Prairie Knolls Falcon Flyer December 2016

Important Dates From the Principal:

Wow, this year seems to be flying by! Our Thanksgiving Break is in the “rear view mirror” and we are in the fast lane with only three weeks remaining until Winter Break. In addition to our daily instruction, we have many additional events that will happen over the next three weeks. Please be sure to check the PKMS Weekly Principal’s Message and to have students listen to the daily announcements for upcoming events. We would like to thank all of our families who attended Parent-Teacher Conferences this past week. It is important to us that we maintain good communications with our students’ families so that we can mutually support students’ learning. With the limited conference slots available on Monday and Tuesday, we know that many of you have scheduled conference times with our grade level teams over the next couple of weeks during their team planning time and we appreciate your involvement. We have had a very mild Fall and it is finally beginning to become colder. Please remind your children to dress appropriately for the weather. As students are dropped off in the mornings, or waiting to be picked up in the afternoons, we often seen them wearing light, or no, coats with the change in weather. We want to insure that they remain safe and healthy as we move into the holiday season. Speaking of the holiday season, our S.T.A.R. committee (Students Taking Active Responsibility) is sponsoring a fundraiser for PK families who are struggling financially this holiday season. They are collecting $10.00 gift cards and for each gift card collected, students will receive a snowflake which will ultimately be displayed on our giant snowman in the hallway as a visual representation of the giving nature of our PK community. Finally, we are looking forward to our upcoming Virus Day and Pentathlon activities, which will take place on Friday, December 16. More about these events will be shared in the upcoming weeks. On behalf of everyone at Prairie Knolls Middle School, we wish you a happy and healthy Holiday Season!

Matthew Haug

PKMS Principal

December 16 Pentathlon 19 Board of Education Dec. 19 – Jan. 2 – Winter Break

January 3 Resume Classes 9 PTO @ PKMS 6:15pm

13 11:15 Dismissal 16 No School – ML King Birthday 17 Board of Education 6pm 20 End of 2nd quarter

Spring Break

– March 27 – March 31

Flyebouirs • Dessert First • 5K Run/Walk • Pizza Wars / Business Expo • Trivia Sponsor Thank You • High School Bookfair

PKMS Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey is open!

Parents, please take a few minutes to log onto the Illinois 5Essentials Survey site and give us your feedback on how we are doing at Prairie Knolls Middle School. We need at least 20% of our families to complete the survey in order to receive feedback. We have been very fortunate over the last few years to have response rates in the upper 30% - 40% and we hope to do even better this year! The web address is http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/ Please take a few minutes to provide your input.

The PKMS library has over 140 eBooks that your student can access anywhere they have internet. The books can be read on their chromebook, ipad, phone, or any other personal device. This is a great asset, especially when traveling. Encourage your student to take a break from the game and read a book.

Notes from the Nurse Throughout the month of December, we will be conducting vision and hearing screenings for students as mandated by Illinois state law. Please be aware that a “vision screening is not a substitute for a complete eye exam and vision evaluation by an eye doctor. Your child is not required to undergo this vision screening if an optometrist or ophthalmologist has completed and signed a report form indicating that an examination has been administered within the previous twelve months” (Public Act 093-0504). For any student wearing glasses, a brief inspection of the glasses will take place. Mandated screenings are conducted for the following students: Vision: K, 2nd, and 8th grade students

Students who are new to the district Students in all grades who are receiving special education services

Hearing: K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade students

Students who are new to the district Students in all grades who are receiving special education services

Any parent or teacher may request an evaluation if they have a concern about a student’s vision or hearing. Please contact the nurse in your building for any questions.

7th/8th Grade Trip It’s not too late, but spaces are limited. There are less than 9 spots left for the trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto. We will travel by bus, leaving Friday, June 16 and returning Monday, June 19. This is a great trip and a chance for your student to build lasting memories and it’s a fantastic way to end the school

year and kick off summer. Contact Mrs. Inkinen with any questions. pam.inkinen@central301.net

S.T.A.R November Newsletter!!!

S.T.A.R is sponsoring a holiday fundraiser! Our goal is to help PK families who may be struggling financially during this holiday season. We’re asking for $10.00 gift cards from Walmart or Target so PK families can have a nice Christmas dinner and gifts for their kids. We will be collecting the gift cards through December 14. We’re asking for your help to make this a great holiday season. Students should bring the cards to their first period teacher. There will be drawings for fun prizes throughout the contest. We had so much success last year, and the families who got the gift cards were so grateful. So get into the holiday spirit of helping others with a gift card donation!

