Reading sparks joy!

 

The opportunity to visit and read with classrooms during DEAR Week is a tremendous joy!

Earth Day!

Thank you to our preschool Panthers and families for coming together to help clean-up Hamlin Park on Earth Day!  The care and concern of our community is on full display this, and every, day! 

 

"Eclipsing" our expectations!

It was very exciting (and hopefully memorable) for everyone to come together this afternoon to safely view the maximum of today's solar eclipse. Thank you to our staff and families for partnering together to make this a safe and enjoyable experience for kids!

A special thank you to State Representative Kevin Olickal's office, State Senator Ram Villivalam's office, and the Illinois Optometric Association for helping to provide some of our eclipse viewing glasses.

We'll eagerly await the next opportunity for this moment in September of 2099 :)

Bravo!!!

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Finding Nemo Jr. on a pair of phenomenal performances this week!

 

Over 75 of our middle school students were involved in the acting, singing, dancing, set design, prop creation, lighting, sound, and technical work required to bring this story to life.  It is amazing to see the attention, care, and detail that went into making this production the smashing success it was!  

Thank you to Mr. Oliveira and Ms. Wade for their guidance, creativity, and leadership supporting every aspect of this endeavor.

 Thank you to the East Prairie Education Foundation for the grant money to make the production possible.  

Thank you to our families for their involvement and support. 

Above all, thank you to our students for sharing their talents with all of us.  Bravo!  If “all the world’s a stage” our students are more than ready to make it a great show!

Quarter 3 Pep Rally!

Today officially marked the end of quarter 3!  We closed things out as we always do with an all school pep rally!  We did an amazing activity using balloons to center the idea of spreading happiness and kindness to others.

 

We also were wowed with incredible performances from our Finding Nemo Jr. musical performers, band members, cheerleading squad, and the “Rice” band (featuring our middle schoolers).

The balloons are like happiness in the sense that we won’t find it when we’re searching for our own - but, if we care about someone else’s happiness, it will ultimately help us find our own.

The event was an outstanding opportunity for us to celebrate the many wonderful things happening at our school and recognize those whose hard work and effort make it happen. 

A Proud Partnership

 

We are proud to have successfully completed our fifth year of sponsoring the Parents In School Program (formerly known as the Parent Mentor Program) at East Prairie.  This program is built on a nationally recognized parent engagement model that builds deep and lasting relationships between students, teachers, and families.  This program has been a phenomenal way to involve parents within our classroom and further connect with our community.  Our mentors spent over 400 hours in classrooms helping to support both kids and adults.

Thank you to Kansas Johnston, Samina Saiyed, Galina Fabian, Emma Rustamova, Marisa Garzon, Sara Naz, and Humera Khan for serving as our students, staff, and families.  Thank you to Mrs. Albania, Mrs. Mehr, Ms. Kath, Mrs. Mansour, Ms. Simkins, Ms. LaPata, Mrs. Foti, and Mrs. Rice for their support and participation as well.  A special thank you to Ms. Wydmanski for coordinating and leading this program with compassion and grace.  We take tremendous pride in the accomplishments and care of this entire team!

Community Gratitude!

 Thank you for the incredible show of support  for our first ever Foundation & PTA Panther Strong FUNdraiser! 

It was a fantastic family event that allowed grown-ups to come together and celebrate a great cause, while kids played games and had fun - great food and amazing performances, featuring student ensembles, our band, and Finding Nemo Jr. musical cast, were enjoyed by all!

Thanks to your incredible efforts and support we have already raised over $11,000 that directly benefits our students!!! Thank you all for your support and generosity!  We appreciate your involvement and care!