W. J. Murphy Elementary School

Mr. Jeffry Prickett, Principal

Newsletter

The April Newsletter is coming soon....  please check out the Principal's Blog and PTO links for current information, including upcoming events.

March 29, 2008Posted 3/29/2008; 1:49PM
I don't usually make much mention of political items, but the following bill, which was recently passed by the Senate, is one that I am sure everyone will be in favor of!  Please read carefully.  Afterward, if you are so inclined, go to the following website to take action and show your support for the bill!
Thanks to hundreds of calls and letters from A+ Illinois members, Senate Bill 2288 passed the Education Committee by a vote of 6 to 3.
But there's more work to do! Ask your state senator to add his or her name to the growing list of sponsors.  Senators who sponsor a bill take responsibility for making sure it succeeds.

Bill Summary:
Senate Bill 2288 provides a new, permanent revenue source for schools and property tax relief for homeowners. This bill is a great start towards a comprehensive solution to Illinois' school quality and funding crises, and this Senate hearing is an important first step in that process.
What does SB2288 do for schools and communities?
• Raises the foundation level-the minimum amount of funding provided to schools-up to $6,974 by 2012;
• Increases funding for special education;
• Expands funding for early-childhood learning programs;
• Maintains and expands grants for high-poverty schools;
• "School Improvement Partnership Fund" targets resources to proven programs such as smaller class sizes, literacy coaching, longer school days and teacher mentoring;
• Improves funding for Illinois universities and community colleges;
• Reduces our reliance on property taxes with $2.9 billion in property tax relief.
How is SB2288 funded?
• Increases in the individual income tax from 3% to 5%;
• Increases the corporate income tax from 4.8% to 8%;
• Provides a refundable low-income tax credit to protect working families.
Why should we support this bill?
• Illinois ranks 48th in the nation for its support for schools. Our over-reliance on local property taxes creates enormous disparities in resources and student achievement between schools poor and wealthy communities.
• Our world is changing quickly. More than ever, young people need a world-class education to compete for the high-tech jobs of the global economy. Illinois' outdated funding system shortchanges schools and leaves students without the skills needed for college and the modern workplace.
• This bill provides schools with the resources to necessary to improve learning. It targets additional funding to struggling schools and to programs proven to boost achievement, and reduces our dependence on property taxes to fund schools.

March 21, 2008Posted 3/21/2008; 9:56AM

Well, Spring Break is here and I am sitting in my living room watching the snow fall.  Is this really Spring?  Hard to believe, really.  Anyway, I wanted to give you a heads-up on some things coming up in the month of April.  These last eight weeks can get pretty crazy.  Lots of events happening, with DARE graduation for our 5th graders, our “Spring Fling” Father/Daughter Dance, Spring Book Fair, and a host of other things, if I don’t tell you now, I might just forget!  So here you go!  Enjoy, and check back often for updates.  Have a great Spring Break.

 

  • April 4 – SIP Day; Early Release (12:20PM)
  • April 11 – Whole School Diabetes Walk (more info to come)
  • April 16 – District Choral Festival
  • April 20 – Chicago Fire soccer game – W.J. Murphy PTO-sponsored event!
  • April 22 – Mid 4th Quarter and PTO Meeting (7:00PM)
  • April 23 – Early Registration (1:30-7:00PM)
  • April 24 – 1st Grade Concert
  • April 28 – May 2 – Spring Book Fair
  • Father/Daughter Dance – Date TBA (April)
  • W.J. Murphy Basket Raffle Fund Raiser – Date TBA (April) 

March 15, 2008

Well, state testing is over, except for giving make-ups, and now the wait is on.  The inevitable waiting that takes place every year in schools just like ours all over the state.  The slow, agonizing process of anticipating how our kids did.  How our schools did.  It will be plastered all over the papers in the fall next school year.  It becomes, for weeks at a time, the topic of everyone interested in education as we pore over the results, analyzing every possible angle, wondering what we could have done better, celebrating what we did right, and planning for yet another year.  And yet, how important is this test?

 

How important, really, is one test, in the big picture of our children's academic lives?  For those who put a lot of emphasis on this one test, for those who rate the effectiveness of a school, district, or community by glancing at state test results, I would ask you to study the issues surrounding testing carefully.  The following lines of thinking are simply viewpoints, pros and cons, and do not reflect this author’s personal opinion.  I will leave you to make up your own mind after studying the issues.  What is without question, however, is the fact that high-stakes testing - such as the ISAT – is a controversial topic; much needs to be learned still about the impact of our current direction under NCLB (No Child Left Behind); and finally, our W.J. Murphy students love to come to school.  Whatever we do in education, let’s be sure this last piece is always in place.  Kids need to love school. 

 

CONS

  • Under pressure to prepare students to perform well in math and reading, teachers engage in repetitious instruction that turns content into isolated bits of information, leaving little time to engage in creative, meaningful, enriching activities.  
  • As a result of the overvaluing of test results, the curriculum has narrowed.  Time devoted to untested subjects like art, music, and social studies has been reduced or eliminated completely so that schools can teach more math, reading, writing, and science.  
  • Students are more hardworking when they perceive the purpose of learning as self-improvement or achievement of personal goals.  A high-stakes testing climate sends the message that the primary purpose of learning is to score well on the test

PROS

  • High-stakes tests can bring greater coherence to the education system by         clarifying student performance expectations and providing a clear picture of what students need to learn to be successful
  • Serves as a lever for holding all students and educators accountable to challenging standards

Students work harder and learn more when they take high-stakes tests, and teachers are more motivated to focus their instruction on producing improved student achievement when tests have consequences.

March 8, 2008Posted 3/8/2008; 5:59PM

This past Friday, I was at school until well past 5:00PM, making sure everything was ready for ISAT testing, which begins on Monday for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.  3rd graders will take their first test on Tuesday.  Each grade level, on average, will take two tests per day until completion of the testing season, which is on Thursday.  Make-ups will take place beginning on Friday.  I get asked quite a few questions about the ISAT assessment each year, as people are genuinely concerned, and rightly so, about what the test actually means for their child.  Following I have compiled a couple of the most common questions, plus the answers that I give, which are either from the Illinois State Board website, or ones that just make good sense.

Q: What can I do to prepare my child for the ISAT?
A: The best things you can do to prepare your child for the ISAT, or any test, are to make sure she gets a good night's rest the night before, eats a nutritious breakfast the morning of the test, and reassure her that if she does her best and uses all of the tools her teacher has given her prior to the test and all year long, she will do just fine.  Oh, and give her a big hug before she walks out the door and heads off to school!

