Pennoyer Staff Newsletter - 6/16/23

Team Pennoyer,

You did it!  Thanks for an amazing school year.  I couldn't ask for anything better in my first year as your principal.  I hope I've done right by each and every one of you, and I promise to continue to learn, grow, and listen throughout this journey to be the best principal I can for Pennoyer.  I have truly learned so much from all of you and felt so supported along the way.

We had so many milestones at the end of our school year with all of our graduations, but these are just a small portion of the true testament that makes Pennoyer a special place to be a part of and a real family.   From the nightly student/family events, countless field trips, classroom visitors, staff parties/celebrations, hands on projects with students, fun staff meetings, engaging student games in the classrooms, Spirit Assemblies, clubs and extracurriculars, Learning Walks and PD, the incredible support of so many staff members helping out to sub internally when they can, all the hard work with CLI from assessment validation to creating proficiency scales, showing up to work whether it's raining, snowing, beautifully sunny outside, or when you're just feeling rundown, I so appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.  It's been quite a ride from start to finish.

Well, I wouldn't be me if I didn't leave you all with a final quote from a musical artist that has impacted my life and the way I think in so many ways.  I think it's fitting to share this as we come to the close of the school year together.  So out of all of The Beatles lyrics in their hundreds of songs and hits, there's not a line that stands out in my mind more than this...

"And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make."

The End - (Final song from their final studio album together - Abbey Road)

I'll miss you all this summer, and can't wait to see you again for the 2023-2024 school year!

Hawk Action Items 

• ENJOY your MUCH earned Summer Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly Hawk Playlist/Lyric

"Summer nights and my radio.  Well that's all we need baby, don't you know?  We celebrate when the gang's all here.  Hot summer nights, that's my time of the year."

                                                                        Summer Nights by Van Halen 

Hawk Celebrations

For the final Hawk Celebration of the year, I had to include all of our students, staff, and families.  You all play such and integral role into making Pennoyer everything that it is each and every day.  This is such a special place to work, learn, and grow because of all of you.  From the first days with our Back to School Bash, to our 8th graders doing a final Clap Out with tears rolling down their cheeks, I can't begin to explain how proud I am to be part of our school and community.  I have been around over the past 20 years, and I can honestly tell you that we have the absolute best students, staff, and families a school could ever have.  Celebrate yourselves for all you do to make Pennoyer everything it is, and celebrate the summer break that everyone has certainly earned.  I can't wait for the 2023-2024 school year where we can continue to grow as a school community and make many more memories together!

June Birthdays! 🎂

Annie Saperstein - 6/1

Kajsa Meyer - 6/1

Kiera Strecker - 6/5

Ivana Jonic - 6/7

Nicole Gray - 6/16

Carmen Olivares - 6/16

Jill Rzadzki - 6/17

Angelica Rios - 6/18

Alana Cardenas - 6/19

Annette Garcia - 6/21

Nataliia Shnaider - 6/28

Connect - Collaborate - Celebrate

Pennoyer Staff Newsletter - 6/9/23

Team Pennoyer,

We're almost there people.  Keep your heads up and enjoy this final week coming up!  We certainly have so much to celebrate and a lot of fun events for our students and staff.  I have to share a few things that have filled me up with so much joy and kept me smiling this past week.  To begin with, my daughter Sadie and her dance company were in the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade this past Sunday and she crushed it.  So much positive energy throughout the entire parade and celebrations that followed.  We had a great time as a family.  Check out a cool video of the local School of Rock killing it on Elton John's "The Bitch is Back".  They were awesome!!!

I also watched my son this past Wednesday night win his very competitive NPL soccer league with his club.  They went a perfect 8-0 on their season and qualified to play some of the best teams in the state next weekend at Regionals.  So proud of the work Lennon puts into all of this!

Finally, I gotta leave you all with the positive spirit of our students during arrival time this week.  Here's a few of our middle school students sporting their sunglasses as part of our ABC countdown, and our very own Porter who loves to dance to just about any music I play outside in the car line every morning.  We have such great kids at Pennoyer!

*FINAL Staff Meeting AGENDA for Monday, June 12th - No Meeting in the MPR

Hawk Action Items 

• HERE is the official checklist doc for the end of the school year.  Make sure to sign up for a time on June 16th to check out.  Click HERE to make an appointment. Feel free to reach out to Adam or Denise with any questions or concerns.  Please read it over carefully so you can start planning for the end of the school year and getting your rooms ready.  Everyone needs to be completely packed up before leaving on June 16th.  You will not have access to the building over the summer with work going on.  Teachers will be allowed back in the building on August 7th.

• Remember for any staff not returning next year, please turn in your ID/Fob to Adam

• If any teachers need boxes, please put in a work order

Weekly Hawk Playlist/Lyric

My Morning Song by The Black Crowes  

Hawk Celebrations

This week we're going to celebrate two great field trip opportunities that our students participated in!  Last Friday, we had our 6th graders visit the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and our 8th graders took a trip down to Springfield to visit our state capital and so much of the history surrounding President Abraham Lincoln.  The 6th graders had a great time exploring the world of science and beyond and making connections to the many things they've learned at Pennoyer this past year.  Thanks to Mrs. Mardula for coordinating everything and Ms. Peters for supporting her, along with Miss Natalia and our parent chaperones made up of Mrs. Behnke, Mrs. Giarmidis, and Mrs. Ljubenko.  In Springfield, our 8th graders saw where laws are created and voted on in Illinois, explored Lincoln's home and his tomb, and got to learn about the history of Lincoln's life through a museum tour.  Thanks to Miss Bowden for coordinating the entire trip, and Mr. DeVivo for helping to chaperone and support our students, along with a great group of parents made up of Mrs. Bjelan, Mrs. Covaleda, and Mrs. Martinez.  I'm so glad our Pennoyer students had the opportunity to experience and participate in these types of field trips.  They represented our school proudly!

