Pierce Downer This Week

Welcome Back for the 2023-2024 school year! I am delighted to extend my warmest greetings to each and every member of our Pierce Downer community. The anticipation of heading back to school is high as we head into the final weekend before the start of school on Wednesday, August 23. The start of a new school year is a time of renewed energy and fresh beginnings. I am truly thrilled to begin the school year with all of you.

Our building is full of dedicated educators and staff that work tirelessly to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment that supports all of our students each day. We are here to serve our students and families so that each child can reach their full potential.

Our families' partnership and involvement in their child's education are vital components to the success of the student. The support at home, engagement with the school, and open lines of communication contribute to the growth, achievement, and success of our students and the school as a whole. Thank you for trusting us with your children each day.

I look forward to seeing everyone at our teacher meet-and-greet/supply drop-off this Monday from 2:45-3:30, and also on the opening day. Please see our Welcome Handbook attached further below for some valuable information!

As always, WE are PD!

Dr. Leland (Lucky) Wagner

This year Pierce Downer has the exciting opportunity to pilot a schedule that includes three lunch and three recess periods. Our goal is to reduce the overall number of students within each lunch and recess period in order to maximize staff supervision and increase student safety. This is also a part of our continued efforts to support positive student behavior. It is important to note that as with any pilot, if we do not find success by implementing this model, we will revert to our typical lunch and recess schedule. The pilot schedule is as follows:

• Kindergarten and First Grade will eat lunch at 11:20 am
• Second, Third, and Fourth Grade will eat lunch at 11:40 am
• Fifth and Sixth Grade will eat lunch at 12:00 pm

We hope your family is excited for a great start to the 2023-24 school year! Please sign and return the attached receipt indicating that you have reviewed the Schools of District 58 Handbook with your child(ren). The form is due by our school’s Curriculum Night, which is Tuesday, September 5th. You may also return these forms to school anytime before Curriculum Night.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this form!

Our arrival and dismissal procedures will look similar to previous years, with some added structure to ensure a safe and orderly process going into the building. Our RISE, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-grade students will have assigned lines by their entrance doors. You will know by your class identifiers listed below:

Acevedo and Barc: AB

Boyce: 1B

Breault: 1Br

Contreras: 2C

Harland: 2H

deBuhr: 3d

Murphy: 3M

Kindergarten will continue to go in through the front entrance, but will now line up on the side pathway. Mrs. Coyne's class will line up on the C-line and Mrs. Grisamore's class on the G-line.

The pictures below should help provide a reference!

District 58 is pleased to continue using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff. Community High School District 99 currently utilizes the same platform on its campuses.

Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present photo identification, such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.

The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district.

August 21

Meet and Greet/Supply Drop-Off 2:45-3:30

Back-to-School Bash 3:30-5:30

August 23

First Day of School!

FULL DAY

September 5

Curriculum Night

6-7:30pm

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.