Dear Kildeer Families,
What a way to end this short week! Today, all of our students and staff had the opportunity to participate in the annual "Fun Run" at Kildeer. The weather was perfect, the warm-up was a hit, and the PTO volunteers cheered us all on! Thank you to Ms. Groessl and Mr. Emde for organizing such a fun and community-building event. It was a "first" for our 1st and 2nd graders, while it was a "last" for our 5th graders. One of the perks of being the principal today was getting to do the "cha-cha" slide three times! My favorite!
As you also know, we experienced a power outage. That didn't stop us from finishing the 5th-grade fun run, hosting PTO volunteers to dish up pizza for special lunch, and ending the week on a very positive note.
Wow! It takes a village at an elementary school and we have an INCREDIBLE one here at Kildeer!
NEW *Upcoming Calendar Reminders*
This is a friendly reminder that we do not have school on Thursday, September 16th.
NEW *Fall Parent/Educator Conferences*
Fall Parent/Educator Conferences are right around the corner! The conferences will take place on Thursday, October 7th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, October 8th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM. These conferences will be 15 minutes in length. We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign-up for conferences. A sign-up link will be shared via email on Monday, September 20th at 6:00 PM. Parents and guardians will be able to schedule an in-person or a remote conference with the classroom teacher, specials teachers, and any related service providers seen by your child.
NEW *Vernon Area Public Library*
See the links below for some great information about the Vernon Area Public Library!
Library Resources for K-2nd Grade
Library Resources for 3rd-5th Grade
Repeat *Information for parents that have opted out of bus transportation services*
As a reminder starting on Wednesday, September 8th, parents that opted their child(ren) out of bus transportation may drop off at the school at 8:00 instead of 8:10. This is ONLY for parents that opted out of bus transportation through January AND need to drop at an earlier time. We are asking that all other morning drop-offs respect the current time and wait until 8:10 to support traffic flow and ensure sufficient supervision for students. Thank you for your help with this.
Repeat *Contact Tracing Clarification*
Contact tracing is completed when a confirmed COVID-19 case is reported. If a student is identified as a close contact, families will be notified. Contact tracing in District 96 is based on the current IDPH definitions of close contact which are included at the bottom of the D96 Quarantine Decision Making Matrix that has previously been shared with families.
● In classrooms, hallways, etc., close contacts are defined as being closer than 3 feet with inconsistent masking of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.
● In the lunchroom, close contacts are defined as being closer than 6 feet with inconsistent masking of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24 hour period.
● In general, individuals who are solely exposed to a confirmed case while outdoors will not be considered close contacts.
As part of the contact tracing protocol, we check with the classroom teachers, specials teachers, and related services staff to ensure that no student was unmasked, for more than 15 minutes cumulatively, within a given setting. If this is the case, additional close contacts would be identified and notified (i.e. snack, water, etc.). Please note that this may mean a student who sits 3 feet away from a confirmed positive case in the classroom setting (consistently masked) IS NOT identified as a close contact, while a child who sits within 6 feet of a confirmed positive case at a lunch table (inconsistently masked) IS identified as a close contact.
District 96 does not define what a close contact is, rather follows the IDPH definition. Likewise, District 96 does not alter contact tracing or notification protocols, rather strictly follows those provided by the IDPH.
Repeat *O’Hare PCR Results*
If you do not receive your child’s PCR results over the weekend, we apologize for the inconvenience. We understand that this was an issue across the district last week.
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.
Repeat *MAP Reports*
While the bulk of MAP testing has been completed, the remainder of the window will be used for make-up testing. MAP reports will be sent to families on Friday, September 17th.
Repeat *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.
Repeat *Upcoming Dates of Note*
- PTO Ice Cream Social- September 21, 2021 *UPDATED*
- Picture Day- September 24, 2021 @ Kildeer
*Tech Hub*
KCSD96 Family Technology Hub! The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools.
Please email [email protected] with any tech-related support needed.
*** PTO News ***
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Mark your calendars for the PTO General Meeting on Friday, September 17th @ 9:30AM. A ZOOM link will be posted through our Facebook page prior to the meeting or you can contact [email protected] to get it! See you there!
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Ice Cream Social is on Tuesday, September 21st! Head to Membership Toolkit to pre-order your ice cream and pizza choices! Pre-ordering guarantees your choice of dessert but you will have an opportunity to purchase at the door as well. Families with last names A-L please try to attend 5:30-6:30 and Families with last names M-Z please try to attend 6:30-7:30. Thank you!
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Fall Bookfair will be open during the Ice Cream Social as well as that week for students! We welcome families to visit the book fair in the small gym during the Ice Cream Social to make purchases with your child.
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As Always: Follow us on Facebook: KildeerPTO & Instagram: KildeerPTO
Check out the blog!
I just want to end by saying how wonderful it was to have our PTO volunteers back in the building today. This normal-ish school year is off to a great start and I'm reminded how important human connection is on a daily basis.
Enjoy this beautiful weekend ahead and we will see students return on Monday.
Fondly,
Mrs. Vail Kieser
Principal