Important Dates

March 1 – Fourth Grade

Opera Presentation

March 2 – SCO Activity Night

March 5 – Pulaski Day -

(No School)

March 6-16 – ISAT testing

(3rd & 4th grade)

March 13 – ITSCO Hot Lunch Day

March 14 – Spring Pictures

March 14 - Bookmobile

March 14 - End of 3rd Quarter

March 15- ITSCO Meeting**

March 17 – Happy St. Patrick’s Day

March 20 – Market Day p/u

March 20 – Teachers’ Institute Day

(No School)

March 22 – School Assembly

(Animals & the Environment)

March 22 – Choir Concert

LWN 7 pm

March 23 – Report Cards Issued

March 23 – ITSCO Treat Day

March 25 – Dancing with the

Teachers

March 25-April 5 – Sages Testing

(2 & 4 gr)

March 26 – PBIS Store

March 28 – Bookmobile

March 28 –BOE 7 pm Indian Trail

April 6-13 – Spring Break

Indian Trail School

Home of the Trailblazers 20912 S. Frankfort Square Rd.

Frankfort, IL 60423

815-469-6993 phone

815-806-8352 fax

www.summithill.org

Reminders:

Office Hours are 8:25-3:40

Attendance Hours Are 8:50-3:20

Please report your child’s absence by 9:00 AM the day of the absence

Please remember to send a lunch with your child daily. Be sure the

lunch is labeled with the child’s name.

If a lunch is forgotten, parents may drop off a lunch on the cart in

the vestibule outside the office (by 11:20, please!). Please have the

child’s name and teacher’s name clearly labeled.

Campbell’s Soup Labels, BoxTops for Education, and Capri sun pouches

are collected to benefit our school. Please send them to school in a

baggie with your child’s name and teacher’s name

If you shop at Target with a Target card, you can elect to have

Indian Trail receive a percentage donation when you shop. Info is

available online or at your local Target Store.

Please maintain regular communication with our teachers.

Frankfort Square Road in front of the school is a designated no

parking zone- please use the 78th Avenue Lot or North Lot for pick-up

and drop-off.

Trailblazer Trib. March 2012 Edition

I was just telling some students the other day that I had seen robins- that’s a good sign that spring is near. It’s that “odd” time of year when we can have very pleasant weather or snowfall on any given day. Please make sure your student is dressed for the weather so he or she is comfortable during their recess. February was a productive and fun month for our Trailblazers. Second grade had a field trip and a presentation on oral health. Third and fourth grades have been ramping up for ISAT’s that are approaching March 6. Fourth grade had its annual field trip to the Lyric Opera House. The school participated in “Jump Rope for Heart” and the school community collected well over $3000 for the Heart Association. These are just a few examples!! As I mentioned previously, ISAT’s are coming! Please make sure our students come to school physically prepared for success by having a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast. Our scores have been increasing over the past 3 years, and I hope they continue to do so since the students and staff have worked so diligently! ITSCO has some nice surprises in store for our third and fourth graders related to the ISAT’s, too! I want to take a moment to thank the parent volunteers that put on a fantastic winter carnival. The students had a very nice time because of the creativity and hard work of the ITSCO volunteers. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Please note there is a change to the ITSCO meeting- the meeting will be THURSDAY, MARCH 15. If you intend to run for an SCO office, please contact Mrs. Bromberek by March 8. -Mr. Pierson

First Grade News

The First Grade students and staff at

Indian Trail had a wonderful time

celebrating the 100th day of school!

Together, we completed various cross-

curricular activities, played games, sang

songs, and even had a special story time

with Mr. Pierson. All participants seemed

to have a spectacular time celebrating

this special day. Hooray for the 100th

day!

Second Grade News

Indian Trail Second graders received a visual lesson in dental hygiene. Second graders enjoyed a

presentation from Treasured Smile Dentistry in Frankfort. Dental hygienist Cheryl Fortier and Jenn

Lyskawa talked to students about the importance of brushing and flossing daily. They also included a

visual presentation on how plaque gets stuck and how tricky it can be to remove it at times. With

students as teeth and cotton balls as plaque students had to floss out the plaque. Student also learned

about healthy food choices that not only are good for their bodies but also their teeth. Students really

enjoyed learning how important dental hygiene can be.

Third Grade News

Third Graders have been very busy preparing for the upcoming ISAT tests that will begin March 7th -

March 14th. We have been working on all the essential skills and concepts that they will be expected to

know during the two weeks of testing. The students have and will continue to take timed practice tests

for Reading and Math to help them understand how to manage the time and stress of the ticking clock.

