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.