Country Meadows Families,
Well, this week certainly had it all! Students reporting in-person, saliva screenings, hybrid learning, and a snow storm. I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks to all of our Country Meadows families for your continued support while we continue to navigate the many challenges that each week brings. Your partnership and mutual support for our students truly make Country Meadows a model partnership. Please take a few moments to review the contents of this week’s principal’s message.
Warm Regards,
Meghan Bird - Principal
NEW *ERIN’S LAW*
An Illinois law known as Erin’s Law requires schools to implement an age-appropriate sexual assault and abuse awareness/prevention curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 12.
Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 researched and observed best practices and programs for delivering this instruction, selecting Victor Pacini to present Be Seen & Heard ©.
The focus of this developmentally appropriate and interactive program is to teach children skills to keep them safe from danger or abuse. Concepts discussed will include distinguishing safe from unsafe touches, safety rules at home and school, saying NO, safe/unsafe secrets, and telling a trusted adult, as well as reinforcing that an adult’s touching him or her is not the child’s fault. For more information about this presentation please go to www.victorpacini.com/peace-of-mind-2
The presentation to Country Meadows students will be during the school day on February 18th.
If you prefer that your child does not attend this prevention education session, please submit your written request - or your questions - to me at [email protected].
NEW *IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PARENTS OF IN-PERSON LEARNERS*
Parents who have children coming in must do their daily self-certification. It significantly slows down our arrival procedures when students don't have this.
Likewise, parents whose students do not bring their saliva samples will be called to come to the school and bring their student’s sample collection vial, barcode label, and plastic baggie and assist their student in collecting the sample.
Please remember that completing the daily self-certification and providing the weekly saliva sample is a commitment you made for your child to attend in-person. If there are repeat incidences for the daily self-certification and/or saliva collection, the student may need to go back to remote learning. Please set alarm reminders for yourself. I do not want anyone to have to move back to remote learning for this reason.
The schedule for saliva sample collection for EC–Grade 2 is as follows:
Monday
- Ivy Hall Grades 1-2 (Last names A-L)
- Prairie Grades 1-2 (Last names A-L)
Tuesday
- Country Meadows Grades 1-2 (Last names A-L)
- Kildeer Grades 1-2 (Last names A-L)
- Willow Grove PM Students
Wednesday
- Willow Grove AM Students
Thursday
- Country Meadows Grades 1-2 (Last names M-Z)
- Ivy Hall Grades 1-2 (Last names M-Z)
- Prairie Grades 1-2 (Last names M-Z)
- Kildeer Grades 1-2 (Last names M-Z)
See MORE INFO regarding saliva samples and collecting them.
To access the required Daily Self-Certification Form, you need to log into TeacherEase each day your student will attend in person to submit self-certification.
This VIDEO gives instructions, including how to access the daily self-certification form using your cell phone (iOS or android).
If you will be using your home computer to send daily self-certification, we suggest that you bookmark the TeacherEase website. The link is: https://www.teacherease.com/common/login.aspx
NEW *MUSIC MATERNITY LEAVE SUB INFO*
Here is a special message from our music teacher, Sarah Murray, and an introduction from her incredible maternity leave sub, Dana Sussman.
Hello Country Meadows! As many of you know, I am about to give birth to my first baby! The students have been helping me prepare by recording their own lullabies for baby Murray which have been so amazing to listen to! I wanted to take a moment to introduce to you Dana Sussman who will be my maternity substitute for the next 3 months.
Allow me to introduce Dana Sussman: Hello everyone! I am a recent graduate from Northwestern University. In the past, I’ve worked on the stage management teams at many Chicago Theaters. Most recently, I worked as a Character Attendant at Walt Disney World. When I’m not teaching, I love to read and listen to music. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone! While Mrs. Murray is on maternity leave, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions.
NEW: *News From the Library - Introducing Sora*
We are so excited to announce the purchase of over 1,500 e-books for our students to check out directly onto their iPads on an app called Sora by Overdrive. All of the classrooms have been introduced to this new app and students immediately began checking out books. Students can check out one book at a time and place one book on hold at a time.