We know that parents and students would like to continue practicing out of school, so listed below are

various websites to view for added practice. We hope you will take the ISAT journey with us and

continue to promote practice at home and a positive attitude toward the upcoming tests. Please

remember to view all sites before allowing your child to access the site. There are times when site

addresses change and students may be directed to a site we do not recommend, support, or promote.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to help your student succeed!

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/htmls/sample_books.htm

http://metacat2.com/iltestlinks.html

http://www.psae-prep.com/psae-elementary.htm

http://www.pfsd.com/uploads/tips.pdf

http://isbetest.org/metacat/app/presentation/presid/416

http://isbetest.org/metacat/app/presentation/presid/503

http://isbetest.org/metacat/app/presentation/presid/605.wicket-10

http://isbetest.org/metacat/app/presentation/presid/702.wicket-11

Fourth Grade News

On January 31, 2012, the students of Indian Trail celebrated the 100th Day of school. The fourth

grade students participated in a writing activity to reflect on their past 100 school days. Each child was

given the prompt: When the President of the United States takes office, he or she always reflects upon his or her achievements during the first 100 days. What achievements are you proud of during your 100 days as a fourth grader? What obstacles have you overcome?

The students reflected very positively in their writing. Their essays displayed a lot of effort and

creative thinking that went into depicting what kind of fourth grade student each one believes him/her

to be.

Some achievements mentioned for the first 100 days were joining the choir, making new friends,

getting better at reading and math, reading longer books and knowing what more words mean, multiplying

faster, and dividing bigger numbers. Obstacles that have been overcome include shyness, your best

friends aren’t always going to be in class with you, learning to go to a teacher if there is a problem, and

learning to adjust with what you may not like.

With many amazing achievements and obstacles that have been overcome in the first 100 days of

school, the hope is that every fourth grader continues to work hard to be successful.

"The Make a Difference" Service Club

Students from "The Make a Difference" Service Club at Indian Trail Elementary

School in Frankfort donated 35 fleece blankets to Provena Saint Joseph Medical

Center’s Pediatric patients. The first through fourth grade students in the club

had fun tying and giving the gift of warmth during the cold winter. The students

worked hard on all

the blankets and

were very excited to

give them to the

hospital to pass them

out.

From the Nurse’s Office: What? When? Who?

Important school health information for parents.

Hearing and Vision

March 22 and 23, 2012

District nurses will be visiting Indian Trail students to provide annual screenings for hearing and vision. Please

note: Not all students are screened for both hearing and vision. See schedule below:

Grades 1 & 3- hearing only

Grade 2- students will be screened for both hearing and vision.

Grade 4- *not routinely screened for hearing or vision. 4th grade students will be screened by parent or teacher

referral only.

All new students to District 161 will be screened for both hearing and vision.

Parents interested in having additional screenings should contact the school nurse or your child’s teacher and a

referral will be made.

Required Dental Exams All second graders are required to submit an updated Dental Exam by May 15, 2012. Please schedule an

appointment with your dentist if you have not done so already. Illinois Department of Public Health Proof of School

Dental Examination forms can be found on the District 161 website or IT Health Office. State of Illinois requires

proof of Dental Examinations for grades K, 2 and 6.

Doctor’s Notes Students are required to have a doctor’s note to be re-admitted to school after absence due to a communicable

disease. It is best practice to always ask your physician for a note to return to school. This will help us with

attendance and keeping our classrooms healthy.

Tdap-New Immunization requirement for 6th and 9th Graders Indian Trail students who have older siblings going into 6th or 9th grade will be required to have an additional

vaccination before the 2011/12 school year. With cases of Pertussis (whooping cough) on the rise, the Tdap

booster will provide students protection against the disease.

Please note there is a change to the ITSCO meeting- the meeting will be THURSDAY, MARCH 15. If you intend to run for an SCO office, please contact Mrs. Bromberek by March 8. bromberek73@yahoo.com

Thank You to All of Our Heart Heroes!

During the week of February 13-17th, Indian Trail students and staff participated in Heart Hero Week. Our

students had some fun and successfully collected over $3,400 for the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for

Heart annual fundraiser.

Check out the newest 2012 Jump Rope for Heart banner proudly hanging in our gym!!!! Physical Education teachers,

Fred Jacobi and Megan Shea have been busy teaching a month long unit on jump roping. Our students are enjoying

the opportunity to learn and master some new jump roping skills and games.

Congratulations Indian Trail School’s 2012 Heart Ambassadors for their TOP fundraising efforts.

