Welcome to Columbus Elementary!

​We're so glad you're here!

Welcome students, families, friends, and neighbors. Columbus Elementary is a high performing school with high quality teachers. We are small in comparison to other CPS schools, but we are big when it comes to success, caring, and belonging. 

News & Announcements

Prospective Families OPEN HOUSE
at Columbus Elementary: a LEVEL 1 NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL
Thursday, March 15 @6:00 p.m.

Come meet the excellent staff of Columbus Elementary. Hear from parents and students what makes Columbus special. Take a school tour to see what we're all about. Ask questions, get answers, find out about enrolling your child, how to apply over the summer (if you missed the deadline), and much more!
 
Local School Council Meetings Moved
LSC meetings have been moved to the 2nd Wednesday of each month. These are open meetings. All Columbus families and community members are encouraged to attend.
 
Sign up for After School Fun!

GIRL POWER YOGA CLUB BY MISSION PROPELLE
Mission Propelle empowers girls in elementary school to discover who they are, what they believe, and how to advocate for themselves. We accomplish this through an after-school program that combines yoga, reading, and mentoring. In each one-hour class, girls develop mindfulness, deep breathing techniques, and self-confidence as they practice yoga. They learn how to solve problems by reading original storybooks starring Dottie Tov, a relatable and age-aligned female protagonist. The girls discuss the content of the book and how it relates to their own life. Throughout class, girls learn to apply leadership skills in their everyday lives as they receive situation-based mentorship from trained instructors. All girls receive digital downloads of the original storybooks each week!
NEW STUDENTS RECEIVE A SHIRT AND YOGA MAT.
**Mission Propelle is one of the largest after school programs in the city! Check out their work in action here: https://missionpropelle.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-UFAn7z_Xk&feature=youtu.be


 Sign up for Chess 
Develop your child's intellect through the fun game of chess! Current research has shown a strong link between chess and
academic performance in a variety of areas, including mathematics and language arts. Also, chess has been proven to enhance motivation, concentration, focus, social skills, and creativity. No previous knowledge of chess is necessary. Each class will consist of a fun, interactive teaching period and guided practice time. Both new and returning participants are welcome and will get to the next level under the guidance of an experienced Chess Scholars coach. There will also be a chess competition with prizes towards the end of the session! Each child will receive a participation medal and a chess keychain.
To sign up for Chess Scholars, please visit https://www.chessscholars.com.

Sign up for Let's Build It!
Let’s Build It – Exciting Electronics! is an exhilarating, cutting-edge area of engineering. In this unit, students will design, build,
and test various circuits and electronic projects. Instructors will guide students through core concepts of electrical
engineering, introducing them to circuits and electrical components. Students will use hands-on projects and experiments to explore how electricity is part of our daily lives. No previous experience is necessary, just a desire to learn and build. Each student will receive an award on the last day of the session, as well as the opportunity to earn engineering belts to
demonstrate their learned skills!You have more than two months to submit your applications. Make the most of it. To sign up, please visit https://www.learningmeansfun.com.
 
Sign up for Let's Code It!
Let’s Code It Programming – Kool Katz – Your child will have a blast in this exciting new STEM program. Our innovative
approach to coding is sure to spark your child’s interest in computer science, using a simple, relatable, block-based
programming system called Scratch, developed by the MIT Media Lab. The fun filled curriculum stresses critical thinking,
creativity, confidence, teamwork, and problem solving skills to prepare them for the 21st century and beyond. Class topics
include video game design, loops, control structure, conditional expressions, control statements, object oriented design
concepts, data structures and variables, and mathematical expressions. Each student will receive an award on the last day of the session, and will have the opportunity to earn Energy Belts to demonstrate their learned skills! To sign up, please visit http://www.learningmeansfun.com.
 

Chicago Public Schools - Calendar - Details

Columbus Teachers Share Classroom News via Social Media

Did you know that Ms. Blochowiak and Mrs. Gibbs have started Instagram pages for their classrooms? If you want to see what's going on in first and fourth grade, like their pages:

Mrs. Gibb's Account: mrsgibbs305
Ms. Blochowiak's Account: 1st.grade.with.ms.blochowiak

Mrs. Oleksy also has a facebook page you can like. She shares homework, teaching, and parenting tips, along with pertinent information about Columbus. Be sure to like her page: Principal Oleksy.
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Classroom Highlights

Kindergarten, Room 101, Ms. Pema
Kindergarten has just completed their All about winter, weather and winter animals unit.

Now we are in the beginning of our Dr. Seuss Author Study. This is a very exciting adventure into the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss. During this unit we will be learning about nonsense words, rhyming words, word families and fostering a love or reading in our students. Not only do Dr. Seuss’s imaginative stories make reading and learning fun, they also spark lively discussions about subjects as varied as conservation, racism, greed, perseverance, and self-discovery.