6th Grade Update ELA: Currently, we are working on finishing up the nonfiction book, Amelia Lost, and are working on a project (Amelia Media Project) in class. For this project, the students are taking information from the book and writing a script for a newscast or talk show. They will be recording these using a green screen. The students are really excited for this! Once the Amelia Media Project starts to wrap up, we will begin writing an explanatory paper. Be sure to keep an eye out for some information surrounding this! Science: In our upcoming unit we will studying the Earth/Moon/Sun. This will include how seasons occur as well as solar and lunar eclipses. SS: The Athenians and Spartans know each other’s differences, but will have to pull together to battle the land hungry Persians in the Persian Wars. This hectic time in history will be followed by a peaceful Golden Age of Athens and some accomplishments and downfalls brought about by Alexander the Great and his quest for an empire. A Greek Test will be taking place the week of December 12th. Upon our return in January we will be looking at the legacies left to us by the Ancient Greeks. Math: We are currently in our third unit for Math. Students are working with Expressions and will eventually be solving Equations in the upcoming unit. This is the first time students are working with variables, which are challenging but the students are doing great! Keep up the great work 6th graders!!

*Ask your child to create equivalent expressions for the following expression: 5(x + 3)*.

7th Grade Update 7th graders will end their year with lots of fun activities! Math 7 will be working with percent application involving tax, tip, commission, fees, simple interest, percent change, discounts, and markups. In social studies, students will be finishing off learning about the events that led to the Revolutionary War and the principles behind America's

independence. ELA will be kicking off our Freedom Unit by connecting with social studies in their study of the Revolutionary War. Students will read a biography of an important person from the war and will then transition to other types of people who have fought for freedom throughout history. Science will dive into bacteria and viruses.

Thank you to all parent volunteers for Virus Day. We have plenty of help!

Encore Update

Band: The PKMS bands have just finished up their first concert of the year, which sounded great! The seventh

grade band also performed for two of the elementary school's Veteran's Day assemblies and did a wonderful job. They are now starting new music for their concert in February. The students will also start deciding if they want to participate in the Solo and Ensemble Contest after the winter break.

Emergency Closing Notification This year, forecasters are predicting a very cold winter with heavy snowfall. While we can never be sure what the weather will bring, it is important to review emergency closing notification procedures in case we should have a school closing. District 301 families are reminded that there are multiple places to check for information about weather-related closings.

Information will be released through:

A phone message to staff and parents

An email message to staff and parents

The District 301 website: www.burlington.k12.il.us

The District 301 Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CentralSchoolDistrict301

Local newspapers, television stations, and radio stations

The Emergency Closing Center website: www.emergencyclosings.com Central schools provide students with a safe and effective learning environment. When severe weather occurs, administration consults with numerous people before deciding to close school. Dr. Stirn consults with other area school officials and with the district’s directors of transportation and facilities to help make the decision to remain open or to close. Administration is inclined to keep school in session if at all possible. It is less disruptive for students, teachers, and parents if classes are held as usual. District 301 will only send out a notice when schools are closed. If there is no announcement via our numerous communication channels, you can assume that schools are open. If schools will be closed, a decision will be made by 5:30 am.

Student Recognition

PKMS recognized some of our outstanding students at our quarterly recognition breakfast on Thursday, November 17th, 2016. Students were recognized by the PKMS staff for showing excellent effort, good character, academic excellence, and positive leadership potential. We congratulate the following students for their outstanding efforts and commitment during the first quarter of the 2016-2017 school year! Great job Falcons!

Academic Excellence Award

Exemplary Effort Award

Prairie Knolls Award

Good Character Award

Eva Boer Chloe Chiles Troutman

William Crumlett Aidan Daniels

Russel De Leon Kelly Anne Empleo

Mariam Jafri Madison Lagasca Aryan Mahajan

Teagan OConnor Luke Pedrigi

Rachel Stoneman

Ivan Chlyde Berus Rebecca Carani Nicholas Casillas Blake Cornwell Alondra Cruz Isabella David Calvin Ostrye

Hannah Raders Elaina Rezabek Carter Robbins Tyler Schmidt

Joseph Barm Sohan Bhungalia

Tessa DiDomenico Michael Ganziano

Abby Keeny Libby Levine

Jacob Nielsen Avery ONeill

Alfredo Ortiz, JR Nandana Varma

Vasyl Vatsyk Timothy Vesper

Jasmin Betancourt Ethan Capaci

Andrew Nordwind Avery ONeill

Benjamin Peterson Christian Ryczek Sarah Schrader Nora Thompson

Gold Honor Roll - Quarter 1 Sophia Anthony Rylie DuVal Ethan Leegard Elaina Rezabek

