Have You Submitted Your Child's Dental Form?

This is a reminder that ALL children in Kindergarten and Second grade must present proof of examination by a professional dentist prior to May 15th of this school year as mandated by the State of Illinois Department of Public Health. The examination must have been completed within the 18 months prior to the May 15th deadline. Please make an appointment with your dentist to comply with this requirement.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call Nurse Angie at 708-524-3064.

CROP Walk

From now through May 8th, Longfellow will participate in the collection of funds to support the CROP Walk. The CROP Walk is a walk to combat hunger by collecting monetary donations. The walk itself is Sunday, May 1 at 2pm, starting off from Pilgrim Congregational Church. 25% of the funds collected will support local agencies in their efforts to end hunger. Please bring any donations to the classroom collection jar. Our class has set a goal of $38, though we will, of course, accept more! Checks can be made payable to CWS/Crop. The class that raises the highest amount per student will earn an additional P.E. class. Together we can make a difference!

**IMPORTANT**

You should have gotten a letter about this in the last two weeks:
When families first enrolled their children in District 97, they provided several documents that verified their residency in Oak Park and their children’s eligibility to attend our schools. We are asking parents/guardians of all current students to participate in this important process again to ensure that we continue to provide the children of this community with a quality education in accordance with state law and district policy. To access information about the re-verification process please visit the following website: www.op97.org/Verification%20of%20Residency%20for%20all%20Current%20D97%20Students.pdf

Feinstein Challenge - Food Drive

Each spring philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein challenges food pantries across America to collect as many food items and cash donations as possible. To spur donations, Feinstein donates $1
million dollars to feed the hungry. Those funds are divided proportionally among competing food pantries based on what they collect (cash and food items) during the months of March and April. Last year the OPRF Food Pantry collected an incredible $64,938 and 21,618 food items in response to the Feinstein Challenge and this year, they know they can do even better. Please bring in food, toiletries, cash, and checks from April 12-27.

Olympic Day 2011

Friday, May 20 is Olympic Day! There will be a climbing wall, tug ‘o war, crab soccer, relay races, and so much more! Students in grades 1, 3, and 5 will participate in the morning, and students in grades K, 2, and 4 will participate in the afternoon.

If you would like to volunteer for half a day or a full day, or just get more information, please contact Mrs. Patterson at epatterson@op97.org or Lori Bradford at ldemain@sbcglobal.net. Lunch will be provided for all volunteers. Your help to make this a fun day for all children is greatly appreciated!

ACES

All Children Exercise Simultaneously is the world’s largest exercise class. On Wednesday, May 4 all Longfellow students and staff will participate in this even. This event, occurring at 10:00 AM, will happen in many countries all over the world in efforts to promote physical fitness and health. Please be sure your child has their gym shoes on this day!

Read, Recite, Recycle

Family Reading Night is coming Tuesday, April 26th from 6:30 - 7:30. Your child may begin collecting gently used children's books. The books should be brought to class by Tuesday, April 19th. Come to the Family Reading Night on the 26th, and your child will take away "new" books to enjoy! There may be a limit of taking 7-10 books that evening. However, if you can donate more, that will help us make another very successful book swap! We are especially in need of chapter books. If you can help with the book organization prior to the 26th or that evening, please contact Cheryl Sullivan, csullivan@op97.org.

Author Night

Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 PM
Longfellow School Auditorium with Dr. Paula Kluth http://www.paulakluth.com/
FREE!

Students will also get a chance to hear Dr. Kluth, as well as author Patrick Schwarz http://patrickschwarz.com/ during the school day.

PE NEWS

Exciting news! Gymnastics is coming to Longfellow from Thursday, April 7 through Wednesday, April 20. Students will be learning skills on the balance beam, parallel bars, rings, uneven bars and mats, as well as rope climbing. Your child may participate either in regular gym shoes or gripper socks. Gripper socks have non-slip coating on the bottom. These can be purchased or homemade using "puffy" paint from a craft store. No one may participate in stocking feet without non-slip bottoms. All students should have gym shoes on PE days, just in case. Also, long hair needs to be tied back during gymnastics classes. If wearing a skirt or dress, please wear shorts underneath.
Please contact us if you have questions.

We are looking forward to two exciting weeks of gymnastics!
The Physical Education team,
Elisabeth Patterson, Michelle Valentin and Tom Rocco