Happy Holidays from Olive-Us!!!!!!!

Olive-Us want to wish you and your family a wonderful winter break!

Make the most of each moment.

Make the most of each day.

Love the people around you,

and take time to play!

- by Joe Fitzpatrick

TWIG 12.19.14

Have a safe and happy holiday break!  xoxo-Olive PTA


Ecology Club:  The Ecology Club Members would like to extend warm holiday wishes to the entire Olive Family! If you are looking forward to spending some quality time crafting or gift wrapping, don't forget that our wonderful EcOWLogists, in partnership with Terracycle, are collecting empty glue sticks and bottles as well as empty tape dispensers and cores to gather points for the school and to make a difference! Drop off these items when classes resume by Agent O's corner (right next to the elevator in the Commons). 
Also, click here for a couple of ideas for a few fun, easy and cheerful holiday crafts that are all made from recycled materials - our small way of saying ''Thank you for caring and choosing to be green!"

ABC/25 Parking Raffle for February: Congratulations to the winners of the priority parking and seating for the 3rd grade concert.  The February raffle will be drawn the last week of January.  This parking spot will be solely for the winning family for the entire month. All others are asked to park in a different spot if this one is unoccupied. Please click here for the ticket print outs.  Enter more than once to increase your chances!  Winners will be notified by email. Questions? Contact Amy Woolsey or Sharon Hanssen

ABC/25 Scholarship Applications for high school seniors who attended a D25 school - The Arlington Heights Council of PTAs Scholarship Application is now available in the College Counseling Office at Buffalo Grove, Hersey, Rolling Meadows, Prospect and St. Viator high schools.  It is also available on the School District 25 website at sd25.org. The scholarship is open to all graduating Seniors who attended any District 25 schools for at least three years.  Applications are due February 28, 2015.  Please click here for more information and the applications

Open Committee Chairs for next year (2015-2016) -  We have several volunteer committee chair opportunities for next year with our PTA.  It's our amazing volunteers who make our programs possible!! The openings are;  Meet & Greet, Character Counts, Chess Club, Jr. Great Books, Parent Patrol, Reflections, Volunteer Coordinator, Calendar and Plant Sale.  Please contact Rebecca Linscott or Angie Frye if you are interested or would like more information.

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

OMS students present at District #25 School Board meeting

Mrs. FitzPatrick, Claire, and Charlie presented the amazing work of the service learning club to the District #25 School Board. Their presentation included statistics noting the generous donation to the Buddy Foundation and the impressive collection of non-perishable food items during the Fill the Next food drive.

Kindergarteners Search for the Gingerbread Man

Ran, ran as fast as they could, but they still could not catch the Gingerbread Man!

Do You Code?

Thanks to Mrs. Seisser and the LMC staff, 3rd-5th students at OMS enjoyed an Hour of Code this week. Some things we overheard while they were working - I'm going to get this on my 2nd try, I'm on my 5th try, If we learn this we will be able to crack code, Isn't this hard!, Look at this...You can't envision this, First try! Got it on the first try! Collaboration and perseverance at their best!

To check out what they explored, please visit http://code.org/.

Favorite Holiday Read with Dr. Bein

3rd graders had the opportunity to listen to favorite holiday reads by a few special guests including Dr. Bein, who read Would You Rather? by John Burningham.

Buddy Foundation Fundraiser

The OMS Service Learning Club students raised more that $400.00 for the Buddy Foundation by selling homemade crafts to our students during the lunch hour. What a great example of service at it's finest!  Those furry friends are lucky to have such caring Owls looking out for them!

Third Grade Concert

We are very proud of the singing talents of our third grade students at their winter concert!

Twig 12.12.14

Manna cards and Cookie Dough -  Thanks to everyone who participated in the Cookie Dough sales and the Manna card sales.  They were very successful and earned a little over $2000 for the Olive PTA.  A special thanks to Bridget Krafton, Sarah Klancnik and Brenda Larson for organizing these fundraisers. 

