9/24/21
TGIF…Twin Groves it’s Friday!
Please note…
Next Tuesday, September 28th, is an Early Release. Students will be dismissed at 1:30PM.
Next Friday, October 1st, is a Half Day. Students will be dismissed at 11:10AM.
Congrats!
In an effort to spread positivity, Twin Groves uses our 5 Traits to recognize exemplars of the following qualities: Responsible, Accountable, Respectful, Safe, and a Community. In addition to the 5 Traits, we are also recognizing students for being leaders, role models, supportive peers, brave, and positive.
As part of this focus, the Twin Groves Staff would like to recognize the following students who consistently demonstrate these qualities.
Muhammand Arsalaan
Stu Brodkin
Clara Chen
Joelle Chong
Hannah Egel
Victoria Gutin
Isabella Jaba
Maryia Lashkovskaya
Samantha Lee
Lily Levitt
Pratham Rajpal
Analise Salgado
Hazal Sevinc
Alan Shafran
Richa Sharma
Aadhav Sriram
Elyana Temple
Social Media and Social Networking
Social networking has become the way tweens/teens talk and socialize with each other. Between cell phones, iPads, and computers, our children are always connected. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat are popular sites and apps, but there are countless others. These sites offer ways for your son/daughter to connect with people they know and they allow for access to people they don’t know. Children now are very savvy with technology usage, so it is important for parents to become familiar with the apps and site(s) your child has accounts with. Here are some things as parents you should know:
1. Talk with your child about their Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram accounts or pages. Find out what they know and where they have profiles. Be aware that students often have one real page and one fake page as well.
2. Investigate the sites. Often your child will use jargon that is associated with the social networking sites and apps. If you check and investigate them, you will become familiar with the jargon, the way profiles are seen and just the culture of the sites. You can even set up your own profiles and become more comfortable with how they operate.
3. From your son/daughter’s profile and pictures, strangers can figure out where they go to school, what activities they like or participate in and other information that they may share on their profile. Due to this, it is important for parents to know what information is on your child’s profile. Have them show you their profile and any pictures that are posted of them online. Pictures of them should be from far away and never show them with articles of clothing that could identify where they live (e.g., Twin Groves apparel, Stevenson shirts).
4. Your child should be using privacy settings on their accounts. This allows access to only the friends they select and pictures that their selected friends can view.
5. Even with privacy settings, it is important to discuss with your child the dangers of posting things on the site. They need to know that pictures posted can be downloaded, doctored and posted elsewhere. It is also not difficult for a stranger to pose as a friend to gain access to them.
6. Along with number 5, it is also important that your child is aware that nothing is private once it is out there. Having those conversations of being cautious with what they post about is crucial because once they post something it is on their page and something that they are giving others access too. Even if they delete it right away, there is no guarantee that it is gone forever.
7. It is important to only have your child accept friend requests from people they know. If a name is unfamiliar to them, they should not accept it. If they do accept, this gives the person access to their social media accounts and information that they post.
8. Online gaming and social networking all are distractions and use up free time. Children should have specific limits on the amount of time they can spend online networking and only after they have completed homework, doing chores, etc. There should be a balance between online and offline activities.
9.Keep up with the newest technology regarding online gaming and social networking. There are new sites being developed and some become popular very quickly. As sites and applications may not impose strict rule enforcement within the site or application, you may need to impose your own rules for usage.
10. Ask your child about his/her favorite apps and YouTube searches. Ask what they like about them. This will give you a peek into their world and what is important to them at this time.
Picture Day Information
If you have not received an email to order pictures from picture day, please contact VIP at [email protected].
The Picture Day make ups will be on October 12th.
Volunteers: Vaccination Verification or Proof of a Negative Test
As you may or may not know, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker held a COVID-19 press conference on August 26, 2021, where he issued new rules regarding indoor masking, and signed an Executive Order 2021-20, regarding educational employee vaccination and testing requirements. In the Executive Order which applies to all “school personnel,” volunteers are included in the definition unless they are present for only a short period of time and whose movements of close physical proximity are “fleeting”.
Those who have been identified as a current or upcoming PTO volunteer recently received a survey asking that you provide proof of vaccination and notifying them that if unvaccinated they would need to provide proof of a negative Covid test within 48 hours of reporting to volunteer.
If you have already uploaded proof of vaccination, please disregard this information.
How do I provide proof of vaccination proactively should I choose to volunteer at my student(s) school this year?
By following this link, you may provide proof of vaccination to your school(s).
https://kcsd96.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6umRb91nGZZ74xg
What if I am unvaccinated but want to volunteer this year?
Unvaccinated volunteers must provide proof of a negative Covid test when you arrive at the school on the day you are scheduled to volunteer. Negative test results are only good for the 48 hours prior to arrival. For example, if an unvaccinated volunteer is scheduled to be in the school the next week, they would have to provide a new test result.
What type of Covid test qualifies?
You may present a negative antigen or PCR test. Home testing kits do not qualify as the test must be observed and documentation of the result provided to you.
Why can’t unvaccinated volunteers take a Covid test at the school?
The BinaxNow test provided to schools is in short supply at this time. As a result, schools have been notified that we cannot use the test for any screening purposes. If we were to do so, they would no longer supply the test to us. We are only allowed to use the test for symptomatic individuals on campus (students or staff) or when a person qualifies for test-to-stay. If and when test supplies increase, those restrictions may be lifted. If they are, we will be in a position to reconsider testing unvaccinated volunteers in our schools at that time.
What is the process for volunteers to either provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test?
Vaccinated volunteers may submit their proof of vaccination at any time by following the link provided and completing the survey and uploading proof of vaccination.
The list of those who have done so will be made available to the school (principal, assistant principal, administrative assistant, and nurse) and updated periodically by Lubna Andrabi in our district office.
Unvaccinated volunteers must bring proof of a negative test to the main office on the day they are scheduled to volunteer.
The main office will make a copy of your negative test.
The test result must be within the previous 48 hours. The staff at the front desk in the main office will assist you.
What if I am fully vaccinated but forgot to upload my proof of vaccination?
If you have not uploaded your vaccination card, you may provide proof of vaccination when you arrive (vaccination card). We strongly encourage you to upload your card so that you do not need to present it each time you report to volunteer.
Fall Conferences
The Family/Educator conference dates are Thursday, October 7th from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, October 8th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
We are using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences. A School Messenger email was sent to families on Monday, September 20th with a link to sign up for conferences. The conference sign up will close at 11:55 PM on Monday, October 4th. After that you must contact the building administrative assistant to schedule a conference or make a change.
Conferences will be held over Zoom unless parents request an in-person conference using the instructions below. Principals will share a document containing all the staff Zoom links with parents on Wednesday, October 6th at 2PM.
REQUESTING AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE
After selecting the teachers you want to conference with and choosing a time for the conference(s), 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).
6th Grade parents will sign up for one, 10 minute time slot with their child’s 2nd period teacher.
7th Grade parents will sign up for one, 10 minute time slot with their child’s 1st period teacher.
8th Grade parents will sign up for one, 10 minute time slot with their child’s 1st period teacher.
If parents would like, they will also be able to sign up for a conference with their child’s PE, Health, Exploratory, and Spanish teachers.
Fire Drill
On September 30th, Twin Groves will be conducting a Fire Drill. Students will be evacuating the building during the drill. If the weather does not cooperate, we will reschedule the drill and communicate the rescheduled drill date.
NEW *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.
Daily Announcements
Please see Twin Groves website for up to date school announcements. The announcements let you know what exciting activities and clubs are going on at Twin Groves. Please click HERE to access the Daily Announcements.