Dear Kildeer Families,
We had another incredible week at Kildeer! All students were able to participate in a Valentine's themed buddy classroom activity on Wednesday. I am truly proud to continue this tradition this year because it's an opportunity to connect with each other and celebrate.
Speaking of celebrating, our KINDNESS CHALLENGE has officially started. If you are not sure about this, ask your child for more information and how they plan to participate! We are really looking forward to sharing the kind acts from students at our assembly coming up in a few weeks.
It continues to be fun to greet students each morning. Mr. Higgins and I are impressed with our students maintaining social distancing as well as our staff being "all hands on deck" to keep safety a top priority. As a reminder, if your child attends in-person, one of the agreements was to complete a daily screener and to provide a saliva sample. Thank you for making this a priority!
New *No School Monday, February 15th*
This is a friendly reminder that there is no school on Monday, February 15th. We look forward to resuming our hybrid learning on Tuesday, February 16th.
New *Need a refresher on protocols?*
The blog was getting a little long so I removed quite a bit of information this week. Have no fear! If you need a reminder on any of the in-person protocols or links to the social club, be sure to check out previous blogs!
New *Illinois 5Essentials Survey*
Share your thoughts about how your child’s school is doing on the 5Essentials for school success. 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. District 96 will participate in the statewide 2020–21 5Essentials Survey to meet state legislation and the Board’s mandate. District 96 parents may voluntarily participate to complete the survey. Please select the Parent Survey and begin.
Beginning in February and through Apr. 2, students and teachers will complete surveys to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. In District 96, students in grades 4–8 will complete their surveys on Mar. 19.
This survey is designed to help school and district leaders better understand the parent/school relationship. All responses are anonymous. Parents are asked to complete a survey for each student attending a Kildeer Countryside District 96 school. The survey will be open through Apr. 2, 2021. Questions? See Frequently Asked Questions and/or contact 5Essentials Client Services 866.440.1874.
New *Spring Parent/Educator Conferences*
Spring Parent/Educator Conferences are right around the corner! The conference will take place on Thursday, March 11th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, March 12th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM. These conferences will be 15 minutes in length, and held remotely over Zoom. We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences.
Please know that the sign-up link will be sent out in a separate communication on Friday, February 19th at 7:00pm.
Meet The Teacher does not require that multiple conferences be made, but it does default to every teacher a student works with being checked. These individuals include classroom teachers, specials teachers, related service staff, and interventionists that students work with. Please see the picture below for directions on how to uncheck a teacher/interventionist if you do not need to meet with during conferences.
New *Recorders in Grades 3-5*
Due to COVID restrictions, a district decision has been made that all students (grades 3-5) cannot yet begin an organized recorder unit in music. Once restrictions are lifted, elementary schools can move forward with re-starting the recorder programs and distributing the necessary materials. Students will continue to develop musical skills using other instruments and media, and we hope to give students the recorder experience soon!
New *Kindergarten and 2nd Grade Parents Dental Screening Reminder *
The Illinois School Code requires all children in kindergarten, second and sixth grades to have a dental examination by May 15th of each year in compliance with the rules adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health. If you have not already done so, please submit your 2nd-grade child’s dental exam form to our building nurse. To see a complete list of the health forms required for students, please visit our Student Health Section of our Web page.
Repeat *VAPL Book Talks*
Take some time in FEBRUARY to see some new recommendations by the Vernon Area Public Library. You won't want to miss this!
1st grade: 1st-grade favorites
2nd grade: 2nd-grade favorites
3rd grade: 3rd-grade favorites
4th and 5th grade: 4th and 5th-grade favorites
For more book talk recommendations, please visit our Book Talk Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/booktalks
Repeat *Dual Language Parent Night for 21–22 Kindergarten Parents*
District 96 Director of Language and Early Literacy Kathryn Sheridan will present a live virtual program for parents interested in the Spanish/English Dual Language program opportunity for their incoming 2021–22 kindergartners.
REGISTER HERE to receive the link to attend the live virtual informational program for parents of incoming kindergartners Wed., Mar. 3, at 6:30 PM.
See the District website to LEARN MORE about the District's optional Spanish/English Dual Language program.
Repeat *News From the Learning Center/Exploration Lab*
We are pleased to announce the purchase of over 1,500 Ebooks for our students to check out directly onto their iPads. Using the Sora by Overdrive app, children are allowed to check out one book at a time. They can also place one book on hold at a time.
Many of our books have a limited number of checkouts before they disappear forever so we strongly encourage children to read a sample of the book before borrowing. This allows students to decide whether the book is a good fit and it will help our books last longer. In addition, we are asking students to return books as soon as possible so others may have a turn.
Finally, If you have a public library card, students can add their public library and have thousands of 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.
Repeat *Specials Team Reminder*
With the evolving transition from full remote to in-person learning, it is important for our in-person students to properly sanitize their learning spaces with the support of our Kildeer staff. Short amounts of time are needed in between each special to allow for a smooth, safe transition from one physical classroom to the next. Thank you for your support and understanding for our remote learners.
Kildeer Specials Team,
Mrs. Norman, Mr. Emde, Miss Groessl, Ms. Jones, and Mr. Tatar
Repeat *Musical Performances*
As we look forward to the remainder of the school year, we wish to update you on the status of this year’s school performances. After much discussion and weighing of options and possibilities, the district has decided that formal music performances for students will not take place this school year.
Factors that contributed to this decision included concert preparation, execution, and the continuing balance involving student screen time. Individually, the music teachers will continue to pursue in-class performance possibilities and will keep eyes set on performances to return in the following school year.
Repeat *Obtaining Free Meals*
Preorder free meals for in-person students by 6 PM on Thursday for the week ahead. Order at onlineordering.linq.com only for your student's in-person days.
Pick up meal supplies for 5 days for remote students on Wednesdays from 11 AM– 2 PM at Twin Groves or Woodlawn. No preordering needed.
Please direct questions to the public info coordinator [email protected].
Repeat *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 Kildeer students will be during the school day on Monday, February 22nd.
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].
*Tech Hub*
KCSD96 Family Technology Hub! The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools related to Enhanced Remote Learning. On this site, you can find links to the recordings and the corresponding Slides decks for the parent/family informational sessions from last week. You can also find tutorials on how to use ZOOM, Schoology, Seesaw, Clever, Notability, and other iPad essential tools for student learning. Additionally, there is a link to email the technology support desk. Please save or bookmark this site. It will be updated with tools, resources, and tutorials through remote learning to better support your family.
Please email [email protected] with any tech-related support needed.
*** PTO News ***
Check out the blog! CLICK HERE!
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3rd/4th Grade Movie Night coming up 2/25.
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Trivia Blast- Save the Date March 15, 2021
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Nominating Committee and other Volunteers needed
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Light up Card STEM Kits still available
This long weekend seems to be coming at a great time. I am looking forward to being as present as possible with my children, making some heart-shaped pasta from Costco, and telling my kids and family over and over just how much they mean to me.
Enjoy every single drop of your weekend ahead!
Fondly,
Mrs. Vail Kieser
Principal