Keira Sofia Antona Ava Elders Matthew Lemon Hannah Rindner

Joules Apura Kelly Anne Empleo Cody Leon Erin Rothenbaum

Sophia Ary Matthew Eshoo Libby Levine Sara Rothenbaum

McKenna Ashton Ashley Esposito Zachary Lichner Chelsea Ryan

Asna Asif Abigail Evenson Haley Lindquist Christian Ryczek

Gabrielle Atkins Moussa Fall Jayden Lobliner Kean Clyde Saligumba

Andrew Azar Ava Farrell Ernesto Lopez Magallanes Eysha Salwan

Shanav Bagga Tanya Fedak Aryan Mahajan Yzabelle Sanavongsay

John Christopher Balasbas Tiana Foreman Shannon Mahoney Wyatt Sanderson

Joseph Barm Emma Foster Kevin McCoy Andrew Scharnowski

Hannah Barry Mason Freeman Alexandra McGowan Taylor Schilke

Haylee Bart Robert Gall Dhairya Mehta Morgan Schmidt

Jasmine Basa Sriya Gangavarapu Amanda Melton Zachary Schmidt

Nathan Batani Michael Ganziano Andrew Messina Kyle Schmidt

Skyler Bergeron Lea Garcia Lucas Meyer Mia Schnabel

Hunter Bertoncini Alexia Gil Nolan Milas Sarah Schrader

Ivan Chlyde Berus Logan Good Ella Muermann Mariana Shapiama

Jasmin Betancourt Nicholas Gouriotis James Muetterties Khushi Sharma

Andre Blakley Paige Greenhagel Joshua Murray Sarim Siddiqui

Eva Boer Chaitan Grewal Maya Mylott Abbi Smith

Alaina Bognetti Ravindar Grewal Addison Nava Bridget Snellback

Kristiana Brennan Ryan Hacker Clarisse Navarez Madison Sobota

Rachel Burton Rylie Hahn Jacob Nielsen Isabella Solomon

Dylan Cagle Tyler Haines Andrew Nordwind Karina Spencer

Rebecca Carani Cody Hanline Nicholas Nuno Sierra Steele

Kyle Carlson Payton Hartwig Teagan OConnor Taylor Stieglitz

Nicholas Carpenter Liberty Her Mikayla Onayemi Rachel Stoneman

Ava Castle Jake Herman Avery ONeill Charles Strout

Chloe Chiles Troutman Brooke Hermanson Madelyn Oranski Param Thakkar

Youngwoo Cho Trevor Hoffman Calvin Ostrye Hallie Thomas

Jossette Coloma Raiden Hoshina Molly Paez Holly Thompson

Madelyn Cook Jade Huaracha Sarah Pagels Nora Thompson

Abigail Cornwell Vanessa Huichapa Amber Panichi Joselyn Valladares

James Crosby Emily Jack Isha Patel Nandana Varma

Matthew Crumlett Mariam Jafri Urvi Patel Vasyl Vatsyk

William Crumlett Hailey Jamrozek Tyler Payton Timothy Vesper

Aidan Daniels Jenna Johnson Gabriella Payton Paul Vesper

Peter D'Antonio Kyriaki Karavasis Gavino Pedone Noelle Vina

Isabella David Thomas Kareka Luke Pedrigi Trestan Wagner

Russel De Leon Jordan Karner Mitchell Pedrigi Sydney Walker

Daniel Dela Cruz Emma Keeny Robert Perry Aurora Walters

Isabella Delgado Fiza Khwaja Caden Phengkeokaisone Alena Warner

Samantha DiBartolo Nathan Kim Brianna Phorasavong Alexandria Whitworth

Tessa DiDomenico Lauren Knief Szymon Placzek Ian Wiegel

Leighton Dietz Griffin Kollhoff Alexander Randolph Michael Wood

Chloe Doody Catalano Madeline Kudelka Kieron Rank Alexander Wright

Aiden Dorn Zachary Lawrence Hana Rasul Katelynn Wrobel

Cooper Dorn Jacob Lederle Khushi Raval Emily Wyzukovicz

Silver Honor Roll - Quarter 1 Adrilina Alicea Aaron Franco Ella Marin Gavin Sarvis

