Fairmount Families Week END Report

It was a fun week of learning at Fairmount!

We started the week with a fun-filled (and rain free!) Halloween and cannot thank our parent volunteers enough for their help in making our classroom celebrations enjoyable for all. Our Student Council also sponsored a spirit week, which both students and staff enjoyed.

Friday, November 11th is Veterans Day. Please see below for information regarding recognizing Veterans connected to our Fairmount community.

A friendly reminder that there is no school on Tuesday, November 8th (Election Day) and Sunday, November 6th is Daylight Savings - don't forget to "fall back" and change your clocks.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Lisa Niforatos, Principal

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @Fairmount58.

Please be sure to check out the "Lens into Learning" and "Celebration" sections later in the newsletter for photo highlights from the week.

If your child participates in after-school band, orchestra, or the musical at O'Neill, please know they must follow their regular dismissal plan. Students cannot remain outside on the Fairmount campus as there is no supervision. Please follow the arrival time provided by the band, orchestra or music teacher for arrival onto the O'Neill School campus.

We would like to invite you to a parent forum held here at Fairmount on Wednesday, November 9th at 5:30 pm to provide an opportunity to review our school-specific data, and discuss the ways we support all of our students, our celebrations, and opportunities for growth.

Detailed information regarding Fairmount's designation and the upcoming Parent Forum was emailed to parents on October 27, 2022.

Friday, November 11th, Fairmount School will honor our local veterans for Veterans Day 2022. We would love for family members and veterans who are extended family members or friends of our students to join us outside in front of the school at 8:25 a.m. for a short program (in the event of inclement weather, the program may be canceled).

A veteran is any type of military personnel who has or is currently serving our country in any branch of the Armed Forces. Fairmount is very excited to acknowledge the devotion and sacrifice our men and women have given to our country. We look forward to sharing this special moment with you!

Students are welcome to wear red, white and/or blue on Friday, November 11th.

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 invites the community to participate in the Grove Express 5K on Thanksgiving Day. A portion of the proceeds will benefit District 58 students! Early bird registration has been extended through Nov. 6. Learn more here. Sign up here.

Early voting is currently taking place at 22 sites across DuPage County. The closest early voting sites to Downers Grove include: the Downers Grove Lincoln Center, Westmont Public Library, Yorktown Center - Former Brio Location, and the Woodridge Community Center. Depending on the location, early voting will go through Nov. 5 or Nov. 7.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Please view District 58's voter information webpage for more information.

District 58 has placed a proposal on the Nov. 8, 2022 ballot to issue $179 million in bonds to improve District 58’s facilities. To learn more about the District 58 referendum, please visit www.dg58.org/referendum.

This website contains helpful information, including the District’s Master Facility Plan, frequently asked questions, ballot language, voter information, the estimated tax impact, facility presentations, photo galleries, videos and much more. If you have any questions about the referendum not answered on the website, please don’t hesitate to contact your building principal. Please know, as a school district, we can provide factual information about a referendum, but we cannot advocate for or against it.

This holiday season be sure to support Fairmount PTA by shopping Minted for all your holiday card and gift needs!

Use the code FUNDRAISEFAIRMOUNT to get 20% off your order and 15% of your purchase will be donated back to Fairmount PTA

The PTA is excited to share information about the Fairmount 58 Plays fundraisers. Money raised will support Fairmount's fun, new, innovative playground. Show your Falcon Pride and order your yard sign today or purchase Fairmount 58 Plays spirit wear here.

Home Run Inn Pizza will provide the next Fairmount School Fun Lunch on Tuesday, November 22nd. Meals are $5.00 and must be preordered by Thursday, November 17th. No "day of" purchase option is available. You can order at: https://fairmount.h1.hotlunchonline.net/frontend.php

If you have any questions, contact Tiffany Melnyk (tiffanyjoy21@gmail.com).

Reminder: Students need to provide their own drink on Fun Lunch days. Fun Lunch is the meal only. Remind your student to bring their water bottle with them to lunch or send an alternate drink from home. If you purchased milk for your student this year, milk will still be available to your student on Fun Lunch days.

