A Letter from the Principal
Dear Rockland Parents and Guardians,
It has been a great start to 2022 at Rockland! We were so excited to welcome back our students this week. I just want to extend another thank you to our Rockland families for their generous donations to the tornado relief effort. Together our district helped many families during some very dark days. We are looking forward to a wonderful 2022 at Rockland and are wishing you a Happy New Year as well.
Welcome Ms. Suglich:
Mrs. Vente and her husband had a healthy baby boy on December 20th! Mrs. Vente will be on leave and Ms. Grace Suglich will be taking over our general music and band instruction. Ms. Suglich is a recent graduate of Illinois State University and has had a great start this week. If you need to contact Ms. Suglich, her email address is gsuglich@d70schools.org.
Student Teachers at Rockland
We welcomed two new student teachers at Rockland after break. Ms. Madison Zaengle is joining us from the University of Illinois and will be teaching in Mrs. Snader’s 3rd grade classroom. Ms. Jennifer Stutz is joining us from National Louis University and will be teaching in Mrs. Crenshaw’s 1st grade classroom.
STAR Testing:
Students will be completing their winter STAR assessment next week beginning Jan. 19th. The STAR assessment is a computerized adaptive assessment. Students will complete a math and reading assessment which generally take no more than 30 minutes each to complete. Please take a moment to discuss the STAR assessment with your child and encourage them to take their time and try their hardest. The data from this assessment helps us to plan instruction and identify students for intervention and enrichment.
Circle Drive Pick-Up:
As the weather turns colder we are having more requests for pick-up in the circle-drive. Students who are signed up for circle drive report to the gym at the end of the day and attendance is taken. This helps us to keep our kids safe in circle drive. If you would like to pick up in the circle drive, please contact Mrs. Hamilton in the main office to be added to the list. We ask that if you sign up for the circle drive that this is the method you use consistently, otherwise please pick up your child at their exit door or on the playground. Please keep in mind that the circle drive can get backed up depending on student arrivals in the gym. Our goal in the circle drive is safety, not speed, so please be patient.
Tardies:
Please remember if your child arrives after 8:15 they will need to enter through the main entrance. If you do not see Mrs. Weatherly or another staff member outside please come into the vestibule to sign your child in. This ensures accurate attendance and lunch counts. We are experiencing an overwhelming number of tardies. The school day begins at 8:15. That means students should already be in their classrooms ready to work at 8:15. As a reminder, we have playground supervision beginning at 7:45 AM. Line up bell rings at 8:05; entry bell rings at 8:07.
Winter Playground Gear:
To be allowed to play in the snow, students must be wearing their “5 Points.”
-
Coat
-
Gloves
-
Hat/Hood
-
Snow Pants
-
Boots
Students will go outside for recess if the temperature is above 10 degrees with a windchill above zero.
Subbing in D70:
The surge in COVID cases is pushing our sub pool to its limits. We need substitute teachers more than ever. If you are interested in becoming a sub at D70 use this link Substitute Information to find out more information or to apply.
Dates To Remember:
Monday, January 17 - No School - MLK Day
Tuesday, January 18 - No School for Students - Teacher Institute Day
Tuesday, January 18 - RFA Meeting 7:00pm in the Rockland Library
Friday, January 21 - Rockland Spirit Day - Wear your Rockland gear or blue
Friday, January 21 - Bowling Field Trip 3rd and 5th grades - 12:15 - 2:30
Monday, January 24 - BOE Meeting 6:00pm at the ERC
Friday, January 28 - Pajama Day - Wear your cozy clothes - no stuffed animals please
Friday, February 4 - Silly Footwear Day - Mix and match your shoes and socks
Friday, February 11 - Fancy Day - Dress your best
Monday, February 14 - Valentine Day Classroom Parties 9:45am - no food please
Sincerely,
Jim Cieciwa
Principal
Speech and Language Spotlight
What is social thinking for kids?
