Country Meadows Families,
It was another great week at Country Meadows, and we are looking forward to the full week of learning ahead. We are even more excited to enjoy the Country Meadows Fall Festival that our amazing PTO has planned for our school community next Wednesday, October 20th! It will be an evening full of games, fun, and food, and we hope you are able to join us! Please note that this is a PTO sponsored event and that students must be accompanied by and adult for the duration of the event (no supervision will be provided). See below for specific details on how to order your wristbands and food ahead of time. We look forward to seeing you there.
Kindly,
Meghan Bird - Principal
NEW *Scheduled Fire Drill*
On Monday, October 18th, Country Meadows will be conducting a Fire Drill. Students will be evacuating the building during the drill. If the weather does not cooperate, we will reschedule the drill and communicate the rescheduled drill date.
NEW *Picture Retakes*
Picture retakes have been scheduled for Wednesday, October 20th.
Please CLICK HERE to be brought to the prepay site for picture retakes. Ordering will be closed at midnight the evening before picture retakes to process the orders. If you miss prepaying, you will have a chance to order pictures with your child's Ticket Code. When placing an order after Picture Day with a Ticket Code a shipping fee will be added on and picture packages will be shipped directly to the home. Ticket Codes will be delivered with the bulk picture package order approximately three weeks post Picture Day.
NEW *Orchestra Fall Concert Update*
As of now, we are planning on having a typical concert with in-person audience members! All audience members will need to follow social distancing guidelines and are required to stay masked throughout their time inside the building. We thank you for your cooperation and ask for your patience if things need to change.
The date of our concert has changed from the beginning of the school year. Our new 4th and 5th-grade concert date will be Thursday, November 11th at 7pm. More details on arrival times will come as we get closer to the date.
NEW *Peaceful Protest*
Some of you may be aware that a parent stationed themselves outside of our campus today to "peacefully protest" his concern that there is an air quality issue on the CM / WL campus. This is related to a very specific individual student matter that our team, including our legal counsel, is working on. While our environmental engineers had no reason to believe that there is an air quality issue based on all of our maintenance and monitoring indicators, the district is completing an indoor air quality assessment. When we receive that report we will certainly share it.
We are not conducting the air quality assessment because we or our engineers believe there was an air quality issue. In doing our due diligence, we are conducting the assessment to put this one parent's concerns to rest.
NEW *Golden Paws*
At Country Meadows we are working to be PROs (People Respecting Others) by being respectful, responsible, and creating peaceful community. Staff members are able to award students with paper paws slips when students are exhibiting behaviors consisent with our building values (respectful, responsible, peaceful).
New this year is the exciting GOLDEN PAW. Golden paws are earned when an entire class is seen exhibiting PRO behavior that is respectful, responsible, or peaceful. For example, a class may earn a Golden Paw for being respectful to a substitute the day a teacher is absent, listening and adhering to lunch room expectations, walking quietly/peacefully in the hallways. Each week we will report to you the classes who have earned Golden Paws!
This weeks Golden Paws winners include:
- Mrs. Humphries' 5th grade class
- Mrs. Sabath's 5th grade class (2 paws)
- Mrs. Perales' 5th grade class (2 paws)
- Mrs. Eisinger's 4th grade class
Keep up the great work, Country Meaows PROs!
NEW *PTO Update*
Fall Festival is Wednesday, October 20th 5:30pm-7:30pm outside of Country Meadows School! Bring the whole family for an evening of fun. (Please note all children must be accompanied by a parent for the duration of the event as there is no supervision provided. This is a PTO hosted event, not a school supervised event).
Wristbands (for access to games and activities) and raffle tickets are available for pre-purchase on MTK until Sunday evening. Prices will increase at the door, so order now to save!
Do you know of a teenager or group who needs service hours? Let us know! We need volunteers to run games and help with set up/clean up. We are also looking for a volunteer to bring lots of school spirit in our Courtesy Cub mascot costume! Parents are encouraged to volunteer. See MTK sign up for details!
You also still have time to channel your best Pinterest abilities and create a raffle basket this weekend! We are accepting donations through Monday. Contact Erin at [email protected] for more information.
Upcoming events:
- 10/20: Fall Festival 5:30pm-8:30pm
- 10/29: Classroom Halloween Parties
- 11/12: Special Lunch (Real Urban BBQ)
- 11/15-19: Scholastic Book Fair
Please take a moment to read the PTO blog this week.
REPEATING *Halloween Costumes*
We know some of you may have started planning student Halloween costumes, so we ask that you help us with the following costume procedures and guideline. All costumes must be appropriate for school.
- Students will change into their costumes after lunch
- Please no costume masks, blood, or weapons
- Please no cigars or cigarette items
- Please no bare stomachs
- Please keep hair coloring and make-up simple (and complete prior to sending your child to school)
REPEATING *Halloween Parade and Parties*
Country Meadows students will participate in an outdoor Halloween Parade beginning at 1:45. Details about the parade location and route will be forthcoming. The parade will be followed by classroom parties that will will begin at approximately 2:00 pm and end at 2:45 pm. Only PTO approved parent party volunteers may attend classroom parties. Please see more party volunteer information below.