Holiday Storytime with the Principals:  This event will take place on December 19 during the school day.  Please keep an eye out for an email with opportunities to volunteer during the event and/or to bring supplies.

Michael Talk -  The Michael talk was on December 9 and was attended by a large portion of the 5th grade boys and dads.  It was a great night for all who participated.  Special thanks to Renee Lubbe and Matt Fink for organizing this event.  If you would like more information about The Robert Crown Michael program please visit their website. The Michael and Linda talks will occur for the 5th grade students during school on 1/23.

ABC/25 Scholarship Applications for high school seniors who attended a D25 school - The Arlington Heights Council of PTAs Scholarship Application is now available in the College Counseling Office at Buffalo Grove, Hersey, Rolling Meadows, Prospect and St. Viator high schools.  It is also available on the School District 25 website at sd25.org. The scholarship is open to all graduating Seniors who attended any District 25 schools for at least three years.  Applications are due February 28, 2015.  Please click here for more information and the applications

Open Committee Chairs for next year (2015-2016) -  We have several volunteer committee chair opportunities for next year with our PTA.  It's our amazing volunteers who make our programs possible!! The openings are;  Meet & Greet, Character Counts, Chess Club, Jr. Great Books, Parent Patrol, Reflections, Volunteer Coordinator, Calendar and Plant Sale.

Science Club:  Science Club returns in January and February with new activities for Olive first through fifth grade students to enjoy. Please follow the link to topic descriptions and permission form, which must be returned to the OMS office no later than December 17
OMS Recognition: Olive will be recognized at the Board of Education meeting at OMS on 12/18 at 7:30pm. The Fill the Nest video that Service Learning Club created will be shown. Click here to view it.

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

TWIG 12.5.14

ABC/25 Front Row Seating & Parking and Monthly Parking raffle:  The 3rd grade performance is December 10th at 7pm.  Enter the raffle to qualify for front row seats and priority parking.  Click here to find and print out tickets and for pricing information.  

Manna Gift Card Fundraiser: Today is the last day to turn in Manna Order forms.  Its an easy way to shop for all those people on your list or yourself. Attached is the form where you will be able to choose from over 300 vendors. Print out the form, choose your options, make your check payable to OMS-PTA and send it into school. OMS-PTA will receive a % of sales. All orders need to be in the office by Friday, December 5. Pick up will be December 11.

Paper Directories:  The 2014-15 OMS Paper Directories have been delivered! If you would like additional copies, they are available from Brenda Lettieri in the main office for $5. If there are any corrections or additions to the directory, please contact Shannon Kersemeier at skersemeier@gmail.com. These changes will be posted in the TWIG. Thank you to everyone for your patience in getting this project completed and thank you to all OMS families who have joined the PTA! Your membership gives you access to the electronic DirectorySpot app and 1 copy of the paper directory. Please contact Shannon Kersemeier if you have not received your copy or if you are having difficulty accessing the app. (Thanks Shannon for all of your hard work on this!!!)

Michael Talk:  Parents of 5th grade boys: The Robert Crown Michael program will be presented Tuesday December 9 at 7:00 pm. This is a really great event for Dads and sons to attend together  Please click here for more information. To learn more about the specifics of the Robert Crown program and for their parent education, here's a link to their website.

Science Club:  Science Club returns in January and February with new activities for Olive first through fifth grade students to enjoy. Please follow the link to topic descriptions and permission form, which must be returned to the OMS office no later than Friday, December 19.

BINGO Night - Thanks to Marni Hanson, Jeanne Cosgrove and our many volunteers for coordinating and managing a terrific and fun BINGO night!!!

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

Buddy Foundation Fundraiser

The Olive-Mary Stitt Service Learning Club will be holding a voluntary fundraiser during lunch on December 10th, 2014.  Service Learning Club members personally created crafts which will be sold for $1.00 each to students and staff.  100% of the funds raised will be donated to the Buddy Foundation, a non-for-profit Arlington Heights animal shelter.  You OMS student is welcome to participate by purchasing one of these crafts during their lunch period!

