Pierce Downer This Week

Pierce Downer Families,

It was a great week starting with the 6th-grade students going on their outdoor education field trip and an entire week of Earth Week activities!

In this week's edition of Pierce Downer This Week, you will find additional information on the Kids Heart Challenge, our upcoming final PTA Dine-Out for the year, pictures from our variety show, Open House information, and the save the date for the May 1st music performance for 1st and 2nd grade students.

With all of the fun events lately and coming up, it reminded me of how fortunate we are to have the AMAZING families and supportive parents that we do at Pierce Downer School. THANK YOU families for positively impacting the PD experience.

Before the end of the school year, I hope to schedule some "Coffee Conversations" as a chance to meet with parents/guardians to discuss specific topics. If there is something you would like to learn more about, please use this form to share specific topics!

For our 3rd and 4th Grade families, April is an exciting month for our students as they have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Please follow this LINK for additional information!

As you know, the District is launching a new Strategic Planning process and your input and your voice are key to that process. This is a reminder that we are asking for feedback from the community by taking our Strategic Planning survey.

Please take the survey here and complete by Monday, May 3.

The last Strategic Plan was very successful thanks to strong community input. The District’s focus on the next plan is to build on the many achievements of the 2017-23 Plan.

Thank you for your interest in helping us build on our successes and continually improve.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out 630-719-5860 or LWagner@DG58.org.

We are PD!

L. Wagner, Principal

Congratulations to Mrs. Breault for being this week's PD Cup recipient! Mrs. Breault is a first-grade teacher at Pierce Downer School. She is regularly collaborating with staff throughout the building and maintaining a student-centered approach to everything she does!

Thank you Mrs. Breault for all that you do!

Kids Heart Challenge is up and running in PE and we are so excited to share we have raised almost $1,000 for the American Heart Association!! Have you signed up for the free heart challenge yet? Sign up TODAY and take a free heart challenge to earn your BE THE TORCH wristband. Will you and your family choose to BE KIND or to MOVE MORE?

Sign up and to see what you can earn as thank you gifts for donating by clicking on our link:

http://www2.heart.org/goto/PierceDownerElementary

Here are the grades in the lead for most donations. The grade that raises the most wins a bonus PE class with Dr Wagner!

• 3rd $350.00
• Kindergarten $213.45
• 4th $202.21

Here are Pierce Downers top fundraisers this week:

• Parker E
• Ethan H
• Benjamin H

We would love to see our families complete the 8 steps of Finn’s Mission. Learn more about hands-only CPR and help us create a community of lifesavers!!! It’s our goal to have 18 students complete the steps in honor of Finn.

District 58 student registration for the 2023-24 school year is now open! Downers Grove Grade School District 58 invites families to register their student(s) for the 2023-24 school year using the District’s PowerSchool Enrollment system! The District asks all returning students to please register by Monday, April 3. This includes all returning District 58 students who attend an outplacement or specialized program. New student registration is open indefinitely. District 58 encourages families to register their student(s) in a timely manner, as early registration helps the District determine its staffing, classroom and transportation needs for the upcoming school year.

District 58 recommends families register their student using a computer when possible (although you can also use a mobile device). Please do not use the PowerSchool mobile app as it does not support registration. If you have technical questions during registration, please contact District 58’s Technology Help Desk by filling out a Technology Help Ticket here or calling 630-719-2768. If you have general registration questions, please contact your school office.

Registration Update for 2023-24: Residency
District 58 will continue to contract with Thomson Reuters CLEAR, a third party vendor, to automatically verify student address information. The vendor will use parent and/or guardian names and addresses to crosscheck the information against other public electronic databases, such as utility companies, DMV records, property tax records. This service has been safely used by many surrounding school districts to verify student residency information, including District 99.

In some circumstances, additional documentation will be needed:

• Families of all new students

• Families of all kindergarten students (regardless of preschool attendance or current siblings in the District)

• Families that annually lease their residence

• Families that provide an affidavit of residency

• Families whose residency is not able to be electronically verified

If the District is unable to verify your address, you will receive a letter directly from our District Office. The letter will provide details regarding the additional information you will need to provide in order for your child to start the 2023-24 school year.

Verifying residency is an effort to protect taxpayers and district resources by identifying non-residents attending District 58 schools. Illinois law mandates that parents demonstrate residency prior to enrollment in school and allows for periodic verification to validate compliance with the law.

How to Register: Returning Students

Step 1: Complete registration forms and submit documents.

• Log on to your PowerSchool account. (Still need to create a PowerSchool account? Click here for instructions.)

• If you have multiple children, please select a student from the menu on the upper left. (Please remember to complete a separate registration for each of your children).

• In the left navigation panel, click on “Forms.”

• In the Forms menu, click on the “Enrollment” tab.

• All registration forms will appear. Click on the first form, “A: Student Information: 2023-24” to begin the registration process.

• Complete all registration forms and download all required supplemental documents. The registration portal will explain which documents are required.

• Your “Enrollment” homepage will show which forms are submitted and empty (“empty” includes forms that haven’t been started, as well as forms in progress).

• Please remember to submit any supplemental documents (i.e. health forms) either by email, mail or in person to your school office. Forms are due by the first day of school, but we encourage families to submit these forms as soon as possible.

Step 2: Pay student fees.

• After District 58 processes your child’s registration, you will receive an email invoice from the District’s PushCoin system with all registration fees for 2023-24.

• The PushCoin email will arrive after April 3.

• Fees are due by the first day of school.

• While we encourage families to use the PushCoin system to pay registration fees, families may also pay by check. If paying by check, please clearly identify the student(s) for whom the fees are being paid. Please make checks payable to “Downers Grove Grade School District 58” and send the check to your school or the District office at:

District 58 Office
2300 Warrenville Road, Suite 200NE
Downers Grove, IL 60515

Will your child attend kindergarten in District 58 next school year? Or do you have a friend or neighbor whose child will? Here are three steps to prepare!

1. Call Pierce Downer to let them know your child will be attending kindergarten next year. They can add you to any school-specific kindergarten contact list.

2. Attend Kindergarten Roundup in March or April.

3. Visit our Kindergarten Resource webpage for information on Kindergarten Roundup schedules, school boundary maps, kindergarten registration, immunization requirements, kindergarten curriculum and much more!

Plus:

Dual Language Program: Did you know that incoming kindergarteners can apply to participate in District 58's two-way Dual Language Program? The program is open to both native English and Spanish speakers and is located at El Sierra School. Click here to learn more about the Dual Language Program. Click here to complete a Kindergarten Dual Language Interest Form.

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.

April 26

PTA Dine-Out @ Pierce Tavern

Administrative Professionals Day

April 27 & 28

Author Fest: Grades 1, 3, and 5

May 1

1st and 2nd Grade Music Performance 6pm

May 2

ABC Countdown Begins

Open House 6-7:30pm

May 3

VIP Day (grades 1 and 5)

May 5

PTA Event: Science Olympiad

Email: LWagner@dg58.org
Website: www.DG58.org
Location: 1436 Grant Street, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630-719-5860
Twitter: @LWagnerDG58