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.

Dear Steele Families,

We’ve wrapped up our beginning-of-the-year benchmark assessments, and I’m proud of the effort our students put forth. Our staff will now be using this data to help us prioritize extra support both in and out of the classroom so that every student continues to grow in reading and math.

For September, our Character Strong theme is Respect. Respect means seeing value in all people and things and treating them with care. Families can reinforce this at home with simple activities such as:

Modeling respectful conversations during family meals.
Encouraging children to care for their belongings and shared spaces.
Practicing active listening when someone else is speaking.
Talking about showing kindness even when it feels difficult.

September is also a busy and exciting month at Steele! Here are some important upcoming dates:

9/2 – PTO Meeting (first of the year)
9/8 – VIP Breakfast
9/9 – Picture Day
9/12 – Galesburg Colors Day
9/22–26 – Book Fair
9/24 – Family Reading Night

Thank you for your continued partnership as we build a community of respect, learning, and care.

Warmly,
Mrs. Coate
Principal

To someone passing by a classroom, it may have looked like “just play.” But those of us who know early learning understand that so much more was happening. This kind of learning simply can’t be replicated by a textbook or computer screen—it’s hands-on, joyful, and meaningful.

Students aren’t only having fun—they are also:

Practicing taking turns and following rules
Learning the value of being a good sport
Strengthening color recognition, counting, and subitizing
Developing teamwork and communication skills
Exploring cause and effect and basic engineering concepts
Strengthening fine motor skills while connecting and stacking pieces

Add intentional learning moments, by asking questions when you join in children’s play. Observations and their answers can be used to help you assess their understanding of various concepts!

“What do you notice about the colors on the board?”
“How do you know whose turn it is?”
“What happens when we follow the rules? What if we don’t?”
“What are you making? Can you tell me about it?”
“How do you feel now that you finished your creation?”

STUDENT COUNCIL ADVISORS

Mrs. Weedman Mrs. Shinn

JOB DESCRIPTION

Members of Steele Student Council will help with school spirit activities, promote involvement in community service donation days, and assist with other possible leadership opportunities throughout the school year. Student Council Members will be expected to lead by example and promote kindness, respect, confidence, perseverance, and responsibility amongst peers. Student Council Members will be required to attend bi-weekly meetings. Meetings will be every other Monday throughout the school year, 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m.

SELECTION

2 students per each 3rd-4th grade classroom
Application answers will be anonymously posted or read aloud to the class and students will get to vote for two applicants

QUALIFICATIONS TO APPLY FOR STUDENT COUNCIL:

A student who would like to be on Student Council must:

Demonstrate leadership ability (participate in class, communicate effectively, and be creative)
Demonstrate good citizenship and get along with everyone
Maintain good grades
Complete the application, have a parent sign the application, and obtain one staff recommendation

Application is attached below.

pdf

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25-26 Steele Student Council .pdf

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136.5 KB

This month’s focus is Respect. One way to think about Respect is “seeing value in all people and things & treating them with care.” Many people feel Respected in different ways. We hope this month inspires discussions with your family about what Respect means to you and how you can practice it together! PurposeFull Pursuits Respect 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.

pdf

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School-wide_Respect_Newsletter.pdf

School-wide_ENG_Bullying_Prevention_Family_Newsletter.pdf

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622.0 KB

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

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

Click here to follow the Steele Elementary PTO page!

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