Q: What if my child does not pass the ISAT?
A: The State scores students who take the ISAT using four different categories: Exceeds, Meets, Below, and Academic Warning.  We read these as, Exceeds Standards, Meets Standards, and so forth.  Your child's performance on the ISAT is based on the extent to which he has mastered the content as laid out by the Illinois State Standards.  Your child's scores do not, in any way, impact whether or not he moves on to the next grade level at the end of the year. 

March 7, 2008Posted 3/7/2008; 1:46PM
I met Mayor Gentes of Round Lake Wednesday. He came into the school to read to students for our Read Across America event.  The first words he said to me were, “I see you haven’t updated your blog since January 26th.” Now, I have never met Mayor Gentes until this very moment. What could I say, except, “Sorry, sir.” It was a humbling experience for me, one that made me snap out of the writing doldrums and get back to the  real reason I started blogging in the first place: to be known as “The Blogging Principal.”
 
No, I jest. The real reason was because I love to write, and also to keep our school community informed of goings-on on a more regular basis than a monthly newsletter. So now that I have been re-energized (thanks, Mayor Gentes), I will do my best to write more regularly. After all, if the “Blogging Mayor” can write on a daily basis, with most entries coming at midnight or after, and still have time to be Mayor, what is my excuse?
 
Our Read Across America and Family Reading Night events were huge successes! Thank you to our organizers, our teachers, and our guest readers (district administrators, public officials and community members) who came in all day long to spend time with the students, and to our parents, who came to the school in the evening after a long day at work to spend some quality time with their children in the name of reading. We thank you a million times. Everyone had a great time, got to eat ice cream and cake for Dr. Seuss’s birthday, win some great raffle prizes, hear some fabulous stories, and engage in really wonderful reading-related activities. 
 

I invite you to come in any time to spend a few hours with us, whether it’s to read with kids, hang out during lunch or recess, help kids with math or spelling, or just to be at the school. You are always welcome. And if you read, you may not get a free Dr. Seuss pen like you did if you attended our event yesterday, but the trip will be just as rewarding. 

January 26, 2008 Posted 1/26/2008; 1:26PM
State Testing
            With the New Year almost upon us, ISAT testing is coming up fast. Our state test, the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), begins on Tuesday, March 4 and continues until Friday, March 14. Our bilingual 3rd graders will also take the ISAT this year, which is a state change from past procedures. No longer will English Language Learners take the IMAGE test. 
            To prepare students and parents for testing, and to answer any questions you may have, we will be holding an ISAT Parent Night on Wednesday, February 20th, from 6:30 - 7:30. Anyone interested in learning more about this very important state test can come out on that night to Murphy, take a sample test to get a feel for what our students go through as they take the test, and also have any possible questions you may have answered. Parents, feel free to bring your 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students to take the sample tests with you. Refreshments will be served. If you have questions, please call the school. Hope to see you there!!
 
Outside Meeting Spot/End of Day Dismissal
            Parents, we have changed dismissal procedures at the end of the day. Our 5th and 6th grade students are being released out the back door onto the north parking lot. If they had typically met up with a younger sibling somewhere in the building, all students are now being asked to exit the building and designate an outside meeting spot. Also, if parents are used to watching for their 5th and/or 6th grade students to come out the front door, these students will now be coming around from the back of the building. 
            These changes have been implemented to better ease dismissal congestion at the end of the day. There are adults posted at various spots throughout the building at the end of the day to ensure an easy transition, and to make sure that younger students adjust to the change. 
 
Weather Related Information: After getting current weather information including wind chill factor, school personnel will determine whether or not to hold outdoor recess during cold weather. If the temperature is below 10 degrees, and/or the wind chill factor is zero degrees or lower, students will most likely be staying in for recess. Proper clothing is important for this time of year. Hats, scarves, mittens, and boots are vital to children. It is also important that children not arrive at school before starting time. This is especially critical during cold weather, and due to the fact that there is no supervision before 8:40AM. 
 
OFFICE NEWS: In the case of an emergency it is extremely important that the school has correct phone numbers and addresses for each student. If you have changed your number and/or address since registering, please make sure that the office has this updated information.
 
Lunch Room: Parents, please remember to keep your child’s breakfast/lunch account up to date. If students have no money remaining in their account, or the account goes past due, they will receive cereal and milk for lunch.
 
Ronald McDonald Charities – Murphy School is now collecting Pop Tabs, those little metal tabs you can twist off of your soda cans, soup and vegetable cans, or pet food cans. If you would please tear these off of your cans before throwing them away, the school will collect them to turn in to the local chapter of Ronald McDonald House to help with the Ronald McDonald Charity mission: To provide a "home away from home" for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. 
 
A little more information on Ronald McDonald Charities: Through relationships with local health care providers, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program brings cost-effective medical, dental and health education services directly to underserved children in both rural and urban areas around the world.The Family Room program extends the comfort of a Ronald McDonald House to a hospital setting. Typically located just steps from neonatal or pediatric intensive care units, the Family Room provides a place to escape the stress and tension of the hospital. By creating, finding and supporting programs that directly improve the health and well being of children, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is working to better the lives of children and their families around the world. We feel it is highly important that our Murphy students give back to the communities in which we live. It is this kind of giving, this kind of empathy for others that creates well rounded, caring boys and girls. It is a natural extension of humanity. Thank you in advance for helping support this program.
 
Mark your February calendars…
 
February 12 – Lincoln’s Birthday
February 14 – Valentine’s Day
February 15 – Institute Day, No School
February 18 – President’s Day, No School
February 20 – ISAT Parent Informational Night; 6:30-7:30PM
February 22 – Washington’s Birthday
February 26 – PTO Meeting, 7:00PM
February 27 – Spring Picture Day
February 29 – School Improvement Day, 12:20PM Release

December 22, 2007Posted 9:15AM, 12/22/2007

It is at this point in the year that I always start to think about the time I will be spending with friends and family during the two-week holiday break from school. I am excited and eager to see relatives I have not seen in a while, and yet anxious to return and have a wonderful second half of the year. Please accept our warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season, from our Murphy family to yours. 
           
 

Yes, this is a flying squirrel, and yes, it is in the building.  We have had a few of these little creatures join us over the past couple of days.  They don't really fly, but they do glide, as I found out when I had to duck to avoid this little one as we were attempting to get him out on Monday!  We think they are living with us, in the ceiling, and are working to find out exactly where.  They are not harmful, so no need to fret, and we will make sure that the kids enjoy them from afar.  But not for too long.  Really, I need to get back to work, and that doesn't include making sure they don't glide into a 1st grader as she goes out to lunch.......  Enjoy.

