Fairmount Families Week END Report

During this four-day week, we welcomed the month of March and wrapped up our individual classroom safety presentations. It has been wonderful to hear students' thoughtful questions during these presentations while providing them with important reminders and information related to kindness, safety, and expected behaviors.

Our weather has continued to vary from day to day and we appreciate your support in sending students with the appropriate coat and gear (as needed) for each school day.

Thank you for your continued attention to the important reminders and information included in the Week "End" Report. This week you will find sections on District 58's Full Day Kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year, Summer School registration, and student celebrations including The Reading Games and Helping Children Grow Award.

I hope everyone has 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.

District 58 is excited to offer a universal full-day kindergarten program for the coming 2023-24 school year. What this means is that the tuition-based full-day kindergarten program known as OKEEP will end after the current school year. Yearly student registration fees will still be required. We are excited about this move as it provides a full-day program to all District 58 students and gives teachers more flexibility in delivering instruction, socialization time, deeper discovery and play-based learning. Please ask friends and neighbors with preschool-age children who are eligible for kindergarten (children who are five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2023) to contact our school at 630.719.5830 to be added to our incoming kindergarten list. Kindergarten Round-Up is scheduled for March 21, 2023 and we want to ensure that parents and guardians can visit their child’s future school and meet the principal and teacher. Families may visit www.dg58.org/kindergarten to access pertinent information in the District 58 Kindergarten Resource Guide.

On March 10, 2023, our 3rd and 4th-grade students will share songs they have learned from their music classes with our 1st and 2nd-grade students. Because of the limited number of performance opportunities over the past few years, we wanted both to offer this opportunity to all of our 3rd and 4th graders, as well as to model the experience for our younger students (who will have an evening performance later in the school year). We are excited to offer this in-school opportunity for our students; because the focus is on modeling for our primary grade students, the audience will be limited to those students (no family members will be able to attend in person). We do hope to have a recording available to share at a later date, and will provide more information on that moving forward.

There will be a Book Exchange held on March 22nd for 3rd-6th grade students. A maximum of four books can be donated (in good condition). Books will be brought to Mrs. Stroud in the morning to the library starting March 13th in exchange for book tickets.

Any questions - please contact Mrs. Stroud - estroud@dg58.org

Will your child be 3 or 4 years old this August? Please consider applying for your child to attend Grove Children's Preschool in District 58! Grove has earned back-to-back gold ratings, which is the highest rating the State awards preschools for excellence in teaching and learning. Applications are now open at www.dg58.org/preschool. First priority applications are due Wednesday, March 8.

Summer school registration is now open. Please click HERE to learn more about the different offerings available in District 58.

This month, Fairmount School is participating in a PTA-sponsored, national family-read program called ​One School, One Book​. Every family will receive one copy of the same book – Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson​ - and will be encouraged to read it together at home over the next three weeks. Please note, this program is an optional family activity. Books will be handed out on Monday, March 6th with further details about this exciting program.

Our next lunch is scheduled for Friday, March 17th, and food will be provided by Al's. Orders are due by Sunday, March 12th. Ordering is also now available for all the remaining lunches this school year. Place orders at: https://fairmount.h1.hotlunchonline.net/. Contact Tiffany Melnyk at tiffanyjoy21@gmail.com with any questions.

The Spring Spiritwear shop is now open through Friday, March 17th, with delivery of items expected the week of April 17th. A portion of all sales comes back to the PTA. Please reach out to Vicki Epperly (vepperly@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

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 weekly Teacher Feature.

Role at Fairmount: Secretary

# of Years at Fairmount School: 3 Years

Favorite Food or Restaurant: Mostaccioli

If she is not at school, you can catch Mrs. Darrah driving my kids to all their activities or cheering them on at their games and performances.

Favorite Quote: "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

The best thing about working with children every day is... getting to know their unique personalities, interests and hobbies. I love connecting with the students and watching them grow from year to year.

Congratulations to 5th graders Naomi and Landon who were recognized by the Grove Foundation at the beginning of the week. Naomi and Landon received the "Helping Children Grow" award in front of their families, teachers, and peers.

Congratulations to the many Fairmount students that participated in the 2023 Reading Games. We are so proud of these hard-working and creative teams - Way to Go, Falcons!

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

Monday, March 6th 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.

