DrumBeat: Drummond LSC and PTO News & Views

Make your DMM Contribution Go Further!

Did you know that many employers match contributions made by employees to the charities of their choice?   In some cases, this will double or even triple your contribution!  Please ask your Human Resources Department if employer matching is available with respect to your DMM Contribution.   You do the asking, and we will handle all the paperwork!   (Best practice: ask your employer before making your DMM contribution in case there are any special requirements.  Already given?  No worries –  just go ahead and ask now!)  For more information please email  . 

The Kwiatkowski Family, Owner’s of Uncle Fatty’s Rum Resort, 2833 N. Sheffield Ave. are setting a family match goal for this weekend. They will match up to $3,500 of donations made today through this weekend to Drummond Montessori Matters via our website www.drummondmontessorimatters.org. In addition to this generous match, anyone who makes a donation through this weekend, can print their receipt and bring it to Uncle Fatty’s for a free drink. Thank you to the Kwiatowski Family, let’s match their kind offer.

The Kwiatkowski Family, Owner’s of Uncle Fatty’s Rum Resort, 2833 N. Sheffield Ave. are setting a family match goal for this weekend. They will match up to $3,500 of donations made today through this weekend to Drummond Montessori Matters via our website www.drummondmontessorimatters.org. In addition to this generous match, anyone who makes a donation through this weekend, can print their receipt and bring it to Uncle Fatty’s for a free drink. Thank you to the Kwiatowski Family, let’s match their kind offer.

The next week is going to be critical for school funding as the Illinois General Assembly tries to complete work on the state budget. Education in Illinois has been threatened with a $1.3 billion cut, of which $368 million would impact CPS, or more than half of the $600 million CPS budget deficit.

A new coalition of CPS parents has formed to fight these cuts, called the Raise Your Hand Coalition. Along with Grace Kwon and Pam Anderson of the PTO, I attended a meeting last night of the coalition. They are promoting three things that people can do in the next week to try to influence the state budget to prevent the cuts. I encourage everyone to do what you can to help out.

I. Send an Email Letter to your Legislators

The coalition has set up a web site, www.NoTo37.org, that can be used to send an email to your legislator and legislative leaders urging them to support maintaining education funding at last year’s levels. This is a quick and easy thing to do. So far there have been 65,000 emails sent from the site, and it is having an impact!

II. Attend the Raise Your Hand Rally

There will be a rally on Sunday May 2nd, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, at Lane Tech HS, corner of Addison and Western. Bring signs and friends!

III. Go to Springfield for the Raise Your Hand Lobby Day

A group of parents will be going to Springfield on Wednesday May 5th to lobby their legislators. CPS is providing buses to ride on, or of course you could drive or take the train on your own. If you would like to go, please RSVP to and you will get the details sent to you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Jonathan Goldman
LSC Chair

Clark Montessori in Cincinnati Ohio is the first public Montessori high school in the nation.  They are one of 6 finalists in President Obama’s commencement challenge.  The President will speak at the winning school’s commencement next month. Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/commencement to watch the 3 minute video made by Clark students, and vote for Clark! Voting ends this Thursday April 29, so vote now and please pass on to your friends!

Schools have been told by CPS that they will be receiving their budgets by today, but I won’t be surprised if that gets pushed back again.

The LSC will be meeting tonight at 6:00 pm in room 007. The agenda is below. The meeting will take place with or without the budget information, and we will hold another meeting within the next two weeks to have an in-depth discussion on the budget and the School Improvement Plan (SIPAAA).

As soon as we learn more from CPS it will be shared with everyone.

Jonathan Goldman
LSC Chair

I. Call Meeting to order/ Se abre la sesion

II. Approval or modification of Agenda (5 minutes)
Aprobación o modificación de la Agenda

III. Approval of previous meeting minutes (5 minutes)
Aprobación de las notas de la ultima reunión

IV. Open Forum/Participación de los Asistentes (5 minutes)

Ground Rules: Members of the public are invited to address the council.
Reglas basicas: Las preguntas del publico son bienvenidas

V. Old Business/Antiguas Operaciones

• Approve new Committee members (5 minutes)

VI. Reports

• Administrators/Reporte del administrador (30 minutes)

o Least Restrictive Environment Report/Reporte de Medio Ambiente Menos Restringido

o Budget Update and Discussion/ Presupuestos

• NCLB/ Reporte de NCLB (5 minutes)

• Chair/Reporte del Presidente (10 minutes)

o Principal Evaluation

• Afterschool Committee/Comité de despues de la escuela (5 minutes)

• Budget and Fundraising Committee (5 minutes)
Comité de Presupuestos y Recaudación de fondos

• Diversity and Outreach Committee (5 minutes)

• Environment and Health Committee (10 minutes)

o Environmental Vision Statement

• Garden Committee (5 minutes)

• SIPAAA Committee (10 minutes)

o 2010 – 2011 SIPAAA

VII. New Business

• Certify LSC Election Results (5 minutes)

• Reschedule May Meeting (if Necessary) (5 minutes)

VIII. Adjournment/Se cierra la sesion.

Schools have been told by CPS that they will be receiving their budgets by today, but I won’t be surprised if that gets pushed back again.

