
We hope everyone has checked out all of the delicious options sent home on the Puffin Pastry Fundraiser form. Order forms and money are due by September 8th. Funds raised will be used for some really great student prizes for our positive behavior assemblies at all three school this year.


Be on the lookout - Puffin Pastry order forms will be coming home with your child today!




Blackstone Weekly Report
Stacy Kelly, Principal
August 25th, 2023
We have just completed our first full week back to school. We’ve had a very smooth start to the year. The students are making new friends, meeting staff, learning rules and practicing procedures. It’s great to have everyone back in the building and ready to have a fantastic year!
We have a few new staff members at Blackstone this year. They are off to a great start and are already a part of our Blackstone family. We welcome the following new staff members: Abby Fancher (speech), Ashley Bain (special education), Tanya Milus (paraprofessional) and Erin Riordan (paraprofessional). Vicki Tolley has moved from a paraprofessional to a first grade teacher this year. Welcome new staff members!
I would like to thank the many community members and businesses who have recently donated school supplies to our students in need at Blackstone. The students were so excited to receive their new supplies. We appreciate this support!
Download the Mendota #289 app from the App Store or Play Store for district and school news, events, announcements, menus, etc. Rooms is the parent-teacher chat that is fully integrated into our district app so you have one app for everything Mendota #289. Parents should expect an email invite from edurooms to gain access. We encourage all of our parents to get access to this app as it will be used on a regular basis from the district, school and teachers.

Blackstone School is currently scheduling incoming kindergarten student readiness screeners. The screeners will take place on June 26th-June 29th at Blackstone.
If you have a child coming to kindergarten in August, please call our office at 815-539-6888 to schedule a 20 minute appointment for next week for this screener. It is mandatory for all incoming kindergarten students to have the readiness screener completed before we can add them to a class list.

Monday is Field Day. Please have your child wear their Field Day shirt if they bought one. We will have a picnic lunch. If your child does not want the hot dog lunch, please send a cold lunch. Students will get a grilled hot dog, a bag of chips, cookies and juice. No hot lunch trays will be served from the cafeteria on this day.
Students should wear tennis shoes. Please consider putting sunscreen on your child before coming to school. It will be hot! Mrs. Gallagher has adjusted some of the games due to the heat. A couple of the rotations will include coming into the building throughout the day to do the activity in the air conditioning. Students will also be given water breaks and a cool treat. We're looking forward to a great day on Monday!

L.E.A.S.E. will be holding free preschool screenings at First United Methodist Church, 100 E. Sixth St. Mendota on Tuesday, April 11th in the morning. You may make an appointment by calling Jean at 815-433-6433. The screenings are for children who are 3 or 4 years old. L.E.A.S.E. will screen key developmental areas such as motor development, speech, language, vision, hearing and general readiness.
All children must be screened to be considered for the Mendota District #289 Preschool Program. If your child is currently enrolled in the Mendota District Preschool for All Program, he/she does not need to be screened again. Applications for Mendota District #289 Preschool will be at the screenings. The applications and screenings will be reviewed by the preschool team, and you will be contacted as to whether your child qualifies for preschool.
Mendota Elementary District#289 offers three need-based programs for three and four year olds: One is a Developmental Program for students who qualify for Special Education Services due to a significant delay in one or more areas and two PreSchool for All Programs that are funded through a State Grant and have specific qualifiers as “need-based” programs.

**Menu Change** Monday (2/27) and Tuesday's (2/28) menu days have been flip-flopped. Monday will now be Chili Cheese dogs and Tuesday will be chicken.

** Menu Change** Wednesday (2/22) instead of Beef Nachos we will be having Beef Tacos.

Thank you to all of our families who have supported our fundraisers to purchase this amazing new piece of equipment at Blackstone. Our students are loving this addition to our playground!





Today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Thank you to the Mendota Police Department for all you do for our community. Mrs. O'Sadnick's students made thank you cards for the MPD. In addition, they are providing them a soup lunch today because we think they are "SOUP-er!"


Congratulations to our December principal award winners. They enjoyed a pizza lunch today to celebrate!


YMCA Basketball


Reminder that there is no school for Mendota #289 students on Tuesday, November 8th.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recordatorio de que no hay escuela para Mendota #289 estudiantes en martes 8 de noviembre.


Here are some photos from Wednesday and Thursday of Red Ribbon Week.
Wednesday Boots and Hats
Thursday Hawaiian



Check out some of these adorable photos from Day 2 of Red Ribbon Week!


Our first day of Red Ribbon Week was so much fun! Look at some of our proud students wearing their neon and bright clothes.





Don't forget that Blackstone's picture day is tomorrow!


Catch up with the latest student stories, events,
and news updates. It's everything Mendota #289, in your
pocket. If you haven't already, download the app!
Download for Android https://bit.ly/3PeONbi
Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3PfgQHZ

Catch up with the latest student stories, events,
and news updates. It's everything Mendota #289, in your
pocket. If you haven't already, download the app!
Download for Android https://bit.ly/3PeONbi
Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3PfgQHZ


We are loving our new app! Access documents,
news updates, and even emergency notifications, right from
your pocket.
Download for Android https://bit.ly/3PeONbi
Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3PfgQHZ
