The Creekside Chronicle  

HOME OF THE FALCONSHOME OF THE FALCONS  December 2018

  

Inside the Issue

● Student Services ● Team Happenings ● Clubs and Recognition ● PTO ● Key Dates

The Holiday SeasonThe Holiday Season    The holiday season is a great time to give back and be

thankful. At Creekside, we are thankful everyday for the students, staff, and community of which we are a part. As schools and students provide a lot to their community, the community provides a lot for our students and families. Around the holidays, our community - through programs like Christmas Clearinghouse - helps to provide food and holiday gifts for upwards of 1,100 families & 2,000 children from our district. At Creekside, we are taking this opportunity to do our part and help out. Coin Wars is a friendly competition that raises money to buy gifts for these children and families.

Happening now through next Friday, December 7, Creekside is collecting donations that will go towards supporting Christmas Clearinghouse. Coin Wars is managed by the Interact Club at Creekside Middle School as a way to raise funds for Christmas Clearinghouse. Students are encouraged to bring in coins to help their class raise the most money while using dollar bills as negative currency towards other classes. Students are collecting change in their 8th period classes. Winners of the competition receive a breakfast treat delivered by a surprise guest. Why not have fun while helping others?

● Student Services ● Canvas Calendars ● Clubs ● Social Media and

Socratic Seminars (new)

We want to hear from you: Click on the following link to request future content of our messages.

Creekside Middle School 3201 Hercules Road Woodstock, IL 815.337.5200 www.woodstockschools.org/creekside

   

 

Help Your Child Identify  

Simple Ways to Help Others 

 

Volunteer opportunities for students are         

not difficult to find. Talk with your child               

about what areas of need they would like               

to be a part of and help them brainstorm                 

ways to help. Check with friends,           

neighbors, and other community agencies         

to identify activities they can become           

involved in during this month and           

throughout the year. Examples may         

include: 

 

 

● MUSIC: involve the use of your singing or instrumental skills. Volunteer to                       

perform at a senior housing organization.  

● MUSCLE: help a neighbor or senior with heavy yard work or snow shoveling.  

● COMPUTER: ages 2 to 92 can benefit from lessons in technology. Senior centers                         

may present volunteer opportunities for teens who have good computer skills.  

● CRAFTS: skills such as knitting, crocheting, and sewing can produce warm hats,                       

socks, and mittens for needy families that can be donated through non-profit                       

organizations. 

● ACADEMICS: you can volunteer to tutor younger students or peers in subjects                       

you know well. Younger siblings and family friends can all benefit from your help.  

Volunteer work helps all of us develop compassion for others. It encourages respect                         

as we learn that every person has value. It helps build responsibility through                         

learning exactly what is needed, taking action to meet that need, learning how to                           

persevere to the very end, and performing a task to the best of one’s ability.                             

Demonstrating self-control while seeking to meet the needs of other people also                       

builds commitment, concern, cooperation, and confidence. Visit Character in Action                   

for more details and ideas.  

 

Mrs. Nieman Ms. Hetterman Mrs. Perry 

School Counselor School Social Worker School Psychologist 

 

Team Updates    

Sixth Grade Sixth Grade As a school, we have been focusing on

different methods of instruction to enhance student

collaboration. Students engage in collaborative learning

in a variety of ways. See how our students are

intellectually engaged in different content areas.

In math, your students are moving on to the third unit

which is about fractions and decimals. To download a

copy of the home school connection in English, click here

and to get it in Spanish, click here..   Small group math stations.

Students learning about types of irony. Small group flexible seating.

Students creating a timeline of history of Earth.

Students playing for a brain break.

EighthEighth GradeGrade In literacy block     

classes, eighth-grade students have been reading, analyzing, and discussing various stories from, and literary criticism about, the horror genre. Students will soon begin drafting their first piece of literary analysis this year as they write their performance task for Collection 2. In the single classes, students have begun studying literary nonfiction about the Holocaust, including pieces written by Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel. Please remind your eighth-grader(s) to charge Chromebooks nightly at home. Also, please encourage your child to check Home Access to stay current on his or her grades (you can do this, as well). If your child needs Home Access login information, have your child contact his or her teacher. Parents should contact the school office for parental login information.

