On Wednesday, February 6, 2019 we will host Kindergarten Registration.  Kindergarten Registration is intended for any incoming Armstrong-based kindergarteners for the 2019-2020 school year.  Registration will take place at Armstrong School from 9:00-11:00am and 5:00-7:00pm.  If you have any friends or neighbors with incoming kindergarten students, please share this information with them. Registering kindergarten students is essential to help us plan for classes next year, and we appreciate your help spreading the word in the Armstrong community!

Due to deteriorating conditions outside, District 54 is cancelling all after school sports and activities this afternoon, Tuesday, January 22nd.  All students will go home on their typical mode of transportation at 3:00pm.  Please call the office at 847-357-6700 if there is a change to your child’s transportation for today.

Bring in $3.00 for each order of nachos your child would like to eat on Wednesday, January 23, 2019.  Drinks are not included.  In light of the fact that this food is prepared off site, trace amounts of peanuts and other nuts may be present.  If your child is allergic to nuts or other food substances, caution should be exercised.

We are excited to announce our very first family field trip to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, March 30, 2019!  Buses will leave Armstrong at 9:00am, and return by 1:00pm.  Tickets are $10 per person (children and adults).  The flyer and permission slip went home earlier, but you can view a printable Chicago Symphony Orchestra Family Field Trip Form here .  We are limited to only 50 seats, so we will be reserving space on a first come, first serve basis. We hope you can join us for this incredible family event!

Show your team spirit by joining us for a fundraiser to support Neil Armstrong PTA (Parent Teacher Association). Come in to the Chipotle at 15 East Golf Road in Hoffman Estates on Tuesday, January 29th between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Bring in this flyer (which was distributed in school to students), show it on your smartphone, or tell the cashier you’re supporting the cause to make sure that 33% of the proceeds will be donated to Neil Armstrong PTA.

The Armstrong PTA appreciates your support!

Smiles Dental Clinic will be coming to Armstrong School on March 14, 2019 to give dental exams to students.  Paperwork was sent home on January 15, 2019 to be completed if you want your child to participate.  You can contact Marie Harrington, Armstrong’s School Nurse if you have further questions at 847-357-6735 or at MarieHarrington@nullsd54.org.

Schaumburg Parent University (SPU) is designed to involve more parents in the life of the school, to strengthen family relationships, and to improve parenting skills that will ultimately result in improved student success academically, socially and emotionally. There are two evening programs scheduled for January. Please note that child care is always available.

Learning how good outcomes in adulthood are connected to strong emotional regulation and resiliency skills in childhood on January 14, 2019.

This class will take place on January 14, 2019 from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm.

This educational seminar will focus on teaching parents of children and adolescents concrete skills towards improving emotional regulation, problem-solving skills, and nurturing resiliency for optimal functioning in school, extracurricular activities, and social life. Adults only.

Literacy Night January 23, 2019

Literacy Night will take place on January 23, 2019 from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm.

Come join us for a night of interactive writing where your family’s creativity is in control of the story line. Clues will lead you to special treats as well as a keepsake. Parents and students, aged preschool through eighth grade, are welcome.

These events will take place at the District 54 Professional Learning Center, 522 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg. Please register by visiting https://goo.gl/TB49x7. For more information, contact Meg Kwak at 847-357-6586 or spu@nullsd54.org

All teachers, parents, guardians and students across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey: Organizing Schools for Improvement. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness and help us guide school improvement. Please click on the link to take the survey.  The parent survey will be available online through February 15, 2019.

The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and is available in English and Spanish. Note: the survey will time out and you will need to start over if you don’t finish in one sitting.

If you have more than one child, you may complete the survey for each child. You will be asked to select your county and then your child’s school. Be aware that there are often schools with the same or similar names in the state of Illinois.  Neil Armstrong School is in Cook County.

The state is not providing hard copies of this survey. If you do not have access to a computer, you can visit the Schaumburg Township District Library or call your child’s school and we will let you use a computer at the school to take the survey.

The survey is administered by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education. If at least 20 percent of parents at a school complete the survey, a supplemental parent report will be generated and shared with schools. We are hoping to meet the target this year in our schools.  Thank you for taking a few minutes to share your thoughts with us on this survey!

A similar survey was also administered to teachers and to students in fourth grade through sixth grade. Armstrong students took the survey during school before winter break.  You can review the questions asked of students by visiting this link.

Students logged in to the survey with their student ID and birth date. Student identities are confidential. Teachers or administrators will never see individual responses to survey questions and will only receive aggregated information, such as the total percentage of students who agree homework assignments help them learn the course material.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at (866) 440-1874 or 5essentials@nulluchicago.edu.

We ended 2018 with our first Kindness Week, and thanks to our committee who planned each day, it was a huge success.  I hope your kids mentioned something that made them smile!  The week included two service trips to Feed My Starving Children, a mitten drive organized by our K-2 team, and a buddy activity to make cards for our community members.  This afternoon we ended the week with our annual Winter Sing Along in the gym, where older students sat with their buddy classroom from a primary grade.  We wanted to make this sing along extra special – ask your child about how we made it snow in the gym!  Many special moments were shared on Twitter, so be sure to search the hashtag #D54Armstrong to see the activities that made this week a memorable one for all.

As we bring 2018 to a close, I want to express how grateful we are to have you and your family as a part of the Armstrong community. We wish all of you much joy and family bonding over the holidays, and we are looking forward to hearing all about your adventures when we return on January 7, 2019!

District 54 is once again excited to host our annual Multicultural Event in collaboration with the Schaumburg Park District. Our event will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Community Recreation Center (CRC) in Schaumburg. During the event, student groups have the opportunity to give performances that reflect various cultures.

If you are interested in performing, please complete and submit the online Performance Interest Form no later than Monday, December 17, 2018. More information can be found on the Performance Information Flyer.

If you have questions about the Performance Interest Form or the informational meeting, please contact Nancy Hellstrom at 847-357-5068 or Nicole Lumpp at 847-357-5072.