Hispanic Heritage Month is a wonderful opportunity for families at Orrington Elementary to celebrate and explore the rich and diverse cultures that make up the Hispanic community. This month, from September 15th to October 15th, is dedicated to recognizing the contributions, history, and vibrant traditions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. It's a perfect time to engage children in meaningful conversations about cultural diversity, the importance of inclusion, and the value of understanding different perspectives.

Families can use this time to introduce children to Hispanic art, music, literature, and cuisine, encouraging them to ask questions and learn more about the world around them. By discussing these topics at home, parents can help their children appreciate the uniqueness of each culture and develop a deeper respect for others, fostering a more inclusive and empathetic community at Orrington Elementary.

Here are some family-friendly resources to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month:

1. Books and Literature

• "Alma and How She Got Her Name" by Juana Martinez-Neal: A beautiful picture book that explores the significance of names and cultural identity.
• "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Muñoz Ryan: A compelling historical novel suitable for older children, focusing on resilience and hope.
• "Bookjoy, Wordjoy" by Pat Mora: A collection of poems that celebrates the joy of words and reading, with a focus on bilingualism and Hispanic culture.

2. Music and Dance

• Spotify Playlists: Create or explore playlists featuring Hispanic artists across genres like salsa, mariachi, reggaeton, and more.
• YouTube Dance Tutorials: Learn traditional dances like salsa, merengue, or flamenco with your kids. Channels like GoNoodle often have kid-friendly dance videos.

3. Films and Documentaries

• "Coco" (Disney/Pixar): A vibrant film that explores Mexican culture and traditions surrounding Día de los Muertos.
• PBS Kids: Offers short documentaries and educational videos about Hispanic culture and historical figures like César Chávez and Frida Kahlo.

4. Crafts and Activities

• Paper Flowers and Piñatas: Websites like Pinterest have tutorials for making traditional Hispanic crafts, such as papel picado or homemade piñatas.
• Cooking Together: Try making traditional Hispanic dishes like empanadas, tacos, or arroz con leche with your children. Websites like Allrecipes and Food Network offer kid-friendly recipes.

5. Local Events and Museums

• Library Events: Check with the Evanston Public Library for events like storytelling, crafts, or performances related to Hispanic Heritage Month.
• Virtual Museum Tours: Explore virtual exhibits from the National Museum of the American Latino.

6. Online Educational Resources

• Smithsonian Latino Center: Offers educational resources and lesson plans that families can use to explore Hispanic history and culture together.

These resources can help your family dive into the celebrations, fostering a deeper appreciation for Hispanic culture and creating lasting memories together.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on September 17th this year, is a special time for families to come together and enjoy the beauty of the full moon. This festival is popular in many East Asian countries, like China, Vietnam, and South Korea, and is sometimes called the Moon Festival. One of the best ways to celebrate with your family is by making and sharing mooncakes, which are round pastries that symbolize family unity. You can also make your own paper lanterns and light them up at night to bring good luck. To learn more, you might read a storybook about the legend of Chang'e, the Moon Goddess, or watch a video about how different cultures celebrate the festival. It’s a wonderful opportunity to have fun, learn about another culture, and enjoy the magical night together.

Here are some great resources for families to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival:

1. Storybooks and Literature

• "Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival" by Grace Lin: A beautifully illustrated children's book that introduces the festival through the story of a family celebrating together.
• "The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival" by Christina Matula: This book combines a tale of the Moon Goddess Chang'e with modern-day celebrations.
• "Mindy Kim and the Mid-Autumn Festival" by Lyla Lee: Lyla Lee’s popular series features a Korean American girl, Mindy, who learns how to celebrate her heritage with her dad, stepmom, and friends.

2. Craft Activities

• DIY Lantern Kits: Purchase or create your own lanterns using paper and craft supplies. Websites like Pinterest have step-by-step guides for making traditional Chinese paper lanterns.
• Mooncake Molds and Recipes: You can find mooncake molds and recipes online to make these traditional treats at home. Some recipes use simple ingredients and are kid-friendly.

3. Online Videos and Educational Resources

• YouTube: YouTube has a wide variety of videos that retell the legends or explain how different Asian countries celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Cultural Websites: Websites such as CNN or China Highlights provide background on the festival's history and significance, as well as fun facts and activities.

4. Local Cultural Events

• The Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration on Argyle Street on September 21st - check it out here!

These resources can help your family explore and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in fun and educational ways!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are writing to inform you that over the course of the year, students in all grades will be engaging in a Personal Health and Safety Unit. We will be utilizing the Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3R’s) curriculum developed by Advocates for Youth in alignment with both national and Illinois State Board of Education Standards. This unit includes content to address relevant state educational mandates such as Erin’s Law, or child abuse prevention education. This unit takes place at different times throughout the school year in different grade levels. Classroom teachers will send out individual emails ahead of their units, which will include summaries of the lessons to be taught.

The curriculum is intended to build foundational knowledge and skills for our students to develop their identities and build healthy relationships. It is also designed for students to use the knowledge gained to make well-informed and responsible decisions. The early elementary portion of this curriculum includes lessons on affirming different kinds of families, figuring out friendships, a basic understanding of bodies and how they grow and change, and safe touches. These lessons will set an important foundation for learning to come in future years. You can view an overview of the district’s entire K-8th grade scope and sequence here.

