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Stevenson Star Newsletter
A Message from Mr. Sussman
Greetings,
As the holiday time approaches, I want to wish everyone a safe and
healthy Thanksgiving break. Please take the opportunity to spend time with your children. In this
Newsletter, you will find many exciting activities happening in the coming weeks and we encourage you
to attend them. I’d like to share 10 interesting facts about Thanksgiving that you may or may not
know.
Top Ten Historical Thanksgiving Facts
1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November in the USA.
2. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.
3. The Plymouth Pilgrims were the first to celebrate the Thanksgiving.
4. They celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1621.
5. The Wampanoag Indians were the people who taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate the land.
6. The Pilgrim leader, Governor William Bradford, had organized the first Thanksgiving feast in the
year 1621 and invited the neighboring Wampanoag Indians also to the feast.
7. The state of New York officially made Thanksgiving Day an annual custom in 1817.
8. The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tradition began in the 1920's.
9. Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the USA.
10. By the fall of 1621 only half of the pilgrims, who had sailed on the Mayflower, survived. The survivors, thankful to be alive, decided to hold a thanksgiving feast.
Ode to Thanksgiving
Again, I wish you a festive holiday season.
Warm Wishes,
Howard Sussman
PTO Sponsored Event
November 20th, 21st and 24th
Students can buy books during class visits.
***Open to families during conferences! ****
Thursday, November 20th (5-8pm) / Monday, November 24th (8-11:30am; 1-3:30pm; 5-8pm)
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PTO sponsored Event
Penguin Patch Holiday Boutique Shoppe
Monday, December 1st—Wednesday, December 10th
Gifts can be bought for all to enjoy!!!!
Most of items range from $1.00 to $5.00
District 63 is hiring substitute teachers
If you enjoy working with children, hold a
bachelor’s degree or higher from a
regionally accredited institution of higher
education, and would like to make a
positive difference in our schools, apply
online at www.emsd63.org
Important Dates to Remember
No School-Monday, November 24th—Day/Evening ParentTeacher conferences
No School—Tuesday, November 25th
No School-Wednesday, November 26th
No School—Thursday, November 27th—Thanksgiving Day
No School—Friday, November 28th
**Classes resume on December 1st**
Stevenson School’s
Thursday, December 4, 2014
4:00pm-8:00pm
Old Orchard’s Barnes & Noble Bookstore
4999 old Orchard Center,
Skokie, Il 60077
847-676-2230
All Students must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Busing is available for FREE.
Please send forms in by Monday, December 1, 2014.
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4th/5th Grade Multiage Classroom
4th and 5th grade students have finished writing personal narrative papers this trimester. Skills included in
your child's paper included transitions, dialogue, punctuation, plot, setting, and sequence of events. Next trimester, we will work on informational research projects. In reading, we continue to focus on literature texts,
with specific attention to character traits, setting, and theme. The 4th and 5th grade scientists are working
through the engineering and design process with tasks that require teamwork, communication, and revising prototypes to find solutions to a problem. 4th grade math students are learning different methods of division
(with and without remainders), such as arrays, area models, tape diagrams, number bonds, and the algebraic
method. 5th grade math students have begun their fraction unit. Students will be able to add and subtract
fractions with unlike denominators and solve word problems with unlike denominators. Students will then extend their previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply a fraction or whole number by a
fraction. It was a pleasure meeting with several parents at conferences yesterday evening and we look forward
to meeting with all other parents at conferences on Monday.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Costa, Mrs. Grodin, Mrs. Magee, Ms. Oros
November Events at the Niles Library
All programs are free, no library card necessary to attend!
Family Movie
TLC Session II begins November 17th!
Join TLC: Total Learning Community,
our national award-winning afterschool
program now in its 14th year! The TLC
Drop in for an afternoon film. Movies are free and we will sup-
program is open until 6pm at every dis-
ply a snack. This month’s movie is Muppets Most Wanted, rated
trict 63 school this year. Registration
PG, 106 minutes. For all ages. No registration required.
Saturday, November 22
2:00pm-3:00 pm.
Lego WeDo
Grades 2-5 are invited to come and tinker with the Lego WeDo
Kits as we explore simple coding and build some fun models.
Please call, come in, or go online to register.
Monday, November 24
2:00pm-3:00pm.
Lego Club
Join us on the 4th Monday of each month to create masterpieces at our Lego Club. For grades k-8. No registration required.
Monday, November 24
4:30pm-5:15pm.
Niles Public Library
6960 West Oakton
Niles, Il 60714
is on-going. Your child is welcome to
join their friends after school for
homework help, educational, recreational, social and cultural experiences.
Give your child something productive to
do every day after school, in a safe, positive learning environment supervised
primarily by District 63 staff.
For more information or to register contact Pam Surber, TLC director or the
TLC office at 847-827-4137. Visit the
school district’s website:
The library will close at 5pm on
Wednesday, November 26 and be
closed on Thursday, November 27
for the Thanksgiving holiday
www.emsd63.org and find the “TLC” tab
at the top of the homepage. We look
forward to hearing from you.
See you after school!