June Birthdays! 🎂

Annie Saperstein - 6/1

Kajsa Meyer - 6/1

Kiera Strecker - 6/5

Ivana Jonic - 6/7

Nicole Gray - 6/16

Carmen Olivares - 6/16

Jill Rzadzki - 6/17

Angelica Rios - 6/18

Alana Cardenas - 6/19

Annette Garcia - 6/21

Nataliia Shnaider - 6/28

Connect - Collaborate - Celebrate

Pennoyer Staff Newsletter - 6/2/23

                                              Hawk Thoughts & Happenings

Team Pennoyer,

Wow, I can't believe we have two weeks left!  I know a lot of other schools are getting out now, and we're all getting that feeling like the finish line is in sight and we're just ready for it to just be over already.  I know that feeling all too well, and understand our students are feeling the same way.  All of this can combine for an emotional final couple weeks where we're all just trying to keep students in check and not having the pot boil over, so to speak.  All I can say is, hang in there, you're not alone, summer is almost here, you've certainly earned a break, and remember the "why" behind everything you do for these kids every single day.  Reach out to myself and colleagues when you need support, and do what you can to keep our students busy and engaged until the very end.  I know it's not easy the last couple weeks of school.

This weekend I have Sadie's dance showcase that I'm excited to see with my parents and in laws over at Lake Zurich High School, and I'm hoping my son Lennon gets called finally to start his job and actually making some money.  He applied and trained to be a caddy at a local golf course by my house, but hasn't gotten a call yet to work.  Hoping this is the weekend since I reminded him this is about making some of his own actual money this summer that he can have.  This is his first official job, so I'm proud of him for at least taking the initiative this summer.  All of this made me think of my first jobs way back in the day when I was his age...I went through plenty of jobs for various reasons I can't fully disclose, but one of my first jobs was working at Chuck E Cheese where I dressed up like one of the characters and passed out tokens to kids for a few hours.  What a life...lol!

*Staff Meeting AGENDA for Monday, June 5th - Meet outside by the Main Office Doors!  

**Thanks to Melissa Tronco for setting up having the Wendy's on Harlem & Higgins taking on Pennoyer as part of their "Adopt a School" initiative. On Tuesday, June 6th at approximately 7:30am the store manager and a corporate representative will come to Pennoyer and bring the staff a free breakfast consisting of breakfast croissant sandwiches and small seasoned potatoes. Everything will be set up in the lounge and staff can come in at 7:45am or anytime afterwards to grab food if you'd like.

Hawk Action Items 

• Our final safety drill is set for the year unless the weather doesn't cooperate.  Feel free to let students know so they're prepared.  HERE is a slide if you need review.

• Fire Drill on Monday, June 5th at 1:05pm

• HERE is the official checklist doc for the end of the school year.  Make sure to sign up for a time on June 16th to check out.  Feel free to reach out to Adam or Denise with any questions or concerns.  Please read it over carefully so you can start planning for the end of the school year and getting your rooms ready.

• Remember for any staff not returning next year, please turn in your ID/Fob to Adam

• If any teachers need boxes, please put in a work order

Weekly Hawk Playlist/Lyric

   "Slow down you crazy child.  You're so ambitious for a juvenile, but then if you're so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid?" 

                                                                                    -Vienna by Billy Joel     

Hawk Celebrations

Over the last couple of weeks, our K-8th grade students participated in the Pennoyer Math Bee to have some fun and show off their skills with math facts.  Our students were competitive and brought their A game every step of the way!  Thanks to Ms. Strecker and Mrs. Loring for helping put this all together again this year and to all of our staff that took time out of their days to help support the Math Bee with their classes.  The results are in, so here we go...Round 1 winners last week include: Kindergarten - Warchol, 1st Grade - Barzano, 2nd Grade - Torossi, 3rd Grade - Adkins, 4th Grade - Kopoulos, 5th Grade - Widd, 6th Grade - Peters, 7th Grade - Garcia, and 8th Grade - DeVivo.  For our Final Round this past week and overall grade band winners, it was Ms. Torossi's 2nd grade class that took home the trophy for our Primary grades, Mr. Widd's 5th grade class that took home the trophy for our Intermediate grades, and Mr. DeVivo's 8th grade class that won overall for the Middle School grades.  Way to go!  We're so proud of everyone who participated in the Math Bee this year.

June Birthdays! 🎂

Annie Saperstein - 6/1

Kajsa Meyer - 6/1

Kiera Strecker - 6/5

Ivana Jonic - 6/7

Nicole Gray - 6/16

Carmen Olivares - 6/16

Jill Rzadzki - 6/17

Angelica Rios - 6/18

Alana Cardenas - 6/19

Annette Garcia - 6/21

Nataliia Shnaider - 6/28

Connect - Collaborate - Celebrate