Cornell Grade School District #426
Mrs.Amy B. Smith,
Superintendent
Home of the Cougars R.O.A.R
Spring is on the horizon, and I am hoping you enjoyed the long awaited spring break.
Spring brings many activities such as track, PAWS activities, the Science Fair, Solo and Ensemble contest, along with several other activities.
Track season has started with our first Track Meet on April 4, 2011! Good luck to the girls and boys this season!
Our community dinner is set for Monday, April 18, 2011. We are also remembering Chris Laughlin that day! She was a wonderful teacher at our school and has been missed this year. Students and staff have had the opportunity to purchase t-shirts to remember Chris. We hope to have a short program that day, so please plan to come to the community dinner and also stay for the short presentation.
ROAR continues to be positive part of our School! Please continue to support the ROAR traits listed below at home as well. Students look to adults for guidance and consistency. Together we can build ROAR character traits that will last a lifetime.
Remember ROAR stands for
R = Responsible
O = Organized
A = A+ Attitude
R = Respectful
Have you checked out our web site lately? Feel free to visit our website at www.cornellgradeschool.org. The faculty and staff update information on a consistent basis. This is a great way to see what is happening at Cornell Grade School. In addition, continue to monitor your student’s progress through TeacherEase.
I am asking for your assistance! We are asking each student to bring in one ream of white paper for the school. We have a very limited supply and hope that our community can assist us. Thank you in advance if you are able to help by bringing in some paper.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at the school (815)358-2216 or e-mail me at Again, thank you for supporting your school!
Mrs. Amy B. Smith
Superintendent
Recycling
Kindergarten and First Grade will be learning about how to take care of the Earth we live in during the month of April. In the month of April we celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd.
We will be reading many types of books about recycling- both fiction and nonfiction! We will be talking about why we should recycle and what would happen if we did not! We will do activities relating to the Three R’s- reduce, reuse, and recycle!
We will also do an experiment with biodegradable versus non-biodegradable trash and watch the trash break down. We will also be making paper using old scraps and taking old newspapers and transforming them into something NEW and exciting!
We will even be cleaning up our home community by picking up trash so be on the lookout for us and our trash bags! Finally, our unit will conclude with a presentation of the animated film, WALL-E, which will be a great way to tie in all we have learned about a clean earth and WHY it’s so important!
It’s going to be lots of fun!
-Miss Harms and Mrs. Fehr
ROAD RUNNERS
In March, our Road Runner challenge was ¾ of a mile. Students did a great job with the challenge. The following students completed this challenge:
Kindergarten à, Kalynne Kindermann, Neve Pinkerton, & Hannah Swanberg
1st à Jared Bayer, Kayla Fletcher, Jackson Gamblin, Caige Garzanelli, Makenna Gray, Jacob Hutton, Sam Jones, Lilia Mascote, & Destini Moranville
2nd à Nick Egerstaffer, Alison Huffman, Caleb Long, & Connor Reed
3rd àNicole Arwood, Jadyn Bayer, Hanah Dunahee, Tyler Garey, Nathan Huffman, & Lola Reed
4th à Amirah Dana, Ben Gamblin, Molly Garretson, Corbin Gray, Erin Huddleston, Hannah Jones, McKayla Kisela, Michael Moranville, Garret Ruddy, Hannah Smith, Jordan Snyder, Breanna Swanberg, James Trainor, & John Trainor
April will bring our last Road Runner Challenge of the year…the MILE again! Check the May newsletter for the students who will overcome the big bad mile!!
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What’s Goin’ On in PE This Month
Right after Spring Break the Jr. High will start Badminton!! In the middle of the unit we will take a break to go roller skating in the gym again this year. Skates are scheduled to arrive by April 6th. We will skate for a week and then finish up our Badminton Unit. We will do our annual Presidential Physical Fitness Testing, then finish up the year with our Softball Unit in May.