Social Thinking focuses on helping kids figure out how to think in social situations. Kids are taught to observe and think about their own and others' thoughts and feelings. They also learn the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not allowed for school age children to experience and develop social thinking skills as in the past. Here is an overview of the Social Thinking program and framework to use as a resource to help your children. You will see this program is targeted for children who struggle with social skills, many who are diagnosed with ADHD or high functioning Autism. I will tell you, this program can be applied and beneficial to ALL children and adults, too, LOL! Social Thinking concepts are used at Rockland during speech therapy and the concepts and vocabulary are used building wide!
Visit https://www.socialthinking.com/ for more information!
Information below published by https://www.understood.org/articles/en/social-thinking-what-you-need-to-know
What it focuses on
Social Thinking focuses on helping kids figure out how to think in social situations. Kids are taught to observe and think about their own and others’ thoughts and feelings. They also learn the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The idea is that kids need to develop social “thinking” before they can use social “skills.” The focus on thinking can help kids understand how to interact more effectively with others.
How it works
Social Thinking materials break down social concepts and so adults can convey them in ways that make sense to kids. For example, kids aren’t simply told to “make eye contact.” Instead, they learn about “thinking with your eyes” — that people’s eyes are sources of information. By following someone’s eyes, kids can get “clues” about what that person is thinking or might do next.
Kara Graeb M.S., CCC-SLP/L
Speech Language Pathologist
What's going on in Second Grade!
Now that we are back from winter break, second grade is kicking it into high gear for a wonderful winter of learning!
We continue to flex our math muscles by learning the different ways to measure, compare measurements and solve story problems! We will enforce our skills by continuing to play engaging games and use hands-on manipulatives to enhance our learning.
To continue with our efforts of writing with details, and using adjectives to make our writing more interesting, the second graders stretched their writing muscles by writing about their favorite winter activities. They blew us away with the attention to detail in their writing.
Our second graders have been busy learning about changes to communities over time. In science, we focused on plant and animal dependency, and look forward to switching gears to Earth Science after the break!
We will continue to reinforce positive behavior through our acronym R.O.A.R.
As you can see, it might be cold outside, but Rockland's second graders will be keeping warm as the learning continues!
Warmly,
Tejal Mehta
Jenae Murphy
Jamie Hyde
Happy New Year from the RFA!
The RFA is still looking for some help with some events remaining this year. We are looking for someone to help chair the Art Show, Pattycake Breakfast, Paver Sales and the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon. Please use the link to sign up or more information. https://signup.com/go/ibXttQT.
Career Day is Back!
We're excited to welcome presenters back to Rockland for Career Day 2022 on Friday,
February 11! We could use a few hallway helpers to make sure students find their way to the proper rooms that day. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Katie Taylor at katebailey8@yahoo.com. You'll be needed from 7:45am to 11:00am.
Rockland Cares
MLK Kindness Notes:
Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision represents the world we all want our students to live in: a world of compassion, kindness and justice. Let’s help instill this message in our students by creating “kindness notes” for their peers. Students can use the card materials available in the main office vestibule to create an anonymous “kindness note” to another specific student. Completed cards can be dropped off in the main office vestibule by January 21. Cards will be delivered to the identified recipient during the school day on January 24. Receiving a kindness note can turn anyone’s day around and be the gift that keeps on giving. Contact Tracey Janzen at tljanzen22@gmail.com with any questions.
Libertyville Food Pantry Donation Drive:
Want to donate food items to the Libertyville Food Bank but never find the time to get there? Conveniently drop off donation items (see full list of non-perishable items here) during pick up and drop off hours on Friday, January 21. Food items are very much appreciated for those in need during the holiday times. Contact Jill Sahagian at jillsahagian@gmail.com with any questions.
RFA Meeting
The next RFA Meeting will be on Tuesday January 18th at 7p in the learning center. The meeting is open to everyone. We can’t wait to see you.