Waltham Elementary School

February is here, and it’s packed with exciting opportunities for families to be involved at Waltham—especially during Read Across America Week! We look forward to celebrating the joy of reading with our students and families.

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing PTCC for hosting another successful Trivia Night on January 25th! The raffle baskets, drawings, and silent auction items made for an unforgettable evening. We are so grateful for the dedicated team who worked tirelessly before and during the event to ensure its success.

A special shoutout to Habaneros for partnering with our PTCC and providing their delicious food for the night! We also appreciate everyone who contributed to the bake sale—your generosity and support truly made a difference.

Be sure to follow our school and PTCC social media pages for updates on all the exciting events happening in February. We love seeing our Waltham families engaged and involved! If you haven’t already, download our school app to get the most up-to-date school information right at your fingertips!

Our attendance initiatives are making a real impact on daily attendance, and we couldn’t be more excited! Our school's Attendance Committee meets every two weeks to review progress, track student data, implement new strategies, and schedule family support meetings for those who qualify.

One of our most popular incentives—the monthly AttenDances—continues to be a huge hit! These events are a fun and exciting way to keep students motivated and engaged in coming to school every day.

To keep the momentum going, we are still accepting gift cards for our monthly student attendance drawings. Thank you for your ongoing support in helping us build strong attendance habits for our students!

Just a heads-up—Monday, February 17th is Presidents' Day, and there will be no school. Enjoy the long weekend with your family!

We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday, February 18th!

Do you have a preschooler entering our program in Fall 2025? We’re excited to offer an opportunity for families to meet our preschool staff, explore the classroom, and tour the school!

📅 Date: Wednesday, February 19th
⏰ Time: 12:15 – 3:15 p.m.
📍 By Appointment Only – Please call the office at 815-667-4417 to schedule your individual 15-minute visit.

📍 Please bring:
✅ Your child's birth certificate
✅ Proof of residency* (*if living in the Waltham School District)

We can’t wait to welcome our future little learners and their families!

Do you have a child who will be starting kindergarten during the 2025-2026 school year and is not currently enrolled in our preschool program? We’re excited to welcome your child to Waltham! (Current Waltham preschool students who will be attending kindergarten do not need to attend.)

New kindergarten students will need to schedule an appointment for a kindergarten assessment, meet the teacher, and tour the classroom and school.

📅 Date: Wednesday, February 19th
⏰ Time: 12:15 – 3:15 p.m.

📞 Call the office at 815-667-4417 to set up your appointment!

📍 Please bring:
✅ Your child's birth certificate
✅ Proof of residency

We can’t wait to meet our future Waltham Hawks!

Get ready, Waltham families—the Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon! 🎉

📖 Student & Teacher Preview: Friday, February 21st – Students and teachers will get a sneak peek at all the great books!

🛍️ Book Fair Sales:
📅 Monday, February 24th – Friday, February 28th
⏰ Open during lunch (11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)
💵 Students can bring money, use funds from their e-Wallets, or parents & grandparents are welcome to stop in and shop during lunch!

🌟 Special Event: Family Reading Night! 🌟
📅 Wednesday, February 26th | ⏰ 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Join us for an evening of reading fun, and don’t forget to visit the Book Fair while you’re here!

We can’t wait to celebrate the joy of reading with our Waltham community! 📚

Waltham's PTCC is teaming up with Lurie Children's Hospital for Superhero Day on Friday, March 7th! 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️ This is our chance to unite as a school family and raise vital funds to support the patients and families at Lurie Children’s.

This year, Superhero Day is especially close to our hearts—Mrs. Lukacsy's daughter, Ava, will be undergoing a major operation at Lurie's this same day. Let’s wear our capes in honor of her and all the brave superheroes fighting their battles at the hospital!

As a nonprofit hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago relies on donations to give every child a healthier future. Your generosity can help fuel life-saving research, provide comfort during difficult procedures, and ensure access to world-class care—support that some of our very own Waltham families have needed.

