Longfellow Log

• Tuesday, September 1st: First Day of School! Welcome Back Students and Families!
• Monday, September 7th: Labor Day (No School)
• This Community Newsletter will typically go out on Fridays to preview the following week
  

• Thank you families for coming to get your supplies last Friday!
  
• Thank you to the following people for helping with distribution: Ms. Harris, Ms. Jefferson, Ms. Murphy, Ms. Svehla, Ms. Taylor and from Central Office Dr. Lofton, Ms. Siegfried and Dr. Felicia Starks-Turner
  
• Thank you to John Davis and crew for all of their hard work setting up and bringing out the materials
  
• Our very own, Arnetta Thompson, has published an op-ed on Education Post ; Check it out here:
  

https://educationpost.org/its-online-but-its-still-school-here-are-4-tips-for-your-childs-success/

• Julie Anderson (2nd Grade Teacher) Ms. Anderson is looking forward to a wonderful year with her students! She is excited to challenge herself and her students to think creatively in a remote setting!
• Eric Bachman (5th Grade Teacher) Mr. Bachman has been teaching for 11 years. He is thrilled to join Longfellow's 5th grade team.
  
• Kimber Bermudez (Intermediate Cross Cat. Teacher) Ms. Bermudez is excited to join the Longfellow team. She taught in Chicago for the last four years. She has her masters as well as a special education endorsement. Ms. Bermudez is looking forward to the upcoming school year.
• Rachel Brown (1st Grade Teacher) Ms. Brown is looking forward to her first year at Longfellow! This will be her second year of teaching, and she can’t wait to get to know her 1st grade class.
• Rocio Casillas (Permanent Sub) Ms. Casillas subbed at Longfellow last year. She is happy to be one of the permanent subs this year.
  
• Amy Green (K and 1st grade Co Teacher)
  Ms. Green has been part of the Oak Park community for 8 years, has one son at Brooks Middle School in D97 and a daughter at OPRF. She has been teaching for more than 10 years, and is excited to join the Longfellow Community. She has a dance background, too, and will be trying to keep everyone moving this year, through the screen, and hopefully into our building soon!!
• Anne Guerrier (Interim Nurse) This will be Mrs. Guerrier's (Nurse G's) 8th year serving as a nurse in District 97 but first at Longfellow. She was at Whittier for 4 years and is starting her 4th year at Holmes School. Mrs. Guerrier serves as the lead nurse for District 97.
  
• Faith Harris (Student Support Specialist) Ms. Harris is excited to be joining the Longfellow team as the new Student Support Specialist. She was a first grade teacher for nine years and now her son is in first grade! She looks forward to getting to know everyone and supporting students, families, and staff members during remote learning.
  
• Laura Hill (5th Grade Teacher) Ms. Hill is excited to begin her first year as a new member of the 5th grade team at Longfellow! She is loving her new team and can’t wait to begin the new school year!! Ms. Hill heads into her 4th year of teaching, having taught for Acero Charter School Network in Chicago for the past 3 years.
  
• Rosa Hoak (1st grade Co Teacher) Ms. Hoak is so excited to be joining the Longfellow team this year! Ms. Hoak has a background in both elementary education and special education, and she has previously taught Kindergarten and 1st grade. She is looking forward to a great year together!
• Shawntale Myles (Teaching Assistant) This is Ms. Myles' first year at Longfellow working as a Teacher's Assistant. She has been with District 97 for three years.
  
• Arlene Pedraza (Substitute 4th Grade Teacher) Mrs. Pedraza is thrilled to be working at Longfellow, and starting the school year off in 4th grade! Her three boys attended Longfellow beginning in PKP. Arlene has been a long-term substitute since 2016 in various positions and grade levels, and taught Spanish in the Longfellow FLIP program for five years.
• Sha Ranney (Instrumental Music/Orchestra)
  

  Shabaaz Ranney is a multi-instrumentalist and has dedicated his life to teaching and learning music. Having grown up in Oak Park, he believes that the students at Longfellow are some of the coolest kids out there! He will be directing the Longfellow orchestra this year.

• Juan Rodriguez (4th Grade Teacher) Mr. Rodriguez is excited to join Longfellow and the D97 community. He has experience working in the elementary school setting as a permanent substitute and in his spare time likes to hang out with his family and friends.
  