From the Office Staff

Your warm wishes, greetings, and the love and support of our school are our holiday gifts. We, in the front office, truly appreciate all you do to make Olive-Mary Stitt a great place for students to be. In lieu of personal gifts, we would like to continue inviting you to donate to a charity of your choice or to the Wheeling Township Food Pantry. Gift cards are needed and best suited to serve the needy in our community. We are able to collect these in the front office until December 17th. We so value your modeling this spirit of giving to your children on our behalf.

D25 PARCC Update

Third through eighth grade students across school District 25 will take the PARCC standardized assessment in both English/language arts and math in March and again in May. The PARCC test is aligned to the new Illinois state standards and replaces ISAT, the previous state assessment. For the March session, grades 3 and 6 will take the computer-based version of the assessment while grades 4, 5, 7 and 8 will use the paper version. This is a new assessment and process for all of our staff and students and will require training and flexibility. We will continue to communicate updates with you as they develop. For additional information you can visit: http://www.parcconline.org/for-parents

Fill the Nest

A few of our service learning club members met with Mrs. FitzPatrick & Mrs. Perri last week to put together the following video to highlight this important OMS event.

OMS Fill the Nest from Becky FitzPatrick on Vimeo.

Art updates at OMS

Mr. DeMarco's latest blog post provides a summary of what Olive's Owls have been creating these first few months of school. Click HERE to find out more!" 

TWIG 11.21.14

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!!

ABC/25 Front Row Seating & Parking and Monthly Parking raffle:  The 3rd grade performance is December 10th at 7pm.  Enter the raffle to qualify for front row seats and priority parking.  Click here to find and print out tickets and for pricing information.  

Author Visit:  Author Brad Herzog spoke to the 1st and 2nd graders on Thursday morning about how he came up with ideas for his stories. If you or your child would like a personalized, autographed copy of one of Mr. Herzog's books.  Please use this link to order your copy. . Orders are due Tuesday December 2nd.

Michael Talk:  Parents of 5th grade boys: The Robert Crown Michael program will be presented Tuesday December 9 at 7:00 pm.  Please click here for more information.  

Science Club:  Science Club returns in January and February with new activities for Olive first through fifth grade students to enjoy. Please follow the link to topic descriptions and permission form, which must be returned to the OMS office no later than Friday, December 19.

Manna Gift Card Fundraiser: An easy way to shop for all those people on your list or yourself. Attached is the form where you will be able to choose from over 300 vendors. Print out the form, choose your options, make your check payable to OMS-PTA and send it into school. OMS-PTA will receive a % of sales. All orders need to be in the office by Friday, December 5. Pick up will be December 11.

Ecology Club Updates:  There is a lot of fun things happening with the Ecology Club.  Please click here to learn about their Tree of Life project, the Carton Recycling Challenge and see photos of the beautiful winter planter boxes.  

Exciting Volunteer Opportunities:  

- Parent Patrol - is looking for a new co-chair to head up the committee next year. Please consider this wonderful opportunity and email Jan Maher at janmaher1010@gmail.com with questions.

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

Fun with Author Brad Herzog!

First and second graders welcomed author, Brad Herzog, to Olive-Mary Stitt on Thursday, November 20.  He is the author of more than 40 fiction and  nonfiction books for both children and adults.  Mr. Herzog involved the student audience in collaborating with him on creating a story to demonstrate how to creatively use imagination.  Later, he made a special trip to Mrs. Netzel's second grade class to finish brainstorming the group story.  One highlight of the visit was when Mr. Herzog shared the story of how his eleven-year-old son became an author. Luke Herzog has already published two fantasy novels! To see more photos and videos please visit the LMC website: http://olivemarystittlmc.weebly.com/author-visits.html

Thanks again ABC 25!!!!

Once again we are so appreciative of the many wonderful ways the ABC 25 Foundation supports Olive.  Students were thrilled to receive these new indoor recess games!  (& a special thank you to the OMS Student Council for the speedy delivery!)

