| The next Coffee with Crespo will be Friday, December 11th from 8:30-10:00 am. These events are opportunities to meet and speak with Principal Crespo and the Waters Community about schoolwide issues. Please RSVP here, or contact Katherine Buoscio with any questions. |  |
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
*First day of school – 8:15 a.m.–3:15 p.m. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 *LSC Meeting – Waters Annex 4:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 *Parent Education Workshops – 6:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 *Curriculum Night – 6:00 p.m. (new families) and 6:30 p.m. LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL CRESPO Dear Waters Parents and Guardians; Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! During the summer months, Waters staff has been hard at work preparing the building for tomorrow’s first full day of school. As I enter into FY16, my passion for working with you, your children and our staff to create the best learning environment — that allow our students the opportunity to grow and develop both academically, socially and emotionally —continues to grow. As we begin this exciting year, I want to say thank you for believing in us. After a challenging budget season, I am happy to report that we secured additional funding to provide a third kinder and third first grade classroom! If you haven’t seen it already, be sure to stop by the main entrance of the school. A beautiful mosaic welcomes you! The entrance was transformed this summer during our Arts Camp, which was funded through Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE). I’m looking forward to seeing all the children on Tuesday! 2015/16 WELCOME PACKET September 2015 This school year's Welcome Packet, an up-to-date resource of information for new and returning families is available online now! Hard copies will be sent home with incoming Kindergarten students during the first week of school. This handy reference guide outlines school policies and procedures including: forms and fees, a map for where classes line up, absences, wellness program, medical requirements, food service information, school events, fundraising and volunteer opportunities. CPS PARENT PORTAL School year 2015-2016 The Parent Portal is a link to information about your child’s teachers, grades, absences and other records. A pin is required (you can get it from the office, in person) to create a login so you can keep track of your child’s progress. Questions? Check with the office or your child’s teacher. LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL Tuesday, September 8th Waters Annex – 4:00 p.m. This is the first LSC meeting of the 2015-16 school year. During the meeting, applicants for the open position may introduce themselves and the LSC will conduct a closed session to vote on a candidate to fill the position. The new member’s term begins on September 8th through the academic year (2015-16). By LSC regulations, the public does not vote for members who are filling open spots. Questions, contact Waters LSC. 5th/6th GRADE CAMP DUNCAN DAY TRIP Monday, September 14th 7:45 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. YMCA Camp Duncan, Ingleside, IL Students will be participating in a wide range of activities that include: archery, teams course activities, climbing tower, GPS scavenger hunt, group games, and an evening campfire. These activities will aid in building their class communities, enhancing their orienteering skills, challenging their physical and mental skills as well as enjoying the beautiful nature setting around them. The cost of the trip will be $48, which covers transportation, camp activities and dinner. Students will need to bring a bag lunch. Two adult chaperones required per class at no charge on a first come, first serve basis. Permission slips and waivers will be going out Tuesday and will need to be returned no later than Friday. Questions, contact Deb Del Campo. PARENT EDUCATION WORKSHOPS Wednesday, September 16th Waters Annex – 6:00 p.m. Save the date for these upcoming parent education workshops on Wednesday September 16: Math Trailblazers at 6:00 p.m. and Executive Functions at 7:00 p.m. More info to follow next week! CURRICULUM NIGHT Wednesday, September 30th Waters Annex – 6:00 p.m. New Families Classrooms – 6:30 p.m. Returning and new families Save the date for Curriculum Night! New families are invited to come to the Annex on the south side of the building next to the parking lot at 6:00 p.m. for a special presentation and returning families may arrive at 6:30 pm and go directly to their child(ren)'s classroom. KINDER MENTOR PROGRAM School year 2015-2016 We are looking for current Waters parents willing to partner up with incoming parents. As a mentor, your duties will include answering any questions incoming parents may have throughout the school year, giving them more information about the various fundraisers and welcoming them to the Waters community. A detailed email will be sent later in the week to interested parents. Please contact Victor Aragon with any questions or to volunteer. If you know of incoming parents who would like to participate, please have them email Victor as well. SCOUTING OPPORTUNITIES Cub Scouts Thursday, September 17th 6:30 p.m. Waters School Interested in Cub Scouts? Missed the Back-to-School Picnic hosted