• Jennifer Russ (2nd Grade Teacher) Ms. Russ is excited to be a second grade teacher at Longfellow this year! This will be her first year at Longfellow but her fourth year teaching. If Ms. Russ is not teaching you can find her running, playing with her nieces and nephew, and/or hanging out with her dog, Sky.
• Dominique Scott (1st Grade Teacher) Ms. Scott is very excited to begin her first year at Longfellow! She previously taught in Galesburg, IL., but is happy to be back home teaching where she grew up.
  
• Cheryl Sullivan (Assistant Principal) Mrs. Sullivan is very happy to return to Longfellow School where she most recently taught 4th grade for 7 years. Her 26 year education career has included 19 years of teaching before serving as the Student Support Specialist and Interim Principal at Mann.
  
• Arnetta Thompson (Enrichment Specialist) This year marks Ms. Thompson's 20th year teaching! Most recently, she taught 5th grade at Lincoln School. She is excited to work at Lincoln and Longfellow this year as an Enrichment Specialist.
  

Click HERE for the Band's Welcome Back March

In 2015, Longfellow parents reached out to a group of local musicians with an odd request about making the 1st Day of School a fun and joyous morning for their children by marching them from their front door to the school playground.

Over the next 5 years, what started as one family grew into a tradition that hundreds of kids and their families have taken part in from all over the Longfellow area. It was probably as much fun for the band as it was for the students! This year of course, the band can’t join us in person but that doesn’t mean this tradition can’t happen in some way, shape, or form!

This ragtag group of musicians, informally called Los Cumbancheros, have banded together (apart) to bring you The HAPPY Medley. Because it’s virtual, we’re inviting the entire district to take part! Please enjoy on the morning of your student’s 1st Day of School, during lunch, after dinner, the 2nd Day of School, the 3rd…, whenever you want!

Don’t forget to march along at home!Of course, like many, it’s a tough time for local artists so if you can and would like to, you can help support the band and your favorite local music venues. Please CLICK HERE or venmo: @Justin-Amolsch. All proceeds, after musician and production cost of the video, will go to SAVE OUR STAGES.

Thank you and Happy Back to School to you and yours!
Justin Amolsch
Brass Inferno Productions

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) launched the Pandemic EBT to provide nutritional resources to families who have lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. Families will receive money on a new or existing EBT card to help fill the school meals gap. If your child receives free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), or your child attends a school that offers free school meals to all students, then you are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits. Families who have lost their job or wages may now be eligible.

The deadline to apply for this benefit has been extended to Aug. 31, 2020. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please visit https://bit.ly/2DJDEAd.

Next D97 Meal Distribution: Monday, Aug. 31
Meals will be available to all District 97 students during Trimester 1. Families who pick up meals will be charged based on their lunch status, just as they would if students were onsite.

Each bag of food will contain five breakfasts and five lunches. Click here for the September 2020 menus.

In order to help the D97 Food Service Department determine daily meal counts and reduce waste from excess ordering, we are asking families to complete this short survey by Sept. 1 to indicate whether they plan to pick up meals during the month of September.

• Next D97 Meal Distribution: Monday, Aug. 31, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Locations: Longfellow Elementary School (for Julian and feeder schools), 715 S. Highland Ave., and Brooks Middle School (for Brooks and feeder schools), 325 S. Kenilworth Ave.

Click here for more information about food service during Trimester 1. If you have any questions, please reach out to the district's food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at cellis@op97.org.

Check out this fact sheet for important D97 Back-to-School information!

District 97 families—we want to see your back-to-school photos! You can share your photos by tweeting us (@OakPark97, use the hashtags #MyD97 and #OakPark97) or emailing them to d97feedback@op97.org.

If you email us photos or videos, we will make sure they comply with the board policies and laws that govern issues such as privacy, appropriate use, etc. before they get posted.

ajefferson@op97.org.

708-524-3060

@AmyJefferson97

csullivan@op97.org

708-524-7825

@MrsSullivand97

Website: www.op97.org
Location: 715 S Highland Oak Park, Il 60304
Phone: 708-524-3060