Sick for the holidays?

In the past 24 hours we have noticed a spike in the number of students who are running a fever and/or getting sick at school.  I'd like to encourage all families to remain vigilant with common flu preventions, including hand washing.  If your child is displaying any flu-like symptoms (i.e. fever, vomiting, etc.), please take all precautions to limit spreading the illness.

We want all of our Cougars to be healthy for the upcoming Winter Break!

Winter weather reminder from Unit 5

Prairieland Parents,


The following is a winter weather reminder from Unit 5.

Ready or not, winter weather has arrived. As we move into this time of year, weather conditions may require us to alter our school schedule.

Student and staff safety is the ultimate factor when deciding if school should be cancelled. The decision-making process begins just after midnight with monitoring of the forecast, calls to law enforcement for information on road conditions and consultation with other area school districts. Also, district officials physically drive throughout McLean County in the early morning hours to inspect bus routes. Every attempt will be made to make the decision to close school by 5:30 a.m., at the latest.

As soon as a decision is made, the information will appear immediately on the Unit 5 Web site. That is the fastest way to learn about a school closure. It will also be featured through local media outlets, including radio and television. A School Reach message will be sent as soon as a decision is made. Please understand that School Reach places more than 15,000 calls and it may take up to an hour for these calls to be completed, so the Web site and other forms of media could get you the information faster.

Unit 5 encourages parents to make arrangements now for the care of their children in the event there is a schedule change and to be alert to possible announcements when weather conditions suggest that a change in school schedule might be necessary.

Veterans Day poem

I thought I'd share the poem we will share today with students on our morning announcements.  I hope you join me in taking time today to thank a veteran.

Veterans Day

by Cheryl Dyson

On Veterans Day we honor all,
Who answered to a service call.
Soldiers young, and soldiers old,
Fought for freedom, brave and bold.
Some have lived, while others died,
And all of them deserve our pride.
We’re proud of all the soldiers who,
Kept thinking of red, white and blue.
They fought for us and all our rights,
They fought through many days and nights.
And though we may not know each name,
We thank ALL veterans just the same.

Thank You to all who have served and are currently serving our counrty!

Successful Code Red Drill for Prairieland

I just wanted to update our parents on the success of the Code Red Drill we had today at school. All students did a great job and none of the students were frightened. As you know, we chose to use a less threatening scenario of “a dog loose in the school” so we could practice the skills, but not frighten students. We also did a lot of prep with the kids as far as what to expect.

Thanks to the teachers and staff for all of their help to make this a constructive experience.  Also, a special thanks to the Normal Fire Department and the Normal Police Department for their involvement in the planning, implementation, and assessment of the drill.  Great teamwork!

We intentionally conducted today’s drill during the noon hour, so we could assess our preparedness for a situation to occur when a large number of students were outside their classrooms.

• 1st and 4th graders were on the playground during the drill and they all did a nice job walking to the safe area in the fire station.

• Kindergarten and 3rd graders were in the lunchroom and continued eating lunch. However, we did lock the doors and turn off the lights (standard procedure for a code red). We also showed the kindergartners what the lunchroom looked like with lights out BEFORE the drill, so they wouldn’t be afraid. They did fine. 

• 2nd and 5th graders were in classrooms and staff did a nice job turning off lights, locking doors, and having students sit quietly and out of the line of sight of a window.

As a follow up at school, we have a Safety Committee at Prairieland that will get feedback from the staff and then continue to refine our procedures for Code Red drills. We are also fortunate to have law enforcement personnel serving on this committee.

As a follow up at home, I encourage all parents to talk with their children about what to do in a variety of emergency situations at home, school, or in public. Some situations to discuss would include fire, tornado, earthquake (yes, I said earthquake), stranger danger, and code red drills at school.

I do think it’s sad that we need to practice a Code Red situation in school. However, it is a fact of life and our staff takes great pride in keeping our Cougars safe!

School Absence Update (part 2)

Today has been our third day in a row of a “typical” number of absences due to illness. The number of students out sick this week has been in the lower 20s each day.

I don't believe all of the sickness is behind us - it's only October. However, I am very pleased with the efforts of our parents, staff, and students to use good habits to stay healthy and protect others from getting sick. Keeping sick kids (and adults) home until they were fully recovered really helped last week. Keep up the good work and hopefully we can avoid any more spikes in our number of absences! Thanks!

