For the Week of January 7th

Winter Break

My wish for everyone is to have a wonderful school break with family and friends and come back to school refreshed and ready to learn.

Chess Club

Watch for a flyer coming home soon about winter chess club.

MAP testing and Aimsweb Benchmarking

These important tests will be taken this week. Please make sure that your child has had a good nights sleep and has a nourishing breakfast so they can do their best. Encourage your child that you know they can do a good job on the test.

For the Week of December 17th

Chess Club

Chess Club will meet only Thursday this week. This will be the last  chess club for this calendar year. I will be sending home new sign up sheets for the winter/spring clubs in January.

Snuggle Up with the Family and Read

It's cold outside. There may be beautiful decorations around your home. What a great time to snuggle up together and enjoy a good book! Take time to slow your life down a little bit and read for pleasure.

Holidays

I wish every Center Cass family a wonderful holiday.

For the Week of December 3rd

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's chess clubs will be meeting this week. This week we will be studying how our chess pieces should work together to win the game.

Give Reading a Purpose

Whenever possible, have your child help you by reading. They can read the grocery list to you as you shop. They can read the directions to a game. They can read the recipe as you make something. They can read labels on food to determine if it is something you should eat. If you have a relative who is willing to write your child letters or emails, your child can read the letters or emails to you. If you want to find out someone's address, or phone number, have your child look it up for you. Great gains are made by small amounts of work done every day. Find ways to incorporate extra reading into your child's life.

For the Week of November 26th

Chess Club

Chess Club meets both Tuesday, November 27th and Thursday, November 29th. We will be looking at some advanced moves to challenge the more advanced students.

Not Just Historical Fiction but Books Written During Specific Time Periods

Historical fiction are good books to help students understand specific time periods in history. Another interesting way to learn about history is to read books written during specific time periods. There are companies that specialize in publishing books that were written a long time ago. I think it would be fun to find some of these books and read them with my grandchildren. Then we can have some great discussions about what it was like then compared to what it is like now. Some of these very old books might be fun holiday presents.

For the Week of November 19th

Chess Club

Chess Club will meet this Tuesday, November 20th after school. We will be learning about opening moves.

No School

There is no school this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday.

Thankfulness

Since we are celebrating Thanksgiving this week I thought I would post a few of the things I am thankful for about being a teacher at Prairieview. The first thing I am thankful for are my wonderful students. What a great group of children! Next, I am thankful for the administrators, teachers and staff who all enjoy working together to make this a positive place to be for everyone. I am thankful for our school board who made the transitions of this school year as seamless as possible. I am thankful for the many books, computers, supplies and equipment that we have to use in our classrooms. I know we have much more than many schools in the U.S. I am thankful for our PTO and parents who volunteer to makes our lives as teachers easier and more successful. What a great group of people to be working with! Thank you.

For the Week of November 12th

Veteran's Day

No school  Monday, November 12th due to Veteran's Day. If you are a Veteran, thank you for helping to keep our nation safe.

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's chess clubs will meet this week. We will be learning and practicing castling. There are a number of complicated rules to castling and it takes some time for students to master them.

Reading Directions

Reading and following directions is a very important skill. In order to give your student extra practice in reading and following directions at home, here are a few suggestions: Follow a recipe together. Have the student read the recipe out loud. Then have the student explain in their own words what you should do first, second, etc. Purchase a craft project that has directions. Again, have your student read the directions and explain to you what you have to do to complete the project. Print out google map or Mapquest directions when you are going somewhere. Have the student keep track of where you are and tell you when to turn and in what direction. Your child will have so much fun they will not even realize that they are practicing their reading skills!

For the Week of November 5th

Reminder - No School Monday, November 5th nor Tuesday, November 6th

Chess Club

Chess club will meet Thursday, November 8th. Tuesday's chess club will not meet since there is no school on Tuesday.

