Bobcat Blog

• Thursday, May 19 Rescheduled Bobcat Bolt Fun Run
• Friday, May 27 Olympic Day (Details will be coming)
• Friday, June 3: All School Picnic Celebration (Details will be coming)

Please register for next school year - see details below.

• Thank you to the Beye School Green Team and all the volunteers who helped with the PTO Plant Sale
• Thank you to all of the families who supported the plant sale
• Thank you to those of you who contributed to the 5th Grade Craft Fair in support of Unicef - Ukraine Relief (As of now the 5th grade craft fair has raised $1,420!

As we are preparing for the fall, you can assist us by indicating if your child/children will not be returning in August 2022. To help us update our records before we pass them on, please complete this form if you are not returning. The final day is Tuesday, June 7 with regular dismissal time. We will miss your family!

Leaving District 97 Survey

Parent volunteers and donations will be needed. Please keep your eye out for a Sign Up sheet via Konstella in the next couple of days.

Beye finished the competition with 3,719 points, enough to provide 1,062 meals! Thank you everyone for your support!

There’s still time to register your Bobcat for the Bobcat Bolt Fun Run! This fun event will now be held during school hours on Thursday, May 19. We’ll be promoting exercise and fun while also raising money for the Beye School PTO.

So far, we’re about 20% of the way to our goal of $15,000. The PTO uses these funds to benefit every single Beye student. Here are some ways we plan to use these funds:

$2,900 for new gym equipment that is safer and more easily adaptable for all students, as well as being quieter and less disruptive to nearby classrooms.

$2,600 to update the nonfiction section of the school library. The library renovation resulted in many outdated and damaged books being discarded from the library, and now many nonfiction books must be borrowed from other D97 schools.

$4,000 to pay for buses for student field trips.

$3,000 for our One Book, One School program, providing every family in the school with a copy of Wishtree.

Additional funds can be used to fill teacher requests for classroom supplies like: online subscriptions; owl pellets for dissection; classroom rugs large enough for social distancing; Magnatiles and other manipulatives; student incentives; and many other things.

To learn more, including signup information, take a look at the flyer attached to this email. Signup is at getmovinfundhub.com; school Identifier: 6231cfe597ac7

We look forward to a fun event!

(See below for more details.)

The American Rescue Plan Act, passed in March 2021, provided an additional $122.7 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, known as ESSER III. Under this law, school districts around the country will receive additional funding to address the impact of COVID-19 on students’ academic, social, emotional and mental health needs, as well as the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on underrepresented student subgroups.

District 97 anticipates receiving approximately $2.9 million in ESSER III funds, of which 20% must be spent on learning loss. Funds may be used for pre-award costs dating back to March 13, 2020, when the national emergency was declared; they are available for obligation through September 30, 2024.

We are seeking feedback from all district and community stakeholders to help determine how we should best utilize these resources to address ongoing COVID-19 recovery in our schools. Please take time to let us know your opinion by completing a brief survey by Friday, May 13: https://forms.gle/yuhUAfyanHape3LK6

DePaul University, in partnership with the Oak Park Township Community Mental Health Board and District 97, plan to offer a series of community talks to the District 97 community as part of the Mindful Middle Schoolers and Mindfulness Matters 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 prior to the start of each event.

"Mindful Middle-Schoolers" Spring 2022 Community Talk Flyer

Upcoming Virtual Community Talks (Open to All)

• May 17 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Understanding depression in youth and strategies for treatment and support https://www.eventbrite.com/e/329134148097
• May 25 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Understanding anxiety in youth and strategies for treatment and support https://www.eventbrite.com/e/329137498117
• June 7 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Mindfulness-based strategies and their applications in academic environments https://www.eventbrite.com/e/256953403547
• June 15 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Summer’s here! Promoting social-emotional wellness in out-of-school time https://www.eventbrite.com/e/329142513117

Registration Information for 2022-23 School Year in D97

Online registration for the 2022-23 school year in District 97 will officially launch for all students on Monday, May 2!

This year, the registration window will be open May 2 through July 1 for ALL students—returning, new and kindergarten.

Returning Students

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. Emails will be sent on Monday, May 2, 2022.

Complete details can be found at https://www.op97.org/hr/returning-student-registration.

New Students and Kindergarteners

This year, we have streamlined the process for registering kindergarteners and new students to make it easier for families. Registration can be completed entirely online—no appointments necessary!

1. First, gather all required documents. Click here for the list >
2. Next, you will need to create an account in InfoSnap.
3. Continue in InfoSnap by completing the online registration forms and uploading all your documents. Once you’re finished just click submit.

Please click the links below to learn more about the registration process for kindergarteners and new students.

• Kindergarten Registration
• New Students

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 detailed process and we ask that families register early!
• F - Finish: Registration is finished once you receive a confirmation email from the district.

CLICK HERE for a brief video that outlines the District 97 registration process!

Detailed information about the registration process is available on the district website at https://www.op97.org/hr/student-registration. If you are in need of translation or interpretation services, please email d97registrar@op97.org or call 708-524-3000.

