Dear Kildeer Families,
"The halls are alive, with the sound of families!"
Does anyone know that tune? I think we can all agree that if you attended our family celebration last night, you walked away with good feelings about coming together as a community. I have so much gratitude for our students, our staff, and our families.
This special family celebration was started four years ago for the sole purpose of learning from and about each other. It's been an incredible opportunity to keep our focus on our students and create a culture of curiosity and inclusivity.
Staff: From our culture crew to our staff volunteers, thank you for dedicating your time to making this night a reality! Your hard work and dedication during such a busy time of the year are admirable. We had over half of our staff volunteering last night which is incredible!
Students: From our student council representatives to our artwork participants and student attendees, thank you for contributing your leadership and voice to this special night. YOU are our "why" at Kildeer!
Families: Thank you for prioritizing this time to come together. At the end of the day, we had close to 450 people in attendance. The turnout last night tells me that we have an incredible Kildeer community, and I continue to be proud of the work we do together for our children!
If you missed last night, never fear! We will be back next year. Also, please know the work we do for our students to feel represented at Kildeer does not stop either. This is ongoing and a priority for all of us. Feel free to check out the presentation below and please note you do not want to miss the awesome poem from my buddies Lillian and Diya!
Lastly, your voice and feedback matter! If you had the opportunity to attend, please consider sharing your thoughts HERE! We can't wait to see where WE go next!
NEW *No School on Monday, March 7l*
Monday, March 7th there is no school in observance of Casimir Pulaski Day.
NEW *2nd & 5th Grade Lunch Time Change*
Due to schedule changes that need to be made to accommodate the 5th grade Illinois Science Assessment, 2nd and 5th-grade students will eat lunch at a different time next Wednesday (3/9), Thursday (3/10), and Friday (3/11).
Students will go to recess/eat lunch at the following times next Wed, Thurs, & Fri:
- 2nd Grade: 12:10-12:50
- 5th Grade: 11:30-12:10
NEW *PCR Test Kits Being Sent Home Friday*
PCR kits were sent home today as usual with your child. Please return on Tuesday, March 8th due to having Monday off.
NEW *Proof of Dental Exam
Dear Parents/Guardians of District 96 Kindergarteners, 2nd, and 6th Grade Students:
Please note that your child’s completed dental examination is now due, per Illinois school law. The deadline for the dental examination is due no later than May 15 of the current school year. Proof of this required dental examination must have been completed within eighteen months prior to the May 15 deadline.
If you haven’t already done so, please make an appointment with your child’s dentist for a dental examination, have him and/or her complete the required form and return it to your child’s school nurse.
State of Illinois Proof of Dental Examination Form
In the event that you are unable to fulfill this requirement, the state of Illinois does permit a waiver of the examination.
State of Illinois Dental Waiver Form
Dental examination forms, as well as dental waiver forms, can be downloaded from the District’s website.
Thank you for your prompt cooperation.
NEW *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.
NEW!!! 2022-23 REGISTRATION OPENED THIS WEEK!
Registration now open for the 2022-23 school year
Registration is now open for the 2022-23 school year. This week, parents and guardians of returning students and pre-registered Kindergartners were emailed Notification letters with a SnapCode to start their registration process.
Register today to avoid the $20 late fee (per child) to be charged on registrations completed after April 15.
If you have questions about the 2022-23 Registration Notification email, please email [email protected] or call 847-459-4260, ext. 8022.
For information on registering a new student, visit https://kcsd96.org/registration.
Repeat *Rollerskating in Physical Education coming soon!*
Our roller skating program will be starting on Friday, March 4 for all grade levels! We are so grateful to our wonderful PTO for sponsoring this program for all of our Kildeer students! It is one of the most popular units we teach!
If you have them at home, students are encouraged to wear their own helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, and wrist guards. (If your child brings a helmet from home, please make sure that it is adjusted properly for your child’s head.) Any equipment brought from home may be kept in your child’s locker and brought to the gym on our “skating days”.
If your child does not have this equipment, we will gladly supply it for them. Because we share helmets, we require any student who is using a provided helmet to bring a hat or bandana to wear underneath. Skatetime has double-sanitized all equipment that has been sent to us for this program. Additionally, we will sanitize the skates each night and will have hand sanitizer available in the gym.
We would recommend that your child wear long socks on our skating days to help eliminate any blisters from skates rubbing against a child’s ankle. If your child just wants to leave one pair in their locker, that is fine as well.
We are excited to be starting this program and want to reassure you that we are taking precautions to ensure the safety of all of our students.
Thanks so much for your help. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Mr. Emde and Ms. Groessl
Repeat *ISA for 5th graders*
Illinois Science Assessment (ISA): Students in grades 5 and 8 participate in the Illinois Science Assessment. The ISA is aligned to the Illinois Science Learning Standards and is designed to reflect classroom experiences. The ISA consists of three sections that will be administered over three days (March 9-11) during the regular school day.
Repeat *SPRING COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCES*
The collaborative conference dates are Monday, March 14th from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM and Tuesday, March 15th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
We will be using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign-up for collaborative conferences. A School Messenger email will be sent to families on Thursday, February 24th at 6:00PM with a link to sign up for conferences.
Collaborative conferences will be held over zoom unless parents request an in-person conference using the instructions below. To support the easy location of Zoom meeting links, a single document with ALL the staff zoom links will be sent out on Friday, March 11th.
REQUESTING AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE
After selecting the teachers you wish to meet with and choosing a time for each conference, Meet the Teacher will prompt you to save the appointment and ask if you want to add a message for the teacher.
If you want to have an in-person conference with the teachers, you must notify the teachers via this messaging feature (see picture below).
Repeat *5Essentials Survey for Parents*
Parent 5Essentials Survey: Share Your Thoughts About Your Child’s School
Parents and Guardians: KCSD 96 wants to hear from you!
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].
Repeat *MARCH Vernon Area Public Library Book Talks*
For more book talk recommendations, please visit our Book Talks Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/booktalks. For graphic novel suggestions, please visit our J Graphic Novel Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/graphic novels or our Junior High Graphic Novel Help Guide at https://guides.vapld.info/jh graphic novels.
*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.
*Student Council News*
COLOR DAY
Last Friday was color day, each grade was assigned a color and competed to see which grade could wear the most of that color.
I saw people wearing tutu’s, face paint, colored hair, and colorful shirts. Everyone got super creative this color day! And I just want to say thank you to everyone that participated in this color day. I really appreciate it.
For the top 3 places overall:
- 3rd place with 69.69% was 5th-grade wearing blue.
- 2nd place with 87.09% was 4th-grade wearing red.
- 1st place, the winning grade was… 1st-grade! With 91.78% wearing green.
First graders will be getting a visit with CJ during their lunchtime. This was a great event and awesome participation from every grade. Thank you teachers and staff for also participating.
Thanks again,
Aliya Berns from Student council.
*** PTO News ***
- Mark your calendars for Friday, March 11th! Our annual tradition and family fun event of BINGO BLAST returns!
Check out the blog!
Next week we have an additional opportunity to come together as a community through our PTO. This incredible group of volunteers has been busy preparing for BINGO BLAST! It's my once-a-year opportunity to make my dreams come true and call out bingo numbers!
We can't wait to see you there next Friday!
Fondly,
Mrs. Vail Kieser
Principal