November 12, 2007Posted 10:43AM, 11/12/2007
It is hard to believe that the Holiday Season is upon us already! It seems as if the year is flying by, and there is still so much to do. This newsletter is a November/December combination, so be sure to read it thoroughly. There is a lot of information here that you will want to make note of. 
 
Halloween, for starters, was a huge success this year. The students all enjoyed a wonderful parade, in which I got talked into dressing in costume (in case you were wondering, this was truly out of my “comfort zone,” so to speak), switching roles with our Head Custodian, Mr. George, and then everyone followed up by holding classroom parties. Many parents were in attendance, both for the parade and to lend a hand in the classrooms afterward. It was the start to a tradition we hope to continue for many years to come.
           
A big congratulations to our first quarter Honor Roll students! Everyone worked extremely hard all quarter long, and they were rewarded for their efforts with a breakfast in their honor at the end of October. It is still to be determined whether or not there will be a breakfast at the end of both 2nd and 3rd quarter, or simply 3rd quarter. If we go with the latter option, we will invite students from 2nd quarter as well as 3rd, it really depends upon funding available for this very important event. 1st Quarter Honor Roll students are listed later in the body of this newsletter.
 
Our Student Council will be holding a Holiday Food Drive beginning Monday the 12th of November. The students have been told to consult with their parents before they bring anything to school! We are looking for any non-perishable items that you may have to donate – boxed or canned goods, noodles, soups, cereal, etc. Thanks in advance for your support! 
 
Also, the Young Marines are sponsoring a holiday drive for our troops. A flyer went home last week as a reminder, and there is a box in the front office for your donations. The Young Marines thank you in advance!
 
Our school’s Market Day could really use your support!  Take a look at the following numbers our school has posted in the past couple of years:
 
2004-2005 school year
Total Profit: $2,785.94
 
2005-2006 school year
Total Profit: $1,846.29
 
2006-2007 school year
Total Profit: $1,926.10
 
In each of the 3 years before the ’04-’05 school year, we saw profits of more than $2,000 dollars. In the first two months of Market Day this year, we experienced our lowest profits yet: 22 sales in both September and October for a combined total profit of $297 dollars. This is a drop in total sales of between 15 and 25 sales per month. Please support our school by purchasing food from Market Day. The months of November and December feature some really delicious options, and also an insert in Spanish. If you have ideas on how we can boost sales in this area, please feel free to drop us a line at the school.
Please make sure you see the accompanying flyers regarding special Market Day promotions through the month of December!
 
Coming soon, in a very near-future blog (make sure you check the website) – Fall MAP test results from our first round of 3rd – 6th grade testing, and the first set of DIBELS Progress Monitoring results after our initial Fall Benchmark testing for our 1st through 3rd grade students. We are looking for great gains out of all of our students. Please check back soon. Results should be posted before we break for Thanksgiving, which starts, by the way, on November 21 and runs through Sunday, November 25th. 
 
Finally, our 1st Family Movie Night of the year was this past Friday, November 9th. It started at 7:00PM, and featured the Robin Williams classic, Jumanji, based on the children’s book by author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg. Parents and students arrived early to claim spots down front, and many came out in pajamas and brought blankets and pillows to spread out across the gym floor. Thank you to all who came early and stayed late to help set up and take down, and very BIG thank you’s to the following individuals:
  • Kathy Stempinski for giving up much of her time to shop for all of the goodies we had that night
  • Brian Brubaker for bringing and setting up the sound system for the evening
  • Annette McGinley and the Murphy PTO for sponsoring the evening
  • Dan and Judy Hartlieb, Joy Al-Nimri, Tammy Rovetuso, DeeDee Straus, Terry Sutton, George Gibson, Tom Kleine, April Tucibat, Tom McGinley, and Mike Rohlwing, for coming out and supporting our school
All proceeds from the Movie Night go to the Murphy School PTO to support activities such as Honor Roll breakfasts, Family Movie Night, and various other family events throughout the year.
 
The next PTO meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 27th at 7:00PM in the library. Hope to see you there!
 
Enjoy the week. 

October 26, 2007Posted 4:34PM, 10/26/2007

After an extremely busy and exciting week, I realized I forgot to send out letters/reminders about the National Make a Difference Day, which is tomorrow!!!  Hopefully many will read this tonight and be able to still find time in their busy Saturday schedules to come out and help us make a difference!  We will be here Saturday from 9:00AM until 12:00PM working in the Murphy yard.  We have a delivery of mulch for the playground and could use some help spreading it around, and also a good amount of trash around the property that we want to work to clean up.  Hope to see you here, at school, on Saturday!! 

October 13, 2007Posted 8:15AM, 10/13/2007

We have our Attendance Winners for the for the months of August and September!!

1st Grade: Mr. Tamayo - 97.3%

2nd Grade: Ms. Boaz - 97.4%

3rd Grade: Mrs. Hill - 97.9%

4th Grade: Ms. Tucibat - 98.7%

5th Grade: Miss Medsker - 97.1%

6th Grade: Mrs. Gossett - 97.8%

Congratulations to all of our attendance winners!  Each of these classrooms will get to keep the beloved Murphy Mustang mascot in their rooms until November 2nd, the date of the next Spirit Assembly, when a new grade level attendance champion will have the chance to come through with the best attendance for the month and steal the mascot from the winners you see posted above!  Good luck to all, and remember, the only way to win the mascot is by being at school!

October 11, 2007Posted 6:02PM, 10/11/2007

As I sit here and look forward to the upcoming 3rd grade concert tonight, I thought I would write about the recent survey I sent out to all parents.  If you haven't received it yet, you will.  Ask your children about it.  They should have it in their backpacks by Friday afternoon.  I apologize that there was no introductory paragraph to go with the survey.  I had every intention of including one with it, but.....  well, one thing led to another and it did not get done.  I did include a blurb about the survey in the October newsletter, which you should also have received this week.  More copies are available in the office if you did not. 

So the survey - please take some time to fill it out for us.  We anxiously await your feedback, and take it very seriously.  So that you know what we do with it, the Murphy School Improvement Team will dissect the answers, tabulate all of the responses, record all of the written responses, share our findings with the rest of the staff, and ask ourselves some serious questions about the things our parents are telling us we can do better, or differently.  We also celebrate those things you tell us we are doing well, and then we keep doing these things!!  So, as you can see, the surveys don't just sit around on a shelf collecting dust.  We want this data to be an integral part of our school improvement process.   

