Steele Family Newsletter

Mrs. Grice, Dean of Students

Mr. Orellana, Dean of Students

Mrs. Knuth, Nurse

Mrs. Hickey, School Counselor

Ms. Fones and Ms. Howerter, Front Office Assistants

Email: kcoate@galesburg205.org
Website: https://steele.galesburg205.org/
Location: 1480 West Main Street, Galesburg, IL, USA
Phone: (309)973-2016
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steele205/
X: @wearesteele

Instagram: @205steelestars

Dear Steele Families,

I am happy to be returning to Steele following my surgical recovery! I have missed our students, staff, and families, and I look forward to being back with our Steele Stars.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Mrs. Ellen Spittell for serving as building principal during my absence. I am grateful for the time, care, and experience she shared with our school community and for her support of our students, families, and staff.

Thank you also to our office team and staff for their hard work and dedication over the past seven weeks. Knowing Steele was in such capable hands allowed me to focus on my recovery.

I appreciate your patience, kindness, and support during my time away. I look forward to seeing everyone and continuing our work together to help our Steele Stars learn and grow!

Warmly,
Mrs. Keri Coate
Principal, Steele Elementary

Steele families, we’d love to hear how you’re spending your time! Are your students playing outside, enjoying a good book, visiting a pumpkin patch, spending time with family, or relaxing at home?

Share a favorite fall break moment or a photo with Mrs. Coate at kcoate@galesburg205.org! We hope our Stars are enjoying time to rest, play, and make memories. 💙💛

Steele Elementary PTO Raise Craze fundraiser: “Fundraising Through Kindness—Let the Kindness Games Begin!” October 5–23. Goal: 1000 Acts of Kindness and $7,500.

How to participate:

1. Register and create your student’s donation page. Additional siblings can be added.

2. Help your child select 3–5 Acts of Kindness to complete for others.

3. Invite friends and family to donate by email, text, or social media.

Raise Craze is an online fundraising platform where students show gratitude by completing Acts of Kindness. Email addresses will never be shared or used for marketing.

Funds support teachers, classrooms, student activities, schoolwide experiences, and free PTO family events: Game Night, Movie Night, Skate Night, and the End-of-Year Carnival.

Register at raisecraze.com/join using code 243-537, or scan the QR code on the flyer. Questions? Contact the PTO at steele205pto@gmail.com.

Want to check out the leaderboard and see which classrooms are in the lead?

Quest for Kindness helps prevent bullying before it starts by using social and emotional skills.

In this one-of-a-kind program, students become adventurers as they venture out on an exciting quest to search for the Key to Kindness!

Quest for Kindness helps stop bullying before it starts. In this one-of-a-kind program, students will embark on a quest to find the Key to Kindness and discover what it unlocks along the way! This quest is full of interactive challenges that demonstrate healthy self-awareness and teach emotional intelligence. This program combines important social skills and bullying prevention information to create an entertaining and educational experience that students won’t forget.

The first half of this program consists of exciting challenges involving the whole group and a virtual assistant named Ed Venture. During each challenge, students learn practical tools for identifying emotions, managing stress, and solving problems. Once students discover the Key to Kindness, the program focuses on the power kindness has in preventing bullying. Students obtain an understanding of why bullying occurs and become equipped with devices to stop it.

Implementing character development programs is proven to reduce levels of bullying and increase academic performance. Information in this program observes guidelines established by CASEL.

Contact your child's teacher to schedule or reschedule a conference. Attending parent-teacher conferences is important because research shows that when parents and teachers work together as partners, students earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, and show better behavior and positive attitudes toward learning.

At Steele, we focus on celebrating Red Ribbon Week and the fall season to create a welcoming environment that respects our families’ different traditions and keeps activities appropriate for all ages. These celebrations give our Stars opportunities to have fun together while learning about healthy choices, kindness, and safety.

We do not hold Halloween celebrations at school. Any costumes worn as part of an approved spirit day must be school-appropriate and may not promote violence, include scary images/blood, or have props/masks or accessories that could frighten others or create a safety concern.

Thank you for helping us keep our celebrations positive and enjoyable for everyone!

We know many families are facing tough times, and a little extra support can make a difference. Blessings in a Backpack provides students with a grocery sack of food to take home on Fridays to help with meals over the weekend. We are grateful to Knox College for helping pack these bags for students at Steele and other area schools. If your family could benefit from this support, please contact Melissa Hickey at mhickey@galesburg205.org or call the school office at 309-973-2016. We are here to help!