School Absence Update

Thanks to Mrs. Marcum for providing us with the following update:

Our absence rates have increased at Prairieland similar to many other area schools. Parents are reporting many cases of doctor-confirmed influenza A (of which H1N1 is one type) and general “influenza-like-illness”. The experts at Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov ) estimate that most Influenza-A viruses in the United States right now are 2009 H1N1 flu because it is too early for seasonal flu. The only confirmed cases, though, are for people who are ill enough to be hospitalized; the test is sent to Chicago or Springfield for confirmation and takes 1-3 days to get back.


What does all this mean for us? We will continue to monitor the absences and our district administrators are working closely with the McLean County Health Department to determine the best course of action. Let’s all work together to continue to:

• Wash our hands frequently, cough/sneeze into our sleeve, and stay home when we are sick

• Clean high-use areas like drinking fountains, desks, doorknobs, etc.

• Get vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available (call your doctor or check this website for community clinics: www.mcleancountyil.gov )

The good news is that the 2009 H1N1 flu continues to be mild. Some people will have it and not even know it! Most will have symptoms for a week or so and recover without problem. If you or your child has a higher risk of serious disease from the flu, you should contact your doctor if symptoms begin.

And as always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns!

Susy Marcum RN, BSN

Canceling after school activities for students this week

Prairieland Parents,

Due to the high number of students out sick today, we are cancelling the following after-school activities this week:

Monday – Cougar Council
Tuesday - Chess Club and 5th grade Cougar Chorus
Wednesday – Garden Club and 4th grade Cougar Chorus

It is our hope that by limiting the amount of time kids are in close physical contact after school, we will be able to minimize the spread of germs. Probably better for the healthy kids to be outside getting fresh air after school anyway.

SAT10 Assessments begin this week

1st through 5th grade students in Unit 5 began taking the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10) this week. In addition to SAT 10, 2nd grade students will also take the Otis Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT).

These are annual assessments for all Unit 5 students that are used to measure student progress over the years.  SAT 10 assesses what students have learned in the areas of reading, mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies.  The OLSAT for 2nd graders is different in that it is designed to measure students' abstract thinking and reasoning ability.  These are the same assessments we have used for a number of years in the district.

You will receive a parent report of your child's achievement on SAT 10 in a couple of months, usually before December.  As always, feel free to post questions and I'll be happy to respond.  :)

Volunteer ID badges are on the way!

The first batch of volunteer badges are ready and will be delivered to Prairieland on Wednesday.   I appreciate everyone's patience with the district as they are setting up this process for the first time.  Once we get through this intitial bulk of volunteers, we expect the badges will come within a week of completing the online application.

Volunteer badges will be delivered to the first school listed on the volunteer application.  In addition to the badges, volunteers will recieve a Handbook, which they will need to sign for upon receipt.

The district's original goal date to have the ID badges back to everyone was Oct. 1.   After that, people are still allowed to sign up, but they will then have to wait until they receive their badge before being allowed to volunteer with children.

We appreciate ALL our volunteers do to help

Miscommunication or Going Green?

I received a question from a parent who was confused about the switch from “Club Night” to “Chess Club sign-up”. They were wondering if this was due to our efforts to be more "green" this year by reducing the amount of papers that come home with kids. It's a great question. The short answer is no, this confusion was not due to an effort to be more green.

First of all, I would like to apologize for any confusion there might have been with switching Club Night to just Chess Club sign-up. That was my fault. I should have sent home a note clarifying the change for parents and posted the information on our website, rather than only making an announcement to students.

Secondly, the reason we made the switch was because we realized that by Sept. 15, nearly all of the clubs had already signed up students, with the exception of Chess Club. Chess Club is by far our largest club and we wanted to make it easy for parents to sign up, so we kept the time slot for them.

To make Club Night more productive next year, I will work with all of the club sponsors to set a date earlier in the year so that this problem won't pop up again.

On a final note, I really appreciate two things related to this:
1) The fact that we have parents who take the time to share concerns with me.
2) Having so many students involved in activities here at Prairieland!

Thanks,
Tim

President Obama’s Speech to Students on Sept. 8

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, President Obama will speak directly to our Nation's children about persisting and succeeding in school. At Prairieland, we have received phone calls and e mails from parents about the upcoming national address from the President. The comments from parents have been both in support of and not in support of their children watching this address.

I have reviewed the suggested lesson activities that the Whitehouse has distributed (http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf) and see nothing about controversial topics such as healthcare, the economy, or any other political hot topic.