If you would rather not send the survey back to school in your child's backpack, you can always drop it off in the office.  I look forward to reading all of your responses.  Hope to see all of you 3rd grade parents tonight! 

October 8, 2007Posted 11:18PM, 10/08/2007
It was another Sunday afternoon. A ninety-degree Sunday afternoon in October. I sat in the cool of my living room, unable to believe the heat, and choosing not to deal with it by kicking on the air. In October. Still unbelievable to me, much like my Cubbies’ inability to win a post-season game. I had spent the morning going over numbers from our 1st through 3rd grade DIBELS benchmark testing, and had come to a stark realization. First, however, the data:
 
272 total 1st through 3rd grade students given the DIBELS literacy assessment
 
65 first - third grade students in need of intensive literacy interventions (24%)
79 first - third grade students in need of additional/moderate literacy interventions (29%)
128 first - third grade students at grade level – met benchmark (47%)
 
Let’s take a minute to break this down. Only 65 out of 272 students (again, 1st-3rd graders) are in need of intensive literacy interventions. Not too bad, 65 kids. Out of 272. These kids will receive small group instruction in the skills in which they need the most help. We are preparing these kids to be able to read at grade level by the time they reach 3rd grade. This is our task. 
 
On the other hand, if we are to play devil’s advocate (in a moment), we have to look at the benchmark number. These are the kids who are, perhaps, reading at grade level, the kids who are ready to move on and receive grade level and/or enrichment instruction – a wonderful 128 of them, or 47% of all 1st-3rd-grade students. 
 
53%, then - over half of these students are not able to read at benchmark.
 
And now for my stark realizations:
Research shows that students who fail to learn to read in the primary grades rarely develop into great readers in middle and high school. They generally enter kindergarten behind, read two to three years below grade level in elementary school, and are still two to three years behind their average classmates in middle and high school. 
 
If we do not do everything we can to teach our students to read at or above grade level by second or third grade, when it is relatively easy and inexpensive to do so, it is highly unlikely that we will get them to grade level thereafter; not to mention the fact that it is much harder and more expensive at this stage of the game.
 
And so, on this balmy Sunday, when the rest of the world was getting ready to watch the Bears take on the Packers, I sat wondering why it so hot at the end of the first week of October and thinking about our students and what we are to do. 
 
And understanding that we can’t do it alone. 
 Parents play a crucial role in this effort to help kids read. Your child’s teacher will be sharing this data with you at this week’s Parent/Teacher conference. Please ask questions about the data, questions that will lead to answers about what you can do to help. Together, our students, your children will be reading at grade level by third grade. That is our goal.
September 20, 2007
Greetings Murphy Friends and Family:
 
We are well into our 5th week of school. Wow! I looked up and it was time to send mid-term reports home already. I can’t believe how the time is flying! Our 1st through 3rd grade students have been given the DIBELS data assessment, which is a set of measures of early literacy development; our 3rd through 6th grades have begun taking the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress), computerized assessment; our Open House was a great success thanks to parents and teachers; Picture Day has come and gone with everyone smiling and looking wonderful; the Fall Book Fair is in full swing; and our first School Improvement Day is coming this Friday, with an assembly that morning put on by “Dan Kirk: The Juggler With the Yellow Shoes.” The theme for the assembly is Bullying. Parents are invited to attend, as usual (This is what your $5.00 contribution per child goes for!!). So as you can see, a lot is going on!
 
Other assemblies we have planned for the year are as follows: “MAD Science” in October, “Staley Da’ Bear” (Chicago Bears Mascot) in November, to put on a Healthy Lifestyle presentation called First and Goal, and to bring in the new year, in January we will see a show called “Journey to Readtopia,” which will help bring in the ISAT and IMAGE state tests that 3rd – 6th grade students will take in March. Later in 2008, we will see a great performance by nationally renowned storyteller Jim May, and have a Brazilian Cultural Experience, put on by “Sounds of Brazil.” There are more to come, as we are working to fill a couple of months late in the school year, but you can be sure that all of the assemblies, or “Field Trips,” as we like to call them, will bring enrichment to your child, and a broader sense of culture and overall life experiences. Parents are welcome to attend all In-House Field Trips. Please call the school in advance. 
 
It is always a great joy to walk the hallways and see so many smiling faces. Not only on the children and teachers, but on the faces of parents who are in the building on a regular basis as well. This week at the Book Fair, for example, every time I walk out of my office and down the stairs, parents are working with students, helping them select books and even working with them on making correct change. It is great to see, and we welcome you at any time. If you can’t get into the school as often as you would like, but would still like to know how you can volunteer in other ways, please contact me at the school. In closing, here are some helpful pointers, and a couple of fun facts. Until next time. 
    
August 24, 2007Posted 10:22PM, 08/24/2007
The Action on Wheels Assembly has been cancelled today due to the weather!!!  Rainout date has been scheduled for next Friday, 8/31/2007, at 2:00PM.
August 22, 2007Posted 4:43PM, 08/22/2007
Welcome Back Again!! I am so happy to be back to school, and I want to share my excitement with everyone by inviting you in to school, at any time, for a tour of the building, to walk the halls and visit the classrooms with me, or just to talk about the great things that are happening with regards to your children’s education. Please let me know if there is ever anything that we can do for you throughout the school year.
 
Here are a few things you need to know as we start the year:
     ~Everyone will be receiving a green Murphy Mustang folder the last week of August. The inside will be full of useful information that you will want to refer to all year long.
     ~The air conditioning is here and running smoothly! If you happen to walk into the building during these last few hot days of August, you will notice a considerable difference. As with all things new, there are always some kinks to work out, but we are all much better able to concentrate working in cooler conditions. 
     ~Our first Fundraiser of the year will kick off on Friday, August 31, and the sale will run for two weeks. All proceeds go to the PTO to be used on our students. Please encourage your students to sell only to family and friends.
     ~Our first Assembly will take place this Friday, August 24th. It is called Action on Wheels, and relates to our school theme this year of “Extreme Learning.” This high-action assembly will take place out on the back (north) playground at 2:00PM. Parents and younger siblings are welcome to attend.
     ~Speaking of Assemblies, we will be sending a letter home to all families, asking for five dollars in support of our “In-House Field Trips,” assemblies that we will hold on School Improvement Days. We hope that you are able to support this initiative, as we have exciting assemblies coming up this year. Some examples include programs on Bullying, Character Education, Mathematics, Science, and Literacy. 
 