Countdown to the Holidays

A wonderful idea that I read about for the holidays is to purchase or get out of the library a book for each day leading up to the holiday you celebrate. Wrap each book in wrapping paper. Then, each day, have your children open one book and read it together as a family. As the children see the pile of wrapped books go down, they will know that their holiday is getting closer and closer.

For the Week of October 29th

Chess Club

There are no chess clubs this week due to parent-teacher conferences.

Paper Recycling

Did you know that you can help our district earn money by recycling paper here at school?  You can bring in any paper (no cardboard please) to the green and yellow bin marked Paper Retriever located in Lakeview's parking lot to be recycled.  The more paper we collect, the more money we can earn.  The provider of the bin uses the paper to make newsprint, which is then sold to other companies.  That is how we are paid to recycle paper.  Than you for your help (and for helping the environment at the same time!)

For the Week of Oct. 22nd

Early Dismissal

Thursday, October 25th is early dismissal. Your children will be dismissed at 11:00 AM

Chess Club

Tuesday's chess club will meet this week. Thursday is early dismissal day so chess club will not meet that day. Last week we learned about pawn promotion. This week we will begin learning about castling.

Math

In math small groups we have been working on number sense. We are trying to give the students a "feel" for our base 10 number system. One way that you can help your student is to count together. Count up and count down. Count by 2's, 5's and 10's. Count money.

Reading

One of the strategies we are working on in reading small groups is summarizing. At the dinner table, when there is a lull in the conversation, ask your child to summarize what they read that day in reading class. You can also ask them to summarize something that they are reading at home. Who knows, it might lead to an interesting discussion.

For the Week of October 16th

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's chess clubs are meeting this week. It can be difficult to retrain  our thinking about winning when in many games the winner is the one who takes the last piece or a certain piece. We have been working on understanding that to win in chess, you must first put your opponent's king in "check" and your opponent must not be able to get out of that check. Checkmate! We have been learning that there are three ways to get out of check. The first way is to move the king to a safe spot. The second way is to put one of your pieces in the way of the check. The third way is to take the piece that is putting you in check.

Making Movies in Your Mind as You Read

One strategy that we teach children to use when reading a story is to make a movie of that story in their mind as they are reading. They are to pretend that they are filming the movie. What are they picturing? What are the characters doing and what are they saying? It helps if they stop from time-to-time to replay the movie in their mind (summarize) to make sure that they were thinking while they were reading. If you are careful when doing this, it is amazing how many details from the story you can remember.

For the Week of October 8th

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's chess clubs meet this week. Please make sure that you pick your child up by 3:30 PM in the parking lot by the 3rd grade door. Sometimes I have appointments at 4:00 PM and am not able to make it to those appointments on time if I have to wait for a student to be picked up. Thank you for your cooperation.

Keyboarding

Students are using computer technology more and more in the classrooms. They already take the MAP test, here at school, on a computer. In a couple of years, the state standardized tests will be administered on the computer. Your child will be required to write for a variety of reasons using the computer. The reason I am pointing this out is that most children use the hunt and peck method for keyboarding. It is laborious and time consuming. I would encourage you to find a keyboarding tutoring program and have your child work on it at home. There are many out there that seem more like video games and yet can help your child to learn to keyboard much more quickly and efficiently without having to look at the keys. This might even be a fun holiday present for them.

Math Games

In our small math groups we have been practicing skip counting and counting numbers between 100 and 999. If you have a little time in the car or between doing other things, count for fun. Count by 2's, 5's, 10's, 25's and 50's.

