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The votes have been tallied and this year's 2020 Illinois favorites selected by Congress Park students are.....

Monarch Award (Grades K-3):
Most Votes:-Saving Fiona
Perfectly Norman and Rescue and Jessica (tie for second)

​Bluestem Award (3-5)
Most Votes-Ban This Book
Real Friends (2nd favorite)
Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability (3rd favorite)

Etymology and history of first names   

Inspired by Chris Van Dusen's recent book titled, "If I Built A School," second grade students created a model of their own futuristic school.  They added many improvements to our traditional school such as zip lines so that students could get to class quickly, exotic class pets to help keep everyone safe and calm, and countless food items that would be available throughout the day.  I was amazed to witness the excitement, creativity, and collaboration within group members.

Whoa!  What an exciting game Congress Park students played this week.  It was a nail biter for sure!  We are very proud of all of our teams and each individual who worked hard preparing for our competition.  We are also excited to announce that TEAM 5 will represent our school during our district battle on Thursday, February 6 at 4 PM.  

Every single K-2 classroom section chose to listen to the Monarch Nominee "Alfie: The Turtle that Disappeared."  We don't know which nominee will win yet but we do know that we love this title and the illustrations are AMAZING!  In this video author/illustrator Thyra Heder teaches us how to draw him.  Can't wait to see what our turtles look like! 

Thank you Congress Park supporters!  We were able to purchase two new Breakout EDU kits with your generous donations and are already putting the kits to good use!  This week both first and second grade students are participating in their first Breakout this year.  I "accidentally" locked all of the 2020 titles in the box and their task is to use the clues to open the box to retrieve them.  Limited time affected the outcome to many first grade teams but they still loved the experience and all learning that took place.  

Check out these spooky and fun holograms created by fourth grade!

We have started checking out books at Congress Park!  We ask that if your child is in grades K, 1, or 2, the books be brought back the day BEFORE the library class.  If possible, we would like all books brought back to the library each week, including books that need to be renewed.  This concept is new to Congress Park this year and we will no longer renew books without physically seeing the book to ensure it is not lost or damaged.  This also keeps our records accurate and up to date.  However, please be aware that we DO NOT charge overdue fines so if your child needs more time with his/her book but has forgotten to bring it to class, that is OK too. 

Please find your child's grade below to see when books are due.