Upcoming Dates to mark on your calendars:
 
August 28 – PTO Meeting; 7:00P.M. in the Library
September 3 – No School, Labor Day
September 4 – MAP Testing begins for all students, grades 3-6
September 5 – Open House; 6:30-8:00PM – all are welcome
September 6 – Picture Day
September 11 – Patriot Day
September 21 – School Improvement Day; Release Time – 12:20P.M. (No lunch or breakfast is served on Early Release days)
September 26 – Mobile Dentist will be here to check all students
September 27 – Mobile Dentist back again....
 
Volunteers Needed
Ever thought of volunteering at the school before? Now is the perfect time to start!! The following are just some of the things we could use your help with:
a.)    Playground Moms/Dads
b.)    Reading Center Helpers
c.)    Homework Helpers
d.)    Math/Spelling Tutors
e.)    Paper Cutters
f.)      Copiers
 
Please call the school to find out more information if you are interested in volunteering in any way!   Even if you can’t come in to the school to help, call to find out how you can help from home! The opportunities to help are endless!
 
 Wellness Council
 We are currently in the process of setting up our School Wellness Council again this year. What this Council will be charged with doing is discussing ideas and ways to create healthier lifestyle choices for our children. Examples include healthier snack ideas, more exercise during the school day, etc. If you are interested in obtaining more information about the Wellness Council, and would like to donate some time to this important task, please contact Mr. Prickett at your convenience. School Phone: 847-270-9950
July 31, 2007Posted 3:19PM, 07/31/2007
Welcome Back!!                                                    
 
The 2007-2008 school year is right around the corner. I just wanted to share some information with you as we look to kick off the year. First of all, our School-Wide theme this year will be “Extreme Learning,” and will have an “extreme” feel to it as we turn things up a notch and prepare for our futures!! Everything we do will revolve around this theme for the year! 
We have a few new teachers on board with us this year. Replacing a number of retirees and open positions we had here over the summer are:
 
Ann Steidl – 1st Grade
Melanie Aronson – 2nd Grade
April Tucibat – 4th Grade (formerly 5th)
Dean Johnson – 5th Grade (formerly 6th)
Christa Burris – 5th Grade
Hayley Medsker – 5th Grade
Beth Jones – 6th Grade
Julianne Biel – Teacher Assistant
 
All of our new Murphy family members are thrilled to be here, working hard to provide our students with the best possible education. 
Don’t forget, school starts this year on Wednesday, August 15th. Students will be released at 10:35AM. Enclosed with this letter to you is a school supply list to ensure that you get off to the best start possible.
Students, I hope you had a relaxing summer this year. I also hope you spent a good amount of time reading! This will help you in your studies this year, and you just can’t beat getting lost in a good book! You have a great year to look forward to. I am so excited to see all of you!

Class lists will be posted on the front window (Willow side) on August 9th.

July 1, 2007Posted 11:04PM, 07/01/2007

Just a quick note to direct you to the Murphy home page, where you will find, directly after the welcome message, links to summer reading lists, broken down by grade levels.  They are in PDF format, so you will need to have Adobe Acrobat to open them.  I will attempt to update with more summer reading lists that are not in this format, so that those of you who cannot open PDF files may still have some great recommendations as you head over to the library this summer!  Enjoy!

June 27, 2007Posted 3:50PM, 06/27/2007

Tweens. Those years between the ages of 10 and 14, just before becoming a full-fledged teenager. Some call them “power struggle” years, others call it “10 going on 16”…. Whatever the case, I think we can all agree that they can be nightmare years for parents and their children alike. Following, I offer you some tips on how to handle certain issues as they relate specifically to the “tween” years. 
 
1.)    Don’t give in to your child’s demands because you want him to love you. He’ll love you more for being caring and principled.
2.)    Don’t criticize your child personally. Focus any concerns on specific behavior, choices, and disagreements.
3.)    Don’t trample on your child’s sensitivities or be critical of him for wanting to be like his friends.
4.)    Don’t try to help your child win friends or seem “cool” by letting kids do risky things at your house.
5.)    Don’t assume other parents are as relaxed about an issue as you. If another child is with you, check with his parents first for their viewpoint.
 
It can be hard to stick to your principles in the face of pressure. However, it is important to do so as best you can. Although you understandably want to please your child, giving in is not helpful to her in the long- or short-term. A parent who frequently bends and then gives in to a child’s demands is less able to provide him with that sense of security and clarity.
 
Some other advice:
Don’t be afraid to say no. While hearing this dreaded word may be painful to your child at the moment, these experiences will ultimately help to strengthen his self-esteem. On the other hand, always giving your child what he wants often ends up encouraging him to define success and happiness in terms of possessions and getting to do whatever he pleases.
 
Be firm, but understanding. The best way to help your tween cope with your refusal of something is to express it in terms of your beliefs and values rather than discipline and disapproval. It is possible to show your child you understand his feelings while still saying no: “Every family’s different. I believe our way is right for us, and I don’t want to change it simply because your friend’s family does it another way. Just tell him your parents won’t let you.”
 
Don’t sweat the small stuff. When it comes to music, tweens typically like to explore and experiment – and to shock. It’s usually not worth fretting or fighting over. Next week, they’ll probably like something different, anyway. 
 
Hang in there. There is no handbook that comes with parenting, and parenting seems to change as your kids go through different stages. Following are some websites that you may find helpful in dealing with the “Tween” stage:
 
 

June 21, 2007Posted 5:15PM, 06/21/2007

Hello to all of you Beach Loving, Sun Soaking students and parents of W.J. Murphy Elementary!  I am writing to you today from the Fiji Islands, where the sands are an unscathed, pearly white, and each day is full of bright skies and a golden orange sun…….. okay, that would be nice, but in reality I am sitting at my dining room table on Friday morning, enjoying some time off with my family.  The closest I will get to the Fiji Islands this summer is Wisconsin (is that really closer?), when we go camping in July. 

 

How about you?  I always wonder what our families do over the summer, when there is time off, time to do things you don’t get a chance to do during the academic year.  Do you go on vacation?  Do you go out of state?  How far out of state?  Or are you like me, and spend most of your time at the family pool or down at the beach?  This is, in truth, what I actually prefer.  Give me a nice summer day, a good novel, lots of laughter and splashing, and I am perfectly happy.  Drop me a line if you are so inclined.  I’d love to hear what you’re up to this summer.