The West Cook YMCA is offering District 97 families a complimentary session in its Access to Swim program, which will include a swim assessment of all children and placed in an appropriate class based on swim level and the skills of the children. The program is designed to increase the opportunity for swimmers to gain access to water safety and swim lessons for all of our communities and families. The Access to Swim program is for children ages 3 to 12 years old in Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Melrose Park, and Maywood and/or who are students in Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89, River Forest School District 90, Forest Park School District 91, or Oak Park School District 97. CLICK HERE for more details >

Through this fun run, to be held during school hours on Thursday, May 19 we will promote exercise and fun while raising money for our school.

Register or re-Login to your parent dashboard and complete your child’s student webpage with a PICTURE at getmovinfundhub.com. School Identifier: 6231cfe597ac7

See full flyer that was included in the email highlighting the Bobcat Blog last week.

Student Goals!

· Our goal is to have 100% of all students registered online! It’s easy, FREE, and takes few quick minutes!

· Each student is encouraged to raise $50, but there is no fundraising requirement and registration is free.

· There will be AWESOME & FUN INCENTIVES for the grade with the most participation!!

OUR TOTAL SCHOOL GOAL is $15,000.00

Your donation to Beye School PTO, as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is 100% tax deductible and will only be used for activities that further the charitable mission of the PTO.

Calling all Beye students! Sign up today for the Bobcat Bolt Fun Run!

A fun and healthy way to raise money for the students of

William Beye Elementary

Event Details:

· Event Date: Friday, 05/19/2022

• Final Donation due date: 05/12/2022 11:59 PM

o Donations in the form of cash & checks (in-school donations), should be turned in to the school.

o Please make checks payable to: Beye School PTO

Through this fun run, to be held during school hours on Friday, May 6, we will promote exercise and fun while raising money for our school. Please help us reach our fundraising goal by supporting the Bobcat Bolt 2022. We have teamed up with Get Movin’© to make this event fun and profitable with online mobile friendly technology!

William Beye Elementary is raising money to support student field trips, teacher resources, classroom

enhancements and technology upgrades in the coming year. Signing up is easy—just scan the QR code below, or visit getmovinfundhub.com today!

Follow these 3 Simple Steps to get to goal fast!

1. First Register or re-Login to your parent dashboard and complete your child’s student webpage with a PICTURE at getmovinfundhub.com. School Identifier: 6231cfe597ac7

2. Make an online donation using the red Donate button right away

3. Share with friends and family, they want to help!

· Send 10-15 emails and/or text messages

· Post Facebook or Twitter

· Help your child reach their goal in 24/48 hours

District 97 to Resume Hot Lunch on April 11 - Menus Now Available
Beginning Monday, April 11, all District 97 schools will resume serving hot lunch. The new menus and nutritional information are linked below.

• Breakfast Menu (Brooks, Irving, Julian, Lincoln, Longfellow)
• Breakfast Menu (Beye, Hatch, Holmes, Mann, Whittier)
• Hot Lunch Menu (3-Week Cycle)
• Hot Breakfast/Lunch Nutritional Information

Lunch Reminders

• Meals brought from home must be nut-free.
• Lunch will continue to be served at no cost to families.

BASE Camp registration is off to a great start! We at OPEF know that the mad rush to register for summer camps is over, and now is the time to review all the choices and fill in the gaps! There are still openings in several of our most popular camps such as Frisbee Physics, Anime Quest and Lego Mindstorms. Visit www.opef.org for the latest camp information and to see what’s open. We strive to create camps that are fun and engaging, while simultaneously teaching them about science, technology, engineering, art and math. Give your children a summer camp experience they will never forget!

District 97 believes that all students should be challenged and supported to develop to their maximum potential. For students who demonstrate they may benefit from accelerated placement, we provide opportunities to participate in an instructional setting that is usually reserved for students who are older or in higher grades than the child. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Single subject acceleration
• Whole grade acceleration

In accordance with the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act, District 97 has continued to refine procedures to ensure equitable access to acceleration opportunities for all students. New this year: all students who are grade eligible to take the Illinois Assessment for Readiness (IAR) must participate in the assessment in order to be deemed eligible for acceleration. The IAR is a critically important measure in determining the mastery of grade level standards and must be considered by the school team along with other sources of data.

Referrals for single-subject and whole-grade acceleration will be accepted from March 1 to May 15 of each school year. The general process is outlined HERE.

Information about the District 97 Accelerated Placement Program, including definitions and timelines, can be found at http://www.op97.org/acceleration. We will send additional communication to families as we near the opening of our referral and application windows next year. This information session will provide an avenue for families to share questions as well as receive information about the acceleration process. Please find additional information in the information session flyer.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by visiting our Let’s Talk page (bit.ly/D97LetsTalk) and clicking the button labeled “Acceleration.”

Cheryl Sullivan and Sheila Carter

Co-Interim Beye Principals

csullivan@op97.org

scarter@op97.org

Location: 230 North Cuyler Avenue, Oak Park, IL, USA
Phone: 708- 524-3070
Twitter: @MrsSullivand97