Hour of Coding at OMS

December 15th - 18th OMS will welcome third, fourth and fifth grade students into the LMC during their lunch recess to introduce them to the Hour of Code. This is optional, students will sign up if they are interested during their LMC time the week of December 1st - 5th. Depending on the amount of interest, students will be assigned to one or two sessions.  The activities the students participate in on code.org are "teaching them to write simple code to solve puzzles to get to the next level" (Hadi code.orgfounder).  Students do not need a username and password to participate in these activities, and they can explore code.org at home. We are hoping to get students excited about computer programming. We will continue to integrate this into lessons to build persistence, collaboration, problem solving, striving for accuracy, and more. 

Getting the Most Out of Parent-Teacher Conferences

We look forward to meeting with you during Parent-Teacher Conferences! To help you make the most of our time together, the following publication from Harvard Family Research Project offers some great tips:

Parent-Teacher Conference Tips for Parents

BINGO!

Another great night of OMS families gathering together for an evening of fun!

TWIG 11.14.14

Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough Fundraiser! The sale started on Friday, November 7th and  will run through Monday, November 17th. For every tub of cookie dough sold, the PTA will make $6.40!  Please check backpack mail for a brochure and order form. Checks can be made payable to OMS PTA. Any questions, please email bkrafton@gmail.com or klancnik@comcast.net. Thank you for participating!

Family Bingo Night: FAMILY BINGO NIGHT is tonight, November 14th. Admission if FREE! Please have each child bring a non-perishable food item as a donation to share with those in need in our community.The fun begins at 7:00 and ends at 8:30pm. Any questions? Please contact Marni Hanson at marnihanson5@yahoo.com or Jeanne Cosgrove at jeanne.coz@me.com

Manna Gift Card Fundraiser: An easy way to shop for all those people on your list or yourself. Attached is the form where you will be able to choose from over 300 vendors. Print out the form, choose your options, make your check payable to OMS-PTA and send it into school. OMS-PTA will receive a % of sales. All orders need to be in the office by Friday, December 5. Pick up will be December 11.

Recycling Day:  Please join the Ecology Club at the America Recycles Expo this Saturday November 15 at Oakton Community College from 10 am - 3 pm.  Wear your Olive spirit wear!  Click here for more information on the event and Ecology Club.  

ABC 25 Yankee Candle:  Order pick ups will be Tuesday November 18, from 3:30- 4:30 pm at Olive.  

Exciting Volunteer Opportunities:  

- Parent Patrol - is looking for a new co-chair to head up the committee next year. Please consider this wonderful opportunity and email Jan Maher at janmaher1010@gmail.com with questions.

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

Senate Bill 16:  Please visit IL Senator Matt Murphy's website www.senatormattmurphy.com for information regarding the impact of SB16.  Also, the Illinois State Board of Education would like to gather the public's opinions and ideas about school funding. People are encouraged to email any opinions or feedback to isbefy16@isbe.net.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

Spirit Day - Next Friday!

The OMS Student Council would like to announce their three Spirit Days for this school year!  

11/21 Mismatch Day- silly combinations of clothing

1/30 Neon Day- wear your most brightly colored clothing to brighten up a winter day

5/8 Dress for the Decades Day- wear 50s, 60-70s, or 80s themed items

We have spirit yes we do- and we hope that you do too!!!!!

Author Visit - Order your book now!

Author Brad Herzog will make a presentation to first and second graders on Thursday, November 20 in the morning.  Mr. Herzog has written many nonfiction books for both children and adults.  He will share various facets of the writing life such as how he became a writer, how he gets his ideas, and how he does research to prepare to write his nonfiction books.  He’ll also get the student audience to collaborate with him on creating a story to demonstrate how to creatively use imagination.  If students would like to order an autographed copy of one of Mr. Herzog’s books, they can print the order form linked here.  Mr. Herzog will sign the books for students who turn in order forms before his visit.  If anyone would like to order a book after his visit, those forms must be turned in by Tuesday, December 2.  Mr. Herzog will autograph those as well and mail them to Olive-Mary Stitt School.  Since many of Mr. Herzog’s books focus on sports, first and second graders are invited to wear sports shirts or sweatshirts from their favorite sports teams on Thursday for the presentation as an optional activity.