Many of the e-books have a limited number of checkouts before they disappear from the collection. Because of this, we strongly encourage children to read a sample of the book before borrowing it. This way they can decide whether the book is a good fit and it will help our e-books last longer. In addition, we are asking students to return books as soon as they finish reading it so another student can check it out plus they can check out their next book right away.
An exciting feature of Sora is if you have a public library card, students can add their library card number to the app and have thousands more books to choose from. All you need is a library card. See this video for instructions on how to add a public library to the Sora app. Please feel free to reach out with any questions!
NEW *Specials Materials & Materials for Students Reporting In Person*
For students reporting for in person learning, please look for specific information from your child's classroom teacher regarding materials he or she will need to bring to class on days he/she reports. Here is the updated Specials Materials List. Please reach out to your child's classroom teacher or specific specials teachers with any questions.
NEW *PTO Sponsored Coding Activity*
The Country Meadows PTO has a wonderful opportunity to host a PTO-sponsored after-school coding session for our students in collaboration with Code Ninjas in Long Grove.
In order to assess the interest, we need parents to complete and submit this brief SURVEY.
The sessions will be divided by grade groups, which will be held on different evenings.
Please note there will be only one session per student. There is a maximum capacity due to recommended instructor:student ratio.
NEW *PTO Virtual Hands On Science Event*
Save the date! Our incredible PTO will be sponsoring a virtual event on March 4th! Please be on the lookout for upcoming information regarding registration for the event.
NEW *PTO Blog*
There are a TON of new updates and happenings with exciting events and opportunities from our PTO, so be SURE to read this week’s BLOG! You won’t want to miss it! Please take a moment to read the updated PTO blog this week.
*REPEATING* PREORDERING FREE MEALS FOR IN-PERSON LEARNERS
If your child is participating in in-person learning, and you would like your student to receive free meals in the building on those in-person days, please pre-order using the Linq website (onlineordering.linq.com). Find info about how to create your account and order HERE.
Please place your orders by 6 p.m. on Thursdays for the week ahead.
These meals are free to all students through the Summer Food Service Program of the USDA. This program is anticipated to be in place through the end of this 2020–2021 school year.
REPEATING: Picture Retakes
Were you hoping to get a picture retake? Did you miss school picture day? Have you recently moved to the area? No worries, your student’s portrait can still be included in the 2020-2021 Country Meadows yearbook! You can submit your own portrait directly to the yearbook between now and February 15th using one of the following methods:
Option 1: Download the HJ eShare app, enter the school code: CM2021 select “upload portrait,” follow the instructions and upload your picture
Option 2: Go to www.hjeshare.com, enter the school code: CM2021, select “upload portrait,” follow the instructions and upload your picture
Option 3: Go directly to http://www.hjeshare.com/eShare/?code=CM2021 select “upload portrait,” follow the instructions and upload your picture
If you have any questions regarding your Color Portrait orders or needed refunds, please contact Color Portraits directly for support at (847) 382-7505.
REPEATING *In Person Learning Protocols*
Parents whose hybrid in-person students will be learning in person, please be sure to review the Revised IN-PERSON LEARNING PROTOCOLS for information about health and safety protocols and expectations for families and their students who will be learning in person in our schools.
REPEATING *FREE MEAL PACK PICK-UP*
Free meal pick-up will continue on Mondays and Thursdays at the middle schools, from 11am to 2pm as we begin to transition back to a hybrid learning schedule. However, parents no longer need to pre-order these meals. If you would like to view the menu, you can find it on the district website, labeled as Remote Learning Menu. This menu will no longer appear on the Linq website.
REPEATING *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.
REPEATING *Yearbook Photo Submission*
If you have any photos to share of your child(ren) participating in remote learning, please follow the steps below!
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 *PTO January Artistic Challenge*
Our incredible PTO is sponsoring another fun challenge this month! Please see this flyer for information regarding our January Artistic Contest! We can't wait to see the creativity our studnets use while creating their igloos/forts!
REPEATING *Preregister for 2021–22 Kindergarten Beginning Jan. 11*
Preregister incoming 2021–22 kindergartners beginning January 11 and no later than January 31 to receive a free T-shirt for your incoming student. SEE MORE INFO
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 and a link you can use to participate.