Dear Winfield Families,

One of my greatest pleasures as Principal is having the ability to spend time seeing the incredible learning that is taking place in and out of the classroom. On a recent visit to a preschool classroom, the class was doing an Everyday Math activity using a huge paper bar graph on the floor. The target of the lesson was to compare the number of students’ shoes to boots, using a bar graph. The students each removed one of their shoes/boots and took turns placing them on the bar graph. They came to a bump in the road when the number of shoes outnumbered the number of spaces on the bar graph. Students quickly began problem solving and concluded the shoe bar should continue on the floor above where the last shoe was placed. They were so proud of themselves! At that point, one of the boys looked at me and said, “This is awesome!” I totally agree.

Dear Winfield Families,

For the past several months, I have watched the students in the Drama Club prepare for this year’s performance, Alice in Wonderland. The amount of work that goes into this type of production is remarkable to witness and the teamwork involved is vital to the success of the play. I hope you will join us next week to see these amazing young people celebrate their talents on the stage at Winfield Central School!

Dear Winfield Families,

This past Tuesday, we joined 2.4 million people across a nine state area by participating in the Great Central U.S. Shake Out! This consisted of an Earthquake Drill held at 10:15 a.m. (CST) for the students and staff. Most people do not think of Illinois as being a state vulnerable to earthquakes. Do you know when the last earthquake happened in this state? Well, believe it or not, there was an earthquake last week, 11 miles east of Woodstock, Illinois! It occurred on Monday, January 30, 2012, at 9:54:43 p.m. (CST) and registered a magnitude of 2.4 – which ironically, is the number (in millions) of people who participated in Tuesday’s drill!

Dear Winfield Families,

It was a pleasure to be chosen to play Rapunzel in Thursday night’s Fractured Fairy Tales evening of storytelling! Mrs. Paula Rooney, a storyteller from Villa Park, spun tales that had the audience laughing, singing, and rapping right along with her. I would like to give special thanks to Mr. Hurley, one of our parents, who played an outstanding Prince to my Rapunzel! The evening was a wonderful celebration of literacy and I appreciate the PTO’s commitment to provide support for our annual Literacy Night. Thanks, also, to our reading specialist, Mrs. Garretson, who made the arrangements for this event. Every child received a book for attending, and three lucky winners had their names drawn for a $15.00 gift certificate for our spring book fair.

Happy Reading!

Dawn Reinke                                                                                                                                                         Principal                                             

Dear Winfield Families,

I want to thank each of you who patiently waited to pick up your child/ren last Friday after school in the snowstorm! The icy incline on Park resulted in several stuck vehicles, as the drivers waited to approach the pick-up line in front of the Primary building. Thanks to a large number of teachers lending a hand, those vehicles were pushed until they were able to get enough traction to move forward. The teamwork philosophy that exists among this staff is one of the reasons I love being here! It is a pleasure to work with these amazing people!

Dear Winfield Families,

Have you heard of the acronym, S.T.E.M.?  Some leading economists believe it is the key to a successful future for the young people in our country. It stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. There are many opportunities for our students to explore these fields of study even before they leave our school. This summer, we will once again host Camp Invention®, which incorporates all of the S.T.E.M. components in a highly engaging approach during a week-long daily camp. Another exciting opportunity is being hosted by the DuPage County Regional Office of Education on February 20, 2012, for 7^th and 8^th grade students and their parents. Please see the attachments to Tiger Prints this week for registration details for this event.

Dawn Reinke                                                                                                                                                         Principal                                             

Dear Winfield Families,

Happy New Year! With the predicted high temperature today of 54°, along with the sun shining in my window, I feel as though winter has come and gone and spring is right around the corner. I know that is not the case, but I will enjoy this day, and I hope you will do the same! Yesterday, the Geography Bee was held at Winfield Central for the classroom winners in grades 4-8. Sixth grader, Danny Weber, proved once again to be Winfield’s top geography expert. Congratulations, Danny! Prior to the start of the competition, the 5^th graders in the audience were given the opportunity to use student response clickers to test their own geography knowledge.  Mr. Kahlfeldt hosted this annual event, and was assisted by Mrs. Arnett and Mrs. Stretch. I am proud of all of the students who competed and I know they did their very best throughout this tough competition!

 The holidays are fast approaching and there is definitely the Spirit of Giving felt within our schools. The Student Council sponsored a Food and Mitten/Scarf/Hat Drive and it was heart warming to see the generosity of our families helping to make the lives of others a bit brighter this holiday season. On Tuesday, we were treated to a holiday concert and       enjoyed the gift of song given to us by our second through fifth grade students. Our third graders created a bulletin board display featuring ways to give gifts from the heart. They set up materials on a desk nearby, and offered others the opportunity to add to their bulletin board. Thank YOU for the gift of allowing us to be a part of your children’s lives!

Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Dear Winfield Families,

This morning when I let my Border Collie puppy, Molly, outside, she was treated to her first experience with snow. She raced around the yard in delight, bending over to gather snow in her mouth, without slowing down at all. Upon seeing the snow, my first thoughts had not been so joyous. I started recalculating the amount of time it would take me to get to school and knew I could no longer deny that winter was almost officially here.

Watching Molly’s joy and exuberance with the snow reminded me that as adults, it is important to also reflect on the world around us through the lens of others. When the students in the Primary building arrived this morning, they were eager to share their news with me. “Mrs. Reinke! It snowed last night!” There was a glow of happiness surrounding them that confirmed what I had been thinking. It is not a situation or circumstance that determines how we will face each day. It is the lens through which we choose to view the world that is most important.

Dawn Reinke

Principal