 

In other news, please don’t forget that we start school on the 15th of August.  In air-conditioning.  Isn’t that great?  I really can’t wait.  I have been to the school a number of times over the summer so far, and the construction crew is working hard to deliver on the promise of a cooler building upon our return. 

 

We welcome the following new staff to W.J. Murphy as we prepare to return in August:

  • 1st Grade, Room 3 – Mrs. Steidl
  • 2nd Grade, Room 201 – Mrs. Aronson
  • 4th Grade, Room 207 – Ms. Tucibat (formerly 5th Grade)
  • 5th Grade, Room 101 – Miss Medsker
  • 5th Grade, Room 102 – Mrs. Burris
  • 5th Grade, Room 103 – Mr. Johnson (formerly 6th Grade)
  • 6th Grade, Room 303 – Ms. Jones

 

We are extremely excited about all of the new faces in our school, and we welcome them with open arms.  Have a great weekend, and look for a new blog post soon!!!

 

May 28, 2007 Posted 3:23PM, 5/28/2007

 

It is hard to believe that the end of the year is here already. It has been quite a year, to say the least, and it was a pleasure, as usual, to serve your children day in and day out. Below are a number of dates and other informational items you will want to put on your calendar and/or make note of:
 
July 13, 2007 – Last day to register on-line for the 2007-2008 school
                       year.
August 1, 2007 – Registration from 1:30PM – 7:00PM in the RLHS
                           gym for all school sites
August 2, 2007 – Registration from 10:00AM – 4:00PM in the RLHS
                           gym for all school sites.
August 15, 2007 – First day of school – 10:35 Release time, no
                            breakfast or lunch served on this day
August 16, 2007 – First full day of school
 
Please note: cost for registering your student at the August registrations is $115.00 dollars. You will need to bring with you the following:
  • Full payment, plus any past fees owed
  • Two (2) proofs of residency
  • Birth certificate for each child
 
AIR CONDITIONING IS COMING!!!! Thanks to voter support on the last building referendum, W.J. Murphy will be air conditioned at the start of the ’07-’08 school year! Construction is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 4. If all goes as planned, our school will be a much more comfortable learning environment upon our return in August. Thank you once again Round Lake parents and community!!!!
May 9, 2007
Some dates for you for these last couple of weeks, and then some information:
  • May 14 - Patrol Party
  • May15 - Mother/Son Dance (6:30PM)
  • May 17 - SIP Day; 12:20PM Dismissal
  • May 18 - Field Days Opening Ceremony!!
  • May 21-23 - Field Days
  • May 30 - Awards Assemblies (Times to be announced, and parents encouraged to attend!!)  This is a correction.  An invitation will be coming home soon.
  • May 30 - Last Full Day
  • May 31 - Last Day - early release time: 10:35AM

It is at this time of the year, when the weather is warmer and students are anticipating summer vacation, that rules and procedures can be easily forgotten.  Please remind your students of proper dress, and that electronic devices are not allowed at school.  These can become a distraction to the learning that is still taking place!  Please consult the Round Lake "In The Know" handbook for a quick policy reference.

May 8, 2007

Well, it has been a long time since last I wrote. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for this principal, almost too much to bear. I am at home at present, recovering from back surgery that I have been putting off for some time now. I was hoping to wait until summer, but alas, that was not to be. Our phenomenal Assistant Principal has taken the reigns from me, and has done an excellent job! I should be back, at least for ½ days, by the last week in May.

I wanted to share some facts with you this morning. I think you will find them to be of some interest. I have been doing some reading on what it takes to become a citizen of the world these days, and what the next generation of students, our students, will need to know to survive an ever-advancing multiethnic, multicultural, multilingual world. Consider this:

Since 1990, 3 billion people in China, India, and the former Soviet Union have moved from closed economies into a global one.

The economies of China, India, and Japan, which represented 18 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004, are expected to represent 50 percent of the world’s GDP within 30 years (Wilson, 2005).

One in five U.S. jobs is now tied to international trade, a proportion that will continue to increase (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004).

Most U.S. companies expect the majority of their growth to be in overseas markets, which means they will increasingly require a workforce with international competence.

According to the Committee for Economic Development (2006), to compete in the global marketplace, both U.S - based multi-national corporations as well as small businesses increasingly need employees with knowledge of foreign languages and cultures to market products to customers around the globe and to work effectively with foreign employees and partners in other countries.

The digitization of production since 1998 are making it possible for people to work anywhere and anytime.

Scientific research, a key driver of innovation, will increasingly be conducted by international teams as other countries ramp-up their scientific capacity.

All in all, the next generation, the students we educate right now, will need to:

Sell to the world

Buy from the world

Work for international companies

Manage employees from other cultures and countries

Collaborate with people all over the world in joint ventures

Compete with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets

Tackle global problems, such as AIDS, avian flu, pollution, and disaster recovery (Center for International Understanding, 2005).

So what does all of this mean to us? In this educator’s humble opinion, we need to keep kids in school. We need to encourage them to attain a higher education. We need to work together, as a school community and family, to make sure we are providing our students the best education possible. It starts with us. It starts now.

April 28, 2007
The Principal's Blog will be updated again in a few days.  Mr. Prickett will be out of unable to update until the 1st week of May.  Thank you to everyone who came out to out final Family Movie Night of the year on Friday night, when we showed Happy Feet.  Hopefully everyone had a great time!
April 21, 2007 Posted at 9:29AM, 4/21/2007
Happy Saturday, everyone. What a busy week we had at Murphy, capped off by the Walk for Diabetes on Friday afternoon! What an exciting, cool event it was! If you live in the neighborhood, you might have seen close to 600 kids, parents, and teachers filing past your house in a single file line... I personally did not go (someone had to man the front office), and actually I was glad I didn't. It's not that I wouldn't have loved to go, but it's not often that the ladies in the office get to go out and enjoy some time with the students. I was happy to let them go. Plus, then I got to chuckle with a couple of parents who called me. I remember one in particular. It went something like this:
Murphy: "Good Afternoon, MurphySchool - how can I help you?"
Parent: "Ah, yes. Can you tell me why your whole school is walking past my house right now?"
Murphy: Short pause. Then, "Why yes, ma'am, they all decided they would leave for the day and go to the park."
Okay, so that's an embellishment on my part, but don't you wish you could think of clever things to say like that on the spur of the moment? I told her and she quickly remembered about the Diabetes Walk.
So thank you to all who made the day quite an event. At one point, from about 12:45 - 1:30 in the afternoon, the buzzer on the front door of the school rang non-stop. Never have I been more pleased to hear that buzzer, as every single buzz was a parent coming in to help out in some capacity! How great is that?? Thank you again, to everyone.
On a more somber note, I was awake most of the night Thursday worrying about Friday. It was on April 20 of 1999, that the massacre at ColumbineHigh School took place, and only a few short days ago that the slaying at Virginia Tech took occurred. It is in these moments that I worry most about our students at Murphy. And that is exactly why I am so very indebted to the Round Lake Park-Hainesville Police Department. Chief called me that Thursday afternoon to tell me that he, too, had been thinking. And when Chief thinks, he plans. If you were there Friday afternoon, you know that our Ladies and Gentlemen in uniform were out in full force, and not just for the walk. They were there every hour on the hour, for the entire day. 
This weekend, hugs your children. Read with your children. Play with your children. Be thankful for the blessings you have been given, for the simple joys we so often take for granted. Have a great weekend. And don’t forget to link to www.bloggingleader.blogspot.com.  I have more topics related to learning and education posted there! 