Grades 1-4 will work on our Adventure Ed Unit right after Spring Break. Grades 2-4 will then roller skate while 1st grade will work with scooters. After skating, we will do Personal Challenges for a week. We will then do the Presidential Physical Fitness Testing and then move on to Basic Gymnastics.
Kindergarten is moving on to Fitness Games in April! While the rest of the student body is roller skating, we will be working with scooters with the 1st grade. We will then move on to some tag/chase/flee games. We will then do some “Kid Fit” activities for a couple weeks. We will finish out the school year with a couple of weeks of Theme Days in PE!
PAWS is coordinating a supply drive for the Livingston County Humane Society again this year. This drive will begin Monday, March 28th and run until Friday, April 8th. Below you will find a list of items that the center is in need of. Students can bring their items to their classroom & place in their box. The Jr. High can place their items in the library. The members of PAWS will deliver these items when they go to the Humane Society to donate their time on Wednesday, April 27th.
KMR liquid KMR powder
Bleach Cat litter (scoopable)
Paper towels Old towels
Tide Small & large garbage bags
Dog treats Dog collars & leashes (any size)
Cat treats Can dog & can cat food
Dog toys Cat toys
Blankets Stainless steel food bowls (dogs)
Garden hose Ceramic crock bowls (cats)
Copy paper Squeegee’s for floor
Small rugs Dog bones
Dryer sheets
The Humane Society does not receive any federal, state or county funding. They operate and rely on donations from caring citizens. Let’s make this supply drive a successful one!
Chris Laughlin Day/Community Dinner
Monday, April 18, 2011
April 18, 2010 is a day that many of us will not forget. Chris lost her courageous battle with cancer. Chris Laughlin was the 5th grade teacher here at Cornell Grade School. On this day, we want to recognize her life in a positive way. Therefore, we are having a “Remember Chris Laughlin Day” on Monday, April 18th along with our community dinner at the grade school.
Students and staff will be wearing special t-shirts to remember Chris on this day. We will also have a short program to dedicate the bird feeder that is placed outside the 5th grade classroom and computer lab. If anyone has a special memory of Chris, please write it down or e-mail it to Karen Jones at . Memories will be compiled into a memory book.
Student Council News
This spring, Student Council has a lot of opportunities for students and families to get involved! We are again this year having our Humane Society Supply Drive which started March 28th and goes through April 8th. Please bring in items to donate to the Livingston County Humane Society. There is a flyer in the newsletter that includes all of the items that the Humane Society is looking for. We will be delivering these items toward the end of April when we volunteer our time at the Humane Society.
Movie Night will be held April 1st from 4-6 P.M. We will be watching Open Season 3 Admission is an item for the Humane Society Supply Drive or $5.
Spirit Week is April 4th-8th. Here are the days’ themes:
Monday – Favorite Book Character
Tuesday – Crazy Hair Day
Wednesday – Mismatched
Thursday – Hawaiian/Lei Day
Friday – Cougar Day, Blue and White Day
The Jr. High classes will participate in challenges and contests throughout Spirit Week to see which class has the most spirit!
The Cornell Grade School’s Student Council will be hosting a Spring Dance on April 29th. The dance will be from 5 – 8 P.M. and will cost $5 to get in which includes 1 pop and 1 piece of pizza. Students in the 5th – 8th grade will be allowed to attend.
Student Council is collecting pop tabs until April 15th. We will donate all of the tabs collected to the Ronald McDonald House when we go to our Illinois Association of Jr. High Student Council annual convention in Springfield, IL April 15-16th. Just send your pop tabs to school with your student, and they can give them to Mrs. Cavinder, Miss Brown, or the office. Thank you for your support!
ROAR
Each school day, students have opportunities to earn ROAR slips. This piece of paper is given to a student that demonstrates ROAR expectation such as walking quietly in the hall, being organized in the classroom, having a great attitude, and being responsible.
Each Friday, a name from each classroom ROAR bucket is drawn and announced over the intercom. The students chosen for the week go to Mrs. Smith’s office to receive their ROAR award, such as a homework pass or a prize out of the prize box.
