School Newsletters

Mrs. Keavy’s Class Reward Day: PJ’s and Stuffed Animals!

Lunch Leaders

Excitement is in the air! As a positive behavior support, we have launched our beloved Lunch Leaders initiative. Expectations for successful lunchroom behavior were retaught, and students are working to earn a Lunch Leader Bulldog Buck to enter a weekly raffle. Each week, a lucky student is chosen to represent their class by eating lunch on the lunchroom stage, demonstrating exemplary lunchroom behavior. Students chosen and their classmates are equally excited on Friday when students are celebrated for following lunchroom expectations. This positive approach shapes behavior, teaching students that, as a school community, we all pitch in to be respectful, responsible, and kind. 

First Grade Musical Performance

On Thursday, April 16th, at 6 pm in the Hickory Point gym, the First Graders  will proudly present "Explore the World!" That evening, Door A will open at 5:45 pm, with the show beginning promptly at 6 pm. When students arrive, they will be directed to their classroom and asked to leave their coats and belongings with their families. Audience members will proceed to the gym; students will not return to the classroom after the show. After the performance, students will be dismissed to their families by class by Dr. Deely or Mrs. Weingarten. 

Students are asked to dress in “something nice,” whatever that means to them. There is no dress code or anything particular in mind, just something that makes them feel like it’s a special occasion. We can't wait to sing for you!

What Happens When Parents Read Daily to Their Kindergarten Children

In this article in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Brooks Bowden and Johanna Bernard (University of Pennsylvania) and Rebecca Davis (MDRC) report on their study of a kindergarten home reading program in a large urban school district. Teachers sent books home each weekday night, and parents signed a contract agreeing to read with their children. The nature of the experiment covered three important factors:

- Sending books home leveled the playing field, with all children supplied with books.

- All parents were told about the importance of reading with their children every day.

- The books were aligned with the content students were covering during the school day.

What did the study find? Compared to a control group, more children read with their parents for more minutes each week, and by the end of the year, students’ literacy skills had improved significantly. The key factors were the amount of adult-child reading, the quality of the books read, and the alignment with classroom instruction.

10Marshall Memo 1132 April 6, 2026

“Leveraging Home Reading to Strengthen Literacy Development: Applying Principal

Stratification to Explore Efficacy Trial Effects” by Brooks Bowden, Johanna Bernard, and

Rebecca Davis in Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, January-March 2026

(Vol. 19, #1, pp. 74-102) Bowden can be reached at bbowden@upenn.edu.

Class Placement Optional Input Survey 

Dear Hickory Point Parents,
The class development process is incredibly elaborate and carefully planned each year to foster a nurturing learning culture and a positive rapport between the children and the teacher. We have three primary goals when developing class sections:

1. Ensure that each child’s academic needs are met.
2. Pair each child with another student or group of children for social-emotional success.
3. Consider teacher styles.

The class sectioning process involves multiple school personnel who consider numerous factors while maintaining an efficient schedule that meets the needs of all our students. This process takes countless hours and involves multiple iterations over many months. Some factors in the process include:

• Maintain the district class size of 17-22 with comparable class sizes across the grade levels
• Balance the number of boys and girls in a class and across the grade level
• Ensure the needs of students who receive support are aligned with the grade-level schedule and the schedules of the support personnel working with them. This includes the following teachers:
  • Special Education teachers
  • Speech and Language teachers
  • English Language Learner (ELL) teachers
  • Reading Support teachers
  • Math Support teachers 
• Review peer dynamics (students who work well together)
• Create groupings of children in math and reading so they have comparable abilities in the classroom for collaboration.

School principals often receive many requests from parents to place their children with specific friends. As you can imagine, this becomes impossible while trying to place children in an environment that best meets the needs of all children we serve. Given the complexity of scheduling, we cannot accept specific friendship or teacher requests by name. Should your child have particular needs that we are not already aware of, or if there is a known reason to separate children, completing this optional form is a good idea. While parents sometimes want their child to be with a close friend or a specific teacher, it’s not always in their child’s best interest in the classroom environment. Ultimately, we share a common goal to place children in a classroom where each child thrives academically and socially. We are committed to developing class sections with each child in mind while balancing the complex variables mentioned above. The lists are created and reviewed over time and by many staff members. Through our comprehensive, multi-step class development process, we intend to place our students in an environment where each child has a happy, successful school year. If you have input you would like considered, please complete this optional form by April 24, 2026.

Thank you for your support and understanding. 

Second Grade Only- School Supply Kits for Third Grade 

Shabonee families can purchase school supplies through the PTA. The kit typically costs about $80, which is less than buying supplies individually. The supply kits will be delivered to Shabonee in August and will be waiting for the children on the first day of school. More information about these kits will be shared with you in the coming weeks. School supply lists will be posted on our school website this summer for families who wish to purchase their school supplies separately.  

Important Dates:

• Thursday, April 16 - First Grade Musical Performance at 6:00 pm (Hickory Point)

For your children,

Dr. Maureen Deely, Principal

Mrs. Lauren Weingarten, Assistant Principal