Oakdale Elementary School

601 S. Adelaide

Normal, IL 61761

(309) 557-4421

Attendance Hotline

(309) 557-4470

Dear Oakdale Families, It is difficult to believe that the end of the school year is fast approaching. At this time, I would like to congratulate and wish good luck to our 5th grad-ers who will be moving on to Kingsley or other junior high schools next year. We hope they have enjoyed their experience and know they are pre-pared to move on to new experiences and chal-lenges. Each day I marvel at the number of volunteers we have in our building working with our stu-dents. There are so many dedicated individu-als and groups that give freely of their time to make our school a better place and positively im-

pact student learning. Oakdale thanks you for all you do. Recently, our Promise Council worked to set up a field trip to ISU for our 5th grade students. Students learned about the careers at ISU and heard great messages from students, athletes and coaches as well as touring campus facilities. A huge thanks to our Promise Council for setting this up. We hope to make this an annual event for our 5th grade students. Have a great summer! Sincerely, Darrin Cooper Principal cooperdm@unit5.org

Changes

The end of the school

year always brings

about many changes.

Retirements:

Mrs. Jannusch

At the end of this school

year, Mrs. Jannusch will

be retiring after 33 years

of teaching with 30 of

those being in Unit 5.

We will greatly miss her

excellence in the class-

room!

Mr. Nichols

Mr. Nichols will be retir-

ing as our daytime cus-

todian after a 21 career

with Unit 5. Mr. Nichols

has kept our building in

top shape and is quick

to help with whatever is

needed.

Good luck to you both

and thanks for all you

have done for Oakdale!

New Faces/Positions

Kdg.—Jamale Brewster

1st—Haley Sparrow

3rd—Kathie Brown

Volume 2, Issue 7

It’s a Great Day to be a Panther!

Citizens Advisory Council Member Needed

We are looking for two parents to serve on the Citi-zens Advisory Council for next year. This group acts in an advisory capacity to the Unit 5 Board of Educa-tion and the Superintendent, serves as a liaison be-tween the community and the district, and provides a means of parent participation in educational plan-ning. Members serve for a three-year term. If you are interested in serving on the CAC, please contact Mr. Cooper via email at: cooperdm@unit5.org.

May 2016 M c L e a n C o u n t y U n i t D i s t r i c t 5

Panther Pride Oakdale Expectations

Be Respectful

Be Responsible

Be Here and Ready

Be Safe

*Please review these expec-tations with your child. They should be able to tell you examples of all four of these expectations for use in the classroom, lunchroom, bathroom, hallway, play-ground, and the bus.

Looking Ahead 2

Important Dates 2

Talent Show 2

PTO News 3

Nurse’s Notes 4

Reading Program 5

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

The Board of Education

has officially adopted

Tuesday, May 24th as

the last day of school

for this year. We will

dismiss at 11:45 A.M.

that day.

PAGE 2

Important Dates May 2016

11 One Hour Late Start 11 Young Author Open House 12 Kindergarten Concert 13 Talent Show 9:30 & 1:30 17 PTO meeting 6:00 PM 20 Field Day 23 Field Day (Raindate)

PAN THER PR ID E

July 1 On Line Registration Opens—(More infor-

mation will be sent home before 5/24/15)

♦♦♦

Aug 2 Walk In Registration 3:00-7:00 PM

Aug 16 Back to School Night 5:30—6:30 PM

Aug 17 First Day of School for Grades K-5 (7:45—2:30)

♦♦♦

Sept 5 NO SCHOOL—Labor Day

Sept 6 NO SCHOOL—Institute Day

LOOKING AHEAD

OAKDALE FIELD DAY

Field day is set for May 20th. (rain date is May 23rd) To finish out the year, students are

earning points for appropriate behavior throughout the day. On field day, we will celebrate the

excellent work of our students throughout this year as they visit various activity stations in ei-

ther the morning or afternoon. Students will also have a chance to visit the redemption center

where they can spend their points on items and enter raffles for prizes.

OAKDALE’S GOT TALENT

The Talent Show will be held on Friday, May 13th. Performers will showcase their talents twice

that day during 2 different performances – one in the morning at 9:30 and one in the afternoon

at 1:30. Families of the performers are invited to attend one or both of the shows that

day. Please come and help support our very talented students!

PAGE 3 PANTHER PRIDE

Pratt Music Foundation Scholarships:

Do you know a student who would benefit from private music lessons but who is restricted by finances?

The Pratt Music Foundation’s mission is to provide talented youth an opportunity to enhance their musical ability through private lessons.