For the Week of October 2nd

Reading Comprehension

It is hard to believe that October is already here! Prairieview's small intervention groups are up and running. In those groups that focus on reading comprehension there are 4 strategies that we teach to help students comprehend text. Those strategies are predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarizing. Good readers are constantly making predictions about what will happen next or what they might read about next. When readers are predicting, we know they are thinking about what they are reading. Good readers also ask themselves questions about what they are reading. It can be questions that are answered in the text or questions that they need to be answered from an outside source. Once again, if readers are asking themselves questions, we know they are thinking about what they are reading. The third strategy we teach our students to use is clarifying. Clarifying can mean figuring out words that we can not read by sight by chunking them into parts that we can read. It can also mean going back and rereading while using context clues and/or picture clues to help us understand a part of the book that was confusing. The final strategy we want the students to use is summarizing. When students stop after reading a portion of a book and take the time to summarize what they have read, they can figure out pretty quickly if they are actually thinking about what they read or if they were just letting the words go in one eye and out the other. When reading together as a family, I would encourage you to use these same strategies to reinforce what we are teaching here at school.

Chess Club

Chess Club got off to a great start this week. This week both Tuesday's and Thursday's clubs will be meeting. I could still use more parent volunteers if anyone would like to join us. Even if you could only help out for a week or two, I would appreciate it!

For the Week of September 24th

Chess Club

Tuesday and Thursday chess clubs are beginning this week. I still need more parent volunteers for Tuesday's club. If you would like to help out please email or call me. Children who do not walk or ride a bike should be picked up at the 3rd grade door between 3:25 and 3:30.

Early Dismissal

Reminder: This Friday, September 28th is an early dismissal day. The school day will end at 11:00 a.m.

Children are Great Imitators!

Spend some time reading everyday in front of your children. If children see you enjoying a good book or magazine, they will learn that it is an fun thing to do. I heard about one family who fixed something enjoyable to drink, like hot chocolate in the winter, and they sat around together each reading something silently to themselves. Reading is so important that we should do everything we can to make reading a priority in our families.

For the Week of September 17th

Reading to Your Children

Some parents think that their child is too old to be read to when they are able to read to themselves. Reading to children, however,  continues to be important throughout the grade school years. An adult can read a book that has harder words, vocabulary and even situations than a child can handle on his/her own. When a child hears words that he/she is not familiar with it helps him/her to be able to figure out those words more easily in the future. Just knowing that word exists helps the child to decode that word. It also helps the child to build his/her vocabulary. Many words can be learned just using the clues in the story of their meaning. You may have the opportunity to discuss the meaning of some words which also helps the child. Since you are there when the reading happens, you can discuss what is happening in the story and help the student to make sense of it. For example, if the story is about some part of history that is unfamiliar, you can help your child to understand the context in which the story takes place. Another good reason to read to your child is that it provides for a routine that is calming and relaxing before they go to sleep. It is beneficial for your child to be well rested before a day of hard work at school. By having a routine of getting ready for bed and then listening to part of a well-written book, it helps promote a sense of well-being. It helps for them to focus on something other than their own cares and worries and therefore, to fall asleep easier. I encourage you to read to your children, even your 4th and 5th graders before they go to bed. I think your whole family will enjoy it.

For the Week of September 10th

Informational Text

It is very important for students to learn how to read informational text. In order to help your child to master informational text reading skills, it is crucial that he/she practices reading informational text. So, on your next trip to the library or book store, be sure that some of the books your child picks are informational.

 The really great thing about informational books is that they don't need to be read cover to cover. For example, a child may pick a book on snakes because they are fascinated with poisonous snakes. Let him/her know that it is just fine to read the information about poisonous snakes and skip the rest of the book. By skimming and scanning through the book before reading, the child can see which helps the book provides for finding information within that book. This will help your child figure out how they can find the information about poisonous snakes in that particular book. By going through this process, you are helping your child to learn to read informational text.  This strategy is especially helpful for reluctant readers because they can read the parts of the book that they are most interested in and can skip the rest. Plus, unlike chapter books which usually have few or no pictures, informational books are usually filled with pictures, captions, charts and graphs which make them even more interesting.

Whether your child is reading small parts of a lot of books or a whole book at a time, as long as they are spending some time the majority of the days reading, their reading will improve.

