Rockdale School District 84

Our 7th graders got to take a trip to the Shedd Aquarium this week-they all had a great time learning about marine life!

Our kindergarteners have been learning about how pushes and pulls can change the directions of an object's motion. Shout out to Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Sommer's for bringing hands-on science to our youngest learners!

Our first grade students crafted some CREEPY carrots after reading Aaron Reynolds's book with Ms. Walls. What a fun way to bring illustrations to life!

For the second time in 3 years, Rockdale School District 84 was fortunate to be the recipient of a grant from the Home Depot Foundation. The $6000 grant was used this Fall for a number of improvements around the school. Some of these include: repainting our playground United States Map; a new outdoor basketball hoop; and painted tac toe, hopscotch , and four square games. The grant also funded new trees, bushes, and perennial plants for the school grounds and the park across the street. What makes this grant special is that the Joliet Home Depot also provided a team of volunteers, with store manager Matt Cope, that spent the day painting and planting. A special shout out to Mr. Matt Olson, for his continued work with Home Depot and his success in securing this funding for Rockdale School; to Ms. Lauryn Lee, who helped plan out and paint the framework for all the playground games; and to the 8th grade students, who helped with additional planting, watering, and painting. The Home Depot Foundation and the Joliet Home Depot will be recognized at the November School Board Meeting. On behalf of our Rockdale students, staff, and community: THANK YOU, HOME DEPOT!

Our Rockdale Staff have been hard at work this month helping young minds grow and DECORATING PUMPKINS! They all did an AMAZING job, but we need your help deciding which pumpkin is the winner! Please LIKE the photo of the pumpkin you think should win. The pumpkin with the most likes on October 31st at 12:00 PM will be our champion! We will announce our winning team at our in-service the afternoon of Halloween. Good luck to all our contestants!

There will be a parent meeting for the boys basketball team on Monday, October 28 at 5 PM in the gym. Contact Mr. Domenico if there are any questions.

If your family or a family you know is in need of assistance, please reference this list of upcoming food drives in the surrounding area. Please share this information with those who may need it.

Ashley Searing, the owner of RejuveNate Plants and Wellness in Crest Hill, completed a mental health activity with our 6th-8th graders on the afternoon of Thursday, October 17th and it was a HUGE success! The students were engaged, calm, and focused on their art therapy while receiving a lesson on the importance of mental health and suicide prevention. Thank you to Ms. Hamilton for organizing this opportunity for our students! We're looking forward to having Ashley back for art therapy sessions with our Kindergarten through 5th graders throughout the rest of the school year!

2nd graders had fun on their field trip to Dollinger Family Farm on October 15th! They came back with pumpkins to take home and lots of stories to tell. Thank you to Mrs. Vallera, Mrs. Chojnicki, and Mrs. Flores for making sure the field trip was a success for our students!

On Thursday, October 17, the 7th grade students had an opportunity to virtually travel to Arizona and have a conversation with a National Park ranger to expand their learning on changing the earth For the first quarter of the the school year the students have been learning about the forces that change the earth's surface, plate tectonics, and geographical features. Ranger Victoria from the Petrified Forest National Park provided great insight into current geographical features, fossils, and how they formed as well as many of the other amazing things the park has to offer. Students also had the opportunity for a Q and A session about the park wildlife, the life of a park ranger, and the many career opportunities the park service has. Each student also conducted research on a national park, so the conversation also included questions they had from their research. Way to go Mr. Olson for bringing our students these wonderful experiences to go beyond the textbook, talk to an expert in the field, and hopefully inspire students to get out and explore nature!

Didn't get a chance to stop in at the Scholastic Book Fair last week? Already read through all of your new books over the long weekend? Rockdale's Scholastic Book Fair is still accessible online! Use the following link to access the Book Fair and help support our school! https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/rockdaleelementaryschool Thanks to everyone who has shopped and shout out to Ms. Walls for all her hard work in bringing the Book Fair to Rockdale School!

