Neubert Elementary Finds Unique Ways to Do More With Less

The following is a press release submitted by Neubert Elementary School Principal Darlene Warner:

The economic situation in Illinois is forcing layoffs, program cuts and more. However, in a small but significant way, parents and community members are providing rich and rewarding experiences for our students. There are so many things to learn about that the school day just isn’t long enough, and that’s where parents and community members step in to provide additional learning experiences.

The Diggin’ Daisies is a gardening club for students, facilitated by Jane Bishoff from the Algonquin Garden Club and Missy Norwood, a Neubert parent. Students stay after school to meet and learn about gardening, and more. March 21 was the first meeting of the season.  (The next remaining meetings are April 18 and May 16.)

Monday’s meeting was on fruits and what makes a fruit, a fruit, as opposed to a vegetable. Students learned many interesting facts about fruit. Did you know a banana is in the same family as the lily and orchid, or that olive trees can live for more than 1,500 years?

They sampled many different fruits as a snack, some common and some more unusual. Students have also had a plant growing contest from last December. The students in the Diggin’ Daisies Club will vote on which plant is the healthiest/largest.

The third graders have a book club, facilitated by the media teacher Gayle Allmandinger, her assistant and five parents. Every Wednesday during the children’s lunch time from 10:30-11:00, parents meet with students in small groups to discuss a book they are all reading. The Book Club will meet one more time this year on March 23. 

It’s a great way to be involved in their child’s education and give a helping hand to teachers to assist children in their reading and comprehension. Amy Schmidt’s son, Ethan, is participating in the Book Club.

“It’s very rewarding to see children get so excited about reading and sharing their thoughts about a book we all read," Schmidt said.  "A book club provides common ground for discussion between parents and children.  It was a meaningful experience for myself and I hope for the children as well.”

Another way our Neubert parents have stepped up is to facilitate a recycling club. Neubert parent, Jessica Clute works with children once per month after school. This is the second year of operation for the club.

During the first year, the focus was on ways to improve recycling at the school. Students made posters and determined ways to recycle more items in the lunchroom and the rest of the school.

As a result, the children have improved our recycling efforts and we no longer put an average of 150 Styrofoam lunch trays into a land fill each day (over 26,000 per school year and we’re just one school!), but now use plastic, washable, reusable baskets.

This year the students are learning ways to re-use items and complete a project each month. For example, the colorful front of a cereal box was used to create a note pad cover. Bottle caps were turned into refrigerator magnets, potato chip cylinders were used to make banks, and more. These are just some of the little activities that in the long run, have the potential to make a big difference.

Community member Mallory Pignatari has not had any of her children enrolled at Neubert for three years, yet she still volunteers faithfully four days per week! Mallory facilitates math stations in Mrs. Feltman’s fifth grade classroom along with nine Neubert parents for about 45 minutes per day, four days per week, from 8:30-9:15. Parents provide small group, hands-on learning experiences to make learning come alive for students.

With the help and support our Neubert parents and community members provide, we can enhance and extend learning opportunities for our students. Every minute counts and we’re grateful to be able to count on our community to assist us with learning experiences for our students.