Pierce Downer This Week

Pierce Downer Families,

The festivities started last Friday with our Battle of the Bands kids show and continued through the week with the BAM theater performance, our Author Fest 2023, fun lunch, and a Fun Run Pep Assembly! I was amazed listening to our families play some great music, thank you to all that participated. We also celebrated our FANTASTIC office staff this week for Administrative Professionals Day.

As a reminder, it is vital to our planning that our families complete the registration process to help us prepare for next year. If you need help with the registration procedures, you can reach out to Heather O'Donnell or Angela Suggs in the office.

Coming up next week, our 1st and 2nd-grade students will have their music performance on Monday evening, Open House on Tuesday, and VIP day on Wednesday.

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

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.

Congratulations to Mrs. Lewis for being this week's PD Cup recipient! Mrs. Lewis is one of our Instructional Assistants at Pierce Downer School. While Mrs. Lewis is typically helping in our 1st grade classrooms, she spreads positivity throughout the entire building with her kindness and support. Mrs. Lewis is always willing to lend a helping hand wherever needed and Pierce Downer is lucky to have her!

Thank you Mrs. Lewis for all that you do!

Kids Heart Challenge is up and running in PE and we are so excited to share we have raised over $1,800 for the American Heart Association so far. Have you signed up for the free heart challenge yet?

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

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

It’s not too late to earn your own HEART HEROES and MYSTERY GIFTS when you

raise lifesaving donations! The grade with the most donations raised will get extra PE

time with Dr. Wagner AND an extra thank you gift heart plush. Right now, 5th grade is in

the lead!!

BONUS!! Every student who signs up for the free challenge will earn a Frankie Keychain

as a thank you from the American Heart Association for taking care of your heart!

Here are Pierce Downers top fundraisers this week:

• Parker E
• Ethan H
• Annabelle & John H

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.

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