1st Place- Andrew Maciejewski

2nd Place- Nathan Miller

3rd Place- Andrew Eldridge

4th Place- Colin Kozacek

Special Recognition: Alejandra Segoviano

Ashley Miles

Grant Fowler

Claudio Porco

Noah Adams

Congratulations to Mrs. Plese’s 3rd grade class; her students were recognized for having the highest participation

and collected over $600.00 in donations for Jump Rope for Heart!!!

We would also like to acknowledge and send a special “THANK YOU” out to our Indian Trail PARENTS. Your ongoing

generosity and support of service and volunteer programs is greatly appreciated and does provide a positive impact

to our school community. Thanks for all you do!

Sports and Health Club

The sports and health clubbers are finishing up on their jump roping. There are eight colored

levels with around thirty-eight different skills they can choose to try and master. Along with

individual ropes there are long ropes and partner ropes too. As you can see from the pictures,

they have been working really hard on perfecting their skills.

TECHNOLOGY CLUB

The Indian Trail Technology Club has been doing many wonderful activities. So far this year, club

members have explored different seasonal and educational websites. They visited primarygames.com to

learn more about President’s day. Also, they loved arcademicskillbuilders.com to practice math

facts/reading skills with other students around the country. Most importantly, they visited

netsmartzkids.org to learn about internet safety.

TRAILBLAZER CHORUS

The Indian Trail Trailblazer Chorus is practicing very hard to be ready for our Spring Concert. The concert will be

held at the Lincoln-Way North auditorium on Thursday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m. All chorus members should dress

nice and must be there no later than 6:45 p.m. This will be a very special performance for me since it will be my

last before retiring. I know the students will do an excellent job. This concert will include all of the elementary

school choruses in the district. The concert should last no more than one hour. Save the date!

Thank you to all the SCO officers and volunteers that planned, set-up, and ran the

Winter Carnival. The kids and staff had a great time. The games and prizes were a lot

of fun!! THANK YOU, ITSO

Winter Carnival

Talk Stop

ISAT’s are Coming

Each year, school systems across the country administer state-required tests to assess pupil performance

and to identify areas of strength and need in instructional programs. Indian Trail will conduct its annual testing

during the state-mandated window of March 6-16.

During this time, students in third and fourth grade will take the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.

Third graders will be tested on reading and mathematics, while fourth graders will be tested in reading,

mathematics, and science. The results of these tests are given to the parents when the district receives the

testing data.

Children respond best to a testing situation when they are calm, relaxed, and well-rested. For these reasons,

we ask you to ensure that your child:

Attends school during the testing period.

Goes to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Has a nutritious breakfast every morning.

Has two or more #2 pencils.

Knows that you have confidence in his/her ability.

Asks the teacher questions if he/she doesn’t understand the test directions.

Doesn’t worry about the test, but puts forth his/her best effort.

Please contact your child’s teacher or Mr. Pierson if you would like additional information about the tests. Indian

Trail looks forward to sharing the test results and helping our students become successful, life-long learners.

EXPECT RESPECT As we have seen in the news the last several years, bullying is an increasing problem. A national survey, as

reported by PBIS, said that about 30% of students surveyed have been involved in bullying as the perpetrator or

victim. As a way of focusing on teaching the positive, Summit Hill School District is teaching bully prevention

without using “bully;” because it brings to mind negative behaviors/ actions. So the question is how do we do that?

Indian Trail has borrowed the title “Expect Respect” in place of “Bully Prevention;” to focus on positive behaviors.

Research done by PBIS and other well-known bully prevention programs have shown that when a school

system as a whole (Students & Teachers/ Staff) along with the community (Families and Friends) make an effort to

teach students tools on how to remove the social rewards gained by the bullying behaviors and assertively

communicate with one another, there is a decreased likelihood that the problem behavior will continue in the

future. Assertive communication is a way to state needs and/ or wishes clearly with respect for oneself and others

in the interaction.

One of the tools being used is a universal protocol/ signal for how to deal with bullying behavior. Our school

uses PBIS endorsed Stop, Walk Away, Talk (SWAT) protocol. If a student is being disrespected, the student

should use the stop signal and say the word “Stop.” If the bullying behavior continues the student is to “Walk Away.” If the bullying behavior still continues they are to “Talk” to a teacher or school staff. Students will

continue to practice how to initiate Stop, Walk Away, Talk and also how to appropriately respond when being told to

“Stop.”

Because of the great partnership we have with Indian Trail families, we wanted to include you in the

intervention. We cannot be nearly as effective without your support! In upcoming newsletters we will have more

information on this program as well as questions to bring about family discussion to encourage Respect, Responsibility, and Safety. Stay tuned…

Walk Away