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Mustang Memo - 8/31/20

Mustang Memo- 8/31/20

Message from Principal Ali

Dear Mann Families,


I want to start off by thanking all the volunteers that assisted us in getting student supplies picked up on Thursday. It was a hot and sticky day but with your teamwork, we were able to get materials for our students for day 1. Thank you!


Mann School Curriculum Night - September 15

Please be sure to save the date for Mann School Curriculum Night. As in years past, each individual homeroom will present pertinent information of what students will be learning throughout the year. These presentations will last around thirty minutes and be staggered throughout the evening so families can attend multiple sessions with ease for all of their Mann Mustangs.


Times for each grade level are listed below:


K - 5:00

1 - 5:30

2 - 6:00

3 - 6:30

4 - 7:00

5 - 7:30


Attendance

Starting tomorrow, families should anticipate teachers taking attendance as they usually would. Teachers will take attendance in the morning and mark students tardy if they arrive after 8:10. The office will be giving families a call if your learner has been marked absent to ensure they are okay and determine their plan for that day. If for any reason you're planning on having your child leave early, please notify your child's teacher and they can mark it appropriately within our system.


Trial run

This past week, our staff did a trial run for the first day of school to ensure any and all of the kinks we could foresee were worked out. This included a variety of items such as adding alternative hosts to our zoom meetings, transferring host status & utilizing the features in zoom. Our staff feels great about where we're at and are excited to get the year started!

I share this information with you because even the best-laid plans can have something go wrong. Zoom has been constantly adding new features and settings for us to explore and understand its functionality. We expect to knock remote learning out of the park but please be patient with us if there are technical issues that arise. We have an entire team of people on our end that are ready to jump in and help if needed.


Help Desk

Our OP97 Helpdesk is ready to assist families if technology issues arise at home. Although our teachers would love to stop and assist you, many will likely be in the middle of teaching making it tough to problem solve at the moment of the issue. Please contact helpdesk@op97.org and they may be able to assist you a little quicker. The helpdesk has also created a troubleshooting document for families which is linked below.


OP97 At Home Troubleshooting Tips


Please feel free to reach out to me at hali@p97.org if you have any questions or concerns.



Sincerely,


Principal Ali

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Important Dates

9/1 - First day of school

9/15 - Virtual Curriculum Night


Virtual New Family Welcome - TBD

D97 Back-to-School Fact Sheet

Check out this fact sheet (or click the image below) for important D97 Back-to-School information!
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Share Your Back-to-School Photos!

Share Your Back-to-School Photos!
District 97 families—we want to see your back-to-school photos! You can share your photos by tweeting us (@OakPark97, use the hashtags #MyD97 and #OakPark97) or emailing them to d97feedback@op97.org.

If you email us photos or videos, we will make sure they comply with the board policies and laws that govern issues such as privacy, appropriate use, etc. before they get posted.
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Parent University Recordings

On Aug. 13, District 97 held its first Virtual Parent University to provide families with tips and tools to support students with remote learning this fall. Recordings of these sessions are available at https://www.op97.org/remotelearning/parent-university.

School Physicals and Immunizations

Although District 97 is starting the 2020-2021 school year with remote learning, the State of Illinois is still requiring all students entering kindergarten, 6th grade, and any students new to District 97 to turn in a current school physical (Certificate of Child Health Examination and Immunization record) with up-to-date immunizations (requirements for the State of Illinois can be found here). If you have not already provided this information when you registered your child, please email your child's' records directly to your school nurse.

Next D97 Meal Distribution: Monday, Aug. 31

Next D97 Meal Distribution: Monday, Aug. 31
Meals will be available to all District 97 students during Trimester 1. Families who pick up meals will be charged based on their lunch status, just as they would if students were onsite.

Each bag of food will contain five breakfasts and five lunches. Click here for the September 2020 menus.

In order to help the D97 Food Service Department determine daily meal counts and reduce waste from excess ordering, we are asking families to complete this short survey by Sept. 1 to indicate whether they plan to pick up meals during the month of September.


  • Next D97 Meal Distribution: Monday, Aug. 31, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Locations: 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.


Click here for more information about food service during Trimester 1. If you have any questions, please reach out to the district's food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at cellis@op97.org.

Pandemic EBT Benefit Deadline Extended to August 31

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) launched the Pandemic EBT to provide nutritional resources to families who have lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. Families will receive money on a new or existing EBT card to help fill the school meals gap. If your child receives free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), or your child attends a school that offers free school meals to all students, then you are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits. Families who have lost their job or wages may now be eligible.

The deadline to apply for this benefit has been extended to Aug. 31, 2020. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please visit https://bit.ly/2DJDEAd.

Free/Reduced Lunch Application

We know that a common experience for many families during this health crisis is the loss of jobs and income. This change in income may qualify your children for free or reduced-price meals. We encourage all families who currently qualify to take a few minutes to complete the National School Lunch application as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please email the district's food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at cellis@op97.org.