For the Week of August 27th

I enjoy the beginning of school. Everyone gets a fresh start. The students are excited to be back and are eager to learn. I also like the start of school because it gets me back into routines which have been abandoned during the summer. Routines like going to bed at a decent time, eating wisely and following my fitness plan all seem to work better during the school year. So welcome to the 2012-2013 school year. I want all of my students to have a productive, happy, and successful year.

For the Week of June 4th

Have a wonderful summer everyone! Remember to read, read, read!

For the Week of May 28th

It is hard to believe that another school year is almost over. I have been thinking back over the year and the progress that each students has made. It is delightful to remember what each student was like at the beginning of the year and to think about how they have matured, and grown and learned. Each of my students is a special blessing and I thank you for entrusting part of their education to me. I hope you have a wonderful summer together as a family.

For the Week of May 14th

Talent Show

The lists for the talent show will be posted on the front bulletin board by Wednesday of this week.

Summer Reading

Now is the time to be thinking about how you are going to incorporate reading into your summer schedule. One idea is to hire an older student or sibling to read with your child for a half hour a day. Another is to do it at the beginning of the morning. Routine is important because it helps the child know what is expected. If they don't care for reading, then they realize that there will be an end and they can move on to the activities that they enjoy more. If your child struggles with reading it is even more important that they spend time reading during the summer. Children that love to read, will read during the summer. If your child is a struggling reader and he/she does not read during the summer, the reading gap will widen, and your child will get even further behind. I cannot overstate how important this is for your child.

For the Week of May 7th

IRA Convention

Last Wednesday I had the privilege of attending the mammoth International Reading Association Convention at McCormick Place in Chicago. It was interesting to see some of the new items companies are selling to help teachers teach reading. Apps for I-Pads was huge. The workshops were also great. One presenter showed a graph of how many words a student reads in a year compared to how long they read. She then showed us the difference in the number of words if the student reads 10 more minutes per day than they were reading. It was astounding. People tend to think - 10 minutes, what is 10 minutes? But if each child could spend just 10 minutes more per day reading than they already are, it would make a huge difference in the amount of words they have read in a year. It could also make a huge difference in their reading ability. Small amounts every day add up to large amounts, and larger gains by the end of the year.

For the Week of April 30th

Chess Club

Chess Clubs have ended for this school year. We had a mini tournament the last day which the students seemed to enjoy.

Talent Show

4th and 5th graders who would like to participate in the talent show should get their permission slips in as soon as possible. Sign-up sheets for auditions are located on the bulletin board in the front hallway. I hope to have the auditions done within the next couple of weeks.

MAP Testing

Map testing begins on Monday. Please make sure to encourage your child to do their best. You can help by making extra sure that your child has had a good night's rest and a good breakfast before heading out to school. It is an exciting time for teachers and students as they see the growth the students have made since the beginning of the school year.

For the Week of April 23rd

Chess Club

Tuesday's club is having their last meeting this week. Thursday's club is already finished for the school year.

Wednesday

Wednesday is early dismissal day. Students will be dismissed at 11:00 a.m.

Figure it Out

Even reluctant readers are more likely to read if the subject matter is something that interests them. It is worth both teacher's and parent's time to figure out what they want to read. For example, I have a student who loves to read about black holes, the Bermuda Triangle, hurricanes and tornadoes. Since this student is normally a reluctant reader, it is key to get books into his hands that are of high interest - because then he will read. Sometimes students don't realize that there are books written about their interests. Spend time at the library or a bookstore browsing. Figure out what will encourage your student to read. It is time well spent.

For the Week of April 16th

Chess Club

Chess Club meets both Tuesday and Thursday this week.

Earth Day

Prairieview is celebrating Earth Day on Friday, April 20th. Wear an earth day shirt or a green shirt (or blue or brown) to help celebrate.

