Steele Family Newsletter

Click the headline above to see the calendar for all of the District #205 schools. This will help you stay up-to-date on days off, early release days and much more.

As we step into this lively season of learning and celebration, I want to share several important updates for the month ahead. Our winter benchmarking window continues this week. During this time, we will assess each student’s growth in both reading and math—information that helps us support their progress and plan targeted instruction as we enter the new year.

The end of the second quarter is quickly approaching on December 19th. Report cards will be available digitally through Skyward, and a paper copy will be sent home when we return from winter break.

A reminder that winter break runs from December 20th through January 5th. School resumes on Tuesday, January 6th. We hope all of our families enjoy a restful stretch filled with connection, comfort, and perhaps a few twinkling moments of joy.

Our PTO is hosting the annual Steele Staff Holiday Luncheon on December 17th. We are so grateful for this tradition, and we hope families who are able will sign up to contribute. Your generosity always brings so much warmth to our staff community.

This week also brings an exciting milestone—our first music concert of the year! Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students will perform on December 9th in the gymnasium. Each performance will last about 20 minutes. The whole school performance will be at 3:00 PM. To help us smoothly transition between grade levels, families should enter through the cafeteria doors and exit through the front doors after the concert.

Thank you for your partnership, your support, and the joy your children bring into our building each day. Steele truly shines because of our incredible community. Wishing you a wonderful December and a bright start to the new year!

Best Wishes,

Mrs. Coate, Principal

All left over items will be donated over winter break.

If you haven’t heard your student singing our concert songs already, we have been preparing winter songs for our concert on December 9th. We will be having two concerts – one during the school day, and one after school. Here are the important details for both…

For our concert during the school day: We will have an all school assembly starting at 2:50pm on Tuesday, December 9th. This is where our kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students perform for all their peers. We will be recording this performance, as well as offering families to attend during this time. Space for this concert will be limited as our students will be sitting on the floor.

For our after school concert:

Kindergarten will perform at 5:30pm here in Steele Elementary’s gym. Please have your student here no later than 5:20pm.
First grade will perform at 6:00pm here in the Steele Elementary's gym. Please have your student here no later than 5:50pm.
Second grade will perform at 6:30 pm here in the Steele Elementary's gym. Please have your student here no later than 6:20pm.

Students and families will enter through the cafeteria doors. Students will sit with their class in the cafeteria. If your student is wearing a coat or jacket, please take it with you into the gym so they don’t have to hold it. At the end of the concert, we will have our students join their families in the gym and exit out the front doors. If you have another student in 1st or 2nd grade, you may walk your child to the cafeteria while the rest of your party stays seated.

Students may dress up however you wish, as long as their outfits are appropriate, not distracting, and won’t inhibit their ability to stand on our stage.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email – clopez@galesburg205.org

I’m so excited to show you the work these students have done for our winter concert! Hope to see you there!

Mr. Chris Lopez

This month’s focus is Empathy. One way to think about Empathy is “understanding and connecting with other people’s feelings.” Empathy is a practice that can help us grow strong relationships. PurposeFull Pursuits Empathy is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Kind. Across grade levels, students will be developing skills like perspective-taking, conflict resolution, and leadership. This month's focus for:

Kindergarten is practicing empathy by learning whole body listening strategies.
1st grade is practicing empathy by using friendship skills.
2nd grade is practicing empathy by understanding conflict resolution.
3rd grade is practicing empathy by learning perspective taking.
4th grade is practicing empathy by resolving conflict successfully.

Kindergarten Empathy Family Newsletter

First Grade Empathy Family Newsletter

Second Grade Empathy Family Newsletter

Third Grade Empathy Family Newsletter

Fourth Grade Empathy Family Newsletter

December 17, 2025

11:00 AM - 1:30 PM

Spreading Holiday Cheer to Steele Teachers & Staff!

As the holiday season approaches, please help us spoil our amazing Steele staff and teachers with a special lunch before winter break. PTO is asking for volunteers to help show our educators how very appreciated they are! When you sign up please put in the comment what you are bringing so that we can avoid duplicates. No time to cook? You can VENMO Ashley Shinn a montetary donation and we will use funds to purchase items for slots that need filled. Items should be dropped off in the office by 10:30 AM. We have approximately 70 staff members. If you have any questions please call or text Ashley Shinn 309-335-3726.

signupgenius.com

Calling All Storytellers!
Do you have a story waiting to be told? We’d love to read it! Students are invited to take part in the Galesburg Young Authors’ Program. Everyone who participates will receive a special ribbon to celebrate their hard work and creativity.

A few authors from each school will be selected as Honored Authors and will be invited to a special luncheon in April, where they’ll receive a medal and certificate and celebrate with other young writers from across Galesburg. Let your imagination shine — your story could be the one we celebrate next!

Mark these dates on your calendar!

**Monday, November 17, 2025- Official Start Date**

**Friday, February 27, 2026- Student Stories Due to School Office**

**Friday, March 27, 2026- Judging Deadline for Buildings**

**Thursday, April 23, 2026- TBA**

You can add your own illustrations to make your story come to life! Please do not use pictures from the internet — we want your creativity to shine. To get started, plan your story. Think about your characters, the setting, and what will happen. You can use a story map to help organize your ideas. Then, write your first draft, reread it and make changes to improve it, edit and revise to make your writing even stronger, write your final copy neatly, and finally add your own illustrations to go with your story.

pdf

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2025-2026 Galesburg Young Authors' Student Program.pdf

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Please make sure your student is coming to school with weather appropriate outerwear for recess and remind them that it needs to be worn. We have had several students attempt to go outside the last few days with short sleeves on!

We have hats, gloves, scarves and coats if you are in need. Please call the office to request these items.

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!

Link to nominate a staff member

Please download the Galesburg App. When you receive your invitation email, then you can sign up for messaging. All staff will use this for communication this school year. Once you have the app downloaded, you will see your child's teacher and information in the app.

If you haven't received an email or text, you can reach out to the office to get a code. If you are having trouble connecting, please contact our main office at 309-973-2016