 

April 11, 2007

Okay everyone, I am going to ask you to follow the attached link to the new weblog, where you will find the latest in brain research that I have been promising you.  It is located at a blogging website that I recently began using.  I will paste the link below and hopefully you can get to it.... just one more way I am trying to incorporate technology into my life and work.  The blog also contains video related to the topic, linked right to the Youtube website!  Enjoy.

bloggingleader.blogspot.com/

April 7, 2007 Posted at 9:45AM, 4/7/2007

Okay, so I realize that we can't fight the cell phone craze.  I don't think it's going to go away anytime soon, and I realize it is not just some fad.  Cell phones are here to stay, and I am seeing kids as young as 6 years old carrying their phones around with them, having them flipped open at the end of the day, hopefully talking to mom or dad.....  but consider some recent research I came across in Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine:

"...the older she gets, the more she'll use it - and not just for phoning home.  Weekly Reader recently polled a group of kids ages 6 to 18 about cell phone usage and habits.  The poll found that 74 percent of the 13- to 18-year-olds owned their own phones, while only 26 percent of the 6- to 12- year-olds were owners.  Among the younger group, 81 percent said they never send text messages.  By contrast, 54 percent of the older owners said they send text messages 'all the time' or 'once in a while.'  Similarly, 65 percent of the teens say they have taken a photgraph with a phone, while only 38 percent of the tweens have snapped away."

So what does all of this mean?  Who cares if we give our kids cell phones at a young age?  Well, I guess I don't have the answer to that one, but I will share with you a story of recent memory.  My 17 year old daughter, just a couple of weeks ago, spent a "Girls Day Out" with her mother.  They went shopping, out for lunch, and went to catch a late afternoon matinee at the theatre.  Later, when I caught up with my very exhausted wife, she said it was like spending a day with our daughter and her boyfriend.  My daughter's cell phone rang off the hook for 7 straight hours.  Even while they were at the theatre, one could hear it buzzing away in her coat pocket.  It's a good thing she pays her own portion of the bill. 

April 4, 2007 Posted at 4:14PM, 4/4/2007

I apologize for not having posted in over a week!  It has been quite busy getting back into the swing of things!!  Below are a few noteworthy items that may be of some interest to parents:

  • Following up on the Diabetes Walk, which is to take place on the 20th of April: The TOP fund-raising student will receive two tickets to P.L.A.Y., which stands for Promoting a Lifetime of Activity among Youth.  This student will get to actually go onto U.S. Cellular Field with select Chicago White Sox players on Thursday, August 9th, and then attend that night's game!!  In order for our top-selling student to go, Murphy school needs to raise at least $2,000 dollars.  If we reach the goal of $5,000 dollars, then we get to send the TWO top-selling students from Murphy to this event on August 9th.  Each of these two students will receive two tickets to the event and game!  How exciting is that?!?!
  • The D.A.R.E. Graduation date has been set for Tuesday, April 24th at 1:30PM.  5th grade parents are encouraged to attend.  The graduation will take place in the gym that afternoon.
  • The movie has not yet been selected for Family Movie Night, but we will let you know as soon as it has been. 

I promised some words on the Brain and Learning, and will get that out to you soon.  I guarantee, you will be amazed at the things that can have an affect on your child's learning, in relation to how the brain responds to certain stimuli.  I hope to post this information for you in the next day or so.  In the meanime, I hope everyone is well, and please feel free to come in anytime to discuss your child's education.

March 24, 2007 Posted at 8:09AM, 3/24/2007

It is the first official day of Spring Break and I can think of nothing better to do than to post an entry on our website!  It may be the only time I post during the upcoming week, as no one volunteered to come over and help me paint and clean out my garage.  Imagine that.    We have lots of things coming up in the month of April, many of which I will list here for you, as you eagerly await the April/May newsletter.  I apologize that you never received one for March. 

  • April 4 - Early Release time - 2:50PM
  • April 5 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 12:30-8:00PM.  No school for students, and this is also our next Early Registration date, from 1:30-7:00PM in the gym.
  • April 6th - No School
  • April 12 - 3rd/4th Grade Honor Roll Breakfast - 8:30AM
  • April 13 - 5th/6th Grade Honor Roll Breakfast - 8:30AM
  • April 17 - Institute Day - No school for students
  • April 20 - Diabetes Walk - start time of approximately 1:30PM.  We could use parent volunteers for this, either to walk with the kids, or to stand at checkpoints along the way.  Please call the school if you can help.  At 7:00PM on this same date, we will be holding our 2nd Family Movie Night of the year, with PTO donating all proceeds to Juvenile Diabetes Research.  Thanks PTO!!  The movie for this event has not yet been determined. 

There are many more items of note, so keep checking back, as these will be updated as dates draw nearer.  Enjoy Spring Break.  We'll see you back on the 2nd of April. 

March 21, 2007 Posted at 1:57PM, 3/21/2007

Wednesday, March 21, two more full days before Spring Break officially begins.  It's not that I'm excited about it or anything, because believe me, I have my work cut out for me at home.  If anyone wants to volunteer to come over and help me finish up painting my kitchen and living room, or maybe tackling the garage remodel job for me, I won't stand in your way.  So no, I'm not all that excited. 