Words Make a Difference

On my blog last week I wrote about a student who had learned the names of the continents and some of the countries and where they were located simply because he had had a map of the world on his wall at home for many years. What I have noticed about this student since I commented on how much he knew about the map is that every day when he comes into my class, he now goes up to the map and looks at it some more to discover other things about it. People liked to be recognized for their accomplishments. It inspires them to do even more. Students respond to praise. Different educators site different numbers but they seem to agree that praise should outnumber, by about 6 to 1, negative statements. As parents and teachers, let's work on motivating our children and students with our praise.

For the Week of April 9th

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's chess clubs will meet this week. We will be practicing wise opening moves this week.

Ozzie's Reading Club

If you participated in Ozzie's Reading Club, please make sure that your ticket orders are in by Tuesday. The check should be made out to Kane County Cougars.

How to Decorate

The other day while teaching a small group of students, I had an eye opening experience. We were reading a book about animal predators. Each two page spread featured a different animal and in the top left corner of the spread was a small map of the world with the areas that the animal lives colored in with black. No words were on the map. So as we were reading, I asked the students to look at the map and tell the others where that particular animal lives. Of my small group of students, only one was able to recognize the continents and various areas of the world without difficulty. I complimented the student on his ability to recognize all of those places without having any names to refer to. He said that it was because for a long time he had a map of the world on his wall at home. Teachers put important information that they want their students to remember on their walls, but I hadn't thought of the importance of items placed on walls at home. Obviously, they can make a difference also.

For the Week of April 2nd

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's chess clubs will meet this week.

Friday

There will be no school on Friday, April 6th.

Encourage Your Children

After spring break it seems like we are racing toward the end of school. The nice weather, spring sports, longer days, and knowing the end is near seems to make it harder for some students to concentrate on school work. There are a couple of things that you can do, as parents, to help. First, make sure that your student continues to get the amount of sleep that they need. With more light - it is easier to stay up too late. Also, encourage your children to end well. Remind them to put in as much effort on school work as they have been throughout the rest of the year. Continue to make school a priority by checking to make sure their homework is complete and making sure they have adequate time for doing their homework. Students who get enough sleep and come in with their homework completed feel much better about school.

For the Week of March 19th

Institute Day

No school Tuesday, March 20th because of teacher institute day.

Chess Club

Chess Club only meets on Thursday this week.

Spring Break

I hope you are able to enjoy some quality family time next week during spring break.

Summer Plans

Some of you have begun to think about this summer. (spring must be in the air!!) If your child struggles more with reading than the average child, reading during the summer is even more important for him/her. If we plan what we are going to do to help our children read during the summer, we have a much better chance of succeeding than if we make no plan. Think about what time of day would be best for reading. Think about the place that would be best. Think about how it will happen - especially if there are other siblings in the family. If getting around to reading is especially hard for your family, I would suggest doing it first thing in the morning. Every day your child should spend some time reading to themselves silently, reading to another person outloud and listening to someone else read. Books should be easy for them to read if they are reading on their own. They can be a little harder when reading to someone else because they can get instant help when they need it. Books read to them should be on an even harder level so that they can increase their vocabularies and learn to enjoy and appreciate various genre's and authors. The books your child reads to themselves should be of high interest to them. Let them pick out the topics they like to read about. Steer them to ones that they can actually read, however. Help them find the topics they like at the levels that are easy for them.

For the Week of March 12th

Chess Club

Chess Club meets this Tuesday the 13th and this Thursday the 15th.

Ozzie's Reading Club

Those who have been participating in Ozzie's Reading Club, please turn in your final ticket right away. I will get an order form for tickets to you. You will then be able to pick out the date, receive the free ticket for your student, and will be able to order extra tickets for your family.

