Monday, March 21, 2011

UPDATE: Raven Theatre Benefit - The Hot & Delicious Ticket in Town

Mike Manna, chair of the Raven Theatre Benefit, reports that ticket sales have been good for the Peirce benefit performance of Radio Golf on Sunday March 27th.  With at least 90 tickets sold, we are looking forward to a successful outing at the Raven. 

If you haven't bought your ticket yet, please contact Mike Manna at mike@chicagodancesupply or see Sally Belizario in the main office.  Tickets are $25 each and include a wonderful dessert & champagne reception.  The reception begins at 1:30pm, showtime 3pm.

You will be treated to delicious desserts donated by local businesses:
Anna Held Cafe, Taste of Heaven, Swedish Bakery, & Acre.
And award-winning coffee provided by:
Metropolis Roasting Company
Please join the Peirce community in celebrating the RAVEN Theatre program and thanking our neighborhood businesses for their support.



Sunday, March 20, 2011

Parent Judges Needed for Peirce School History Fair

Parent judges are needed for the PEIRCE SCHOOL HISTORY FAIR - Thursday, March 24th
Judging takes place throughout the morning - 9:30 am - 12:30 pm in the gymnasium.
  
If you have 30-60 minutes to help with this effort, please email Ms. Foss to confirm your availability: Jennifer A. Foss < jafoss@cps.edu >. 
All parent judges will be provided with complete instructions and a scoring sheet. 
 
WE REALLY APPRECIATE ANY TIME YOU CAN VOLUNTEER!
 

Friday, March 11, 2011

Reminder: Peirce International Family Dance Night

Peirce International Family Dance Night
Sponsored by
LSC, MPTSO, PAC, BAC, and FOP together as Bridge of Culture
PUENTE DE CULTURA
People Understanding Enriching Not Judging Teaching Each Other
Friday, March 18th
6 – 8 PM
Peirce School Gymnasium
$10 per family
Please pay in advance by cash or personal check.
Your name will be placed on a guest list. No tickets will be distributed.
Return the slip below by Wednesday, March 16th.
Please respond as early as possible.
Ashley and Cesar from Giordano Dance Chicago are back with their high energy and dynamic dance skills to teach us Latin, hip hop and other dance styles. In addition, our own 4-8th grade students will demonstrate and teach some Hip Hop, Vietnamese, African and ballroom dance moves from their enrichment classes. Join us for a great night of dancing for all ages and levels.
If you would like to donate a favorite food which represents your family
or culture, (to serve about 10 people) please indicate that below. Due to CPS policy, the food needs to be store bought, not prepared in your home. Please bring the purchased food ready to serve. Beverages will be provided.
Parking will be available in the Peirce parking lot or on the street.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Please return this portion in an envelope marked “Family Dance Night” to your child’s teacher by Wednesday, March 16th.
The _________________________________________ family will attend Family Dance Night.
Number of family members to attend __________
Student’s Name (s) _________________________________________ Room # ___________
$10 enclosed [ ] cash [ ] check (made payable to Peirce MPTSO)
I will bring _________________________________________ to share
Bought dish / dessert
 

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Middle School Career Day: Professionals Wanted !

Think back to the sixth grade. What did you envision your life would be like when you grew up? Did you ever think that you would be where you are now? Who were the people that helped set you on your course in life?

We would like to offer you an opportunity to be that person that plants a seed in a young person’s mind at the Peirce Middle School Career Day on Thursday, March 31, 2011. We are inviting professionals to share how they got there and to meet with students to discuss their career goals. We hope you will consider joining us!

As teachers we can share our career experiences, but we want our students to get a picture of all the opportunities that are available to them. Many of our students are unaware of the career options that exist in today’s world. The purpose of our Career Day is to have students meet professionals in different career fields to help them explore their interests and to create realistic plans of action.

Please let us know if you will be able to participate in our Career Day by Friday, March 11
th by sending an e-mail to Ms. Foss at jafoss@cps.edu.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Mad Science to be offered at Peirce

Mad Science a private company that caters after school programs to students interested in science, will be offered at Peirce starting April 5th on Tuesdays from 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. The 8 week session will be offered to kindergarten through fourth graders and costs $112, about $14 per week. At least 12 students must sign up for the program to work and will extend to 5-6th grades if needed. Each student will get a take-home project/activity weekly. Stay tuned for more information.

