January 14, 2022

HCS Parent Newsletter for 01.14.22

PRINCIPAL NEWS…

Happy New Year!  I am pleased to welcome four new families to our H.C. Storm community, each having students in multiple grade levels. Since we have some new families and with the increasingly colder weather, please take some time to familiarize yourself with the arrival/dismissal procedures located here.   We truly appreciate all of your support and efforts with maintaining the safety of our arrival and dismissal procedures.  We also have two designated visitor parking spaces and feel free to contact me directly to arrange access to the handicap parking spots if necessary to accommodate individual family needs.  Feel free to share this information with anyone who may participate in these procedures. 

As a reminder the weather is quickly changing and we are expecting multiple chilly days.  Please ensure your student(s) have appropriate clothing.  For outdoor recess, we will plan on going outside if the adjusted wind chill temperature is at or above zero degrees by the time recesses begin.  For our younger students, please double check that weather appropriate change of clothes are provided.  

Beginning in 2022 students will be completing the Child Protection Unit in grades K, 2, 3 and 5.  This program meets the requirements of Erin’s Law, which mandates that all public schools in Illinois must implement a child abuse sexual prevention program in grades Pre-K through 12th. This unit focuses on making our school a safe and supportive place where everyone can learn. Our 1st and 4th graders will continue to participate in the safety lessons provided later in the year through the district partnership with Mutual Ground.  For more information, please feel free to review these documents: 2022 Child Safety Letter English / 2022 Child Safety Letter Spanish.  If you do not want your child(ren) to participate in either the school lead lessons or lessons conducted by Mutual Ground, please complete the opt out Google Form: Erin’s Law Opt-out English / Erin’s Law Opt-out Spanish.

 

5th grade parents: On 1.12.22 you should have received the following information pertaining to 6th grade elected selection.  Here is the same information, the portal to make the selections begin January 21st and will remain open till February 4th.  Elective letter, which contains a link to the RMS web page which has a video on how to register in Power School and a Google  presentation with detailed information on 6th grade exploratory classes. 

 

Future Kindergarten students joining 2022-2023: Kindergarten ‘meet and greet’ – For students that will attend a District elementary school on the WEST side of Batavia (Alice Gustafson, H.C. Storm, or Grace McWayne School) an appointment window has been set for the evening of Thursday, February 24. All appointments will take place at the Rosalie Jones Administration Building, 335 W. Wilson Street in Batavia. Please sign up for an appointment time HERE.

Boletín completo En Espanol. 

Important Dates:

HC Storm Shares:

  • Battle of the Books for 4th and 5th Grade Students. Fourth and fifth grade students are invited to form a team of four students to compete in the Battle of the Books. Information about the books, the dates of the battles, and how the competition is conducted was given to students this week. The competition takes place during the school day in March. The culminating district battle will be on March 23 after school. Only our top team will compete against other elementary schools in the district battle. You will be notified if your child is on the winning team. We are encouraging students to participate in this district-wide event.
  • Bluestem Celebration for 4th and 5th Grade Students. Since the beginning of the school year, fourth and fifth grade students have been challenged to set a reading goal to read three chapter books, and four other books from the Illinois Bluestem Grades 3-5 Readers’ Choice list. So far we have nineteen fifth graders and twenty-five fourth graders who have risen to the challenge. Your child has until February 14th to finish the challenge. Students who have reached the goal will be invited to the Bluestem Celebration on February 24th after school.
  • Drop Off/Pick Up Procedures Reminder

PTO Shares:

  • Want to volunteer for the various PTO activities? Click here for the sign up and more information.

  • Save the dates:
    • Spring Picture Day: March 10th from 9:15am-1:30pm
  • The Giving Tree is back again virtually for the 2021/2022 school year! We continue to appreciate all the extra work our teachers are doing yet again in an atypical school year and want to offer parents the opportunity to provide any classroom items that they may need. Parents have the chance to fulfill any of the items to be dropped off at HC Storm or can send them to school with their child. We will be including the Giving Tree link in the PTO weekly emails starting next week. Email Katie Kramer at  klicciardi@gmail.com with the subject Giving Tree.
  • Please make sure to follow us on Facebook for the most up to date information: What’s Happening at HC Storm Elementary: PTO Updates.  This will be the best way for remote learners to connect with Storm for the time being while email lists are sorted out through the district.

Other Important Information:

  • Be Heard – Community Engagement Sessions. BPS101 is seeking community input on the future of our school facilities. You may have heard about the Building Our Future Together educational master facilities plan and now we need your help in moving it forward. We will be hosting a series of community engagement sessions to gather feedback from you on where we are headed. The first session is scheduled for February 1st from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Batavia High School. For more info, please visit https://www.bps101.net/boft/
  • 2-1-1 Information/Referral Hotline Now Available in Kane County. Just like you dial 9-1-1 for emergencies, you can now call “2-1-1” in Kane County and be connected to a live specialist, any time of the day or night, to assist you with your human service and resource needs.  Read more >