Parent Teacher Conferences

I have had the pleasure of meeting with many of you during last week's parent/teacher conferences. Some of you have begun to think about this summer. (spring must be in the air!!) If your child struggles more with reading than the average child, reading during the summer is even more important for him/her. If we plan what we are going to do to help our children read during the summer, we have a much better chance of succeeding than if we make no plan. Think about what time of day would be best for reading. Think about the place that would be best. Think about how it will happen - especially if there are other siblings in the family. If getting around to reading is especially hard for your family, I would suggest doing it first thing in the morning. Every day your child should spend some time reading to themselves silently, reading to another person outloud and listening to someone else read. Books should be easy for them to read if they are reading on their own. They can be a little harder when reading to someone else because they can get instant help when they need it. Books read to them should be on an even harder level so that they can increase their vocabularies and learn to enjoy and appreciate various genre's and authors. The books your child reads to themselves should be of high interest to them. Let them pick out the topics they like to read about. Steer them to ones that they can actually read, however. Help them find the topics they like at the levels that are easy for them.

For the Week of March 5th

No School Monday, March 5th and Friday, March 9th!

Chess Club


There will be no chess club this week due to parent/teacher conferences. During Thursday's club last week we learned a strategy for attacking a pawn that is not being defended.

ISAT Tests


The school will begin ISAT tests this week. Please make sure your child has a good nights sleep each night and a nourishing breakfast before coming to school. We want all the children to do their best work on the test. Your support and encouragement go a long way in helping your child to feel confident and successful.

For the Week of February 27th

School Improvement Day

Tuesday, February 28th is school improvement day. Student will be dismissed at 11:00 a.m. for the day.

Chess Club

Because of school improvement day on Tuesday, only the Thursday chess club will meet this week.

Graphic Novels

Remember comic books? A graphic novel is a comic book that is the size of a novel. It can be a great way to get your reluctant reader to start reading for pleasure. Don't let the comic book look fool you either. Graphic novels usually have a wide range of vocabulary and multisyllabic words. They are not as easy to read as they first appear. The reader must make meaning of the story by using word clues as well as picture clues. This is an important reading skill. If this is your child's pleasure - say "yes" to graphic novels.

For the Week of February 20th

President's Day

No school, Monday, February 20th because of President's Day.

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's Chess Clubs meet this week. Thursday's club learned or reviewed how to checkmate an opponent and how to castle. Tuesday's club will be doing that lesson on this Tuesday.

Ozzie's Reading Club

For those of you doing Ozzie's Reading Club, Monday might be a good catch-up day if you are a little behind. It should be fun to go as a group to the Cougar's game so encourage your student if you are able to participate.

Earth Day Shirts

We have gotten quite a response for Earth Day Shirts. I know how easy it is to forget about something when it gets stuck under a pile of papers - so if you or your student would like an Earth Day shirt, please remember to return the form before March 2nd.

For the Week of February 13th

Chess Club

Both Tuesday's and Thursday's Clubs meet this week.

Lexia at Home

Prairieview School has five site licenses for a computer program called Lexia. It helps students learn phonics rules, sight words, multisyllabic words, suffixes and prefixes. Students may use this program after school hours at home on their home computers. If you have a student that would benefit from this program please contact me and I will get the information to you so that you are able to download it onto your home computer. At the beginning of the program the student takes a test to determine at which level he/she will begin. The program doesn't tell you that it is giving you a test, so encourage your student to work carefully at the beginning to begin at the most appropriate level. The upper level teaches Greek and Latin roots and many suffixes and prefixes - word analysis that is helpful to most any student.

For the Week of February 6th

Chess Club

Chess Club begins this week. Notices went home on Friday for which day your child is to attend. The dates of the Tuesday Club are Feb. 7, 14, 21; March 13; April 3, 10, 17 24. The dates of the Thursday Club are Feb. 9, 16, 23; March 1, 15; April 5, 12, 19. Please be sure to pick your child in the parking lot by the 3rd grade door by 3:30. Thank you!

