Longfellow Log

• Friday, March 12th - 2nd Trimester Ends
  
• Friday, March 26th - 2nd Trimester Report Card Distribution
• Monday, March 29th - Friday, April 2nd - Spring Break

Click here for the announcement.

Since the transition to hybrid learning, we have noticed a significant decline in student participation and work completion in afternoon specials (PE, ART, Library, Music, and Spanish). As a result, many students' report card markings will reflect the students' lack of assignments/projects completed and submitted. We ask for your support in ensuring your scholars are logged into their specials class daily and are completing all required asynchronous assignments/projects on time. The students also often have WIN (What I Need) small group time that is also very important in the afternoon.

Please reach out to your scholar's special teachers if you have any questions/concerns."

The parent survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You may skip questions you do not wish to answer, but the survey must be completed in one sitting and cannot be retrieved once it is submitted. If you have more than one child enrolled in a building (i.e., two students who attend the same school), you have the option of completing multiple surveys for that building. In addition, if you have children enrolled in multiple schools (i.e., a District 97 elementary school and middle school), you may participate in the survey for each school.

However, only one parent/guardian per household may fill out the survey.

As with the student and teacher surveys, your identity will be kept completely confidential and your responses will not be linked to you. In addition, school-level reports will only be generated if at least 20 percent of our parents/guardians complete the survey, which can be accessed until April 2, 2021, by visiting http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/ . This percentage will be based on the total number of students enrolled at each school. If we successfully meet this requirement, we will receive our reports in Spring/Summer 2021.

You can access general information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey by visiting https://www.uchicagoimpact.org/our-offerings/5essentials .

Thank you for participating in this important endeavor, and for your continued support of our schools and the children we serve.

Divco Amplified Virtual Art Show

Two parent information sessions were held in January to discuss acceleration opportunities in District 97. Please click the links below to view the recordings.

• Single Subject and Whole Grade Acceleration
• Early Admission to Kindergarten and First Grade

Information about the District 97 Accelerated Placement Program, including definitions and timelines, can be found at http://www.op97.org/acceleration.

If interested, your first step is reaching out to the homeroom teacher and discussing it together.

We are continuing to provide social-emotional wellness check-ins this fall. The District 97 school psychologists and school nurses collaborated to offer access to virtual mental health wellness checks at each school. Parents may sign up children for 25-minute Telehealth sessions where they can access an open ear for their sources of stress and learn self-care and coping strategies. Students may attend up to three sessions per trimester and may then be referred for other school-based supports if needed. If your child is experiencing an immediate mental health crisis, please do not use this service and instead call the Thrive 24hr Crisis Hotline at 708-383-7500. You may also refer to this local resource guide provided by the Community Mental Health Board of the Oak Park Township.

How can my child access this service?

• The virtual sessions will occur during school hours.

• Use this Longfellow Wellness Sign-Up Link to book open slots. The appointment page will open within your own calendar. (If you do not have a Gmail account, you may contact rneubert@op97.org). Prior to the appointment, you will receive a link for the video call or other access information.

• During these unusual times, we need to partner with you to ensure your child arrives at the correct video link during their scheduled time and returns to their classroom Zoom after the appointment. Please remember to coordinate with your daycare providers if applicable.

• We will inform your child’s teacher, so your child will be excused from class.

• Please book appointments by the night before the appointment (at the latest) and not on the day of the appointment.

It is critical that each morning, families complete the self-certification email by 7:15. Health certifications must be completed every day before hybrid learners arrive to school. Elementary students must have their certification completed by 7:15 a.m. and middle school students must have their certification completed by 8:15 a.m. Please see the linked PDF for full details. Highlights of what you can expect are included below.

Information about CrisisGo and resources to help families are available at https://www.op97.org/updatecenter/crisisgo.

District 97 families are invited to join our upcoming Virtual Parent-to-Parent Series, which will be facilitated in partnership with the E-Team of Oak Park. Events will be held:

• Wednesday, March 18, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 29, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The sessions are designed to build community among District 97 parents and guardians and provide support as we navigate hybrid learning. The intention is for parents/guardians to attend all three sessions to help build a consistent community, but if you cannot make the first session you may still attend the others. Please let us know your availability in the registration form so that we can plan accordingly.

The deadline to register is Tuesday, Feb. 16. To sign up, please visit https://bit.ly/D97ParentCircles.

The Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township, Oak Park Elementary School District 97, and DePaul University’s Community Counseling Center have partnered to deliver a vast array of educational and therapeutic services to staff, families, and youth through the “Mindful Middle-Schoolers Program.” Below is a list of upcoming VIRTUAL talks, which will be held via Zoom. Registration via the Eventbrite links below is requested. Once you register, a link will be emailed to you four hours prior to the start of each event.

"Mindful Middle-Schoolers" Community Talk Flyer

• Thursday, March 11 (6 p.m.): Mindfulness-based strategies and their applications in academic and home environments https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understandingmindfulness-tickets-141700721673
• Wednesday, March 17 (6 p.m.): Understanding and supporting the emotional health of Black children https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-and-supporting-theemotional-health-of-black-children-tickets-141702515037
• Wednesday, March 24 (6 p.m.): Understanding depression in youth and strategies for treatment and support https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-depression-inyouth-and-strategies-for-treatment-and-support-tickets-141698771841

In the event that a District 97 student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must immediately notify their school nurse so they can initiate our response protocols and begin contact tracing. In an abundance of caution, the school will place the affected classroom in an adaptive pause for 14 calendar days, meaning students will participate in remote learning. We will also notify the school community via email, and information will be updated weekly on the District 97 COVID-19 dashboard. Click here to view our COVID-19 response procedures >

When to Stay Home from School/Work
We ask that our entire District 97 community help keep our schools safe by adhering to our COVID-19 guidelines. This includes students/staff staying home if they:

• Are feeling sick
• Have tested positive for COVID-19
• Are waiting for a COVID-19 test result
• Are a close contact of a positive/probable COVID-19 case
• Have traveled for more than 24 hours out of state.

Click here for our "When to Stay Home" flyer >

District 97 uses the notification system BrightArrow to communicate with families via email and phone calls. This year, we have started using periodic text messages to send reminders directly to parents' cell phones. In order to receive text messages, parents must opt in by texting YES to 87569. Once you have subscribed, you will receive a text confirmation.

Texts may appear from District 97 from 87569 or a phone number with a 424 area code (you may wish to save them to your contacts).

Next Meal D97 Meal Distribution: Tuesday, March 9th
February Breakfast/Lunch Menus
Meals will be provided free of cost this fall to any District 97 student in need. Each bag of food will contain five breakfasts and five lunches.

Meal distributions will be held every Tuesday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 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.

D97 Breakfast/Lunch Menus - March 2021

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