Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe that we are quickly approaching the end of January. While it is evident that student learning, engagement, and safety continue to be our main priorities, we make sure to have fun along the way. Please remember that Tuesday next week is an Early Release for students, and enjoy the weekend ahead.
Kindly,
Christine Pfaff - Principal
NEW *Calendar Reminder - Early Release on Tuesday*
Tuesday, January 25th is an early release day. Students are dismissed at 2 pm.
NEW *PTO News*
Dinner Night Out
Head over to Cafe Zupa’s on Wednesday, January 26th between 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm and show your support for Prairie! Mention Prairie Elementary when ordering in-store or online for pick up or delivery at cafezupas.com and enter FUNDRAISER25
Special Lunch
February 18th’s Special Lunch will be provided by Culver’s. Head over to MTK to get your order in.
Orders for February are due on February 11th. If you have any questions please contact Susan Dettman at [email protected].
Dessert Day
If you haven’t signed up yet for Dessert Day head over to Prairie's Membership Toolkit and pay only once this school year and get an ice cream dessert from Hershey's during a designated Dessert Day each month starting from January 2022 to May 2022! Once you purchase a membership, your child will be given a ticket on Dessert Day to use towards their favorite frozen treat, so you won't need to do anything else. No punch cards are necessary.
Please note that we disable the form on MTK a day before dessert day and reactivate it the day after dessert day is complete. If you have any other questions please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].
REPEAT *IDPH/ISBE COVID-19 INFORMATION*
On January 11, 2022, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released new COVID-19 information related to school exclusion and test-to-stay protocols. Please find all updated information on our website.
REPEAT *Zoom Resource & Tech Trouble*
This information will be repeated weekly for families to access as needed. It is relevant for children who are approved for remote learning due to Covid-related quarantine or in the event of a remote severe weather day for all children.
ZOOM Resource - Remote Learning & Possible Emergency Weather Day
Please review this Zoom Tutorial Video Link with your child to prepare for remote learning. This is for students who have been approved for remote learning or in the event of an emergency weather day for all children.
Tech Trouble
If you are experiencing technical trouble on the iPad, here are a few tips that can help resolve the error you are receiving.
The first step is to completely remove Zoom through the iPad settings. Deleting Zoom from the Home Screen is NOT thorough enough to resolve this issue.
Go to Settings
Scroll down to General
Go to the right column and Select iPad Storage
Scroll down to Zoom
Delete the Zoom App
Open the Self Service App and reinstall Zoom
If the issue persists after this we would recommend following the next few steps.
Reset Network Settings:
Go to Settings
General
Go to the right column and scroll down to Reset
Reset network settings: The device will restart and you will have to reconnect to your home wi-fi afterward.
Next:
Go to settings
Scroll down to Safari
Scroll down to Clear History and Website Data
If you're still seeing that error after all of these steps then you may need to troubleshoot your network next. Unplugging your modem and router from power for 60 seconds and plugging it back in can sometimes be enough.
Please email [email protected] for further tech issues or additional support. Please also let us know at the school by calling our office, so we can inform your child's teacher. Call our office at any time with any questions. We completely understand any difficulties you are having and appreciate your patience as we troubleshoot your issue.
As a reminder, remote learning via Zoom will begin on the second full day of absence and is only available for students who meet one of the following requirements.
Student is asymptomatic (no symptoms) after receiving a positive Covid test result
Student is unvaccinated, asymptomatic, and under mandatory quarantine after being identified as a close contact to a confirmed positive Covid case.
Student is unvaccinated, has traveled internationally and is under mandatory quarantine upon returning home.
REPEAT *Cold & Snowy Weather and Recess*
Please remember to send your child to school daily with proper outerwear. Weather permitting students go outside for recess every day. In winter the temperature, wind chill, and weather conditions will be monitored throughout the morning. The weather website and playground will be checked to determine if conditions are appropriate for outdoor recess. When the temperature or wind chill is below zero degrees, students will be kept inside for recess. We weigh options when the temperature or wind chill is between zero to ten degrees, to determine if we have indoor or outdoor recess. We do try to allow the children to go outside whenever possible, so please help them to come prepared with gloves, a scarf, hat, snow pants, and snow boots. In order to play in the snow, students must have snow pants and snow boots.
REPEAT *Vaccination Cards for 5-11 yr olds*
You can provide vaccination verification after your child has received his/her full vaccination. Click HERE to complete the upload.
REPEAT *PRE-REGISTER FOR 2022–2023 KINDERGARTEN*
Please refer to the past few Principal Message blogs for full information on how to register your incoming Kindergartener.