💥 How to Participate:
🔹 Students and staff are encouraged to wear their favorite superhero costumes on Friday, March 7th!
🔹 We suggest a minimum $5 donation for those dressing up.
🔹 Please avoid: weapons, gore, face paint, or full-face masks that could distract from learning.
🔹 Capes are highly encouraged! 🦸

Let’s come together, show our support, and be heroes for kids in need!

Here’s how your donations can make a difference:

$100 is enough help make a child’s hospital stay a more positive experience with activities, supplies and toys.

$250 can provide patients with the support they need to thrive after lengthy hospital stays.

$500 supports clinical trials to help discover new or more effective treatment options.

$1000 means we can train the next generation of specialists.

All donations are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged by Lurie Children’s Foundation.

On behalf of the patients and families of Lurie Children’s, thank you for your support!

Here is our Waltham PTCC Fundraising Link ==> https://events.luriechildrens.org/community-fundraising/walthams-superhero-day-2025

Junior Achievement - Volunteers Needed

Volunteers lead fun, hands-on lessons that teach students the difference between a need versus a want, where families go in their neighborhoods to find those needs and wants, and that people must earn money to pay for them. Students also learn why people pay taxes and how voting helps make decisions for a community.

No experience necessary! JA provides all materials needed along with lesson plans that are mapped out and easy to follow. It’s only a five-week commitment. (Five, 40-minute lessons.) Volunteers work directly with the classroom teacher to determine a schedule. JA also provides a virtual training to teach you how to use the materials.

The following classrooms need volunteers:

Heather Linnig | 1st Grade | JA Our Families®

Jamie Voss | 1st Grade | JA Our Families®

Shawna Hollingsworth | 2nd Grade | JA Our Community®

What do JA materials look like? Take a look HERE!

Please contact Monica Telschow at monica.telschow@ja.org for more information.

Mark your calendars! Read Across America Week will take place February 24th-28th, and we have a fantastic lineup of literacy-based activities, fun dress-up days, and special events planned for our students!

🌟 Family Reading Night will be held on Wednesday, February 26th, from 5:00-6:30 p.m.—a perfect opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading together! 📖💙

Stay tuned for more details, including this year’s exciting theme and a full schedule of activities. We can’t wait to make reading magical at Waltham! 📚✨

Kindergarten has been exploring a wonderful mix of winter fun, storytelling, and historical learning!

Also a great big thank you to PTCC for our Hawk Pride t-shirts!

---Mrs. Kummer

4th grade attended a Birds of Prey presentation provided by Illinois Raptor Center. Thank you to the PTCC for funding our school field trips!

---Mrs. Kinzer & Mr. Gustafson

On the evening of Wednesday, January 22nd, the junior high classes were invited to the local historical landmark Aitken School, here in Utica.

This one-room schoolhouse once house housed students of various ages from 1865 to 1956.

The students had the opportunity to tour the schoolhouse and share their historical fiction narratives, taking on the role of a student in a one-room schoolhouse.

It was an amazing experience.

---Mr. Bailey & Ms. Lucio

Our worm friends are back! Our kindergarten through 3rd-grade students are diving into the fascinating world of worms and their role in composting! Through hands-on activities, they learn how worms turn food scraps into nutrient-rich soil, helping our school garden thrive. We're encouraging students to bring healthy food in their lunches—not just to fuel their bodies but to provide healthy scraps for the worms too! This initiative connects their choices to the environment, teaching responsibility and sustainability in a fun, interactive way.

---Mrs. Culjan & Mrs. Craven

We are in our intro to volleyball/newcomb unit for 3rd-5th PE! In addition to skills and fundamentals, here is what we are doing...

3rd grade is playing a modified version of volleyball called newcomb. In this game players throw and catch the ball instead of striking the ball. Rotations, set up, and court layout is the same as volleyball. The version we play requires three touches before the ball can be sent back over the net.

4th grade is playing a hybrid of newcomb/volleyball where they serve underhand with the receiving team bumping or setting the first touch after the ball clears the net. The second and third touch can be caught, just like in newcomb. The third touch then sends the ball back over the net with an underhand serve.

5th grade is playing traditional volleyball rules with the exception of a service option 8 feet closer to the net. Students are also learning about the 10 foot line as well as legal vs illegal hits.

---Mr. Brannan