District 65 acknowledges that parents/guardians are the primary educators for their child(ren) on these topics, and we are committed to partnering with you to provide supplementary resources to support you in this role. We understand that these can be sensitive issues for people of all ages. Our hope is for active participation and maturity so that students can feel comfortable talking about these issues with you, other trusted adults, and their peers. You have the right to review the curriculum and to opt your student out of this unit, or specific lessons within the unit, if you do not feel they are right for your student. If you’d like to opt your student out of certain lessons or the unit, please let their classroom teacher know in writing (email counts).

The district will be hosting several parent/caregiver sessions in partnership with YWCA Evanston/North Shore to offer information and support. The first is a meeting to review the K-5th grade curriculum and answer your questions on Wednesday, October 16th from 6-7 P.M. This session will be virtual and can be accessed through this link.

Our partners at YWCA are also hosting two caregiver workshops on zoom this year focused on supporting parents and caregivers in having conversations about healthy sexuality and relationships at home. During these workshops, participants will explore their own experiences with sexuality education, clarify their family values, and practice responding to common questions children may ask. There are two workshop options this year:

• Thursday, November 14th at 7:00 PM, with a focus on families of K-4th graders

• Thursday, March 6th at 7:00 PM, with a focus on families with 5th-8th graders

Both events are free but require registration to attend. Parents/caregivers of students of all ages can attend either workshop and will take away meaningful information. Please stay tuned for registration information. For questions about the caregiver workshops, contact Hallie Cohen from the YWCA at hcohen@ywca-ens.org.

If you have further questions, please contact your students’ classroom teachers.

Thank you,

Dr. Schoeffmann & Ms. Yoo

Dear Parents/Guardians,

More than two decades of research have demonstrated the important role that social and emotional skills play in each child's success in school and in the community. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting on challenging tasks, and making good decisions are all necessary to be successful students and adults. The process by which students learn these and similar skills is called social emotional learning (SEL). As part of our efforts to better support our students in developing positive social and emotional skills, we are using the SAEBRS SEL assessment for all students in grades K-8.

The SAEBRS assessment is a brief 19-question survey answered by your child's teacher for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. If your child is in 2nd-8th grade they have the opportunity to complete the mySAEBRS survey, which asks them to self-assess using the same 19 questions their educator is answering. The purpose of SAEBRS and mySAEBRS is to identify which SEL skills your child has already learned and which skills they would still need to develop. Once our teachers identify the skills their students still need to learn, they will teach those SEL skills. Our goal is to ensure that your child continually develops the SEL skills they need for lifelong success. We believe that the information gathered with the SAEBRS and mySAEBRS assessment will be beneficial to your child's overall success both inside and outside of the classroom.

We are excited to implement SAEBRS this school year and continue to focus on whole children! If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher.

Sincerely,

Dr. Schoeffmann & Ms. Yoo

Upcoming Fall Session (9/23/24-12/6/24)

Scholarship Application Opens: NOW 8/27/24 (Tuesday)

Regular Registration Opens: 09/02/24 (Monday) this is a holiday Customer Service may not be active

Scholarship Application Closes: 10/04/24 (Friday)

Regular Registration Closes: 10/04/24 (Friday)

Orrington's Registration Page

Scholarship application page: Here

UPDATED SCHOLARSHIP PROCESS:

1. Families complete scholarship application

2. Families receive a coupon code in an email

3. Families create an account on our website

4. Choose their class

5. Enter their unique coupon code when prompted

6. Check out and complete registration process

7. They should now be enrolled in their desired class

Join us for our most popular event of the year, The Orrington Fun Run! Next Friday, September 27th from 4:30-6:30PM @ Orrington School. Come cheer on students and teachers as they take the track!

RSVPs for t-shirts have now closed. Regardless of response or participation every student will receive a Fun Run T-Shirt. If you haven't already and plan to attend, please RSVP so we know how much food to order.

We have a large fundraising goal to kick off the year! Help us reach our community goal of raising $7,000 by donating on the FundHub webpage. No donation is too small, every little bit helps!

https://www.getmovinfundhub.com/community-share-webpage/66d85bd42e897

*Donations can be made at the event as well. In person options include: zelle, apple pay and venmo.

Lastly, please take a moment to look over the signup and consider donating an item or volunteering at one of the various stations. This event is all hands on deck and isn't possible without your help.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054EADAB2AA4FB6-35713787-orrington#

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support! Go Eagles!

The Events Team,

Megan Langer (langer.meganh@gmail.com), Amanda Goodwille and Sacha Krasney

Sign-up for the Orrington Directory!

Once you have signed up for the directory, you will be able to edit your information and indicate your information-sharing preferences. We also use this system to distribute our Orrington PTA E-Newsletter that contains information and updates you will not want to miss!

Follow this link to access the Orrington Elementary School Directory site: https://orringtonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Questions? Contact us at orringtonelementarydirectory@gmail.com

1) Click "Register/Login" and "Create Account"

Create your family's account and click "verify my email". Non-work emails are preferred as work based emails frequently are bounced because of employer firewalls

2) You've got mail!

Check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours.

3) Finish your registration

Parent/Family and Student Info

Directory/Publish Preferences

Volunteer during Lunch!

Want to make your kid's or kids' day? Volunteer to serve lunch with your fellow friendly Orrington parents!

What: Parent volunteers help students properly compost and recycle their lunch waste. One volunteer are scheduled per day. Bring your ID for check-in in the school front office.

When: Volunteers are needed from 11:15 AM to 1:15 PM.

IMPORTANT: Please sign up only for yourself! Sign up HERE.

Questions: Contact Orrington PTA (info@orringtonpta.org)

Want to know what's going on around the community? District 65 uses a "Digital Backpack" to share community information. Please click the button below to view upcoming community events and activities.