SeventhSeventh GradeGrade In literacy classes, students explored the famous pavement  

chalk artist, Julian Beever, and how he creates images using perspective. We are fortunate that we know a local artist who, like Julian Beever, uses perspective to create 3D images in public places. His name is Shaun Hays. Students were able to brainstorm questions they have for him regarding his art. Mr. Hays will send a video of himself answering the students’ questions. Also, in some literacy classes, students are reading a drama titled “Sorry, Wrong

Number”. Written in 1948, the play is about a woman who overhears a phone call

on her rotary phone. Luckily, one of the literacy teachers had a rotary phone at

home. Students had a lot of fun trying to dial their phone numbers on this one that

was brought in. Comments ranged from “this is so heavy!” to “this takes way too

long!”

Woodstock High school student, Lacie Mickle, came to read Sorry, Wrong Number

with Mrs. Mickle's class. They spent the period on the stage walking through an

engaging and authentic lesson about theater terms and reading the play like an

actual rehearsal. It was a highlight of Collections 2.

In Mrs. Learman’s skills lab, students

worked on a problem-solving task that

required them to build the tallest

freestanding tower. Students were given

six balloons and five pieces of tape. It was

amazing to see how each student tackled

this challenge!

Finally, as a reminder, the seventh grade

team created an incentive to keep

students on the path to success. Students

who have no more than one missing

assignment in total, as well as no

suspensions or Saturday detentions

between October 23 - December 3, will be

celebrating their hard work with a movie

on the Square. We encourage parents to

look at Home Access routinely with their

students to ensure they are on their way

to earning this reward.

 

CMS Honors Choir A brief video - ILMEA District 7 Honor Choir singing 900 Miles

Creekside Clubs 

● Cooking Club ● Art Club ● Best Buddies ● Garden Club ● Game Club ● Interact ● Sign Language Club ● Student Council ● SOAR Club ● Yearbook

Congratulations to the orchestra students that were accepted into the District 7 ILMEA Orchestra! These students practiced high caliber music for almost a year, and auditioned in September with over 250 other students from the Northwestern Illinois area. Jerry Anderson, Anika Engberg, Aiden Johnson, and Sophia Rivera were all accepted and participated in a District-wide concert on November 3rd with other musicians from the area.

The D200 Orchestra program has started a new program called the “Big Buddy” program. This program pairs younger students up with high school students to help them practice and further progress on their instruments. We have almost 50 students between WNHS and WHS that have signed up to teach lessons. All the information went home to elementary and middle school students the first week of November and many have already gotten started. Pictured above are some of the WHS students (former CMS students) who have signed up to teach lessons to the younger students.

 

Students busy in the Art Room painting and drawing. Some

helped prep an old painting to become a chalkboard for our

outdoor classroom!

Are you interested in being involved and having input

regarding school events?

If you answered yes, PTO is for you. PTO is held the first Tuesday of every month at 6 pm in the Creekside conference

room. Our next meeting is Tuesday, January 15 at 6pm.

We hope to see you there.

The District 200 Winter Art Show

December 3 - January 8 Reception Dec 3 from 6-7pm Woodstock Public Library

Students who have work in the show have been told and invited to take home an invitation with

the dates of the show.

Everyone is welcome to see the incredible artwork our students create!

Daily Schedule 1st 8:30 9:14

2nd 9:17 10:01

3rd 10:04 10:48

4th 10:51 11:35

8th Grade Lunch & Homeroom(11:21-11:35)

5th 11:38 12:22

7th Grade Lunch & Homeroom(11:38-11:49)

6th 12:25 1:09

6th Grade Lunch and Homeroom (12:55-1:09)

7th 1:12 1:56

8th 1:59 2:43

9th 2:46 3:30

Late Start Dates August 29

September 19 October 17

November 14 December 5

January 23 February 6

March 6 March 20 April 10

Late Start Schedule 1st 9:30 10:08

2nd 10:11 10:49

3rd 10:52 11:30

4th 11:33 12:10

5th 12:13 12:50

6th 12:53 1:30

7th 1:33 2:10

8th 2:13 2:50

9th 2:53 3:30

December 1 Basketball Tournament @ Johnsburg

3- BBB vs NWMS @ WNHS 4 CMS Music Department Holiday Concert

5 Late Start 5 BBB Crossover Game @ CMS

5 Wrestling Parent Meeting 6 Cheer & POM Exhibition

11 Board of Education Meeting 13 Papa Murphy’s Fundraiser

17 GBB Tryouts 18 GBB Tryouts 19 GBB Tryouts

22-January 6 Winter Break   

  

Creekside Middle School 3201 Hercules Road Woodstock, IL 60098

815.337.5200

Principal: Michael Wheatley Assistant Principal: Francesca Favero

Student Facilitator: Eric Schleutermann

Attendance Line: 815.337.5210

Office Hours: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm