What a week?! Temps topping out at 75 degrees on Tuesday, only to be followed by threats of tornado, rain and wind and hail the same evening …
Hhmm … that was just February, ending like a roaring lion! Moving on to March …
Here’s what coming up:
Coming Up:
- Friday, March 1
- Registration opens for the 2024-25 school year
- Registration opens for the 2024-25 school year
- Friday, March 1
- Trimester 2 Report Cards available
- Monday, March 4
- No School (District Holiday)
- Tuesday, March 5
- Board of Education meeting (7 p.m., Ivy Hall Elementary School, Mat Room)
Trimester 2 Report Cards Available
Trimester 2 report cards will be available online after 3 p.m. today — Friday, March 1 — for students in Early Childhood through 8th Grade.
See instructions to access the report cards online HERE. (https://www.kcsd96.org/curriculum/access-student-progress-reports-online)
Please contact the SCHOOL OFFICE with questions.
Spring Family/Educator Conferences Coming Up
Spring Family/Educator Conferences are right around the corner. The conference dates are Thursday, March 21st, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and Friday, March 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
We will be using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences. A School Messenger email will be sent to families on Tuesday, March 5th, at 5 p.m. 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 bolded at the end of this message. 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 select specials teachers and any related service providers their children see.
Middle school parents will have the option to sign up with one core content teacher (see below) and pertinent exploratory/PE teachers. Please note: Students on the B Day schedule will have their Spanish teachers available during this round of conferences.
Available Middle School Core Teachers:
- 6th Grade: 3rd Period Teacher
- 7th Grade: 2nd Period Teacher
- 8th Grade: 4th Period Teacher
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, March 19th.
Opening March 1: Registration for 2024-25 School Year
Registration for the 2024-25 school year opens today, Friday, March 1. Parents and guardians of new Kindergarten students and returning District 96 students will be emailed a link to register their child for the 2024-25 school year.
Complete registration by April 15 to receive a $20 Early-Bird discount. Families with returning students who register after April 15 will pay the standard registration fee. Registering early helps us to plan for the upcoming school year.
Registration fees paid by April 15 for the 2024-25 school year are:
- Early Childhood Blended Tuition: $2,870 (or $335.07 monthly)
- Kindergarten: $90
- Grades 1-4: $110
- Grade 5: $120
- Grades 6-8: $135
Families new to District 96 can find more registration information here: https://www.kcsd96.org/about/registration
Additionally, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, delayed enrollment will not be permitted, including in Kindergarten.
Any child being registered in District 96:
- who is five years old on or before September 1st of a given school year will be enrolled in Kindergarten.
- who is six years old on or before September 1st of that school year will be enrolled in first grade.
Dual Language: For Parents of Incoming Kindergartners
Do you have an incoming kindergartner or know of a D96 resident who does? Are you interested in your child having a bilingual school experience? 
The District 96 Spanish/English Dual Language Program was designed several years ago to implement instruction across the curriculum and provide an opportunity for students to develop a deep academic proficiency in two languages. In the Dual Language Program, 50 percent of the academic curriculum is delivered in Spanish, and 50 percent of the academic curriculum is delivered in English.
Families interested in enrolling their incoming kindergartner in the Spanish/English Dual Language Program can indicate so on the registration form while completing the kindergarten registration process that begins March 1, 2024. This process should be completed by April 15, 2024, to be entered into the Dual Language Lottery. Please note that indicating interest in the Dual Language Program does not guarantee acceptance into the Dual Language program.
Please visit our District 96 website to learn more about the optional Spanish/English Dual Language Program (https://www.kcsd96.org/curriculum/dual-language) and our Dual Language Lottery (https://www.kcsd96.org/curriculum/dual-language-lottery).
**District 96 will be hosting a Virtual Parent Night from 6 to 6:30 p.m. on March 12th for parents of incoming Kindergarten students who are interested in learning more about the Dual Language Program.**
5Essentials Survey for Parents/Guardians
Through March 29th, District 96 invites you to share your thoughts on the inner workings of your child’s school. On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago.
As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school. Your participation will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide our improvement. Parent identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.
Please visit http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/ to begin the parent survey. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact UChicago Impact Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or [email protected].
Virtual Backpack
Check the District and your school’s Virtual Backpacks for information on the following events and other items that may interest you.
Virtual Backpack: https://www.kcsd96.org/about/virtual-backpack
- 211 Lake County Resources (free, with resources in many languages)
- SHS Hockey for Grades 7 & 8
IN OUR SCHOOLS
Multiply This: Ivy Hall 3rd graders were at it this week, working on multiplication and division and learning techniques ~ such as grouping, sharing and skip counting ~ to solve these math problems.
