5/9/2025
Dear Thorp Families,
Thank you so much! The Thorp Staff really felt your love during Teacher Appreciation week. It was amazing! Special thanks to PTA, Friends of Thorp, 2nd Grade Families, The Sygaco Family, and Student Council! We were so honored by your generosity. I do not know of any other school who had multiple lunches, a mocktail drink station, breakfast goodies, appreciation notes and so much more! You truly made our week and we know how blessed we are to be part of this wonderful Thorp community.
CONGRATULATIONS to 8th grader Anais L. for advancing to the national history fair contest, National History Day! Her project on former U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, titled "The Impact of RBG", was one of the top two middle school individual performances in the state of Illinois! She will compete at the national contest in College Park, Maryland in early June.
State qualifying students who received Finalist awards were 8th graders:
- Genesis Y. & Leslie T.
- Brielle D. & Sofia K.
- Alejandro P.
Also, congratulations to 7th grader Will W. for receiving a Honorable Mention award!
We also want to recognize Mr. Coughlin for being nominated as the National History Day Teacher of the Year. Good luck Mr. Coughlin!
From the “Can you believe this?” file: There is a current TikTok challenge that encourages students to insert lead pencils and metal items into the charging ports of their Chromebooks. This can damage the Chromebook and possibly start a fire. Anyone damaging their Chromebooks in this manner will be charged a replacement fee, and their Chromebooks will be confiscated for the remainder of the year. Insurance will not cover the cost of damage due to these actions. Fires caused at school because of these actions will be treated as intentional arson and may be subject to criminal charges.
With the warmer weather we have seen an increase in injuries during recess. Students are encouraged to play, run and have fun; but no one should get hurt because of overly aggressive play. I try to use these opportunities to help students develop their problem solving skills. We have seen many of this aggressive play take place with our boys. One solution that our 5th graders came up with is having student referees. We will have vests available for voluntary referees to help monitor and ensure safe play. This should help students learn how to problem solve together. However, if this solution does not work then we will be restricting certain sports during recess. Please take the weekend to discuss sportsmanship with your child and emphasize the importance of playing together in a friendly manner. You may also want to encourage them to share their ideas on how to improve recess with me. I am always open to great suggestions from our students.
This week there was a small overnight fire at Chicago Academy and we had to quickly prepare for an unexpected visit from our neighbors. I want to thank our teachers for their flexibility and CPS as well our security and office staff for their logistical support. We also want to thank you parents for your help at the end of the day with dismissal procedures. If you did not get our text message then you need to sign up for our text alerts. Please email thorpadmin@cps.edu with the subject line: Text Alerts. Include your name, your child’s name, and your cell number and we will add you to our text alert list.
Parent Volunteers
Parents if you are a member of law enforcement we need your help as we think through some of the needs that we have with entry and dismissal traffic, outdoor events and public safety. If you are willing to help us please email thorpamin@cps.edu with the subject line: Thorp Safety Committee and we will contact you.
LSC Meeting
Our next LSC Meeting is on Wednesday 5/14/25 @ 6:00PM in our school library. You may also visit us virtually at oathorpacademy.org/lscmeeting.
5th & 6th Grade Learning Showcase
Parents we encourage you to visit the 5th & 6th Grade Cross-curricular Extravaganza on May 16th! Student presentations will feature temple engineers, artists, poets, singers, and more!
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. -11:45 a.m.
Spring Clean Up
Join Friends of Thorp for a school grounds spruce-up this Friday, May 16 from 2:30-6:30pm.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EAEAB22A3F4CF8-56216189-spring#/
Buona + Rainbow Cone Dine out
On May 22, 2025, Buona Harwood Heights will host a dine-out fundraiser. 20% of dine-in sales will go back to Friends of Thorp!
Birthday Books
If your child has had a recent spring birthday, please make sure they stop by the office to get their birthday token for the book vending machine!
Little Free Library
Our Little Free Library needs your help to thrive! While many families enjoy taking books home, fewer books are returned or replaced. Remember, the magic of our little library works on a simple principle: take a book, leave a book. Next time you do spring cleaning, please consider donating gently-used children's books your family has outgrown so everyone can discover new adventures and our library remains well-stocked for all to enjoy.
Spring Bingo Night
Wear your favorite Hawaiian outfit and join us for an adult's night out at Bingo in Paradise on Monday, June 2nd. Tickets: https://givebutter.com/ThorpBingo25
Schaumburg Boomers Family Day
Thorpies are going to the ballpark on July 27, 2025. A portion of the ticket sales will go back to Friends of Thorp. For more information and to buy your tickets: friendsofthorp.org/boomers
Pictures from from our Music field trip to Ravinia.
To all of our moms (and all those who take the place of mom in the lives of our kiddos) - Thank you for everything you do. May you have a beautiful Mother’s Day!
Efren Toledo
Principal