Happy early March!
Now Here Comes March ...
Families, hold onto your hats: March is rolling in like a roaring lion around District 96!
We have parent education nights; an interactive talk with a noted parenting expert; family collaborative conferences with your child taking the helm in the presentation; registration opening for the new school year; and eventually before the month closes… ~ catch your breath ~ Spring Break, from March 21-25. (There is no school Friday, March 18, for students.)
Keep reading. Here's what’s ahead next week.
Coming Up
- March 1: Board of Education meeting (7 p.m., Ivy Hall Boardroom)
- March 2: “Raising Kids Who Thrive” webinar (7 p.m.)
- March 5: Registration opens for the 2022-23 school year
- March 7: No School (Casimir Pulaski Day)
- March 9: Dual Language Parent Education Night (for Kindergartners; 6:30 p.m. via Zoom)
- March 14-15: Spring Collaborative Conferences (Parent / Educator Conferences)
- March 18: No School (Teacher Institute Day)
- March 21-25: Spring Break (School closed)
Parent 5Essentials Survey: Share Your Thoughts
Parents and Guardians: You’re invited to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school and help school and District leaders better understand the parent/school relationship. This survey is administered on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education.
The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success include:
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environments
- Ambitious Instruction
To take the survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the “Parent” survey to begin. Please know that your identity and responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected with your child. You may submit a survey for each child you have in the district.
The survey closes on March 11.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or [email protected] or Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Jeanne Spiller at [email protected].
Reproving Residency (for Kindergartners and 5th graders)
In KCSD 96, each year, parents of current Kindergartners and 5th graders are required to reprove their district residency.
To re-prove residency, parents are asked to provide three items to the Administrative Assistants at their child’s current school:
- a current monthly mortgage OR lease statement OR property tax bill OR Warranty Deed AND
- a current utility bill (e.g., water OR electric OR waste collection) AND
- This Proof of Residency Form (completed and signed)
For the email address for your school’s Administrative Assistant, and to learn information for other questions, please visit https://www.kcsd96.org/about/registration/the-requirement-to-re-prove-residency.
Dual Language Parent Education Night: March 9
District 96’s Dual Language Parent Education Night ~ for families of children entering kindergarten ~ starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 9.
This session will be held via Zoom. To access the presentation as well as a Q&A, please join virtually at: https://kcsd96.zoom.us/j/86328379586?pwd=VldmcWo0eFVSQ0g1aG50TVB3WExxdz09
- Meeting ID: 863 2837 9586
- Passcode: 841300
The Dual Language Program was designed several years ago to implement instruction across the curriculum that provides students the opportunity to develop a deep academic proficiency in two languages. In the district’s Dual Language program, 50 percent of the academic day curriculum is delivered in Spanish and 50 percent of the academic day is delivered in English.
Parents interested in enrolling their student(s) in the Dual Language Program are asked to fill out the Lottery Form at https://forms.gle/L9oLoHVU2EB6dost5 by 3 p.m. April 15.
Learn more about the District’s Dual Language Program at www.kcsd96.org/curriculum/dual-language.
Joining Band and Orchestra Next School Year?
Thinking of returning to or joining the Band or Orchestra next year?
Here’s a note from your District music teachers:
“Attention, current band/orchestra families: It is time to start thinking of your registration for band and orchestra classes next year. Please be on the lookout for information from your student's teacher with specific details on course offerings. Additionally, we ask that you begin the conversation with your student to see what their thoughts are for next year. We understand there is still time to make decisions regarding enrollment, but it is never too early to start the conversation. Please direct any questions you may have to your student's band or orchestra teacher. We hope to continue working with your students next year and to continue their musical progress.”
Reminder: Parenting Webinar on ‘Raising Kids Who Thrive’
This Wednesday night, you can glean from a noted parent-educator and journalist, Katherine Reynolds Lewis, as she leads an interactive talk on “Raising Kids Who Thrive: Responsibilities, Healthy Habits and Emotional Well-Being.”
This session, which is free, begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 2.
Lewis is author of “The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever — And What to Do About It.”
Parents will learn how to raise children who thrive, who are responsible and who know how to care for their mental and physical health and manage anxiety and stress, and parents can pick up various parenting problem-solving strategies.
Pre-register at: https://kcsd96.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkd-uoqTwtH9Frqo4U0boPDVi1-AMLihpl
In Our Schools
Willow Grove Kindergarten Center
Willow Grove Kindergartners had fun with beginning coding this week … laying down colorful squares that small race cars drove over, slowed down or stopped on, or even turned diagonally or spun in wheelies. It was all part of their Exploration Lab class with Mrs. Martinez,the school’s Information Literacy Specialist.
Country Meadows: Using Your Voice
As part of its Black History Month celebration, Country Meadows PTO hosted Ida Nelson ~ an Illinois resident who is responsible for “Jett Hawkins Law” ~ at the school. Mrs. Nelson shared how her 4-year-old son ('Jett') was told on his first day of school last year that his hairstyle violated the school’s dress code policy. She told students how, as a mother, she stood up for her son and worked to change a school policy that she felt targeted her son and his culture and identity: She encouraged them to stand up and be a hero to themselves and others, using their voice to support their own beliefs. The Illinois law, which prevents school boards, local school councils, charter schools, and non-public elementary and secondary schools from creating hairstyle-based dress code requirements, took effect Jan. 1.
Kildeer: 2nd Grade Entrepreneurship
Second-graders at Kildeer demonstrated what they’ve learned about entrepreneurship on Friday with their market, selling products or services to one another. The event was Entrepreneur Day, which celebrates the culmination of the students' Economics unit in second grade by allowing them to be producers and consumers, according to Alyson Lushpynskyj, a second-grade teacher at Kildeer.
"They worked hard to create goods and services for their fellow second graders and teachers," Mrs. Lushpynskyj shared.
In The Virtual BackPacks
Are you a parent of a District 8th grader who is curious about the Patriot Parent Association at Stevenson High School? Click here for more info.
Check out the Virtual BackPack for lots of great information about:
- Youth soccer club Spring and Summer programming
- SHS Dance 1 Master Class on Saturday, Feb. 26
- SHS Spring/Summer Hockey for incoming students
Be sure to check the District’s Virtual BackPacks ~ https://www.kcsd96.org/about/virtual-backpack ~ for other news and information for you and your family!
QUESTIONS?
District 96 will communicate with you every Friday through E-NEWS 96 and through Principal’s Messages from each school in which you have a student enrolled. It’s important to read these messages weekly. Questions about KCSD96 communications? Call 847.459.4260, ext. 8022, or send email to the Media & Communications Specialist @ [email protected].
The next issue of E-NEWS 96 will be March 4, 2022.