The LSC will be meeting tonight at 6:00 pm in room 007. The agenda is below. The meeting will take place with or without the budget information, and we will hold another meeting within the next two weeks to have an in-depth discussion on the budget and the School Improvement Plan (SIPAAA).

As soon as we learn more from CPS it will be shared with everyone.

Jonathan Goldman
LSC Chair

I. Call Meeting to order/ Se abre la sesion

II. Approval or modification of Agenda (5 minutes)
Aprobación o modificación de la Agenda

III. Approval of previous meeting minutes (5 minutes)
Aprobación de las notas de la ultima reunión

IV. Open Forum/Participación de los Asistentes (5 minutes)

Ground Rules: Members of the public are invited to address the council.
Reglas basicas: Las preguntas del publico son bienvenidas

V. Old Business/Antiguas Operaciones

• Approve new Committee members (5 minutes)

VI. Reports

• Administrators/Reporte del administrador (30 minutes)

o Least Restrictive Environment Report/Reporte de Medio Ambiente Menos Restringido

o Budget Update and Discussion/ Presupuestos

• NCLB/ Reporte de NCLB (5 minutes)

• Chair/Reporte del Presidente (10 minutes)

o Principal Evaluation

• Afterschool Committee/Comité de despues de la escuela (5 minutes)

• Budget and Fundraising Committee (5 minutes)
Comité de Presupuestos y Recaudación de fondos

• Diversity and Outreach Committee (5 minutes)

• Environment and Health Committee (10 minutes)

o Environmental Vision Statement

• Garden Committee (5 minutes)

• SIPAAA Committee (10 minutes)

o 2010 – 2011 SIPAAA

VII. New Business

• Certify LSC Election Results (5 minutes)

• Reschedule May Meeting (if Necessary) (5 minutes)

VIII. Adjournment/Se cierra la sesion.

Drummond’s Green Team has developed the following environmental vision statement for our school. Please let us know if you have any comments.  Also, if you love all things sustainable and energy efficient, contact Nicole Cantello at  and join us!

Drummond School’s Environmental Vision Statement

Whereas—Drummond School has the potential to make positive, tangible environmental change in the world while teaching students through the Montessori  Way to be stewards of their communities, the earth and its resources;

Whereas—Our current school systems often suffer from facilities that use energy, water and other resources unsustainably; use pesticides, cleaning agents and other chemicals that pose health risks; and can result in indoor air pollution and poor ventilation;

Whereas—Schools are important consumers of natural resources, including energy, water, food, and paper, and generators of waste materials, including garbage, runoff, and air emissions, which contribute to the world’s larger environmental problems like global warming, water and air pollution, and habitat destruction.

Whereas—CPS expends considerable financial resources on pest control, cleaning supplies, energy, water, office and school supplies, and educational activities which could be conserved;

Whereas—Drummond School has a considerable opportunity through its purchasing power to improve both the environment and its financial bottom line.

Whereas—Many options and choices exist for schools to use natural resources more efficiently; to reduce, reuse, and recycle; to follow healthy school guidelines for construction; to promote policies which protect our indoor and outdoor air, to ban junk food and soda and produce healthy lunches through local farm–to–school partnerships; to eliminate toxic chemicals; and to purchase (or produce) clean energy and recycled paper to protect our global environment.

Whereas—There is a tremendous opportunity to teach our children about ecological sustainability, environmental health and nutrition;  integrate Montessori environmental education values into curricula; and support students to become leaders in making their own school a healthier and more ecologically friendly place;

Recognizing that this framework creates a long–term, inspiring vision that integrates and strengthens many efforts in our School.

Further recognizing that fully implementing this resolution will take time, and must be achieved in stages.

