Jefferson Jotter

Dear Jefferson Parents,

The first month of school has flown by! We have had a great start to the school year, as the students are adjusting to being in school and experiencing all of the fun activities their teachers have created for them. During this first month of school, the teachers have been focusing on establishing routines, teaching children the behavioral expectations, who works at school, what peers are in their classroom, and what they should do if they feel sad or scared while at school.

We are excited to be bringing back two special activities that our students enjoyed prior to the pandemic, dog therapy and "Library Lady." Through the trained volunteers from Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy, our students learn how to become more comfortable around and safely interact with dogs. Additionally, a librarian from the Park Ridge Public Library, affectionately referred to as the "library lady", comes to the classrooms to get children excited about books by reading a story. Both of these activities happen once a month. Dog therapy is scheduled on Monday for the morning classes and Thursday for the afternoon classes. Library lady is scheduled on Friday both in the morning and the afternoon. See the Upcoming Events below to get the specific dates for Dog Therapy and Library Lady. Afterwards, you can ask your child about them.

Thank you for being a partner in your child's education. If you have any questions or concerns throughout the school year please contact me at 847-318-4249 or lhalverson@d64.org.

Respectfully,

Lisa Halverson

Principal

Monday, October 3

• Lockdown Drills - 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 4

• Preschool Screenings - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - By Appointment

Wednesday, October 5

• Birth to 3 Screenings - 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. - By Appointment

Monday, October 10

• No School for Students and Staff - Indigenous Peoples' Day

Thursday, October 13

• Dog Therapy - afternoon classes

Friday, October 14

• Library Lady - morning and afternoon classes

Monday, October 17

• Bus Evacuation Drills - morning and afternoon classes

Thursday, October 20

• Board of Education Meeting - 7:00 p.m. - Washington School

Monday, October 24

• Dog Therapy - morning classes

Thursday, October 27

• Dog Therapy - afternoon classes

Monday, October 31

• Halloween Activities

Thursday, November 3

• Parent - Teacher Conferences - 3:30 - 7:15 p.m. - By Appointment

Tuesday, November 8

• No School for Students and Staff - Election Day

Thursday, November 10

• Parent - Teacher Conferences - 3:30 - 7:15 p.m. - By Appointment

Our students and staff have done a great job practicing fire drills during the month of September. Today we had a lockdown drill and on Monday, October 17th we will have a bus evacuation drill. In November we will have a tornado drill.

Our school nurse, Kelly DeFelice, has been carefully reviewing every child's health records to ensure that she is aware of any medical conditions your child may have and has communicated with your child's teacher if he/she has any allergies or acute illnesses. Additionally, she has been checking to see that all Jefferson students have up-to-date immunization records. Per state law, any child who doesn't have all of their immunizations complete by October 15th (or scheduled appointments to complete them) will be excluded from school. If you have yet to turn in your child's immunization records, please do so as soon as possible so that your child can continue attending school. If you have questions about the immunizations and/or need resources, please contact nurse Kelly at 847-318-5360.

Throughout the month of September your child's teacher completed benchmark assessments with your child in the areas of vocabulary, literacy, and numeracy. Teachers use this information to plan appropriate instructional activities, small group instruction, and to get a baseline of your child's skills. Teachers will share how your child did on the benchmark assessments during Parent - Teacher Conferences in November. Benchmark assessments will also be completed in the winter and spring to monitor your child's progress throughout the school year.

Soon your child's teacher will be reaching out to you to schedule the fall Parent - Teacher conferences. Conferences will be held on Thursday, November 3 and 10 between the hours of 3:30 - 7:15 p.m. If you are unable to meet during that time, please talk with your child's teacher to see if an alternative date/time can be arranged.

Safety during PE and Motor Time

Every day the students engage in gross motor play either in the gym, on the playground, or on the field. When the children are running, climbing, and/or engaging in various movement activities it can be dangerous when wearing sandals, flip flops, or Crocs. To ensure your child's safety, please send your child to school on T, W, and F in athletic shoes or send a pair to be left at school. Your child will have the opportunity to change into athletic/gym shoes before going to PE. Additionally, girls who wear flowing dresses and/or skirts on PE days find it hard to actively participate and/or are not safe because of the dress/skirt getting caught in the equipment. Please help your child be safe by sending them to school on PE days in clothing that will keep them safe while engaging in physical activity!

On the 15th of each month you will receive an invoice via email from the District’s electronic invoicing system, My School Bucks. Payment of fees is due by the 1st of each month. A $25.00 late fee will be assessed if payment isn’t received by the 3rd of the month. For your convenience, families may set up automatic payment through My School Bucks so that you don't miss a payment. If your child is eligible for the preschool classroom because of special needs, you are not responsible for paying tuition.

Change of Clothes

Teachers take students outside for learning activities and physical exercise on a regular basis. And now with the changing temperatures, it is important that your child has a change of clothes at school. Please make certain that your child has an extra pair of underwear, socks, pants, shirt, and a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt. Remember to write your child's name on the clothing tags so that it can be returned to its rightful owner!

Halloween

Our preschoolers will celebrate Halloween on Monday, October 31st. If they would like, children can wear a costume to school and bring non-edible treats to hand out to their classmates. Costumes should be age appropriate and not include weapons or look-a-like weapons, or blood.

Parents are invited to see all of the preschoolers in costume at the end of their preschool day parade. More information about the parade will be shared with families soon.

Developmental Screenings

On a monthly basis the Early Childhood Diagnostic Team conducts screenings of children ages three to five. The screenings are conducted by a team, consisting of an occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, psychologist, and social worker. The areas assessed include motor, communication, play skills, pre-academic and thinking skills. The next Preschool Screening for the 2022-23 school year is scheduled for November 1st. To schedule an appointment for a screening call 847-318-4290.

COVID Dashboard

If you are interested in knowing how many active cases of COVID are present for Jefferson Early Childhood Center the dashboard can be found by clicking this link. An active case starts when a student tests positive and ends after a period of 10 days. Therefore, the numbers in the dashboard represent the reported students who are in that 10-day window. The dashboard will be updated daily.

If your child had/has to isolate due to COVID, you will receive a refund through My School Bucks on the credit card that was used to pay tuition. Refunds will be dispersed in December and May. If you have any questions about your credit, please contact Kathy Luppo at 847-318-5360.

If your child will be absent please call or email the Jefferson School nurse, Kelly DeFelice, at 847-318-5441 or kdefelice@d64.org.

In observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day there will be no school for students and staff on Monday, October 10th. Also, in observance of the state holiday of Election Day, November 8th, there will be no school for students and staff. Please make your calendars!

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