Click HERE for a book order form

Patriots vs. Loyalists

As 5th grade students delved deeper into their study of the Revolutionary War, they became Patriots and Loyalists, debating whether the colonists should be independent from Britain.

Veterans Day

OMS students thank and support our Veterans!

Bingo Night This Friday!

This Friday, November 14th from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm is our annual PTA sponsored Olive Bingo Night!  We hope that we will see all of you at this fun family event.  

OMS Filling the Nest!

We had another successful year of teaching our students about giving back to their community by filling the Olive Nest!  We are very proud of the Olive community and the amazing amount of non-perishable items collected during our Fill The Nest Food Drive.  Thank you to each and every family who donated and to the PTA Character Counts Committee in partnership with the Service Learning Club for organizing such a successful event!

Character Counts at OMS!

At OMS we celebrate our students and teach the importance of good character using the 

Six Pillars of Character!

Trustworthiness

Respect 

Responsibility

Fairness 

Caring

Citizenship

Thanks to our outstanding PTA Character Counts Committee, our students engaged in some very thoughtful discussions about how to continue to make OMS a great place to learn and grow during this Character Counts Week!

TWIG 11.7.14

TWIG 11.7.14

Next PTA Meeting - Wednesday, November 12th at 7pm in the LMC. All are invited to attend! We will also be taking nominations for nominating committee members (this committee will nominate Executive Board members for the open positions for 2015-2016).

Character Counts "Fill the Nest": Thank you for all of the canned food drive donations!  We need volunteers to help load the food into cars today (Friday 11/7) for transport after school. It is a fun task and kids can help too. 

Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough Fundraiser! The sale will begin on Friday, November 7th and run through Monday, November 17th. For every tub of cookie dough sold, the PTA will make $6.40!  Please check backpack mail for a brochure and order form. Checks can be made payable to OMS PTA. Any questions, please email bkrafton@gmail.com or klancnik@comcast.net. Thank you for participating!

Family Bingo Night: FAMILY BINGO NIGHT is one week away, November 14th. Admission if FREE! Please have each child bring a non-perishable food item as a donation to share with those in need in our community.The fun begins at 7:00 and ends at 8:30pm. Any questions? Please contact Marni Hanson at marnihanson5@yahoo.com or Jeanne Cosgrove at jeanne.coz@me.com

Volunteer Opportunities:  
- LMC Author Liaison - The PTA is currently looking for a volunteer to work with Mrs. Brown, the LMC director, on organizing author visits for the kids.  Please contact Rebecca Linscott or Angie Frye  to volunteer or for more information.
- Parent Patrol - is looking for a new co-chair to head up the committee next year. Please consider this wonderful opportunity and email Jan Maher at janmaher1010@gmail.com with questions.

Junior Great Books: Junior Great Books is an extracurricular reading program for all reading abilities. It is open to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. The students read a short story or folktale each week at home and discuss the story during the recess portion of lunch. The groups meet for 9 weeks from January to just before Spring Break and the 10th week is a pizza party. Groups are small, typically broken out by grade and the discussion is led by parent volunteers. Please let Julie Siegel or Christa Svienty know if your child and/or you are interested in participating.  Click here for enrollment sheet.

October PTA Meeting Minutes - Click here to read the minutes from last month's meeting.

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

Halloween Fun

Thanks to our very hard-working and creative parent volunteers, we had a great deal of fun at our Halloween parties!

OMS School Report Card

Illinois will again offer a consumer-friendly 2014 school, district and state Report Card (http://www.illinoisreportcard.com/), which offers facts about school progress, advanced courses and extracurricular offerings to showcase the unique qualities of our schools. The Education Commission of the States recently identified Illinois as having the best report card out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia..

The Report Card also features results of our statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions, called the Illinois 5Essentials. The survey responses from students and teachers can be used as another tool for school improvement.

Click HERE to view the Olive-Mary Stitt School Report Card

Help Us Fill The Nest!