Be it resolved that to promote healthier, more environmentally sustainable schools and teach environmental leadership, Drummond School will:
1. Develop an action plan to implement a proactive environmental policy that includes the following to be prioritized and implemented step by step;

    2.  Publicize and adopt policies such as anti-idling to address our children’s indoor and outdoor air;
3. Reduce the introduction of toxics into our environment, including using certified green cleaning materials at Drummond Schools  and minimizing or eliminating the use of hazardous pesticides and herbicides in schools;

    4.  Improve the energy efficiency of the school, to increasingly rely on clean, renewable energy sources, and to ultimately transform schools into independent power producers by investing in clean renewable technologies such as solar and wind;

    5. Maintaining and improving school–wide recycling, developing a composting and rain barrel program,  along with the procurement of recycled office and classroom supplies;

    6.  Follow and build upon a healthy food policy to ban soda, candy, junk food and fast food from all Drummond school grounds;

    7.  Evaluate the district’s school lunch program to ensure good nutrition and consider developing a garden–to–school program;

    8.  Encourage the development of school gardens and green schoolyards as Montessori hands–on learning tools that promote good nutrition, stewardship of the land, and that teach to standards;

    9.  Adopt frameworks that meet state standards and integrate Montessori environmental education values and student participation into school–wide environmental initiatives;
 
10.   Providing the maximum support and encouragement for those students, parents, administrators, teachers and staff members who are trying to address global sustainability by traveling to school using car-pooling, public transportation, cycling or walking;

Drummond’s Green Team has developed the following environmental vision statement for our school. Please let us know if you have any comments.  Also, if you love all things sustainable and energy efficient, contact Nicole Cantello at  and join us!

Drummond School’s Environmental Vision Statement

Whereas—Drummond School has the potential to make positive, tangible environmental change in the world while teaching students through the Montessori  Way to be stewards of their communities, the earth and its resources;

Whereas—Our current school systems often suffer from facilities that use energy, water and other resources unsustainably; use pesticides, cleaning agents and other chemicals that pose health risks; and can result in indoor air pollution and poor ventilation;

Whereas—Schools are important consumers of natural resources, including energy, water, food, and paper, and generators of waste materials, including garbage, runoff, and air emissions, which contribute to the world’s larger environmental problems like global warming, water and air pollution, and habitat destruction.

Whereas—CPS expends considerable financial resources on pest control, cleaning supplies, energy, water, office and school supplies, and educational activities which could be conserved;

Whereas—Drummond School has a considerable opportunity through its purchasing power to improve both the environment and its financial bottom line.

Whereas—Many options and choices exist for schools to use natural resources more efficiently; to reduce, reuse, and recycle; to follow healthy school guidelines for construction; to promote policies which protect our indoor and outdoor air, to ban junk food and soda and produce healthy lunches through local farm–to–school partnerships; to eliminate toxic chemicals; and to purchase (or produce) clean energy and recycled paper to protect our global environment.

Whereas—There is a tremendous opportunity to teach our children about ecological sustainability, environmental health and nutrition;  integrate Montessori environmental education values into curricula; and support students to become leaders in making their own school a healthier and more ecologically friendly place;

Recognizing that this framework creates a long–term, inspiring vision that integrates and strengthens many efforts in our School.

Further recognizing that fully implementing this resolution will take time, and must be achieved in stages.

Be it resolved that to promote healthier, more environmentally sustainable schools and teach environmental leadership, Drummond School will:
1. Develop an action plan to implement a proactive environmental policy that includes the following to be prioritized and implemented step by step;

    2.  Publicize and adopt policies such as anti-idling to address our children’s indoor and outdoor air;
3. Reduce the introduction of toxics into our environment, including using certified green cleaning materials at Drummond Schools  and minimizing or eliminating the use of hazardous pesticides and herbicides in schools;

    4.  Improve the energy efficiency of the school, to increasingly rely on clean, renewable energy sources, and to ultimately transform schools into independent power producers by investing in clean renewable technologies such as solar and wind;

    5. Maintaining and improving school–wide recycling, developing a composting and rain barrel program,  along with the procurement of recycled office and classroom supplies;

    6.  Follow and build upon a healthy food policy to ban soda, candy, junk food and fast food from all Drummond school grounds;

    7.  Evaluate the district’s school lunch program to ensure good nutrition and consider developing a garden–to–school program;

    8.  Encourage the development of school gardens and green schoolyards as Montessori hands–on learning tools that promote good nutrition, stewardship of the land, and that teach to standards;

    9.  Adopt frameworks that meet state standards and integrate Montessori environmental education values and student participation into school–wide environmental initiatives;
 
10.   Providing the maximum support and encouragement for those students, parents, administrators, teachers and staff members who are trying to address global sustainability by traveling to school using car-pooling, public transportation, cycling or walking;

Just and F.Y.I. if it isn’t pouring we will be selling ice cream on Friday afterschool.  All items $1.00 and more chocolate this time!

All proceeds benefit the After School Mentoring program!