Our week at Country Meadows has flown by! This coming week is packed with learning and fun too. Coming up this week, Lieutenant Tony Rodkey from Countryside Fire Protection District will present to each grade level about fire safety. Students will learn about Country Meadows PRO expectations around the building. Being a Country Meadows PRO - Person Respecting Others - is an important part of our school culture. Throughout the year there will be fun assemblies and activities to learn and practice being respectful, being responsible, and creating a peaceful school community.
Our school-wide focus is on creating a peaceful community. Next week will culiminate with Cub Crawl on Friday! When our school community establishes expected behaviors around the school, students feel welcome and safe to learn. Student can look forward to a special surprise from the PTO coming soon!
Courtesy Cub will make a special appearance in helping to demonstrate PRO expectations! Here are some sneak peak photos of Courtesy Cub.
Kindly,
Michelle Garlick
NEW “Fall Conferences”
Fall Family/Educator Conferences are right around the corner. The conference dates are Thursday, October 6th from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, October 7th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
We will be using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences. A School Messenger email will be sent to families on Monday, September 19th at 6:00PM with a link to sign up for conferences.
Conferences will be held virtually using Meet the Teacher’s video conferencing platform unless parents request an in-person conference using the instructions below. After you have scheduled your conferences, you will receive an email from Meet the Teacher with a link you will use to access the video conferences.
Elementary parents will have the option to sign up with the classroom teacher as well as specials teachers and any related service providers their children see.
If you are unable to schedule a conference with a specific teacher, please remember that conferences are not the only time to communicate with teachers. Please feel free to reach out any time.
REQUESTING AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE
If you want to have an in-person conference with the teachers, you must notify the teachers via email by the end of the day on Tuesday, October 4th.
NEW *UPCOMING PTO DATES TO REMEMBER*
Visit our PTO Blog for more information on all the below events!
Dessert Day: September 22, 28
Don’t forget to log in to Membership Toolkit (MTK) to order Dessert Day for the school year!
Fall Festival: October 27
This year’s Fall Festival will be one for the books! Help us plan the best party yet for our kids! We are looking for volunteers to help on the Fall Festival Committee: You can help by signing up on MTK.
Classroom Halloween Party: October 31
Does your child's class need a volunteer? Most 2nd-5th grade classes still need volunteers to assist with their classroom Halloween Parties! You can help by signing up on MTK.
NEW *Classroom Parties*
As always, we are looking forward to celebrating at holiday classroom parties with our students. Parties will continue to be food free. All classroom food must be checked through our nurse and it is not feasible for our building nurse to manage this, along with the day-to-day responsibilities to ensure student safety and wellness. Students will enjoy crafts and games to celebrate the festivities.
NEW *Student Birthdays*
Teachers recognize student birthdays. Although it is not necessary, families may choose to send something for the class. We do not, however, allow food to be passed out in classrooms or sent home with children. Appropriate non-food items are allowed, such as a pencil or stickers. Please keep the age of our children in mind for the appropriateness and safety of the item.
NEW *SMART Watches*
SMART watches are starting to show up here at the elementary schools. Many SMART watches have similar capabilities to SMART phones (game, voice, and text capabilities). If a SMART watch becomes a distraction or is used for communication, it may be confiscated and stored in the office to remove the distraction from the learning environment. Essentially, we will treat the SMART watches like a cell phone. Confiscated equipment may be picked up in the office at the end of the day by the student(s). If a pattern of distraction occurs, parents may be asked to pick up the technology.
NEW *Fire Drill*
On September 21st, 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.
Repeating *Letters to Veterans*
With Veteran’s Day just around the corner, we are inviting D96 students to write thank you notes or letters to veterans. These letters will be included in individualized care packages that will be given to veterans who attend an upcoming recognition event in Lake County. If your student is interested, please have them return their letter or thank you note to the front office no later than October 13th to ensure we are able to mail them in enough time to be included in the Lake County project.
Repeating *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 Be Seen & Heard ©. For more information about this presentation please go to www.victorpacini.com/peace-of-mind-2
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.
Opt-Out Procedures
The presentation to Country Meadows students will be during the school day on September 30th. If you prefer that your child does not attend this prevention education session, please submit your written request or your questions to [email protected] by September 27th.