Longfellow Log

Week Ending 4/30

Important Dates/Reminders and Notes

Monday, May 3rd - 6th - 3rd Grade IAR Testing
Friday, May 7th - Remote Learning Planning Day

We ask that you please help your child head to school with everything they need for the day including: school materials, water bottle, iPad, etc.; we want to reduce items that are being brought to school during the day; it is especially hard to manage this year
No Dogs are allowed on school property
If students ride a bike or scooter to school, please remind them to walk it once they hit the campus
Playground is closed before school and immediately after due to the volume of students

PTO Spring Book Fair - LAST DAY to Shop

Last day to shop the spring book fair! Proceeds support PTO programs, and our partnership with Anderson's Bookshop also makes it possible to bring in authors for virtual visits.

Shop at abcfairs.com through April 30, and remember to select "School Pick-Up" at checkout for free shipping.

Teacher wish lists: https://www.abcfairs.com/longfellow-elementary-oak-park

Recommended titles: https://sites.google.com/view/longfellowbookfair/home

For Fifth Grade Parents - Julian Information Night

Lunch Expectations

Lunch will take place in the classrooms.
Students with home lunch will keep their lunches in their backpacks.
Lunches will be delivered from the lunchroom to each classroom.
No Nuts allowed. Please also follow your classroom teachers' allergy list if there are further classroom restrictions.
Lunch options will be: pizza kit or sandwich. There are also two options for milk: chocolate or white. Students will share choices with teacher first thing in the morning.
Students will not be talking while eating and in most rooms will eat in a staggered fashion (those facing one way will eat/ others will do something quietly and then reverse before going out to play.)

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Calling All Scientists

Longfellow will be hosting a Virtual Science Fair this year! Longfellow students of all ages will be invited to carry out a science project and submit it to be presented for the whole school to see, virtually (no trifold needed!). Look out for more details in the WHAL and the Longfellow Log the first week in May! Any parents or students interested in helping with organization, please email Joe Matise (vp_enrichment@longfellowpto.org).

Keep D97 Schools Allergy Safe - No Nuts Allowed

District 97 will continue its nut-safe expectation this school year when we transition to full-day in-person learning. The exclusion of nuts will be adhered to throughout the school day, which includes lunchtime and snacks. This is an important measure to protect our students with life-threatening allergies, as the lunchroom may not be the only space used for meals while we are adhering to COVID-19 safety measures.

Please check with your child's teacher for other allergy considerations in the classroom. We appreciate your help in adhering to this preventative measure.

Acceleration Window for SY21-22 Closes May 15th

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

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. Second step is emailing Ms. Jefferson (ajefferson@op97.org) and Mrs. Sullivan (csullivan@op97.org)

Social-Emotional Wellness Check-Ins for Students

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.

District News Below

Registration Information for 2021-22 School Year in D97

Online registration for the 2021-22 school year in District 97 will officially launch on Monday, April 26. Please visit https://www.op97.org/hr/student-registration for complete details.

Returning Students
Registration will be entirely online April 26 through May 31 for returning students who are currently in kindergarten through seventh grade. The parent/guardian listed as PG1 in PowerSchool will receive an email from infosnap@is.op97.org with their student’s snapcode and instructions to register. Returning Student Registration Information >

Note: In order to register, Oak Park renters must have a lease that covers August 31, 2021, or the student’s first day of school.

VIDEO: "The ABCs of Registration are 'D-E-F'"
CLICK HERE for a brief video that outlines the District 97 registration process!

As you begin the process, remember that the "ABCs" of registration are "D-E-F."

D - Documents: All required documents must be scanned and ready to upload before starting registration.
E - Early: Registration is a longer process and we ask that families register early!
F - Finish: Registration is finished once you receive a confirmation email from the district.

New Students and Kindergarteners
Families who wish to enroll new students or kindergarteners must first gather all required documents and make an appointment to have them reviewed. At your appointment, the registrar will explain the online process, verify your documentation and child's grade level, and enter the student into the online registration system. After your appointment you will receive an email for each student with a unique link to submit that student’s registration information. Information for Incoming Kindergarteners >

Appointments can be scheduled using this link:
https://registration.powerschool.com/family/gosnap.aspx?event=3548&culture=en

Updated Contact Tracing Procedures - Responding to a Positive Case

In anticipation of our shift to full days of on-site learning, the District 97 nurses and safety and security manager have updated our contract tracing process to align with the latest guidance provided by the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Department of Public Health and the Oak Park Department of Public Health.

Beginning April 26, designated seating charts will be used for all classrooms to streamline and accelerate the contact tracing process when a person tests positive. This will allow nurses to focus their contact tracing investigation on those who are designated close contacts and follow the associated guidance for quarantine requirements. A close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days before getting tested) until the time the patient is isolated.

As a result of our updated process, schools will no longer automatically quarantine entire classrooms when a positive case is identified, and will instead focus on isolating close contacts. Full classroom and/or school quarantines may still be possible depending on the outcome of contact tracing; nurses will work closely with the Oak Park Department of Public Health to determine if additional safety measures are needed.

The following communication procedures will be used for positive cases, beginning the week of April 26:

The principal will send an email notification to all students and staff of the affected classroom that there was a participant in the class who tested positive. All new cases will then be publicly reported on the district’s COVID-19 Metrics Dashboard.
If the participant(s) are determined to have been close contacts and/or significant exposure, they will be contacted separately by the school and told to quarantine for 14 full days from their last contact with the case. The nurse will clear those close contact participants on a case by case basis to return to school/work.

We will continue to work closely with the Oak Park Department of Public Health to take any and all measures necessary to protect the safety of our school community.

SAVE THE DATE: D97 Virtual Summer Step Up Program

District 97 is holding a Virtual Step Up Summer Program for students in Grades 1-8 (students who are in kindergarten through seventh grade during the 2020-21 school year). The program will run July 26 through Aug. 5, 2021 (8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. OR 12 pm. - 2:30 p.m.).

Summer Step Up is designed to support any District 97 student that could benefit from revisiting grade level standards from the previous year. Additional information and sign up forms will be shared by schools in May 2021.

District 97 to Continue Providing Free Meals to All Students

Next Meal D97 Meal Distribution: Tuesday, May 4
May 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 - May 2021