But I am excited that state testing is over with.  It comes at a great time, what with Spring Break right around the corner.  Students deserve a nice break from all of their hard work.  And their teachers, too - although we have a few at Murphy who are asking me if they can get into the building over Break to work in their classrooms.  A dedicated bunch, your kid's teachers.  You should feel wonderful sending your kids to school each day.

There is a PTO meeting tonight at 5:30 in our newly completed library, for anyone who wants to come out and learn what is coming up in the month of April.  There is quite a bit actually: Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast, Honor Roll Breakfasts, Diabetes Walk, Family Movie Night.....  I'm sure I've missed a few things, but you can certainly find out about them at the meeting tonight.  If you can't make it, then at least make sure you check your child's backpack during that first week back after Spring Break for the April/May newsletter.  It is sure to be chock full of events that will lead us up until the end of the year. 

Today we had a Lockdown drill at 10:00AM, run by Murphy administration and the Round Lake Park Police Department.  Our students did extremely well; you couldn't hear a pin drop, the hallways were so quiet!  This is exactly what we were looking for.  If it is a scary experience for some children, the best thing to do is to reassure them that it is for their own safety, and that we always need to be prepared for anything.  They did a fantastic job being quiet during the drill, and can expect to go through one more drill of this type in May of this school year.   

Parents, do me a favor and tell other parents about this website.  I will make sure and update it at least once weekly.  This includes pictures, the calendar, and this very blog you are reading right now.  Make sure you email with any suggestions or ideas you have that will make our school a better place. 

Did I mention that Spring Break is near?  You might want to check with the Round Lake Park District or the Round Lake Public Library for some fun things to do over the break.  What better ways to keep your body busy and your mind active!?!

March 13, 2007 Posted at 9:00PM, 3/13/2007

Tuesday night, ISAT and IMAGE tests were today.  Things went well, really, besides the normal "behind-the-scenes" stuff that most people don't know about.  Not that they should.  With the flood damage to the library, we had one less place to administer the test, and had to get a little creative.  All kids who were supposed to take the test took it, however, and they were all pretty happy about it, too.  Our third graders are pretty new to the whole testing scene, and were actually quite excited by the whole thing.  I hope you got a chance to talk with your kids about it. 

One teacher sent me comments that some of her kids had made on Monday afternoon, the night before tests: "I love IMAGE - we don't have to do any homework!!"  And they are right, those little buggers... most teachers do not give homework during state testing week.  It's not that they can't; I would support them if they decided to. 

No, it's more of a mind-set, really.  We don't want kids to feel stressed out, and giving two tests a day can do that to some kids.  Instead, I found most of the children outside today (when they weren't testing, of course).  Most took an extra recess break or two.  And to tell you the truth, I couldn't blame them!!  I found myself asking why I didn't take my lunch outside and sit at the picnic table we have there, underneath that nice, big old shade tree, just off of Greenwood.  And then I remembered.  I don't get lunch.  I'm the principal.     

So it's off to catch the last little bit of American Idol (yes, I am hooked), and do some reading before bed.  I am not finished with Death Be Not Proud yet, and I don't anticipate being finished anytime soon.  That's just the way with me and books - I usually have three or four going at a time.  No, this week I am really into a book on learning and the brain.  Invigorating stuff!!  I will share more on this very exciting topic in my next blog, as it contains some excellent information on stress and how the adolescent brain reacts.  Timely implications in a world that can be very stressful, especially for our children.  How we help them with this stress can have a great impact on how well they perform in school. 

Until next time, have a great night.   

March 11, 2007

Sunday.  It is ten o'clock in the morning, and I have been up for three hours.  I forgot to set the clocks back and suddenly I feel extremely tired, realizing that my body is telling me that it is actually nine o'clock and that I got up at six and not seven.  I plan to do some research on daylight savings time today, as I wonder what effects it has on student learning and concentration, if any.  With state tests this week, I wonder if results will be marred because kids can't think because their bodies are telling them it is earlier than it really is.  Or because we get an extra hour of daylight now, does that mean that our kids will do really well?  I mean, if they think that they will have more time to play outside after school because it now will begin staying lighter longer, maybe they won't rush through homework and tests (state tests in particular) and such.  Or can I use any of these excuses to plead our case to the state if the results of this year's ISAT and IMAGE tests come back with less pleasing results than we had envisioned?  I doubt it. 

For those who were wondering, we did make AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) this past year.  Our test scores made significant gains in certain populations of kids, and mediocre gains in other areas, but we made it nonetheless, and I, for one, am very proud of our students and staff.  You should be too.

I know I haven't returned to the flood story, and I'm not sure if I will.  If you want to know about the progress of our library and classroom, stop by the building.  I'll be glad to show you around.  Both rooms are coming along just fine.  Tile is in, furniture is being put back, the smell is gone!!!  We still need help returning books to shelves, as the hallway is still lined with boxes, but we're getting there.  Slowly but surely. 

Testing will start on Tuesday.  Please encourage your children to do their best, and to not worry!  Have a great week.

March 5, 2007, continued....

Now that I am thinking about it, I do have a little more on the aftermath of the flood.... we will need help in the next couple of weeks to put our library and adjoining classroom back together!!  You may have noticed the storage units out back.  This is where everything from the library and classroom have been stored.  Once we get all of the furniture back in, the re-shelving of library books is the next biggest task.  If anyone has time beginning Thursday of this week, please come up to the school or call the main office!  847-270-9950.  Thanks in advance for any help you can give. 

March 5, 2007 

I have discovered, on this fifth day of March, YouTube.  If you have not had the chance yet, to marvel at this technological wonder, I have attached a link that will take you there straightaway.  This is not the only thing I have been doing over this extended weekend, mind you, as I spent a good 15 hours in my office at Murphy over the three days, but I typically do spend a fair amount of time surfing the web, usually looking for ways to use technology at school.  So here it is:

www.youtube.com

Now, you are going to want to monitor the site, especially if you allow your kids to surf the web as well, but really, parents should monitor all web content their kids view online.  My wife and I have a 17 year old (among other children), and she was not even allowed to have internet access on her PC until she was, well, 17.  My other two kids (ages 10 and 6) and I are into Taekwondo and Hapkido self-defense techniques, and so check You Tube out to view some really incredible Martial Arts competitions and training videos to help us with our own martial arts development.  

No continuation on the flood story today.  I'm too busy enjoying Casimir Pulaski Day, and looking for cool videos on YouTube.  Check it out if you get a chance.  Make sure you monitor for appropriateness of content, and have a great Monday.  Spring Break is coming up fast, and so is ISAT Parent Night - in fact, it's tomorow night!!  I had bette