Western Avenue Elementary -

May 1 is Principal Appreciation Day, an excellent chance to celebrate the dedication and hard work of our school's fearless leader, Dr. Isabelli. Let's take a moment to recognize her efforts in fostering a positive learning environment and guiding students and staff toward excellence. Have a great day, Dr. Isabelli—from all of us at Western Avenue Elementary School!

Today, there was a flurry of activity at Western Avenue Elementary School. In one corner, excitement filled Ms. McNeil's Kindergarten class as members of the Village of Flossmoor Fire Department, including Chief Kopec, Assistant Chief Berk, and their furry friend Marshall, paid a surprise visit. Assistant Chief Berk took on the role of the special mystery reader, much to the delight of the class! Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the building, Dave Becker and AJ Hinton from the Village of Flossmoor Department of Public Works brought a beautiful Burr Oak tree to commemorate Arbor Day, which had occurred the previous week. Students eagerly listened to information about the significance of preserving our tree canopy and even helped to plant the tree! Thank you to all the Village of Flossmoor staff who helped us coordinate these engaging activities today.

#FlashbackFriday AJ from the Village of Flossmoor Department of Public Works stopped by to pick up Charlie one rainy spring morning and give him a lift to school. Charlie asked if there would be room in the truck for his collection of plastic bags he was bringing to school that day to donate to the plastic bag drive. AJ told Charlie he brought him the biggest truck from the shop, so it shouldn't be a problem! Thank you to everyone who supports the PTO auctions and thank you to the Village of Flossmoor for this opportunity.

Today, we had an amazing student principal - Landon. Principal White gave a new family tour, visited classrooms to provide teachers with feedback, helped in the lunchroom, and talked with Dr. Isabelli about being a principal.

#ThrowbackThursday It's not everyday you get a ride to school in a police car! These students won a ride to school like no other with lights and sirens too. The purchase of these prizes from the PTO silent auction help support student programming. Thank you!!

Western Avenue student turned Flossmoor firefighter, Gregory, hopped into a fire truck last week with a few buddies for his ride to school from the Flossmoor Fire Department. This amazing prize was one of the available items from the Western Avenue PTO auction which supports student programming and teachers. The PTO wishes to thank Gregory's family and the Fire Department wants Gregory to know they are ready for him to join the crew anytime. Ps: the amazing jacket and hat are thanks to Grandma!

Happy Administrative Assistant's Day to our amazing administrative assistants, Ms. Trice and Ms. Sturdivant. We don't know what we would do without them. They truly run the building.

On Saturday, April 27, 2024, weather permitting, Flossmoor School District 161 will be applying an herbicide and a fertilizer to the district’s fields/grass areas. The products that will be used are The Andersons Turf Products Fertilizer with Barricade Herbicide and Trimec 992 Broadleaf Herbicide. These products comprise a selective broadleaf herbicide and a lawn fertilizer that will be used to control weeds/dandelions in these areas and fertilize all district lawns. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Stachacz, Director of Buildings and Grounds, at (708) 647-7005.

Big shoutout to the Green Team for organizing an inspiring Earth Day event at Western Avenue! Students got hands-on by creating wildflower seed balls outdoors. Parent volunteer Karen Cheung sparked a conversation during the activity, asking what Earth Day meant to the students. One student nailed it by answering: 'You should keep the Earth clean every day, but today is the day we should really FOCUS on it. After making their seed balls, they planted one in the school garden and took the other home to spread wildflowers in their yards. Kudos to the Green Team for making our Earth Day celebration bloom!!

At the end of their work day Superintendent Charleigh and Dr Smith had emails to send and business to attend to. Both Superintendents would like to thank Ms.Thomas for driving them to all of their appointments. Great job Charleigh!

Superintendent Charleigh stopped by to visit Parker Junior High. She checked in on a 6th grade classroom to see what they were working on. When we caught up with Charleigh we learned her favorite subject is Math and her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate. Charleigh also looks for to the opening day of softball tomorrow!

Today, Western Avenue 4th grade student, Charleigh is serving as Superintendent for the day. She and Dr. Smith have had an action packed morning. Stay tuned for more pictures of their day.

During 5th grade STEAM classes this week, students repurposed plastic bags into kites. The challenge was to design a kite that could fly for one minute in the air while standing still.

Annabella purchased a dress Dr. Isabelli coupon from the Den Depot. She chose to dress me as fancy Barbie.

Last Saturday, 28 of our elementary students across the District attended the ILMEA District Elementary Music Festival with other elementary musicians from 33 Chicago area schools. They had a great morning of singing, movement, playing ukuleles, drumming, and playing xylophones with fantastic clinicians.

Join in the Flossmoor School District 161 Spring Reading Challenge! Pick up your BINGO BOARD from your home school library. Happy Reading!

Congratulations to 4th grader Karren who had her poem selected for publication in the Young American Poetry Digest.

Please take part in the 5 Essentials Parent Survey and provide valuable feedback that will be utilized for School Improvement. The survey window will close on March 29, 2024. You can access the survey by clicking the link below. https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/?target_name=parent Thank you on behalf of everyone at Flossmoor School District 161

Leapin' Lizards! We had the best time watching our students SHINE during the production of Annie last week. Thank you to our amazing Directors, Mrs. Pasqua and Assistant Directors, Ms. Hanzelin and Ms. Watson, for bringing the show to life. Share your favorite photos in the comments below!

Please devote a few minutes today to discussing school communications. The survey closes on March 25th! https://survey.k12insight.com/r/rQlaDt