In addition, the students’ names are then placed on the front bulletin board for everyone to see.
Week EndingMarch 4, 2011 / Week Ending
March 11, 2011 / Week Ending
March18, 2011
Kindergarten / Romiah Stiff / Kaylnne Kinderman / Jadyn Bohm
1st Grade / Destiny Bennett / Destini Moranville / Jared Bayer
2nd Grade / Connor Reed / Mason Walsberg / Caleb Long
3rd Grade / Tyler Garey / Jadyn Bayer / Nicole Arwood
4th Grade / John Trainor / Hannah Jones / Ben Gamblin
5th Grade / Tristin Barlow / McKenzie Hutton / Liberty Vollmer
6th Grade / Abbie Fletcher / Taya Walters / Cheyanne Kreush
7th Grade / Emma Walsberg / Nikki Rogers / Mitch Cool
8th Grade / Alyson Kaufmann / Matt Gurgone / Derek Vollmer
Faculty/Staff / Mrs. Nickels / Mrs. Vollmer / Mrs. Nussbaum
In addition to the ROAR slips, each Monday morning during homeroom time, a “Cool Tool” lesson is read aloud and discussed with students. The Cool Tool lesson is designed to promote positive behavior throughout the building.
PBIS CELEBRATION for MARCH
PBIS sponsored a dance for students K-8 on the afternoon of March 11th. The dance was a celebration for students that had demonstrated ROAR characteristics for the month (Respect, Organized, A+ Attitude, and Responsibility),
PTC provided popcorn, and we also had a DJ to play music and to play special requests! Thank you to PTC and Nicole Gourley for volunteering to make it a special afternoon.
Students had a great time dancing and socially interacting with their peers. Students are invited each month to a PBIS celebration as long as they have less than 2 office referrals for that month. It is really great to see so many students enjoying the PBIS celebrations each month, and getting the recognition they deserve for making good choices each and every day.
Sports
Scholastic Bowl
Scholastic Bowl is going well. The students are getting better! We wish them luck at their next meet. The last regular meet is against Flanagan. We wish them luck!
Track and Field
Track and field started on March 15, 2011. The members of the track team are Amir Dana, Matt Gurgone, Shayne Schuler, Derek Vollmer, Gabby Chestnutt, Mitch Cool, Kelsi Scott, Nikki Rogers, Travis Hurt, Cheyanne Kreush, Emily Burkitt, McKenzie Hutton, Dylan Melvin, and Liberty Vollmer. Track coaches are Mr. Rapp and Mr. Nickels.
8th Graders
This year we decided to give the 8th graders their very own section. So every month we will have a new 8th grader, and we will tell you a little about him/her.
Derek Vollmer
Derek Vollmer has been at Cornell Grade School since he started kindergarten. He would like to be a farmer and live in a small town like Cornell, when he’s older. He has participated in Basketball, Track, Band, and Student Council. His favorite color is camouflage. He likes to farm and hunt. He likes country music especially Jason Aldean.
Alyson Kauffman
Alyson Kauffman has been at our school since fourth grade. She would like to be a fashion designer, and participate in a designer’s course. She would like to live in Paris, France because it’s a beautiful city. She has participated in Volleyball, band and chorus. She loves country music especially songs by Tim McGraw. She likes the color green, and enjoys playing volleyball.
A Walk Back In Time to………1915
The members of the graduating class of 1915 were:
Elmer Blue, Glenn Husted, Nina Iverson, Ethlyn Johnson, Dick Shackelton, Verna Wibbenhost.
Tidbits of 1915:
President: Woodrow Wilson
A gallon of regular gasoline: $0.02
Price of a loaf of bread: $0.07
Cost of a first-class postage stamp: $0.02
Source of these tidbits:
www.ask.com
This month’s student editors are:
Gabby Chesnutt
Amir Dana
Nicole Fitzpatrick
Alyson Kauffman
Kendall Loudon
Kelsi Scott
Seyarra Ruddy
Mandy Urbanek
Derek Vollmer