Daniel Aykroyd Hannah Freesemann Ria Mehta Meera Sathish

Kayla Batts Natalie Gamez Allison Meyer Matthew Schmidt

McKenna Berglind Fabian Garcia Lukas Moldenhauer Kyle Schmidt

Sohan Bhungalia Loghan Gorman Jack Muffitt Tyler Schultz

Arianna Borre Samara Granger Luke Nazarowski Jessica Scigliuolo

Evelyn Bourgin Dillon Grenert Cody O Neill Charlotte Semyck

Samantha Bramer Satindar Grewal Amya Ocasio Mannet Sidhu

Nicholas Casillas Maya Gusciora Ethan Onken Hannah Siedsma

Alisa Chanthana Nana Ama Serwaa Gyamfi Josiah Ortiz Emma Sieverding

Brady Cigrand Anthony Haith Mason Page Hunter Smith

Nathan Considine Makenna Herman Kaira Palao Allyssa Smith

Julia Copre Kyle Hermanson Arianna Panzarino Martin Soto Narvaez

Emma Corcoran Jocelyn Huesca Ishaan Patel Skyla Stewart

Heather Crary Dylan Hunt Kashvi Patel Kennedi Stock

Adelaide Dauel Payton Isola Isabelle Patterson Brandon Stumbaugh

Chase Davenport Kaleb Jao Riley Pecucci Cayden Sweitzer

Matthew David David Johnson Alicia Perez Lexi Teresinski

Riley Doody Catalano Emma Kerr Benjamin Peterson Vidhi Thakkar

Colin Dubin Gabrielle Kerr Jack Petsche Nina Tomko

Jenna DuMelle Piper Kling Sophie Pollack Zackary Tosello

Elijah Dumlao Keanu Kono Bailey Quinn Khadeeja Tunkara

Aaliyah Edwards Lena Kyriazis Grace Raap Caden Ulmer

Stephanie Eiklor Giovanna Labadessa Hannah Raders Christian Walikonis

John Eltzroth Kayla Lanser Katrina Rath Michelle Wang

Samuel Erb Ivan Larson Brooke Reynolds Ashley Webb

Page Erickson Katelyn Lawrence Carly Robinson Ethan Welsh

Mason Erickson Kirsten Ellagrace Lim Haley Rutke Lauren White

Quinton Erickson Braden Lowitzki Charles Rutke IV Masin Williams

Ethan Escobar Grace Lyon Lucas Samaan Gunnar Williams

Mason Eyrich Nathan Majewski Ethan Sanderson Ryan Wustefeld

Brianna Farmer Tyson Malak Ava Sandoval Alec Zaccaria

Colin Finn William Maramba Michael Zeinieh

Bronze Honor Roll - Quarter 1 Rhiannon Abate Sam Duesler Abby Keeny Amanda Popovich