Observation

Something that I have noticed over my years of teaching is that many times students who struggle some with reading do not read along while others are reading aloud, while students who do not struggle do read along. It would almost be better if it were the other way around. It is the students who struggle who need the practice of reading the most. It would be most beneficial to them to read along any time they have a chance. It may be that they are auditory learners and it is easier for them to comprehend the material if they listen intently - but it would help their reading more if they followed along. It is a difficult task to get a student to follow along as someone reads. A teacher may be able to do it for a short time by standing near the student or making the student track with a pencil or his/her finger - but many times unless the teacher is keeping a close eye on that particular student, the tracking stops. This would make an interesting research project.

For the Week of January 30th

Make Sure You Have the Correct Calendar

Some people have a copy of the old calendar which has incorrect information on it. Make sure you have the correct calendar by looking on the district website. On the left there is a section labeled calendars - click on the correct year.

Chess Club

Chess Club forms went home last week. Please return them by Wednesday, February 1st if your child would like to join. Hopefully, we can begin by the following week.

For the Week of January 23rd

School Improvement Day

Wednesday, January 25th, is school improvement day. Students will be dismissed from school at 11:00 AM.

Half Way Point

We are at the half way point in the school year. This week we will be analyzing the MAP and Aimsweb test data and deciding how to best help each student make gains during the second half of the year.

Chess Club

Watch for chess club sign-up forms to come home this week. All interested students, even those who have never played before are encouraged to join!

For the Week of January 16th

Martin Luther King Day

There will be no school Monday, January 16th, in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

MAP Testing

We are almost finished with the MAP testing. I have been studying the reading scores and am delighted with how well your children have done. They have been encouraged to slow down and do their best work and it seems like that is what they did.

Ozzie's Reading Club

Ozzie's Reading Club begins this Sunday. If you haven't seen the handout yet, look in your child's backpack or notebook. This can be a great way to encourage your reluctant reader to read! The requirement to receive a free ticket to the Kane County Cougar's game is to read for 1 hour a week for 8 weeks.

Parent Traffic Alert

Please read the following letter from Dr. Tiede.

Dear Parents:
We desperately need your help and cooperation to bring order to the
automobile traffic on the Lakeview Campus. This past school year we have
had several dangerous incidents such as cars driving in the bus lanes, cars
driving on the sidewalks, and parents dropping off children away from
designated drop-off zones where children have to cross traffic. To protect our
students, we need your cooperation and adherence to the established traffic
plan which is attached to this letter.
When it is not possible for your child to ride the school bus please observe the
following traffic rules while operating your automobile on the Lakeview
Campus:
• Never drive in the BUS LANE.
• Prairieview student drop off is clearly marked in the east parking lot.
DO NOT drop your child off in the front traffic circle where they must
cross the bus lane.
• Parking in the front traffic circle is restricted to BACC student drop-off
and school visitors.
• Lakeview student drop off is at the rear of the school. PLEASE pull all
the way up to the end of the sidewalk so that the other automobiles are
not forced to block the bus lane.
• PLEASE drive slowly and carefully through the parking lot area as
many students who walk to school cross through the parking lot.
• The traffic pattern after student drop off is to proceed west until the
fence and then south until the second row of cars where you may turn
east to exit.
• NEVER turn left upon entering the Lakeview parking lot. Please
follow the pattern above.
• Remember when exiting the Lakeview Campus that the stoplight will
activate more quickly if your front tire is 2 feet in front of the marked
stop line.
Thanks you for your cooperation. Let's have a Safe and Smooth traffic year.
Sincerely,
Jay Tiede, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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For the Week of January 9th

Market Day

It is Prairieview's turn to help out at Market Day. If you want to volunteer - please be at Lakeview Saturday, January 7th, at 8:00 AM

Kane County Cougars Reading Incentive Program

Watch for fliers coming home about the Kane County Cougar's reading incentive program called Ozzie's Reading Club. Students must read one hour a week broken up in any way that fits your family's schedule for 8 weeks in order to get a free ticket to a Kane County Cougar' game and some other special prizes. It will be fun to have a lot of Prairieview families celebrating at the ball field together. If you are able, encourage your child to participate!