Olive Owls we need your help!  The annual Fill the Nest Food Drive will begin next week Nov 3-7!  Bags and flyers went home this week. Please help us "fill the nest" with non perishable food items of your choice. The donations will be given to the Wheeling Township Food Pantry. Please take this wonderful opportunity to help the kids learn what it means to volunteer and give back to their community. Thank you in advance for your generous donations.

TWIG 10.31.14

Character Counts "Fill the Nest":  Character Counts program "Fill the Nest" canned food drive is next week November 3-7th.  Your child should have brought home paper bags with a flyer attached explaining what to bring.  We also need volunteers to help load the food into cars on Friday for transport.  Please stay after school on Friday, November 7, to help out with this.  It is a fun task and kids can help too. Click here to view the flyer.  

Picture Retakes/ Club Pictures, November 6:  School picture re-takes and club pictures for this year's yearbook will be Thursday, November 6th at 8:30 am in the Commons. Everyone should have received their student pictures. If you were absent or need a retake. please bring picture packet or new order form to school next Thursday, 11/6/14. Retakes will begin promptly in the morning after announcements. Additional forms are available in the office.
Please Note: PM Kindergarten retakes need to be done between 9:00-11:00 am.  Use this link to see a list of clubs that will be photographed that day.  

Reflections Program: This is the last weekend left in this year's Reflection campaign to work on your piece of art.  All Reflections entries are due to the school office by this Monday, November 3rd.  Use the link below to submit your entry
https://sites.google.com/site/olivemarystittreflections/ or see this flyer for more details. The OMS Reflections committee chairs are: Barbara Doulas and Jennifer Faley.

Citizen Observer Program and Metra Safety Poster Contest:  Officer Veenstra, our school school resource officer, has shared information with us regarding a Citizen Observation program.  Click here to learn more.  Also, the Metra is sponsoring a safety poster design contest, click here for more information and entry form.

Family Bingo Night: FAMILY BINGO NIGHT is two weeks away, November 14th. The fun begins at 7:00 and ends at 8:30pm. Any questions? Please contact Marni Hanson at marnihanson5@yahoo.com or Jeanne Cosgrove at jeanne.coz@me.com

Volunteer Opportunity:  The PTA is looking for a volunteer to work with Mrs. Brown, the LMC director, on organizing author visits for the kids.  Please contact Rebecca Linscott or Angie Frye  to volunteer or for more information.  

Junior Great Books: Junior Great Books is an extracurricular reading program for all reading abilities. It is open to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. The students read a short story or folktale each week at home and discuss the story during the recess portion of lunch. The groups meet for 9 weeks from January to just before Spring Break and the 10th week is a pizza party. Groups are small, typically broken out by grade and the discussion is led by parent volunteers. Please let Julie Siegel or Christa Svienty know if your child and/or you are interested in participating.  Click here for enrollment sheet.

Chess Club:  The PTA will be sponsoring Chess Club this year for students to play chess and learn more about the game. All interested Olive students from grades K-5 are invited to join. Chess Club is for all levels — from beginner to experienced player (we'll teach you the rules!). It is not necessary for students to come to all meetings since each meeting has an independent lesson. Chess Club will begin October 20th and we want to make sure we have your email address added to our list. Click here for more information.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  If you have an accompanying email blast please email olivepta@gmail.com.  Email blasts must be a follow up to a post in a prior Twig.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com

RSVP Coffee & Conversation with the Principals

Please join us this Friday, November  7th, from 9:30 - 10:30 am in the Olive-Mary Stitt teacher's lounge.  We will begin our meeting with an open forum discussion, followed by a discussion of the book,  Falling in Love with Close Reading, by Lehman & Roberts.  If you have already read the book, we look forward to hearing your insights and thoughts.  If you have not yet had an opportunity to read this book, we hope that after our conversation you will want to explore how rigorous, meaningful, and joyous close reading can be for our students!

Click HERE to RSVP

Halloween Storytime!

Mrs. Perri enjoyed her annual Halloween storytime with our first grade pumpkins and goblins!