Music lessons are expensive and simply not an option for some children and families: this is where the Pratt Music Foundation comes in. The

Foundation grants full music lesson scholarships to the Illinois Wesleyan University Music Preparatory Program.

Instruction is available in piano or strings (violin, viola, cello).

Music scholarships are awarded to area children in grades K through 12 each spring, and are based on financial need, motivation, and talent.

Applications are due by June 1. Each scholarship covers one school year of instruction, starting in the fall (2015-2016) and includes summer

lessons (2016). Free music books are supplied from The Music Shoppe.

Downloadable applications are available: Go to For questions or to request an application, call 309-827-5534, or

www.PrattMusicFoundation.com email prattmusicfoundation@gmail.com

PIZZA WITH THE PRICIPAL-April Out of the Blue Winners Morgan Gibbs-KF Daveon Martin-3B

Ben Krause-KF Ben Schweigert-3B

Charlotte Franklin-KM Makayla Hatton-3R

Maddux Betson-KM Peyton Betson-3R

Yann Yatimbi-KS Kurencey Kirksey-3W

Audrey Wahls-KS Ethan Freitag-3W

Anthony Plummer-1N Conor Davis-4B

Denise Williamson-1N Morgan Metzger-4B

Alex Betson-1H Mechelle McCoy-4F

Aubriella Snelling-1H Reniya Grant-Day-4F

Maddie Moss-1J Gatouzo Mukoko-4W

Ben Hill-1J Obai Alsheri-4W

Kelvin Becker-2B Mikael Herrin-5B

Aiden Grubb-2B Ashton Powell-5B

Emmett Cuningham-2G Elarah McField-5C

Jackson Pierce-2G Sophi Henderson-5C

Jahariah Williams-2R Kawon Richardson-5H

Gabby Johnson-2R Obed Bongo-5H

Wall of Fame We are excited to see Oakdale students exceeding academically and with their behavior. As students con-

tinue to have wonderful behavior throughout the day, they are entered into a drawing to become their class-room’s Wall of Fame Representative that month.

Congratulations to all the April winners! Stop in to see their picture up on the Oakdale Wall of Fame.

Morgan Gibbs-KF August Bauer-3W

Keagan Tarpley-KM Jonathan Perkins-4B

Gavin Tarpley-KS MeChelle McCoy-4F Giovani Diamonika-1N Brady Wynn-4W

Jessy Pruett-1H Jersey Miles-5B

Miles Majerczyk - 1J Sophi Henderson-5C

Johntaye Tinch-2B Jacob Keller-5H

Deborah Nlandu-2G

Novehn Hackman-Bertsche-2R

Ben Nguyen-3B

Raleigh Churchill-3R

Medication left at end of school year - On May 23rd, I will send all medications left at school home with

the children unless you contact me to make other arrangements for pick up. Medications left at the end

of the school year will be destroyed. If your child will need medication at school again next year, a new

medication form will be needed.

**All medications, (including cough drops containing menthol) that you would like to have administered

at school MUST be accompanied by a Unit 5 medication form that is completed by a physician and par-

ent.

First Day Exclusion-Make sure your student is ready!

The State of Illinois requires students entering Kindergarten, 6th and 9th grades to have a complete phys-

ical exam. Unit 5 has a first day exclusion policy which means the exam and all required immunizations

must be done and on file BEFORE the first day of school for the 2016-2017 school year. Current 5th

graders may complete this requirement NOW and it will meet the requirement for next fall. 6th graders

are required to have Tdap and MCV (meningococcal) vaccines. The form for the physical exam is availa-

ble at the website below:

http://www.isbe.net/pdf/school_health/child-health-exam-form-11-15.pdf

Most physicians have the forms available in their offices as well.

The State of Illinois requires students entering Kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades to have a dental exam.

The completed dental form for the 2016-2017 school year is due to the nurse’s office BEFORE May 15,

2017. Most dentists have the forms in their offices and will complete them when the exam is finished.

Kindergarten students are also required to have a vision exam done by an eye Dr. These are due by Oc-

tober 15, 2016.

Thank you for doing all you do to help keep our students healthy!

Have a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe summer!

Cathy Troyer RN, BSN, PEL-CSN, NCSN

May News from the

Nurse

Here’s the last READO for the school year. Hopefully these monthly READOs have helped

making daily reading at home fun and enjoyable for the entire family.

Please be on the lookout for information about Oakdale’s Summer Reading Challenge.

Classroom teachers will be sending home details soon