This week was Fire Safety Week!-thank you to Rockdale Fire Department for providing our K-5 students with presentations on fire safety and giving students a tour of their engine! And shout out to Mr. Olson for providing our STEM students another lesson in fire during their Fire Art session on Tuesday! As a reminder, please develop a fire safety plan with your families at home. Have an exit plan and meeting point ready in case of an emergency!

Dick's Sporting Goods is offering IESA families 20% off throughout the store from October 11-13. Grab the items you'll need for the season and all the other gear you've been wanting too! The coupon is valid in-store on the dates above and should be shown at the register during checkout. Be sure to use the coupon linked below, as this is specific to IESA. https://www.iesa.org/temp/24_dicks_winter_coupon.pdf

Don't forget to stop in the library for our Scholastic Book Fair during Parent Teacher Conferences tonight from 3:30-7:30 PM, and tomorrow from 8:30 AM-12:30 PM!

Our Scholastic Book Fair starts today! Students can shop at designated times during the school day Monday-Thursday this week, and families can stop in to shop during Parent Teacher Conferences, Thursday evening 3:30-7:30 and Friday morning 8:30-12:30. Don't want to send your student to school with cash? Set up an e-wallet using the link below! https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/rockdaleelementaryschool Happy Reading!

ExxonMobil was with our 6th-8th grade students on Friday, October 4th for their annual Secrets in Science event! Students built bridges and tested their ability to withstand weight. Thanks for bringing your love of STEM to Rockdale, ExxonMobil! Looking forward to having you back in the spring!

Looking for something fun to do this weekend?! Stop by Rockdale Village Park for Rocktober Fest tomorrow, September 28th, from 12:00-7:00 p.m.!

Our 8th graders visited Cantigny on Friday, September 20th. The students had a great time and learned a lot! Cantigny is such a great place for students to see, touch, and interact with artifacts of history. Shout out to Mr. Olson and Mr. Domenico for providing our students with this opportunity!

Good morning Rockdale families! Last night, Rockdale administration was made aware of a threat circulating on social media which indicated students may bring weapons to schools. Several local school were directly mentioned in the threat, however Rockdale was not one of them. Despite Rockdale not being mentioned, we take the safety and security of our students and staff very seriously. Through consultation with Rockdale Police officials, it was decided to remain with in-person learning today. Further, we have learned this morning that Joliet Police have identified the source of the threats and determined the threat is not credible. As our Rams arrive at school this morning, you may notice an increased presence of local law enforcement. Families are encouraged to contact our office at 815-725-5321 with any questions. ¡Buenos días familias de Rockdale! Anoche, la administración de Rockdale se enteró de una amenaza que circulaba en las redes sociales que indicaba que los estudiantes podrían traer armas a las escuelas. Varias escuelas locales fueron mencionadas directamente en la amenaza, sin embargo, Rockdale no fue una de ellas. A pesar de que no se menciona a Rockdale, nos tomamos muy en serio la seguridad de nuestros estudiantes y personal. Tras consultar con los funcionarios de la policía de Rockdale, se decidió continuar con el aprendizaje en persona hoy. Además, esta mañana nos enteramos de que la policía de Joliet identificó la fuente de las amenazas y determinó que la amenaza no es creíble. Cuando nuestros Rams lleguen a la escuela esta mañana, es posible que notes una mayor presencia de las autoridades locales. Se anima a las familias a comunicarse con nuestra oficina al 815-725-5321 si tienen alguna pregunta.

Calling all 5th-8th grade girls interested in playing basketball! Girls Basketball practices will start next Thursday, September 19 from 3:30-5:00 PM, followed by a mandatory parent meeting at 5:00 PM in the gym (please enter through Door E). Students must have a sports physical on file to participate. If you have any questions about the season, please contact Ms. Lee or Ms. Hamilton.