HELP WANTED!

Parents are encouraged to participate at Peirce by volunteering their time and talents.  Most volunteer opportunities are easy, fun and a good way to meet fellow parents. Please consider volunteering for these upcoming events:
  
Tuesday, March 15th from 9-9:30 a.m.: Open House Greeters. A few parents are needed to greet prospective parents/neighbors as they arrive to attend the Open House. Stationed in the lobby or at the registration table, a friendly face is all that is needed. Contact Caroline Steelberg at csteelberg@sbcglobal.net for more information.
Tuesday March 15th from 9:30 -11 a.m.: Open House Tour Guides/Assistants. If you would like to participate as a tour guide or assist with a tour for our Open House, please contact Caroline Steelberg csteelberg@sbcglobal.net.

Friday, March 18th 6 p.m.: Puente de Culture Family Dance.  Volunteers needed for set up and clean up day of event.  Contact Chris Inserra at cminserra@sbcglobal.net.

Sunday, March 27th at 1:30 p.m.: Radio Golf Raven Theatre. Volunteers needed for ticket sales and day-of event set up. Contact Mike Manaa-Hoppenworth at mike@chicagodancesupply.com.

Wednesday March 30: Family Reading Night- Hawaiian theme. Volunteers are needed to help Ms. Hopkins transform the main hallway into a reef and meet immediately after school near the main office. Book sorters are also needed.  Donated books and CDs for upper grades still being collected so send yours in today. Contact Kim Biggs at  at 773.271.6370 or kimbiggs@rcn.com.

Wednesday May 18: Spring Benefit, Fiesta de Arte. Contact Kim Biggs if you would like to be on the committee at 773.271.6370 or kimbiggs@rcn.com.

Thank you parents!

How can you have a Spelling Bee without a judge?  Thanks to our parent judges: Rebecca Eden Eichenlaub, Myra Alana, Leni Hoppenworth, and Kathryn Ahitow.

Our parent volunteers celebrating students at the Honors Breakfast: Maria Rodriguez, Kathryn Ahitow, and Myra Alana.

Thank you to parents who recently stuffed folders/hung flyers for our upcoming Open House: Caroline Steelberg, Mary Syjyka,  and Jamie Pekarek Krohn.

Did you know?

You can rate Peirce online?

Here are two sites to do so:
GreatSchools.org
Trulia.com

Please give high marks to our great school so other fantastic families will want to be Peirce Panthers too!

Student Council Report by Ashley, 8th grader

The Peirce Student Council has been busy volunteering and raising money for charity. Student council members volunteered for the Vietnam dinner, assisting with decorations, escorting guests to the event and serving food. MPTSO expressed their thanks to us for a job well done.

The Student Council had two Bears spirit days and a separate no-uniform day with students participating donate $1 each. The funds collected were then donated to St. Jude's.

Eighth graders won the Panther Paws competition, where paws are given our for good behavior in January.

PANTHER POWER!!!

All of the Peirce Panther's basketball teams have had successful seasons.

At the end of the regular season, here are the standings:
Girls 5/6th team: 6-2
Boys 5/6th team: 5-3. They also made it to the play-offs, the top 16 schools in Area 2 but lost in the
first round to McPherson.
Girls 7/8th team: 6-2 This team also made it to the final 16 but lost to Jamieson in the first round.
Boys 7/8th team: 6-2 This great team made it to the final 8 but lost to CMSA.

GREAT JOB PEIRCE STUDENT-ATHLETES! GO PANTHERS!

PAC NEWS

Please join Parents Advisory Committee in the Fieldhouse for the following meetings:
  • Friday, March 18, 2011 at 9:15 a.m. - Autism discussion.
  • Tuesday, April 29 at 9:15 a.m. -  Cervical Cancer discussion.
  • Tuesday, May 3 at 9:15 a.m. - Breast Cancer discussion with hands-on self-exam education.

SAVE THESE DATES!

• March 18: Peirce International Family Dance Night. This fun event is sponsored by the united parent efforts of PUENTE de Cultura/Bridge of Culture Committee.  Fun dance and food will enrich the evening. More information to come.

• March 27:  Radio Golf benefit at the Raven Theatre (see page one for more information!).

