Principal Corner 2-8-12

Good evening Nathan Hale Community,

I am proud to report that Monday morning Nathan Hale was honored once again for receiving the Academic Achievement Award from the Illinois State Board of Education.  The Illinois Honor Roll celebrates the accomplishments of Illinois public schools that are providing high quality education for all their students.  Twelve other District 54 schools were recognized as well. To receive this award, a school must meet the following criteria:

*   Made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2010 and 2011 as required by the No Child Left Behind Act.
*   90 percent of students met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for the three most recent school years.

Illinois State Superintendent, Chris Koch, presented the award to Nathan Hale.  Assistant Principal Ms. Gluff and I were accompanied by Mrs. Bouchard, Mrs. Polezoes, and two of Nathan Hale’s wonderful 6th Grade students to accept this award on behalf of our school.
This is the third consecutive year that Hale has been so honored, which stands as a wonderful testament to the outstanding work of our students and teachers, and the consistent work of families to support their children’s academic success.

Sincerely,
Brian Lawson

Principal’s Corner 11-16-11

Greetings Heroic Hale Community!

In my email to the community last Thursday, I emphasized the idea of heroes in our student body and in our community.  During the assembly with our guests from the VFW, two important themes emerged:  1) Gratitude for the opportunity to serve others, and 2) Courage in the face of adversity.  Before dismissing the students, I reiterated to the students how they can use the lessons that our veterans imparted to us in any challenging life situation. If we define a hero as someone who sacrifices their time and energy to help others, then Nathan Hale Elementary School is overflowing with heroes.  I would like to highlight a few heroic things that your children may have been involved with recently.

As mentioned in the Thursday email, many thanks go out to our Student Council and all students who donated food to our District 54 food pantry.  Special thanks to our Student Council supervisors Mrs. Bulger and Mrs. Atamian for their coordination of this event.  Also, I would like to thank Mrs. Scolire, Mrs. Atamian, Mrs. Bulger, Miss Ellis, Mrs. Krebs, and Mrs. Nystrom for their work with the candy drive.  We surpassed last year’s total by almost 100 pounds.  Although a piece of candy might not seem like much, I am sure it will mean a lot to the soldiers serving overseas to know that children back in America are thinking about them.

The aforementioned candy drive is the result of our first meeting of  “Hale’s Heroes”.  Once a month, staff members meet with groups of 11-12 students in a sort of “mini-family”.  These families consist of students from grades 1-6, and include students in our autism program.  The focus of the Hale’s Heroes activities are service, trust, and mentoring.  It is truly wonderful to see our older students working with our younger students and acting as positive role models to them.

Many of our heroic Hale students are also involved with promoting positive interactions with our children with autism.  One of these activities is called “Reverse Mainstreaming”, where students from the general education population participate in supervised PE activities with our children with autism in the gym during recess time.  Another such activity is called “Partner’s Club”, which takes place on Wednesdays, and focuses on cooperative games and activities.  A third type of activity is called the “Integrated Play Group”, and it typically involves 1-2 children with autism along with 2-3 typically developing children supervised by our social workers and speech pathologists.  The Integrated Play Groups focus on cooperative projects and constructive play time.

One of the most important aspects to the development of a child with autism is interaction with typically developing peers.  The beautiful thing about Nathan Hale is that there is never a shortage of students who are eager to sacrifice their time for the privilege of working with our children with autism.  And what do our general education students benefit from their investment?  The great joy of serving others that truly defines a hero.  If your child has had the opportunity to participate in any of these activities, please ask them to tell you more about it.  It is truly inspiring to see your children in action.

Sincerely,

Brian Lawson

Principal’s Corner 10-14-11

Dear Fantastic Hale Community,

In my introductory letter that I sent over the summer, I stated how excited I was to be coming to Hale and have the opportunity to work with such great kids, parents, and teachers.  Now that we are almost two months into the school year, I can say that every wonderful thing I had heard about Hale is true and even better than I could have imagined.  You contribute so much to our school by sending us children that are ready to learn, and it is our privilege to challenge and support them so that they reach their greatest potentials.  From my observations of classrooms and working with teachers and support staff this year, I can say with the utmost confidence that your children are in great hands at Nathan Hale Elementary School.

Thank you for your cooperation with our morning drop-off procedures, which have continued to work efficiently and effectively preventing back-ups onto Wise Road.  Please remember that for the safety of all parents and students, it is critical that cars remain in line and not drive around a vehicle that may be taking a little longer to drop off a child.

If you have yet to join our outstanding PTA, please do so.  The PTA is a tremendous asset to promoting the positive culture that we have here at Nathan Hale.  I personally am very much looking forward to some of our upcoming PTA-sponsored events, including the Halloween Family Fun Night on October 27^th and the Hale Howlings Dance on October 28^th.  I recently attended an ice cream social at my daughter’s school, and I am always impressed by how much fun the children have and how that promotes school spirit and deepens children’s emotional connection with their school.  The staff and I really appreciate all of the support that PTA provides to the school, and we thank all parents who volunteer their time and resources to that end.

Now that conferences are over, you have gotten some insight into how your child is currently performing, and perhaps discussed with teachers ways that you can support your child’s education at home.  Establishing a nightly routine for homework and reading logs is critical to promoting good study habits and success in school.  Research clearly demonstrates that students who read regularly become better readers, and as we all know, reading is the foundation for success in other subjects.

I will update the “Principal’s Corner” bi-weekly in connection with the Hale Hotline, and all further Principal’s Corners will be found in both the Hotline and on the Hale website.

Thank you as always for your continued support of our school.

Sincerely,

Brian Lawson