We are so glad you are part of our school community! Whether this is your child's first or seventh year at Fairmount, we wanted to provide a fun way to get to know the many members of our teaching and school staff.

We hope you enjoy learning a little more about each of our staff members in the NEW weekly Teacher Feature.

Role at Fairmount: Art Teacher

# of Years at Fairmount School: 2 Years

Favorite Food or Restaurant: Spicy Ramen!

If she is not at school, you can catch Ms. Beck walking my rescue dog Indie.

Favorite Quote: "They say the best blaze burns brightest when circumstances are at their worst."

The best thing about working with children every day is... I love working with kids everyday because they make me laugh everyday! I love hearing about their lives and even debates on things like Minecraft versus Fortnite.

We will be continuously supporting students (both in and out of the classroom) to Be Ready, In Control, Kind and Safe.

We are currently wrapping up our current school focus of "Be Ready" and are preparing to kick-off "Be In Control".

From birthdays (and half birthdays), Positive Office Referrals, Lost Teeth and more... we love celebrating our students at Fairmount.

Thank you for taking a moment to review the car line procedures in support of all students and families:

Please see the diagram below for car line details. The car line queue will form on Blodgett facing south only. Cars may not enter the car line if traveling north on Blodgett. Cars will begin entering the parking lot (in a single line) at 8:05 a.m. for arrival and 2:50 p.m. for dismissal (1:50 p.m. on Mondays).

The cars should stay within the marked yellow solid lines in the Fairmount lot; cars may not pass one another. There will be four drop zones within the parking lot, and staff will be present to assist. Drivers are asked to follow the prompts of the staff members and pull up to the furthest available drop zone. Students should only exit and enter from the passenger side of the vehicle, and drivers should not exit their vehicles. After unloading at arrival, students will walk to their assigned arrival door.

Cars accessing the car line at dismissal are asked to have the pink "Car Line Sign" visible on the passenger side window to assist with the dismissal process. This sign will be available at the Move-In/Meet the Teacher event and will also be available in the entryway vestibule.

To support the flow of the car line, families and students who are arriving or dismissing at Fairmount as walkers are asked to walk behind/around the building to avoid crowding the sidewalk in front of the building.

Important Notes:

• The car line should only be used for student drop-off and pick-up. If you would like to walk your child to and from their arrival/dismissal door, please do not use the car line, as parking is not allowed in the school parking lot during arrival or dismissal.
• Parking will not be allowed during the posted times on Blodgett to support our car line as well as student bussing (7:00-9:00 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.).

Monday, November 7th, is a 2:00 p.m. dismissal for students. All students are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. according to their regular dismissal plan. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your child to be picked up from Fairmount at 2:00 p.m.

11.07: Happy Monday! Wear Orange! 2:00 p.m. Early Dismissal

11.08: No School - Election Day

11.09: 3:00 p.m. Run Club (for registered students); 5:30 p.m. ESSA Parent Forum

11.10: 3:00 p.m. Bricks for Kids (for registered students)

11.11: Veterans Day; Falcon Friday! Wear Red, White and/or Blue!

11.18 - End of 1st Trimester

11.23-11.25 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

12.09 - Report Cards sent home

12.19-01.02 - No School - Winter Break

2022-2023 School Calendar

Calendar Highlights:

• Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 23-25, 2022

• Winter Break: Dec. 19, 2022 -Jan. 2, 2023

• Spring Break: March 27-31, 2023

• Last Day of School: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 (if no emergency days are used)

Please note that information BELOW this point is repeated information that has been shared in a previous newsletter(s), but is still made available here for your reference.

Fall is here and cold and flu season is upon us, and we are seeing students with cold and flu symptoms. To prevent the spread of these common viruses in the close confines of the classroom, we are cleaning daily and encouraging handwashing in the class. To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines.