by Local Pack 3894? Mark your calendars for the ‘Blast Into Scouting’ recruitment event on September 17th at 6:30 p.m. at Waters, or contact Pack leader Lyzette Austen for more information. Girl Scouts (Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Cadets) First meetings this week and next week Voss Building at Queen of Angels If you have a girl who is interested in scouting, please contact Troop Leaders Alejandra Camacho for Daisies, (Kinder and first grades), Blair McAnany for Brownies, (second and third grades), and Geri Aston Weinstock for Juniors (fourth and fifth grades). We do have higher levels of scouting; contact any of these troop leaders for info, or if you are interested in being a co-leader! MS. NISSIM NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT Please consider making a donation to help fund a projector and document camera needed for writing instruction in the 5th and 6th grade classrooms. Your help would be greatly appreciated. The request can be viewed here. Thank you. QUICK LINKS The Waters website, provides most, if not all, school-related information you may need. If you can't find what you are looking for, contact LSC Communications Chair, Erica Smith. Sync the Waters Google Calendar to your own Google calendar. A snapshot of the calendar can be found on the home page. Waters Today has a new website with fundraising information and volunteer opportunities. Stop by Waters Today. BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MENUS CPS has changed food providers. The CPS website is displaying breakfast and lunch menus for Waters school. Please choose WATERS in the selection menu to view. For up-to-date news and events about the Waters community, check out the Waters Community and Events Facebook page. Want to volunteer? Email Kathleen Matuszewich Have a pledge or donation to make? Email Rick Bollinger or go to Waters Today Want to Receive Ecology updates? Email Peter Leki and read his blog Have school-related news to share or want to subscribe to Waters Green Notes? Email Cookie Silvia or submit here. Have ideas, time or funds for Waters fundraising efforts or just want to keep up on fundraising volunteer opportunities? Email Sandi Barlow Stone For general questions or concerns, email the Waters Today Board  MONDAY, AUGUST 17 *Bulk Supply orders due MONDAY, AUGUST 31 *Kindergarten Meet-and-Greet – 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 *First Day of School – 8:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 *LSC Meeting – Waters Annex 4:00 p.m. LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL CRESPO Dear Parents, As the first day of school approaches, the administration and teachers at Waters are working hard to plan for the upcoming school year. We greatly appreciate your support and patience during what has been a lively summer for CPS. Summer Update On July 21st, our Local School Council approved a budget for this school year. A good number of parents were able to attend that meeting and ask questions. A copy of the budget presentation is available for review on the Waters website. We also hosted a well-attended New Parent meeting on July 29th. Thank you to all who were there, and for the excellent discussion that ensued. Budget and Class Counts Like many schools in CPS, our budget decreased as compared to last year. At this time, Waters is positioned to lose one teacher and will have to minimize the material/supply budget lines. Our funding is primarily tied to our enrollment count, through a system of student-based-budgeting, in which schools receive a fixed amount of money per student. The budget provided to Waters was based upon an estimate of 618 total students. We feel confident that our population will exceed the CPS estimate. With an actual enrollment count higher than the CPS estimate, our budget will increase. We may be able to reinstate the one lost teacher position and we will keep you posted as we navigate this situation. We thought it might be helpful to give you a snapshot of our current enrollment count. These numbers are accurate as of August 6th:  The number of estimated classrooms per grade is included in parentheses. As it currently stands, if we can reinstate the one lost teacher position, the 1st grade would have three classrooms. Please recognize that this is just a snapshot, and the numbers fluctuate daily as new students enroll and others leave. We are diligently working through our options to come up with a plan that best fits our students, staff, families, physical space limitations, and budget. Again, we greatly appreciate your patience and support. If you have friends or neighbors who are planning on enrolling, or who were enrolled but are now moving to a different school, please strongly encourage them to contact the Waters office as soon as possible. The budget reduction will put additional emphasis on our fundraising efforts through WatersToday. You will be receiving information on how you can contribute in the coming weeks. We will send another update in mid-to-late August. We hope you are enjoying your summer and we look forward to seeing you and your wonderful children in September! Ms. Titia Crespo, Principal NEW STUDENT REGISTRATION August 2015 Waters Office Monday – Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. If you live within the attendance area and your child is in Kindergarten or older