I have suggested to our teachers that they preview the address before showing it to their students.  If after viewing it themselves, they may or may not decide to share this message with our children. 

I have told teachers that they have my full support to share this experience with their classes.  I realize that as adults it can be easy to get wrapped up in politics.  In thinking about this, I think back to when I was 8 years old and how I would have responded if the President was speaking to me about doing my best in school.  I believe that would have left a very positive impression on me as a student, and a citizen.  I appreciate the fact that our President is so concerned about our Prairieland Cougars and is taking time to speak directly to them.

Here are two links in case you'd like additional information:

Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html#faqs)
Classroom Activities (Pre-K – 6) (http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf)

As always, I welcome any comments or questions from parents or the Prairieland community at large.

Have a safe and fun-filled Labor Day weekend!

Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) Results

Prairieland’s 2009 ISAT results are in! ISAT measures individual achievement relative to the Illinois Learning Standards. The effort and dedication of our students drive our test scores. I’d like to personally thank our teaching staff (K-5) for their ability to differentiate learning for a variety of students, while at the same time aligning classroom instruction with state standards. Last but not least, I’d also like to recognize our parents. Thier ongoing support of our students' learning is a critical factor in our test scores. Below are the percentage of Prairieland students who either met or exceeded state standards on the test given last spring.

5th grade reading-85.9 %
5th grade math-91.8%
5th grade writing – 72.9%
4th grade reading-90.5%
4th grade math-94.0%
4th grade science – 91.7%
3rd grade reading-96.1%
3rd grade math-98.1%
3rd grade writing – 88.2%

More detailed test results can be found at http://iirc.niu.edu/.

School Responses (K-12) to Influenza during the 2009-2010 School Year

With students returning to school, a few questions related to the H1N1 virus (commonly referred to as "swine flu") have surfaced. Please know that Unit 5 staff, including teachers, nurses, custodians, and administrators, are taking proactive steps to help maintain safe and healthy schools for our students and staff.

Listed below are recommended school responses for the 2009-2010 school year from the Center for Disease Control.

■Stay home when sick: Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs.
■Separate ill students and staff: Students and staff who appear to have flu-like illness should be sent to a room separate from others until they can be sent home.
■Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette: The new recommendations emphasize the importance of the basic foundations of influenza prevention: stay home when sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water when possible, and cover noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or a shirt sleeve or elbow if no tissue is available).
■Routine cleaning: School staff should routinely clean areas that students and staff touch often with the cleaners they typically use. Special cleaning with bleach and other non-detergent-based cleaners is not necessary.
■Early treatment of high-risk students and staff: People at high risk for influenza complications who become ill with influenza-like illness should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible. Early treatment with antiviral medications is very important for people at high risk because it can prevent hospitalizations and deaths. People at high risk include those who are pregnant, have asthma or diabetes, have compromised immune systems, or have neuromuscular diseases.
■Consideration of selective school dismissal: Although there are not many schools where all or most students are at high risk (for example, schools for medically fragile children or for pregnant students) a community might decide to dismiss such a school to better protect these high-risk students.

If at some point this year there should be a dramatic increase in cases of the flu, we will take additional steps at Prairieland. For the most up to date information, I encourage you to check out the federal government's website at www.flu.gov.

Prairieland Movie Night - Saturday, Aug. 22

We have a movie night each fall and spring as a way to build community at Prairieland. P.I.E.C.E., our parent group, hosts movie night and provides free candy and popcorn for all students and their parents!

Saturday night (Aug. 22) we will be showing Hotel for Dogs. The show will start at dusk. We show the movie outdoors, behind the school. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, and drinks. In case of inclement weather, we'll move into the gym.

Hope to see you there!

First Half Day of School

We had a great opening day. Now all we need tomorrow are kindergartners and lunch to make the school day complete!

Thanks to one of our parents who graciously took some pictures this morning and shared them - enjoy!

Welcome Back To School!

On behalf of the Prairieland Staff, I'd like to welcome all of our families to the 2009-10 school year. Summer has flown by (as it always does) and we are excited to see the kiddos on Wednesday morning! Here are a couple of reminders for the start of school:

• Wednesday, Aug. 19 is a 1/2 day for 1st -5th graders. School will be from 8:30 - 11:30.
• Thursday, Aug. 20 will be our first full day with our NEW school hours of 8:30 - 3:15.
• Movie Night will be Saturday, Aug. 22. We will start the movie at dusk, behind the school, weather permitting. If it rains, we will move into the gym.