter
STC High School Scholarship

Dear Stevenson Community,

I hope you are enjoying the mild weather after last weekend’s winter storm. In this week’s PTA  newsletter edition, you will find important  information including our students and classrooms who have received Stallion rewards.

On Thursday, January 19 our students gathered in our gym for our all school assembly to share information about our new Super Stallions Club. Some of our very own Super Stallions and staff presented and role played the check-in and check-out (CICO) process. Students also shared how being a Super Stallion has been a positive experience because of the increased positive interactions with
their parents and staff members at Stevenson. We are very excited to see the progress that all of our students will continue to make as a result of this new club!

The Stallion Student leaders remain busy with PBIS by volunteering to help run the Stevenson School Store. They did a wonderful job collecting pride cards and assisting students in the primary grades to decide on what fun items to purchase. There was a wide array of new items to select.

We really enjoy having the students involved in our programs as they are wonderful leaders.

Sincerely,
Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

January 13, 2012 Newsletter
Open Enrollment Fair Flyer
Midyear Report on District 54 Progress
Midyear Report on District 54 Progress – Spanish 

Dear Stevenson Families,

It was great to see so many of our families during conferences this week.  We want to thank everyone for attending this round of Student-Led Conferences despite the weather. We truly appreciate the time you took to share in this important part of your student’s school experience.  If at any time you have any questions regarding your students educational program, please feel free to contact us.

Like so many of our schools within District 54, the Stevenson staff continues to look for ways to increase student achievement for every child. One of the ways to support this goal is by offering the Super Stallion Club. Following the RtI model of offering reading interventions support for your child’s academic needs, Super Stallion is a social/emotional support system. Participation in this club provides your child with a little extra support, feedback and encouragement. Your child will “check-in” with a staff member each morning and “check-out” with that same staff member at the end of the school day. During these check-in and check-out meetings, designated staff members will touch base and talk about a daily goal that is connected to our Stevenson Stallion Behaviors (respectful, responsible and right choices). Students will receive feedback on a point sheet periodically throughout the day from their teachers in regards to their success towards meeting their daily goal. A daily goal of earning 80% of their points is standard for all children.

These brief meetings in the morning and after school are very positive and encouraging, and meant to start/end the day on a positive note. Current research shows that children in this program tend to increase levels of academic performance, become more responsible, and develop a positive relationship with a Stevenson staff member other than their classroom teacher. Approximately 10% of our student population will be a part of this program.

Inclusion in this club may be a result of: two visits to the school nurse in the month; two absences/tardies in two weeks; one major referral in one month and/or teacher referral. A selected child is part of this club for six weeks and then is reevaluated to see if they have met their targeted goal of 80% over the six weeks. If this goal has been met, the child will then self- monitor for two weeks, and score him/herself each day (these scores are checked by the teacher).  After that two week period, the child will be dismissed from the intervention.  If the child does not meet 80% of their points over six weeks, he/ she will complete another round of the Super Stallion Intervention.  If progress is not being made on this program, adjustments can be made such as individualizing the point sheet slightly, and/ or adding a social/ academic intervention group.  Parents will be notified when changes are made.  Your child’s point sheet should be brought home each day by your child.  If the point’s sheet is signed and returned the next day, your child is rewarded with a stallion pride card, if the point sheet is not returned; your child is encouraged to try to bring it back the next day.  So, please ask your child to see his/ her card each night.

Students will participate in an all school assembly on Thursday, January 19 to learn more. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Enjoy the long weekend with your children.

Sincerely,
Maria Clifford

Principal’s message

Dear Stevenson Community,

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the winter break with family and friends. It was great seeing so many smiling faces on the students when they returned to school.  I look forward to seeing you during next week’s Parent-Teacher conferences. Classroom teachers have sent notes home with your assigned time. Please return the note with your signature to confirm the date and time.

Please read the following message from the hot lunch committee: There is an error in the Hot Lunch form that went home.  Forms are due back January 11, not January 27 as the last page states.  Please turn forms in with payment by January 11 so they can place the orders with the vendors.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Principal’s Message

December 16 Newsletter

Dear Stevenson Families,

 It is hard to believe winter break is upon us. We have been so busy this past month! Our students did a terrific job taking the MAP tests. Results will be shared with you during Parent-Teacher conferences on January 12 & 13. Teachers will be sending home a conference reminder that will include your scheduled date and time when we return from break.

 Our students in grades 1/2 did an amazing job singing at their holiday concert. The students performed for the whole school and to a standing room only audience in the evening. Our 5/6 choir students and boom whacker club participants joined in the performance.

 We enjoyed our all school holiday sing. Students gathered together to sing many festive songs. Afterwards, students celebrated their class holiday parties. Thank you to the parent volunteers who made the parties so fun filled.

 We ended Friday with our all school PBIS celebration as the students met their goal. Our school goal was to have less than 10 bus referrals for the month of December. Students celebrated by playing board games of their choice with their classmates.

 Finally, the annual holiday shop sponsored by the PTA was another hit. Thank you to the committee for putting in so much time to set up the shop and help students purchase special gifts for their family members.

 On behalf of the Stevenson Staff, have a wonderful holiday season!

 Sincerely,

Maria Clifford