Trajan Aceto Ricardo Echavarri Anna Keeny Eva Potter

Shawn Adkerson Warsame Egeh Andrew Knox Caroleana Quinn

Sayf Afeef Jenifer Escobar Keaton Koch Carter Robbins

Summer Alcorn Christian Esparza Hannah Kowalik Dayannah Rodriguez Rubio

Rohan Amin Edgar Espinosa Farooq Kusi Joshua Rogde

Michael Appoh Nathan Fellhauer Savannah L Huillier Aiden Ruckoldt

Ashley Arroyo Jonathan Fero Brady Lamberg Tommy Ruiz Martinez

Nathan Astudillo Oliver Ferro Emma Laria Damien Salazar

Yusuf Baig Kiera Finn Jonathan Lawson Ayden Sayavong

Luke Ballantyne Jacob Flores Nathan Leicht Annagabriella Segura

David Barkocy Jack Freeman Barrett Lewis Cassidy Seibert

Sophia Battaglia Giada Gemelli Chelsea Logsdon Eduardo Serna Saucedo

Aric Beaman Justin Genenz Naiarah Lopez Vraj Shah

Michael Bennett Nicholas Glassford Cody Maestas Affan Siddiqui

Atish Bhungalia Jacob Glazik Ireland Mahoney Kaleb Skole

Cassidy Biedenbach Makayla Gonzalez Averi Maraccini Carter Smith

Christian Biggs Reese Graf Zachary Mariani Elizabeth Smith

Marla Bingcang Owen Hachfeld Antonio Martin Carter Snow

Sydney Bohlin Amira Hamdani Maihli Matlock Morgan Sobota

Gillian Bramer Jonah Hamell Sophia Mazziotta Maci Steele

Kody Bruce Samantha Harbeck Emily Menke Hannah Tatu

Samuel Buckman Zaayar Hasan Luciano Metallo Sydney Tecza

Christian Cabral Kalliope Henderson William Metz Ryan Thompson

Seamus Chiles Troutman Owen Hensler Leyna Miller Radko Tomko

Fausto Coloma Katrina Hoffman Joseph Mudgett Nadine Trevino

Israel Contreras Ryan Holder Faraaz Muhammed Alyssa Turffs

Blake Cornwell Alexis Horton Isabella Murillo Leilani Uribe

Carli Courtney William Horton IV Timothy Myers Karime Valadez

Henry Craig Davin Hunt Miguel Nava Rosario Valenti

Diego Cruz Ethan Hutchcroft Sophia Nguyen Ramsey Vuorenmaa

Joseph Csikortos Omar Ibrahim Samantha Origel Madyson Warmus

Orion Curry Dylan Isola Alfredo Ortiz Luke Welker

Nora Dalke McCoy Janecek Logan Ortiz Lexi Wilbrandt

Karina De La Cruz Keian Jao Nilay Patel Gyana Williams

Rylie Dehne Emma Johnson Cameron Pathana Jenna Williams

Emily Delgado Briana Johnson Lukas Perry Fred Wills IV

Kale DeVries Paul Johnston David Peterson Carter Woodruff

Joseph DiMaggio Mark Judnic Lillian Phillips Tanner Zimmerman

Margaret DuBois Timothy Kareka Emily Plavsic

2016 Winter I Sports (Boys’ Basketball & Cheerleading)

Boys’ Basketball and Cheerleading are wrapping up their successful seasons in the next couple of weeks.

The last games of the season can be found on the PKMS 8to18 website. We want to wish both the

basketball and cheerleading squads the best of luck as they compete in the NCJC Basketball

Tournament, as well as the NCJC Cheer & Poms Competition that will be held on Saturday, December

10th.

We would like to thank our STAR program for providing concessions at all home basketball games this

season. If you have not had a chance to visit the concession stand, don’t worry, they will be returning

at the start of the girls’ basketball and wrestling seasons.

2016-2017 Winter II Sports (Wrestling, Girls’ Basketball & Scholastic Bowl)

Wrestling- The Wrestling season is right around the corner. Coach Bakley is excited to get

things going. Practice will begin on Monday, December 5th. Practices are typically held

from 3:00-5:00pm. Wrestling is one of the three sports that 6th graders are allowed to participate in.

Any student interested in joining wrestling must have and 8to18 registration, a concussion form and an

up-to-date physical (within one year) on file in the office prior to the start of the season. The $100

athletic fee is due prior to the first competition. Any questions can be directed to Coach Bakley or the

athletic director, Mr. Hamel. Upcoming competitions can be found on the PKMS 8to18 website under

athletics.

Scholastic Bowl – The PKMS/CMS Scholastic Bowl team had tryouts in November and

will be practicing once per week until competitions start in February. Coach Paulus and

Coach Kindelin are looking forward to a great season. A list of their competitions can be

found on the PKMS website under Athletics. Additionally, students must submit the

$35 fee before the first competition. Scholastic bowl is one of the activities that 6th

graders are allowed to participate in.

Mandatory Wrestling Sports Parent Meeting on Tuesday, December 6th @ 5:00pm

Sports Pictures on Wednesday, January 11th

Mandatory Scholastic Bowl Parent Meeting on Tuesday, December 6th,

4:30-5:00pm in room 126

Scholastic Bowl Pictures on Wednesday, January 11th

Girls’ Basketball – The Girls’ Basketball team is scheduled to officially begin their

season after our winter break. Coach Peterson & Coach Hamel will have an informational

meeting in early December to go over more information for the season. This meeting will

take place during PE classes or lunch. Tryouts will take place on Tuesday, January 3rd

(3:00-5:00pm) and on Wednesday, December 4th (3:00-5:00pm). Upcoming games can be found on the

PKMS 8to18 website under Girls Basketball.

Mandatory Girls Basketball Parent Meeting on Thursday, January 5th @ 5:00pm.

Girls Basketball Pictures on Wednesday, January 11th

Below are the general requirements needed to participate in PKMS athletics:

-Physical (within one year)

- 8to18 Registration

- Concussion form

- Fee ($100.00 due before the first competition)

*Any student who does not have these three requirements will not be allowed to tryout or

practice!*