Pierce Downer This Week

Pierce Downer Families-

It was a great week at Pierce Downer School, celebrating Red Ribbon Week and seeing students participate in the fun spirit days planned by Student Council.

When we return on Monday, we will have fun with our Halloween Parade and Class Party! The Parade is happening from 12:30-12:45 (weather depending) and the parties will follow from 12:45-1:45. Please see the graphic below for costume reminders and additional information. There is also a Parade Route below that has the spectator areas in BLUE for anyone who would like to watch!

The day after Halloween, parents are invited to Pierce Downer School on Tuesday, November 1st at 5:30 pm for a presentation on the Illinois School ESSA Designation.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns via email at LWagner@DG58.org or call 630-719-5860.

We are PD!

L. Wagner, Principal

Fall is here and cold and flu season is upon us and we are seeing students with cold and flu symptoms. To prevent the spread of these common viruses in the close confines of the classroom, we are cleaning daily and encouraging handwashing in the class. To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines.

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

· Very stuffy or runny nose and/or a cough

· Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

· Headache

Definitely keep your child at home and consider seeking medical attention if he or she has any of these symptoms:

· Fever (greater than 100 degrees by mouth. Your child may return to school only after his or her temperature has been consistently below 100 degrees, by mouth, for a minimum of 24 hours without medication)

· Vomiting (even once)

· Diarrhea

· Chills

· General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness or muscle aches

· Frequent congested (wet) or croupy cough

· Shortness of breath

· Lots of nasal congestion with frequent blowing of nose

To help prevent the flu and other colds, encourage good hygiene habits:

· Wash hands frequently

· Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth

· Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands

· Avoid close contact with people who are sick

The flu shot is one of the best ways to prevent illness from the seasonal influenza virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults and children receive the flu vaccine each year. Yearly flu vaccination is needed because immunity against the flu wears off over time. In addition, the flu virus strains often change, so the vaccine also changes from year-to-year in order to match the flu viruses expected to be circulating in the community.

Coach Filus will be starting basketball intramurals for grades 1-4. Please use these links to sign up:

1st and 2nd Grade Sign Up

3rd and 4th Grade Sign Up

Thank you to everyone who has purchased a brick so far. We are well on our way to filling our legacy path and reaching our fundraising goal! You can still purchase a brick here. Purchasing your brick now helps us plan the remainder of the fundraising calendar, so don't delay!

PLAY! at Pierce will be hosting a 2023 social event as part of our final fundraising push. If you are interested in joining this committee and helping plan a fun community event, please email Leigh Anne Larsen at leighanne.larsen@gmail.com. If you have ideas about a fun Pierce Downer community event, please fill out this form. Our first meeting will be November 7th at 7:30 PM. We’d love to have you join the team!

We wanted to remind you that early voting is currently taking place at 22 sites across DuPage County. The closest early voting sites to Downers Grove include the Downers Grove Lincoln Center, Westmont Public Library, Yorktown Center - Former Brio Location, and the Woodridge Community Center. Please view DuPage County's website for more information on early voting: https://www.dupagecounty.gov/Election/Voting/37061/.

The PD PROMISE monthly focus continues in October with an emphasis on being RESPECTFUL. Here is an activity you could try at home:

Do some role-playing. Take kids to different situations and see how they will act. It is a good way to show how to be respectful in real life; you may take such examples as sharing, helping other people, or apologizing. Stage different scenarios where your kids will need to find solutions to resolve the situation in the best respectful way.

The Reading Games will return for its ninth year on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 at O'Neill Middle School. The Reading Games is a fun and friendly reading competition open to District 58 students in grades 3-8.

Start forming teams now! Team and individual registration is open now through Nov. 2. Please click here for general Reading Games information, including team and individual registration links. Visit www.readinggamesdg58.com for detailed information.

The Reading Games also seeks question writer volunteers! Click here to learn more information and to sign up to volunteer.

Our latest recipient of the PD Cup is Mrs. Contreras. Mrs. Contreras is a 2nd-Grade Teacher at Pierce Downer School. You will always find Mrs. Contreras with a smile on her face and a positive attitude. Walking into her classroom, it is obvious how much she cares for her students, their education, and well-being.

Thank you Mrs. Contreras for all that you do!

District 58 will place a proposal on the Nov. 8, 2022 ballot to issue $179 million in bonds to improve District 58’s facilities. To learn more about the District 58 referendum, please visit www.dg58.org/referendum.

This website contains helpful information, including the District’s Master Facility Plan, frequently asked questions, ballot language, voter information, tax impact, facility presentation and videos and much more. If you have any questions about the referendum not answered on the website, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Please know, as a school district, we can provide factual information about a referendum, but we cannot advocate for or against it.

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.

October 31

Halloween/Halloween Parties

November 1

ESSA Meeting at Pierce Downer

November 8

NO SCHOOL

Email: LWagner@dg58.org
Website: www.DG58.org
Location: 1436 Grant Street, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630-719-5860
Twitter: @LWagnerDG58