grades, you are automatically guaranteed admission to our school. Please register as soon as possible to facilitate classroom staffing. If you are waiting on a lottery for other schools, and are within Waters’ boundaries, you should still register at Waters. Summer office hours are 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., with registration for new families from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Please call in advance to confirm office is open at 773-534-5090. Please review the documents needed for registration. KINDERGARTEN MEET-and-GREET Monday, August 31 1:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. The Kindergarten Meet-and-Greet is planned for the week before school starts, to give kids and parents an opportunity to interact with their teacher and visit their new classroom. Teachers will contact families with their designated time slot: 1:00 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. BULK SCHOOL SUPPLY PROGRAM August 2015 The Waters Elementary Bulk School Supply Program is back for a second year. This is the school-approved, easiest, cheapest, and most efficient way to get your supplies. We'll gather and deliver all the needed school supplies for your student’s grade level. All you need to do is sign up and send your payment. Our new site makes that really simple to do. The deadline for participation is Monday, August 17. Check out our FAQs. If you have questions, please email here. Please also email if you need assistance with payment – we are collecting funds to assist low-income families. 2015/16 WELCOME PACKETS August 2015 This school year's Welcome Packet - an up-to-date resource of information for new and returning families - will be made available online by the end of August. Hard copies will be sent home with incoming Kindergarten students during the first week of school. This handy reference guide outlines school policies and procedures including: forms and fees, absences, wellness program, medical requirements, food service information, school events, fundraising and volunteer opportunities. LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL Vacancy for Parent Representative Position Tuesday, September 1 A parent position has opened up on the Local School Council. Any parent wishing to apply should do so by Tuesday, September 1st. Applications are available in the office or online. During the Tuesday, September 8th, 4:00 p.m. LSC meeting, applicants may introduce themselves, if they wish. The LSC will conduct a closed session to vote on a candidate to fill the position, and will return to open session to announce the new member, who will start his/her term, on September 8th through the academic year (2015-16). By LSC regulations, the public does not vote for members who are filling open spots. Questions, contact Waters LSC. KINDER MENTOR PROGRAM We are looking for current Waters parents willing to partner up with incoming parents. As a mentor, your duties will include answering any questions incoming parents may have throughout the school year, giving them more information about the various fundraisers and welcoming them to the Waters community. A detailed email will be sent later in the week to interested parents. Please contact Victor Aragon with any questions or to volunteer. If you know of incoming parents who would like to participate, please have them email Victor as well. C.A.P.E. SUMMER MOSAIC CAMP Our La Peña en La Floresta mosaic camp was a huge success! Over seventy-five artists of all ages came together to create an amazing new public art installation for the main entrance to our school. The organic design is inspired by our garden ecology curriculum, 1st graders’ native leaf sketches and mosaic campers’ prairie flower illustrations. In addition to our new main entrance, we created sculptural towers that will be installed near our northeast playground. Both public art installations pay homage to outsider artist Simon Rodia’s Nuestro Pueblo (also known as Watts Towers). We are hopeful that these collaborative artworks will celebrate the creative spirit of our Waters School community for years to come. We would like to thank all of our participants and give special appreciation to our extraordinary artists-in-residence, Victoria Mendoza and Juan Carlos Perez. BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION Keep collecting your box tops and Labels For Education to bring to school in the fall! QUICK LINKS For up-to-date news and events about the Waters community, check out the Waters Community and Events Facebook page. Want to volunteer? Email Kathleen Matuszewich Have a pledge or donation to make? Email Rick Bollinger Want to Receive Ecology updates? Email Pete Leki Have school-related news to share or want to subscribe to Waters Green Notes? Email Cookie Silvia Have ideas, time or funds for Waters fundraising efforts or just want to keep up on fundraising volunteer opportunities? Email Sandi Barlow Stone For general questions or concerns, email the Waters Today Board |
Green Notes
Click here to subscribe to Green Notes, a biweekly email newsletter, put together by our school's fundraising group, WatersToday. An edition of Green Notes comes out biweekly during the school year with the latest volunteer and fundraising information, and invitations to community events.
Archives
November 2021
Categories
All
Translate Page
|
RSS Feed