• March 30: Family Reading Night. Our goal is for every Peirce student (pre-K through 8th grade) to receive a book of their choice. That means we need parents to donate gently used books. We’re also organzing a wish list program through Women and Children First book store on Clark Street in Andersonville. Parents can then purchase a book for their child’s classroom. If you’d like to help with this effort or have books to donate, please contact Kim at kimbiggs@rcn.com

Delicious Vietnamese Dinner!

Delicious food, amazing entertainment and music, learning about traditions in other cultures... one found all three at the fun Vietnamese Dinner earlier this month at Peirce. To view photographs of this successful, sold-out event, please go to: http://alegria.smugmug.com/Events/International-Day-Vietnam.

Special thanks to Tuan Nguyen, owner of Simply It restaurant, and Kim Nguyen of the soon to be re-opened Pasteur Restaurant for donating the food. Also, many thanks go to: Ms. Hopkins, the Student Council, Ms. Lu, Beth Tenney, Cara Rudolph, Chris Inserra, Maria and Marco Rodriguez, Katrina Durance, Solveig Roverund, Kathryn Ahitow, Karino Brito and her son, Esther Bello and her family, Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Rose Johnson, Dave Merrill, Ignacio Vilagre de la Madrid, Myra Alana and the 26 students who performed in the program. Thanks to everyone for the help and generosity to make this annual event spectacular!

Peirce scores a Smartboard as parents use Target REDCARDS

Through Target’s TAKE CHARGE of EDUCATION program, Peirce has purchased a Smartboard for use in a middle school classroom. Utilizing approximately $5,000 that has accumulated from this program, Ms. Mendez and the LSC have approved the purchase of a Smartboard.  Thank you to the 38 parents who have enrolled their Target REDCARDS, and designated PEIRCE School as the beneficiary!

If you have a Target Debit/Credit/Business Card be sure to enroll your card. There is no cost to the cardholder and any cardholder can participate, so be sure to inform family members too, and help your school offset lost/reduced budgets. For enrollment info go to: www.target/tcoe.

Don't forget!

• Check the bulletin boards between the office and Door 7. Information is always changing so keep up-to-date and check back often.
• The official school calendar is located at http://www.peirce.cps.k12.il.us/calendar.html for the most up to date information.

It's a book bonanza, thanks to the Kiwanis Club!

Principal Mendez is thrilled to announce that Peirce received a $500 grant from the Kiwanis Club for books!

Ms. Mendez and 6th-grade teacher Ms. Puente met with Kiwanis Club members on February 22 and were honored to receive the grant. The purpose of the grant is to continue to cultivate a love for reading, at all grade levels, and to increase literacy development at Peirce. Ms. Puente and Ms. Jump will purchase the books for Peirce students at “Women and Children First," a bookstore on Clark Street in Andersonville.

The books will be distributed to students at the upcoming Family Reading Night Event, from 6:30-8 p.m. on March 30, 2011.

The grant also includes an eighth grade essay contest that is due on April 18th.  The theme for the essay contest this year is:  “An Influential Elder.” Winners of the essay contest will receive a stipend from the Kiwanis Club and will participate in a luncheon in their honor in May.

See you at Family Reading Night March 30th!

Kindergartners keeping busy!

Kindergartners went on TWO field trips in February, had an adventure on the Kohl's Story Bus and celebrated 100 days of school. Phew!

What does a kindergartner like best about visiting the Metropolis Coffee Roasting House? The hot chocolate at the end of course! The students had to earn their cuppa chocolate by learning about the roasting process and finding the perfect coffee beans. Sometimes that means traveling around the world to places like Ecuador! They were amazed that coffee beans are green before they are roasted. Owner and Peirce parent Tony Dreyfuss was a gracious -- and patient -- host. Thank you, Tony and Metropolis!

The next day the students boarded buses and headed to the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier for some learning fun.

Friday, February 25, 2011 marked the 100th day of school. Students celebrated by completing projects based around the number 100. See the images at left for a great example! 

What's happening way up there? Learning, middle school style

The History Fair is Thursday, March 24, 2011! This year’s National History Day Theme is “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Success, Failures, and Consequences.” Students will be working with their their  teachers to create projects that explore a topic in Chicago history that also incorporates the theme.

Eighth Grade: As a part of their culminating project for computer class, taught by Ms. Andrade, the 8th graders prepared and ran the First Peirce Technology Night to educate parents and students on how to use technology in various parts of their lives.

