Thank You & 2021 Here We Come!

Thank you to Ms. Pasia and Mr. Berlinghof for carrying on the annual EPS tradition of a holiday sing! What a turnout! What a blast! Our school (jingle bell) rocks!

Despite what has unquestionably been a most challenging year,

we couldn’t be more grateful for the manner in which our

partnership has strengthened and grown.  Our ability to develop

strong relationships, create community, transform teaching,

and hold high expectations for all kids - all with a sense of

purpose, humility, and humor - has made this year

special and successful in its own right.  We are truly proud to

learn alongside and serve such a phenomenal community!

We hope the next two weeks present you and your family the opportunity to hit pause and recharge.  We hope your days are filled with happiness surrounded by those closest to you.  Whatever 2021 has in store for us, we are confident that we will continue to rise to the challenge, and do our best to learn, grow, and have some fun along the way!

Congratulations to our winning snowmen designers -

Jessica Boca, Kristin Tang, Ramina Korkis, & Trent Hunton!

Each winner will receive a $50 gift card to a local restaurant

and there will be a $150 donation to the Panther Pantry made in

their collective honor.

1st place - Jessica Boca

Coming Together!

 Excellent Coming Together Committee Meeting today!  This group of community leaders is doing outstanding work to fight food insecurity and combat isolation within Niles Township.  East Prairie is proud to be a part of this important work!

No Business Like Show Business!

 Wanting to find a way to bring folks together and celebrate the extraordinary talents of our students and staff, our 8th grade enrichment came up with the idea of hosting a talent show.  Here is a link to the first ever EPS Virtual Talent Show - the final product of their hard work, collaboration, and creativity! 

A huge thank you to Sophia Alban, Ainsley Flintz, Dylan Lam, Griffin Larson-Erf, Reed Larson-Erf, Esther Min, Althea Rejuso, Ella Sorkin, and Mrs. Smeeton for putting this exhibition together.  A tremendous thank you to all of our performers for showcasing and sharing their many talents with the world!

Winter Song Share!

Congratulations to the 5th grade Panther Band on an outstanding winter song sharing performance!  So wonderful to see and HEAR our students coming together to play some sensational seasonal songs!

Polls now open!

While we are still waiting for that first snowfall of the season (some perhaps more excitedly than others), here are all of the entries into our Student Council Winter Snowman Decorating Contest. 

Families and students can vote for their favorite snowman using this link.  The winner will receive a gift certificate to an amazingly delicious local restaurant, plus a donation made in their honor to our Panther Pantry, plus all of the fame and glory that comes with being the champion!  Thank you to all who participated, we are s-mitten by the flurry of creative talent!

SNOWmuch fun!

Calling all snowman sculptors, artists, and designers!  Friday is the day!  Get your snowman turned into our Student Council Snowman Decorating Contest for a chance to win our fabulous prize pack.  The winning snowman will receive a gift certificate to an amazingly delicious local restaurant, plus a donation made in their honor to our Panther Pantry, plus all of the fame and glory that comes with being the Snowman Decorating Contest Champion!!!

It simply doesn't get any better than this!  Here again is the link for directions, voting and prize information.  Click the "use template" button in the upper righthand corner to participate.  Submissions are due to Mrs. Graham - jgraham@eps73.net - on Friday!!!

Wishtree: our school-wide read

We are most excited to kick off our “One school, One book” shared reading experience!  Hardcopies of the book Wishtree are available in the main office; your child’s teacher can help to connect you with a digital copy.  Here is Mrs. deBettencourt with the introduction and chapter one to help us officially get things underway!  

A full audio version of the book, read aloud by some familiar East Prairie voices, can be found on our Wishtree week one homepage.  Here you will also find discussion questions, extension activities, even art and science connections.  Don’t forget our Wishtree Padlet Wall as a digital space to connect with other families, as well as, share your thoughts, ideas, projects, and pictures.

One School, One Book

 With the ups and downs, challenges and triumphs of this year, we wanted to create an opportunity to again bring everyone together.  With the generous support of the PTA and Educational Foundation we are excited to kick off a “One School, One Book” shared reading opportunity.  Reading a novel across an entire school provides a common and shared experience for every child and adult, sparking a community wide conversation.  Our hope is that this conversation takes place in homes, across families, and well beyond our East Prairie community.  Our aim is to further establish a culture of literacy developed in partnership between the home and school, as well as, promote a shared message of compassion, kindness, and empathy.

We will begin this collective journey next week through the novel Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.  Check out the Wishtree book trailer for an inspirational preview of what is to come.

Hardcopies of the book are available for families to borrow in the main office.  You can also check out copies from the Skokie Public Library.  In order to ensure access for everyone wanting to participate we will be sharing chapter-by-chapter read alouds featuring familiar EPS faces.  We will also be sharing each week, questions to help stimulate conversation, as well as enjoyable and engaging extension activities for the whole family.  As we wrap up the book, we’ll have a safe and socially distanced community project to help tie everything together.  Throughout, you will be able to post your thoughts, ideas, projects, and pictures to our Wishtree Padlet Wall.

“Different languages, different food, different customs.  That’s our neighborhood: wild and tangled and colorful.  Like the best kind of garden.”

- Katherine Applegate, Wishtree

We are ecstatic to share this opportunity during this moment, together.  We feel it is the right read at the right time.  Happy reading!