All meetings are held at Steele in the library. Meetings run from 5:30 - 6:30 PM and are on the first Tuesday of the month.

A Google Meet will be set up for those of you that want to attend but cannot be in person.

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/jms-yjdu-agj

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 678-487-9512‬ PIN: ‪356 280 867‬#

Our Steele Book Club is inviting third and fourth graders to read I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis! This historical fiction adventure follows Barry, a young boy in New Orleans, as he faces a powerful storm and finds courage along the way. Students will have the opportunity to connect with fellow readers, share their thoughts, and explore themes of perseverance, friendship, and hope. We are accepting up to 20 students at each grade level and will provide a copy of the book at no charge. If we get more than 20 students interested at a grade level, we will randomly draw the 20 selected. Please help us spread the word to students and families and encourage interested readers to join the adventure! Sign ups will be in the library.

We want everyone to have a safe, positive, and enjoyable experience while supporting our athletes and attending home football games this fall. To help ensure the safety and well-being of our students, families, athletes, and fans, we ask all students to follow the expectations below:

Students should remain in the stands during the game unless visiting the concession stand or restroom.
No running, horseplay, or ball-playing in the stadium or the concession area.
Respectful behavior is expected at all times towards peers, staff, officials, and guests.
Students should follow directions from school personnel and security immediately.
Students in grades K–8 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to enter the stadium.
5th- 8th grade students may sit with their families or in the designated school student section located in the northeast corner of the stadium (GJHS) or the north side of the home stands (Lombard). Elementary students must remain with their parents or guardians.

Thank you for your cooperation and for doing your part to make our home football games a safe, positive, and enjoyable experience for everyone. We appreciate your support of our students and athletes!

The Shine in #205 program is a way for you to salute any CUSD #205 employee who goes above and beyond what is expected. Whether you are a parent/guardian impressed with that special touch your student's teacher added to a moment, a coworker who thinks their colleague doesn't hear often enough about the great job they are doing, or a community member who witnessed a staff member's commitment to students-you can submit a Shine nomination!

#Shinein205 link https://forms.gle/d5iCyxiBXmjq421K6

Please download the Class Dojo App. This will be our primary mode of communication with families this year. More information will come from your teacher.

As we prepare for the start of the new school year, we'd like to remind families about FIRSTview, our school bus tracking app.

FIRSTview allows parents and guardians to track their student's school bus in real time, receive notifications, and stay informed about their child's transportation throughout the school year.

Whether you're returning to FIRSTview or using the app for the first time, please review the attached letter for information on downloading the app, setting up your account, and connecting to your student's bus route.
We encourage all families who utilize district transportation to take advantage of this free tool to stay informed and connected.

For summer birthdays, we will celebrate your child's half birthday. For instance - if your birthday is August 1st, we will celebrate it on February 1st.

Our district takes student attendance very seriously and we are committed to seeing that every child is at school unless there is an excused reason for absence or tardiness. Studies have shown that when students are consistently at school they are more likely to achieve their dreams.

What Parents and Students Can Do:

• Ensure children arrive to school on time.

• When absent, be sure to make up missed work.

• Communicate with school and seek support when needed.

• Call when your child is absent from school or unavoidably late ASAP at 309-973-2016.

• Know attendance is required on early dismissal days.

• Return to school after appointments.

• Plan appointments outside of school day.

• Call within one hour of the start of school or send a note within 48 hours of the return to school.

• For minor health issues—come to school.

Each month students will focus on monthly themes . Teachers will provide explicit, direct skill instruction in these areas so that our school community as a whole becomes stronger. The month of August is our Kindness Kick off!

View more: htpp://schools.mealviewer.com/school/SteeleElementarySchool

Whether this is your first year at Steele or you have been here for multiple years, we want to welcome you all to the 26-27 school year. We are the "STARS" and we shine bright!

Galesburg 205 Vision Statement: Empowering students to realize their potential to Thrive.

Steele Vision Statement: Creating learners who make wise choices, embrace challenges, and own their future.

Galesburg 205 Mission Statement: Through collaboration with families and our community, our schools will develop the potential of students in a safe, equitable, and engaging learning environment, which advances high performance and excellence for all.

Steele Mission Statement: Diversity is who we are. Equity is what we strive to provide. Inclusion is how we achieve our goals. Together we inspire dreams, celebrate learning and embrace the future.