Welcome to the District Digest for Glen Ellyn School District 41. This email will be sent to you periodically and will include district happenings and updates.

Keeping You in the Loop about Looping! 

Elementary principals recently shared information with parents about the classroom placement process. In that communication, the principals mentioned something called "looping." Looping is when students stay with the same teacher for consecutive years. For example, 4th grade students would have the same literacy teacher in 5th grade the following year. Looping for every student is not always possible. Some years schools have an odd number of grade level sections, which does not allow for looping to occur for all students. However, we will try to make sure that as many students as possible have this enriching opportunity.

According to research, some of the benefits of looping includes:
  • Teachers begin the year knowing their students both academically and personally.
  • Long term teacher/student relationships improve student outcomes.
  • Students have reduced apprehension about the new school year and the new teacher after the first year.
  • Long term relationships result in an emotional and intellectual climate that encourages thinking, risk-taking, and involvement.
  • Looping encourages a stronger sense of community and family among parents, students, and teachers.

Please note that looping is not always possible and there are times when students will not loop. If you have any questions, please contact your school principal.



Hadley Chorus Concert

All are welcome to the final Hadley Chorus Concert of the year on Thursday, May 21, 7 p.m. at Hadley Jr. High. Hadley instituted chorus as a curricular class for the first time three years ago, and this concert marks the graduation of that first class of 6th graders that joined the program. It will be a special evening! The concert will feature the 8th Grade Chorus, 7th Grade Chorus, and 2 of the after-school groups. When Hadley began the curricular chorus three years ago, they started with a total of 80 students in the program. Next year, there will be nearly 240 students enrolled in chorus, or just over 20% of the Hadley student body!



Big Top Book and Fun Fair at Forest Glen 

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The Forest Glen PTA will be hosting their 2nd Big Top Book Fair to celebrate a great school year and summer reading on Wednesday, May 20 at 9 a.m., 561 Elm St., Glen Ellyn. All books will be offered at a 10% discount. All proceeds will be used towards new books for the Forest Glen Library. New award winning books will be available including the 2016 Monarch, Bluestem and Caudill Award books.

In addition to the Book Fair, a night full of family fun will commence at 6 p.m. including face painting, snow cones, popcorn, bag throwing, arm wrestling, touch-a-truck with Glen Ellyn Police and Fire Department representatives, reading with a teacher, hula hooping next to a teacher, and dunking your favorite teacher or superintendent in the dunk tank! Superintendent Paul Gordon will be in the tank sometime during the evening. 

Glen Ellyn Public Library will also be available to help students and families sign up for the Summer Reading Program. We look forward to sharing the love of reading with the entire community at the Big Top Book Fair!



District PBL Art Exhibit

As a part of a Problem-Based Learning experience, Level 3 art students from across the district broke down the creative process, experimented, sketched, and sculpted to answer the question, "What do you do with an idea?" They used a variety of materials from pencils to wire and found objects to create unique and personal work.The exhibit was shared with the community on Friday, May 8 at Lincoln School. 

Register Now for the D41 PBL Summer Camp! 

District 41's first Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Summer Camp takes place this summer at Hadley Junior High for incoming 6th and 7th graders. PBL Summer Camp dates are July 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camp flier and registration information were sent home this week.

CLICK HERE for the flier and registration info!
 
Please return the registration information and fee to your school office or to the District 41 Central Services Office, 793 N. Main St. in Glen Ellyn, by June 15.
 

Hadley Artwork Installed at CSO 

Thank you to Hadley art teacher Linda Anderson and the Hadley Art Department for providing student artwork for the District 41 Central Services Office. The current 7th and 8th graders created "Four Seasons 2" (acrylic on canvas). The original Four Seasons piece by Hadley students is permanently displayed at Hadley in the main hallway. A collection of art from past and current Hadley students was also installed, including the following works:
Cole Pearson ipad, ArtRage
Amber Kernan Hidden Triangle, Oil Pastel
Rachel Rye Notan Design, Cut Paper
Sophia Fausey Op Art, Colored Pencil
Eleanor Zurawski Line Art, Sharpie
Ngan Nguyen Circles, Oil Pastel
Concetta Syracuse Tessellation, Watercolor
 
 

Audio Streaming Board of Education Meetings

At the last Board meeting, the district tested out live audio streaming. We posted it on our social media sites and asked the community to tune in and test it for us. Thank you to the 17 people who listened and to those who posted feedback. Unfortunately, the technology didn't work as well as we hoped. We are making some adjustments and will try again soon. We hope you will tune in again and let us know how it sounds by posting your feedback on our facebook page (Glen Ellyn School District 41) or via email at ekrehbiel@d41.org. We look forward to providing this new opportunity! Thank you for your patience as we work out the kinks with the new technology.