Seventh Grade: This month, science classes are full of hands-on activities. Students will be studying evolution through the “Peppered Moth Activity.” They will also begin exploring male body systems through the dissection of worms, starfish, squid, fish, eyes, hearts, frogs, and rats.

Sixth Grade: February is the month of field trips. Mr. Strening started out the month by taking the Humanities classes to the Oriental Institute Museum on the campus of the University of Chicago. Students had the opportunity to explore the wonders of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. The other field trip for the month was to the Magic Hedge to make observations in nature.

Check out the Peirce website for the full February Middle School Newsletter!

2nd graders CLIMB to great learning experience

Peirce second graders dig for fossils during a recent field trip for the
CLIMB program at the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier.
This year the second grade teachers have teamed up with the Chicago Children’s Museum by way of the CLIMB (Collaborative Learning in Museums and Beyond) program. This yearlong professional development project for pre-K to 3rd grade CPS teachers focuses on informal learning and strengthens the classroom-museum connection.

This past summer, Ms. Cortesi, Mrs. Delgado, Mrs. Guzman, and Ms. Hill attended an intensive summer institute that explored unique ways of using museum and non-school resources to meet state and classroom goals.

As a result, our second graders became recipients of a free field trip where they utilized the museum as a site for hands-on learning about insects, fossils, and dinosaurs. Additionally, the professional development workshops throughout the year have allowed the teachers to practice techniques to make their students’ learning visible through documentation.

Each teacher has created an evidence board highlighting the students’ chosen unit of study and reflecting what the children have learned. These boards will be on display during the free “Family Night” field trip in March. On that night, the Chicago Children’s Museum will be open only to our second graders and their families. They will have free reign of the museum while enjoying some light refreshments. All in all, the program is proving to be a rewarding experience for both the teachers and students, as well as their families!

Got good news?

Share it with us! Send your good news and photos to us to include in the next Peirce Post, which is published monthly by the Multi-lingual Parent Teacher Student Organization (MPTSO).

Email the information and photos to peirceschoolpost@gmail.com.

Get your tickets!

The MPTSO and  Raven Theatre are hosting a dessert and champagne reception and benefit performance of “Radio Golf” with the reception beginning at 1:30  p.m. and the show at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 27 at Raven Theatre, located at 6157 N. Clark Street. You can leave a check ($25 per ticket) in the office and your ticket(s) will be mailed to you. For questions or to volunteer, please contact Mike at mike@chicagodancesupply.com or 224.688.1265.

GERRY ANDRASCO: The man behind Peirce's sparkle and shine

When Gerry Andrasco was hired as head engineer at Peirce this year, he knew he could put his 25 years of school maintenance experience to good use.

Charged with cleaning and maintaining the building and grounds, Andrasco and staff walk the entire campus every morning looking for anything broken, litter and even graffitti.

Along the way, the father of two takes note of snow that needs to be cleared and slick sidewalks that require salt. He and his staff complete all those tasks before the school doors open for the day.

Principal Nancy Mendez recently praised Mr. Andrasco's work.

"Mr. Andrasco does a phenomenal job at keeping Peirce pristine," said Ms. Mendez. "He keeps on top of the snow situation and if I ever see anything that needs addressed, by the time I tell him, usually he has already taken care of it. Mr. Andrasco is a vital part of our operations here at Peirce."

Mr. Andrasco, a CPS employee for more than two dozen years, worked earlier this year with Suzanne Malec-McKenna, a Peirce parent and the City Commissioner for the Environment, to remove and recycle scrap metal from the school. Because the three 30-yard dumpters and two large trucks full of scrap metal were recycled, the school didn't have to pay to get rid of it.

So, the next time you walk down the sparkling and shining halls of Peirce, take a look around and think of Mr. Andrasco.

Say what?

"With all these Fridays off, I am going through afterschool withdrawal!"
 -- said a student participating in Peirce's video production afterschool program and reported by Mr. Wanberg..

The Peirce Post Blog

The Peirce Post, now in it's third month, is trying to find a home that fits the needs of the Peirce community. We want to inform you about all the great things happening at Peirce and are giving the blog-o-sphere a whirl.

So welcome to this blog and our very first post. Stay tuned for more...