IMPORTANT NOTES FOR PTO PARTY VOLUNTEERS
- Parents attending the parties may not bring additional family members, other children, etc. We need everyone to abide by this and will have to ask you to leave if you come with other attendees.
- Every PTO volunteer approved to come into our school MUST have their license or ID scanned through our security system to enter. You have to bring this with you or you will not be able to enter. There is always a very long line at this first party, so please anticipate this. We highly encourage PTO room party volunteers to swing by the school sometime before the party to have their license scanned, which will speed up the process. The more people who come in early to be scanned, the shorter the line! You may also come on the day of the Halloween party BEFORE THE PARADE to have your license scanned.
- All volunteers must have followed our procedures for verifying vaccination or have proof of a negative Covid test. Call the office with questions.
- All volunteers must wear a mask at all times and remain socially distanced.
REPEATING *Volunteers & Vaccination Verification or Proof of a Negative Test
As you may or may not know, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker held a COVID-19 press conference on August 26, 2021, where he issued new rules regarding indoor masking, and signed an Executive Order 2021-20, regarding educational employee vaccination and testing requirements. In the Executive Order which applies to all “school personnel,” volunteers are included in the definition unless they are present for only a short period of time and whose movements of close physical proximity are “fleeting”.
Those who have been identified as a current or upcoming PTO volunteer recently received a survey asking that you provide proof of vaccination and notifying them that if unvaccinated they would need to provide proof of a negative Covid test within 48 hours of reporting to volunteer.
If you have already uploaded proof of vaccination, please disregard this information.
How do I provide proof of vaccination proactively should I choose to volunteer at my student(s) school this year?
By following this link, you may provide proof of vaccination to your school(s).
What if I am unvaccinated but want to volunteer this year?
Unvaccinated volunteers must provide proof of a negative Covid test when you arrive at the school on the day you are scheduled to volunteer. Negative test results are only good for the 48 hours prior to arrival. For example, if an unvaccinated volunteer is scheduled to be in the school the next week, they would have to provide a new test result.
What type of Covid test qualifies?
You may present a negative antigen or PCR test. Home testing kits do not qualify as the test must be observed and documentation of the result provided to you.
Why can’t unvaccinated volunteers take a Covid test at the school?
The BinaxNow test provided to schools is in short supply at this time. As a result, schools have been notified that we cannot use the test for any screening purposes. If we were to do so, they would no longer supply the test to us. We are only allowed to use the test for symptomatic individuals on campus (students or staff) or when a person qualifies for test-to-stay. If and when test supplies increase, those restrictions may be lifted. If they are, we will be in a position to reconsider testing unvaccinated volunteers in our schools at that time.
What is the process for volunteers to either provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test?
- Vaccinated volunteers may submit their proof of vaccination at any time by following the link provided and completing the survey and uploading proof of vaccination.
- The list of those who have done so will be made available to the school (principal, assistant principal, administrative assistant, and nurse) and updated periodically by Lubna Andrabi in our district office.
- Unvaccinated volunteers must bring proof of a negative test to the main office on the day they are scheduled to volunteer.
- The main office will make a copy of your negative test.
- The test result must be within the previous 48 hours. The staff at the front desk in the main office will assist you.
What if I am fully vaccinated but forgot to upload my proof of vaccination?
If you have not uploaded your vaccination card, you may provide proof of vaccination when you arrive (vaccination card). We strongly encourage you to upload your card so that you do not need to present it each time you report to volunteer.
REPEATING *Picture Retakes*
Picture retakes have been scheduled for Wednesday, October 20th. If your child needs to retake his/her picture or was not present for our first picture day, please click here to order photos.
REPEATING *Thought Exchange Partnership*
The District 96 Thought Exchange Partnership (TEP) offers parents opportunities to give feedback and receive information about District instruction, programs, and initiatives. Understanding parent perceptions is helpful for planning and communicating. Contact District 96 Community Parent Liaison Lubna Andrabi, 847.459.4260, ext. 8136, with questions. In particular, the District invites parents who have students enrolled at Willow Grove Early Learning Center to consider joining the Thought Exchange Partnership. The first meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2021 from 7:00-8:30 via Zoom.
REPEATING *O’Hare PCR Results*
If you do not receive your child’s PCR results over the weekend, we apologize for the inconvenience.
Please feel free to contact O’Hare Labs by sending an email to [email protected]. This email is monitored frequently each day and is the preferred method of contact. Please be sure to include your child’s First Name, Last Name, DOB, and test date in the email.
If preferred, you can also call the Call Center at (800) 604-0197 Monday-Saturday between the hours of 10am-5pm.
REPEATING *Covid Metrics*
To stay up-to-date this school year on local metrics, please visit the COVID DASHBOARD for District 96. Our priority remains to keep our students safe and follow guidance from the CDC. If your student is identified as a "close contact", you will be notified individually through the contact tracing process.