Open House in the LMC

The Library Media Center Staff would like to thank the Olive-Mary Stitt families who visited the LMC during Open House and sponsored new books for our library collection.  Our total count of donated books was 81!  Also, we had some students who won autographed copies of new books.  The winners were as follows.  William Baik of K-1 won Llama Llama and the Bully Goat.  Addison Solvsberg from 3-3 won Underdogs.  Owen Wellner from 4-1 won Pi In the Sky. Thank you to all of our families for your support!  We will use your donations to purchase additional materials for our library.

TWIG 10.24.14

Progressive Dinner:  The 3rd Annual Progressive Dinner was an amazing success!! Thank you to all of our host families (Liz and Peter Schrenk, Rachael and Chris Hooker, Jeanne and Chris Cosgrove, Jeff and Julie Forsberg, Michelle and Will Thompson, Rebecca and Brian Linscott) and Olive families who attended our largest PTA fundraising event, as well as the Co-Chairs (Lindsey Campion and Angie Frye)  Please contact Angie Frye or Rebecca Linscott if you are interested in Co-Chairing this event next year, or if you would like to be a host or co-host family.  You do not need to sign up with a co-host, we can match you up with another interested family.  

Family Bingo Night: MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! The PTA sponsored FAMILY BINGO NIGHT is coming up on Friday, November 14th from 7:00-8:30pm. This event is a fun-filled night for our Olive families. The kids can sit with their friends and families can get to know each other. Kids can win various prizes and EVERY Olive student will take home at least one prize. Admission is FREE! Please have each child bring a non-perishable food item as a donation to share with those in need in our community. Any questions? Please contact Jeanne Cosgrove at Jeanne.coz@me.com or Marni Hanson at marnihanson5@yahoo.com.

Volunteer Opportunity:  The PTA is looking for a volunteer to work with Mrs. Brown, the LMC director, on organizing author visits for the kids.  Please contact Rebecca Linscott or Angie Frye  to volunteer or for more information.  

Junior Great Books: Junior Great Books is an extracurricular reading program for all reading abilities. It is open to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. The students read a short story or folktale each week at home and discuss the story during the recess portion of lunch. The groups meet for 9 weeks from January to just before Spring Break and the 10th week is a pizza party. Groups are small, typically broken out by grade and the discussion is led by parent volunteers. Please let Julie Siegel or Christa Svienty know if your child and/or you are interested in participating.  Click here for enrollment sheet.

Senate Bill 16:  There is a bill being considered by our Illinois Senate that will significantly impact educational funding for our school district.  Click here for more information on the bill and how to voice your opinion.  To view the SD25 letter about how the bill will impact our district and schools click here.

Chess Club:  The PTA will be sponsoring Chess Club this year for students to play chess and learn more about the game. All interested Olive students from grades K-5 are invited to join. Chess Club is for all levels — from beginner to experienced player (we'll teach you the rules!). It is not necessary for students to come to all meetings since each meeting has an independent lesson. Chess Club will begin October 20th and we want to make sure we have your email address added to our list. Click here for more information.

Box Tops/Labels for Education:  Today is the last day for the Fall box top/labels collection. The top class in K-2 and 3-5 will get to choose their prize. Click here to see Box Top products.  Click here to see Labels for Education products. Any questions - ask Jen Greenwell at jen_greenwell@yahoo.com

Reflections Program: This year's Reflections Program has begun, with the thought-provoking theme of "The world would be a better place if.....".  For entry forms and rules, please visit our school's Reflections website at https://sites.google.com/site/olivemarystittreflections/ or see the attached flyer for more details. The OMS Reflections committee chairs are: Barbara Doulas and Jennifer Faley.

District 25 E-Flyer:  Here you will find information published weekly about community educational and recreational opportunities for children and families in our district.  Click here for the E-Flyer
Click on the appropriate date to view this week's events.

Twig Submissions:  If you would like to submit something for the Twig or website please use this form.  All submissions must be filled out and sent by Thursday morning in order to appear in that week's Twig.  The form also gives an option for an email blast and attaching a form.  Any questions please contact olivepta@gmail.com