03.06: Happy Monday! Wear orange! 2:00 p.m. Early Dismissal; One School One Book PTA Program Begins

03.07: 5th Grade ISA Science Assessment (see teacher email)

03.08: 3:00-3:45 p.m. Sign Language Club for Registered Students

03.09: Severe Weather Drill; 3:00-3:45 p.m. Reader's Theater for Registered Students

03.10: Falcon Friday: Wear School Colors or Spiritwear; 3rd & 4th Grade In-School Music Performance (for 1st & 2nd grade students)

03.17: Report Cards sent home

03.27-03.31: No School: Spring Break

06.07: Last Day of School (if no emergency days are used)

2022-2023 School Calendar

The Board of Education approved the District 58 2023-24 school year calendar.

Highlights include:

First Day of School: Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023

Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 22-24, 2023

Winter Break: Dec. 25, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024

Spring Break: March 25-29, 2024

Last Day of School: Friday, May 24 (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.

Our current Falcon Focus is "Being Kind". We love watching our Falcon Focus bulletin board fill up with stickers in recognition of all our students' kind actions!

Dear Elementary Families,

District 58’s number one priority is ensuring that all of our students and staff are safe and we continue to be thoughtful and proactive in terms of how we address these critical conversations with our community and with our staff and students. Preventing school violence is the responsibility of us all. In the weeks ahead, our school principals will be meeting with each classroom in their schools to review critical safety measures and reinforce expectations with our students. Below are the presentations and/or talking points that will be used with grade bands for your review.

K-2nd Presentation

3rd-6th Presentation (Will also be used as review with middle school)

We know that while these discussions are crucial to have with our children, as adults, it can be difficult to know exactly how to broach these topics with our children at home. We hope a review of the materials that we have developed will provide you with some of the terms, vocabulary, and developmental approaches that we use to support students’ understanding of these concepts. In addition, the materials provided below are from various organizations that specialize in this topic that can help you prepare for further discussions with your child.

Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers

National Association of School Psychologists

Helping Children Cope with Frightening News and How to Ask What Kids are Feeling

The Child Mind Institute

Helping Teens with Traumatic Grief: Tips for Caregivers and Assisting

Parents/Caregivers in Coping with Collective Traumas

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

As always, our social workers and counselors can assist you in thinking through how best to tailor discussions at home for your particular child or children. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Preventing school violence is the responsibility of the entire community and together, we can make a difference in helping our children understand the importance of those collective efforts.

To help us ensure a nurturing, supportive and child-centered learning environment for every student, we ask our parents/guardians to please participate in District 58’s annual Parent/Guardian School Environment Survey. This survey should take just a few minutes, yet the valuable input you provide will help guide the work of our principals, teachers and district administrators as they plan school improvement efforts. All responses are anonymous.

Parents may take the Parent/Guardian School Environment Survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/2023District58Survey now through Friday, Feb. 17. The survey is also linked online at www.dg58.org/surveys. If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact your child’s school for a paper copy. If you have a child attending more than one District 58 school, please complete a separate survey for each building. We value your responses and thank you for your time and effort!

We also invite parents/guardians to take the Illinois State Board of Education’s 5Essentials Parent Survey at https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/ now through Friday, March 31. District 58 will receive 5Essentials Parent Survey data if 20% or more of a school’s parents/guardians participate in this survey. This survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. Your participation in this survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected to you or your child.

In addition to the parent/guardian surveys, fourth through eighth grade students will be asked to participate in a 5Essentials Student Survey sometime between Jan. 31-March 24. If you do not wish to have your fourth through eighth grade student(s) participate, please complete this Opt-Out Form and return it to your child’s school office by Friday, Jan. 27.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey: Organizing Schools for Improvement was developed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The survey’s results will become part of the 2023 Illinois State Report Card for your child’s school. Student, staff and parent identities will be kept confidential, and responses will not be linked to any individual. To view the privacy policy related to this survey, visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/privacy. To view the 5Essentials survey that will be administered to fourth through eighth grade students, visit https://impactsurveyshelp.force.com/s/article/illinois-5essentials-survey-questions. The survey results will be used by your child’s school to inform planning.

If you have any questions about these surveys, please contact District 58 Community Relations Coordinator Megan Hewitt at mhewitt@dg58.org.

Consistent, on-time attendance at school is critical to academic success. Please assist your child in arriving to school each day on time, as well as, support them in their regular attendance. While we understand there are many circumstances that may prevent a timely arrival (doctor appointment, family emergency, etc.), we ask that you please continue to stress the importance of being present and ready to learn when school begins.

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.

If your child would like to play in the snow/be on the field (assuming conditions are safe to do so), they must have both snow pants and snow boots. We also appreciate your support in making sure your child(ren) comes prepared for the weather/elements each day as we will typically go outside for recess if the conditions permit and the feels like temperature is above 0 degrees.

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).

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.

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