MARK T. SKINNER WEST SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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Report Card Pick Up is Wednesday, November 13th
Please see HERE for report card pick up schedule
No school on Wednesday, Nov 13th
Grades K-5:
11:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Grades 6-8:
11:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Individual Parent Conferences
3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Teachers Lunch Break
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Report Cards Distributed
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Make-Up Days for the 2019/2020 School Year
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Skinner Branch Building Update

Dear Branch Kindergarten & Preschool Families,
The weather in Chicago is unpredictable! The Skinner West Branch does have an outdoor playground but we needed options for inclement weather.
Using two large empty classrooms at the Branch and approval from Principal Clark, we secured funding from Friends of Skinner West and created a movement room!
Working on gross motor skills and creating open areas for social interaction will create many long-lasting benefits.
There are 3 parts of the Gross Motor Room:
1) Kitchen & Life Skills corner,
2) Dramatic Play & Puppet corner, and
3) Large Gross Motor will be in half of the room.
There are also three sections for the Library/Computer Lab:
1) Computer Lab (we will utilize current desks & Chrome Books),
2) Reading Corner (children's furniture, rug & decorations), and
3) Shelving & Book Cart (Mrs. Clark has agreed we may move all needed books from the Main Building).
Thank you FOSW and Principal Clark!
Amanda Rzepka (Kindergarten Mom to Simon R.)
Kate Matalka (Preschool Mom to Nicholas M)
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PTO Meeting Tuesday, Nov 12th @ 6pm
PTO is a great way to get involved on your time and help improve our school.
We invite you to come to the next PTO meeting on Nov. 12 at 6 pm. We will meet in a first-floor classroom in the annex (new addition).
Look for a sign with the room number on the pillar in the school lobby before the meeting.
We hope to see you there!
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Skinner West Night with the BULLS!
BULLS VS. KNICKS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12 | 7:00 P.M. CT
Use promo code: skinnerwest for discounted tickets!
300 Level, Rows 8-17 (baseline): $32.40 (regularly $54.80)
Enjoy a legendary outing at a Chicago Bulls game with Skinner West students, faculty, family and friends.
Purchase tickets at a discounted price now, and for every ticket sold, 30% of the proceeds will go towards supporting enrichment activities for Skinner West Superstars.
You will receive access to watch player warm-ups and share the excitement of Bulls basketball and the NBA's leading entertainment experience as the team takes on the Knicks.
Support Skinner West and be a part of Bulls Nation today!
Can't go to the game? To help expand the types of support given to the school, please also consider donating the price of a ticket to the PTO.
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FOSW Event: Mattress Sale Fundraiser
Friends of Skinner West is excited to co-host a new fundraiser with Friends of Whitney Young.
If you are in the market for a new mattress (yours should be replaced every 7-10 years), please consider attending the Just Get Sleep mattress event
- Saturday, November 9th
- 10:00am -5:00pm
- Whitney Young High School
You will be able to test out brand name mattresses (Tempurpedic, Beautyrest, etc.), purchase a mattress for up to 50% off, obtain white glove delivery and a portion of your purchase will go to Friends of Skinner West and Friends of Whitney Young.
We hope to see you there!
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Common Core Math Homework Help
To provide parents with an overview of Common Core Math and take some of the bewilderment out of making sense of our kids' math homework, PTO President and CPS teacher will be available for a brief presentation and Q&A next week
The event will run from 7:00 - 7:30 pm on Thursday 11/14 at Pow Gym, just a couple blocks from Skinner West. Children are welcome to accompany parents. The event is free.
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Meet Senora Morales: Upper Grade Spanish Teacher 
Hola! I'm Ms. Morales the upper-grade World Language - Spanish teacher. I began teaching at Skinner in February 2019.
My family is from Central and South America. We lived in Guatemala and later in Colombia until I was ten years old, so Spanish is my first language.
As a native Spanish speaker, sharing my love for the Spanish language and culture has become my passion. I earned a M.E. and B.A. in Spanish, Marketing, & Journalism. I have my Professional Educator License to teach Spanish and ELA.
In my free time, I enjoy traveling with my family. I have visited Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Belize, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. I also love dogs and volunteer at my local animal shelter.
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Calling all Superstars Photographers! 
We hope you have noticed the new Skinner West homepage!
Currently, we are looking for high quality images to enhance the photo carousel. If you have a photo you would like to share, please send an email with subject line "photo."
Please note that that we only accept 'group' photos (to assist with our students' safety and privacy).
We will review all photos and post if we can!
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Join the Skinner Underwater Robotics Club 
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Whitney Young Open House Rescheduled 
The Sunday, October 20 Whitney Young Open House for prospective students has been rescheduled.
The Open House is now scheduled for Sunday, November 24 with the Academic Center presentation at 10:00 a.m. and the high school presentations every 30 minutes between 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
More information can be found here.
Due to the continuation of the CPS work stoppage, please check with each individual school for possible rescheduled open houses.
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All comments, suggestions or requests to submit information to this newsletter should be emailed to skinnerwest@gmail.com.
Communications Volunteers are welcome. Donate your time to help increase communications and contact us!
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Would you like to add another parent, guardian or caregiver?
Text SKINNERNEWS to 22828 or click here
(Messaging & data rates may apply)

Deborah M. Clark
Principal
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