Country Meadows Families,
Thank you so much for participating in our remote Family Educator Conferences! Staff have enjoyed connecting with families and celebrating the great things your children are doing! As always, we are grateful for your partnership and your continued support. If you were unable to attend, please remember that teachers are always available to speak with you about your child's academic and social emotional progress! We also know there has been a lot of recent communication for you to review, and we are so appreciative of you taking the time you take to thoroughly read and/or watch the information.
Speaking of information, Maisie James has some exciting news to share with you all! We are so excited to announce that Baby Bird #2 will be joining our family March 2021! While this has made "pandemic principal life" a bit more interesting, we are absolutely thrilled to be adding another little one to our family. More details will be forthcoming regarding our extensive and thoughtful coverage plan as information is finalized.
.jpg?mask=1)
Enjoy the long weekend ahead!
Fondly,
Meghan Bird - Principal
NEW *Upcoming Calendar/Schedule Reminders*
Monday, October 12th, there is no school.
Tuesday, October 13th, there is no school due to the recent BOE approval of a Remote Planning Day for all staff.
NEW *Conference Feedback Form*
Thank you for attending Family Educator Conferences. Please fill out one survey per family and communicate specific differences between conferences for each child in your comments. We value your feedback and use these results to continuously improve the conference process. We have asked that you include your email address so that we can improve our data collection process and follow-up with you if necessary. Thank you for your response.
Please Complete the Survey by October 23
NEW *Approved Snack List*
The District has not revised the APPROVED SNACK LIST from the 19-20 school year. The items the list includes are free of the Top 8 allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.
This list includes the foods that are approved for students' Daily Snacks eaten in the classroom.
IMPORTANT: All items for Daily Snacks– with the exception of fruits and vegetables– MUST be prepackaged to allow staff to easily check that snacks meet the approved requirements.
NEW *Halloween Information*
Given the unique circumstances we are faced with this year, we will not have students wear Halloween costumes or partake in our annual Halloween parade. More information will be forthcoming regarding activities that will be done in classrooms on Wednesday, October 28th.
NEW: October Artistic Contest
Our incredible PTO is sponsoring a fun challenge for students each month! Please see this flyer for information regarding our October Artistic Contest! We can't wait to see how creative our students are!
NEW: Specials Materials
Here is the updated Specials Materials Schedule. Please reach out to specific specials teachers with any questions.
NEW *PTO Blog*
Don't forget to purchase your Country Meadows Spirit Wear! Both child and adult sizes are available!
Please take a moment to read the updated PTO blog this week!
REPEATING *Commitment to Partnership*
As emphasized in Superintendent Schmidt's message sent on Tues., Sept 29, implementing a hybrid in-person learning model is and must be a partnership.
We know that some surrounding districts or schools who began their in-person learning plan have had to revert to full remote for a period of time. In many situations, this has been due to positive cases about which families were not truthful with the school or with the health department regarding symptoms and the diagnosis or with those conducting the contact tracing process.
We are confident that the District 96 community will rise to the occasion and partner with us to ensure safety and success. Please think carefully about your commitment to our partnership before sending your kids to school.
REPEATING *Updated Student Schedules and In-Person Learning Protocols*
UPDATED SCHEDULES will take effect for ALL of our students on the following schedule:
Kindergarten – schedule effective beginning Oct. 15
Elementary – schedule effective for Grades 1–5 beginning Oct. 19
(NOTE: Hybrid in-person learning begins for Grades 1 and 2 on Oct. 19. Hybrid in-person learning begins for Grades 3–5 on Oct. 29)
Middle – schedule effective beginning Oct. 29
For those returning to schools in the hybrid model, please review the IN-PERSON LEARNING PROTOCOLS thoroughly, so that you are prepared to complete and submit the required one-time annual self-certification and acknowledgment of protocols via a link in an email communication you will be sent after Oct. 5.
REPEATING *Updated COVID-19 Metrics*
This UPDATED COVID-19 METRICS is the information “dashboard” that maintains transparent and open communication around COVID-19 metrics. As a user of the dashboard, the District has access to COVID-19 data as recommended by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium. We review this data daily, update the dashboard weekly, and consider this data in making many decisions.
REPEATING *Family Tradition Survey*
Last year, families filled out a form to share their family traditions with us. We shared those traditions in a daily slideshow for students and the kids absolutely loved reading about themselves and other students in the school. We would love for you to participate again this year!
Read more about how you can share your family traditions this year. It will show you a QR code you can scan to participate.
REAPEATING *Yearbook Photo Upload*
Calling all pictures of your child(ren) learning remotely! Please upload your photos of your child(ren) engaging in Zoom sessions while learning remotely or in their remote learning environment. We would love to add them to our yearbook this year!
Option 1: Download the HJ eShare app, enter the school code: CM2021 tag and upload your pictures
Option 2: Go to www.hjeshare.com, enter the school code: CM2021, tag and upload your pictures
Option 3: Go directly to http://www.hjeshare.com/eShare/?code=CM2021 tag and upload your pictures
REPEATING *School Exclusion & Health Form Requirements*
Please know that students who do not have the necessary health forms on file will be excluded from school on October 15th. Please see the information below for specific details and health form deadlines.
Health form requirements vary by grade level and for new/returning students. New to District 96 (all grade levels)? See MORE INFO regarding grade-level specific health form requirements.
All students entering Kindergarten must have their CERTIFICATE OF CHILD HEALTH EXAMINATION/IMMUNIZATION FORM (signed by the physician) on file in the school office by October 15, 2020.
All students entering Kindergarten must have their Vision Examination Form by October 15, 2020.
All students entering Kindergarten must have a DENTAL EXAMINATION FORM on file at their school office by May 15, 2021.
All students entering Grade 2 must have a DENTAL EXAMINATION FORM on file at their school office by May 15, 2021.
All students entering Grade 6 must have their CERTIFICATE OF CHILD HEALTH EXAMINATION/IMMUNIZATION FORM (signed by the physician) on file in the school office by October 15, 2020.
Additional Grade 6 health form requirements include the DENTAL EXAMINATION FORM by May 15, 2021.