Dear Parents,
It was so nice to enjoy warmer weather this week. The students loved being outside for recess every day in the fresh air. Your child is preparing for spring conferences and compiling content from each subject area, which they will lead out during the conference time you selected on either March 14th or March 15th in-person or virtually. Students are excited to share their learning with you. Your child’s teacher will answer any questions you may have and assist your child, if needed, with their presentation.
Kindly,
Christine Pfaff - Principal
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 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.
NEW *5th Grade Concert ~ Save the Date*
5th-grade families, save the Date! 5th-grade students will have a music concert on Wednesday, May 11th at 6:30 pm at Prairie school. More details to come!
NEW *Spirit Days*
Wednesday, March 16th: Nature Day - Feel free to wear something with plants or animals on it!
Thursday, March 17th: Hobby Day - Feel free to wear something that has to do with your hobby!
NEW *No School on Monday*
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 *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
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. Prairie's Administrative Assistant is Mrs. Michele Demas and you can email her at [email protected].
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.
Parent Letter from ISBE (English)
Parent Letter from ISBA (Spanish)
REPEAT *Join us for 'Raising Kids Who Thrive'*
Join journalist and parent educator Katherine Reynolds Lewis at 7 p.m. March 2 for ~ "Raising Kids Who Thrive: Responsibilities, Healthy Habits and Emotional Well-Being" ~ an interactive talk about how parents can raise children to thrive, be responsible, learn how to take care of their mental and physical health and manage anxiety and stress.
The author of “The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever — And What to Do About It,” Katherine will share problem-solving strategies for kids’ difficult behavior or disengagement. This talk covers how to tune in to children's emotions, develop helpful family routines and language for tough conversations, and deal with stress and your own sense of feeling overwhelmed.
Pre-register HERE.
For more information, contact Lubna Andrabi, the District's Community Parent Liaison, at [email protected].
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 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 *Parent 5Essentials Survey: Share Your Thoughts*
Parents and Guardians:
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].
NEW *PTO News*
Pizza Bingo/Silent Auction
Puma families please make note of the new date for our Annual event! The new date will be on April 14th!
Annual Silent Auction
Prairie PTO is in the works in planning our annual silent auction and the PTO is looking for donations!
If your company is able to donate goods and/or services, please reach out via e-mail to [email protected]!
This would benefit the school AND give your company some really wonderful exposure
Dessert Day
If you haven’t signed up yet for Dessert Day head over to prairiepto.membershiptoolkit.com 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!