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

· Very stuffy or runny nose and/or a cough

· Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

· Headache

Definitely keep your child at home and consider seeking medical attention if he or she has any of these symptoms:

· Fever (greater than 100 degrees by mouth. Your child may return to school only after his or her temperature has been consistently below 100 degrees, by mouth, for a minimum of 24 hours without medication)

· Vomiting (even once)

· Diarrhea

· Chills

· General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness or muscle aches

· Frequent congested (wet) or croupy cough

· Shortness of breath

· Lots of nasal congestion with frequent blowing of the nose

To help prevent the flu and other colds, encourage good hygiene habits:

· Wash hands frequently

· Do not touch eyes, nose, or mouth

· Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands

· Avoid close contact with people who are sick

The flu shot is one of the best ways to prevent illness from the seasonal influenza virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults and children receive the flu vaccine each year. Yearly flu vaccination is needed because immunity against the flu wears off over time. In addition, the flu virus strains often change, so the vaccine also changes from year to year in order to match the flu viruses expected to be circulating in the community.

As the weather grows a bit colder and varies significantly from day to day, please be sure to send your child(ren) to school with the appropriate coat/gear that supports them being comfortable outside during recess, arrival/dismissal and P.E.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Lisa Niforatos (Principal) or Jen Glynn (Social Worker) if you do not have access to the resources to secure cold-weather gear for your child(ren).

The Reading Games will return for its ninth year on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 at O'Neill Middle School. The Reading Games is a fun and friendly reading competition open to District 58 students in grades 3-8.

Start forming teams now! Team and individual registration is open now through Nov. 2. Please click here for general Reading Games information, including team and individual registration links. Visit www.readinggamesdg58.com for detailed information. The Reading Games also seeks question writer volunteers! Click here to learn more information and to sign up to volunteer.

If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please call the Fairmount Office at 630.719.5830 to report his/her absence. If you call before or after office hours, you are welcome to leave attendance information on the school's voicemail. We kindly ask that you do not email attendance information to the teacher or principal.

If your child's dismissal plan will be different (e.g. not taking the bus), please communicate this to both the school secretaries and classroom teacher as promptly as possible. This is especially important for our younger students, so we can support their dismissal process. In the event of a last-minute change, we ask that you please call the school office (630-719.5830) as staff members may not check their emails prior to daily dismissal.

District 58 has partnered with Safe2Help to give students a safe and confidential way to report potential threats or crises. Safe2Help was launched by the State of Illinois in December 2020 and aims to help prevent suicide, bullying, school violence and other threats to school safety.

With Safe2Help, students can connect with a trained crisis professional during their own crisis, or to report a potential threat. Students can submit a Safe2Help alert via the following ways:

• Website: https://app.safe22helpil.com
• Text: SAFE2 (72332)
• Phone: 844-4-SAFEIL (844-472-3345)
• App: "Safe2Help Illinois" app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
• Email: HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com

All alerts are responded to by a trained Safe2Help crisis professional. Safe2Help is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

District 58 staff are not the initial responders to the alert and will receive each alert after the Safe2Help professional provides support. District 58 staff will review alerts sent by Safe2Help during regular school hours, unless the nature of the alert necessitates immediate school action.

Learn more about Safe2Help and District 58's crisis resources.

Visit the Safe2Help website.

While a student can bring their electronic device (including cell phones and AirPods) to school, all non-district-issued technologies are to be silenced and out of sight throughout the school day. Students are allowed to wear smartwatches, but they are to be silenced during the school day. The district-provided technology will be utilized for students to participate in lessons and complete assignments. Please be sure to go over the expectations with your student as the policy was recently amended.

District 58 has published the 2022-23 Schools of 58: A Handbook for Families. Please take time to review this important handbook with your child, as it offers an overview of the District’s policies, procedures, resources and student expectations. During the first full week of school, all families will receive a handbook receipt to sign, acknowledging that they and their child reviewed and understood the handbook. Please sign and return the handbook receipt at Curriculum Night or sooner. Here are the links to this year’s family handbook. If you need a print copy, please contact the school office at 630-719-5830, and we can print you a copy.

• English: 2022-23 District 58 Family Handbook

• Español: 2022-23 Manual Familias del Distrito 58

Lisa Niforatos, Principal lniforatos@dg58.org

Jillian DeRango, Secretary jderango@dg58.org

Jill Darrah, Secretary jdarrah@dg58.org

Email: lniforatos@dg58.org
Website: www.dg58.org/fa/
Location: 6036 Blodgett Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.719.5830
Twitter: @Fairmount58