Fairmount Families Week END Report

With October quickly coming to an end, we are proud of the incredible learning taking place each day at Fairmount. Our Falcons are making great connections, inferences and summations, and it is a pleasure to observe.

As we gear up for our Halloween celebration and parade on Monday, October 31st, please be sure you have reviewed the day and expectations with your child(ren) that have been included in the Week "End" Report for the last few weeks. Please support your child in ensuring they can navigate the school day in their costume and if needed, make small modifications to support their day. With that, costumes should not be "added to" during your child's school day, which would include any make-up application, aerosol hair/color spray, etc.

With the shifts in the weather, including an increase in rain and lower temperatures, we are seeing an increase in families accessing our car line. I kindly ask you to review the procedures (reshared later in this newsletter) to help support the safety and efficiency of the car line. If you have a family member or caregiver that accesses the car line (and does not have access to the procedures), we kindly ask you to inform them of the procedures of the car line.

During the upcoming week, our Student Council will be sponsoring a Spirit Week. Please see below for additional details for each day of next week.

Wishing everyone an enjoyable weekend!

Sincerely,

Lisa Niforatos, Principal

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @Fairmount58.

Please be sure to check out the "Lens into Learning" and "Celebration" sections later in the newsletter for photo highlights from the week.

Kindergarten Parade - 8:30 a.m.

Kindergarten students will parade out Door 3 (west side of the building) onto the blacktop and parade around the building. Their parade will end at Door 4, where students will re-enter the building.

1st-6th Grade Parade - 12:40 p.m.

1st-6th Grade students will parade out of Door 4 (north side of the building) onto the blacktop and parade around the building. Their parade will end at Door 3, where students will re-enter the building.

In the event of inclement weather, the parade may be canceled. A communication will be sent should this occur.

We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween at school on Monday, October 31st. A reminder that since Halloween falls on a Monday, we will follow the typical early-release schedule, and students will be dismissed at 2:00 p.m.

In an effort to support your planning, I wanted to share a few important details ahead of time.

Costumes

All students are invited to wear a costume to school on Monday, October 31st. As you prepare your child for this day, please take note of the following costume guidelines:

Costume Guidelines Kindergarten-6th Grade:

• Costumes should allow for safe classroom navigation and participation as students will be in their costumes for the whole school day

• Costume/Look Alike Weapons of any kind are NOT allowed at school

• Costumes should not glorify violence and/or be offensive to any culture/group

• Costumes should not impair vision or ability to walk (costume masks will only be allowed during the outdoor parade)

• Costumes should allow children to be comfortable in the weather/temperature as students will go outside for recess, as well as the Halloween parade

Parade and Classroom Celebrations

Parents/guardians are welcome to view our outdoor Halloween parade (weather permitting), which will take place at 8:30 a.m. for our kindergarten students and 12:40 p.m. for our 1st-6th grade students. Details regarding our parade route can be found above. Classroom parties will take place immediately after the parade. In the event of inclement weather, the outdoor parade may be canceled and parade spectators will not be allowed in the building for a modified student parade.

Kindergarten

At 8:30 a.m., kindergarten students will participate in an outdoor parade (weather permitting). Parents interested in viewing the parade should plan to stand along the parade route, which will be sent out prior to October 31st. After the parade, the students will take part in the kindergarten classroom party from 8:50 - 9:30 a.m. Half-day students will be dismissed at their regular time of 11:20 a.m. OKEEP students will continue to wear their costumes for the remainder of the day.

1st-6th Grade

At 12:40 p.m. 1st through 6th-grade students will participate in an outdoor parade (weather permitting). Parents are welcome to view the parade by standing along the parade route, which will be sent out prior to October 31st. 1st through 6th Grade students will take part in their classroom parties immediately following the parade (1:00-1:45 p.m.).

Additional information

There will be no food or drink provided or distributed to students during the celebration. This includes any goody bag that students may bring to school to distribute to classmates. If your child would like to bring a “favor” to share with his/her classmates, this must be a non-edible item such as a pencil, stickers, or another small token, and have one for each member of the class. This is, of course, completely optional.

The PTA has coordinated 3-4 parent volunteers for our Halloween classroom celebrations. Specific guidelines related to volunteering have been shared with confirmed volunteers. Please note that parents/guardians who are not confirmed volunteers will not be permitted in the building for the classroom celebrations. All confirmed volunteers will need to check in at Door 1 with our office staff and receive a volunteer/visitor badge.

Thank you for your attention to the above guidelines and details, which will support a safe and eventful Halloween celebration for our students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our annual PTA Trunk or Treat. It was a wonderful time and the creativity shown was outstanding.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Library Pumpkin Decorating. We saw an awesome amount of creativity in this fun event.

Please check out this video created by our Teacher Librarian, Mrs. Stroud:

Book Character Pumpkin Decorating

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/.

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 the 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.

As the weather grows a bit colder and varies significantly from day to day, please be sure to send your child(ren) to school with the appropriate coat/gear that supports them being comfortable outside during recess, arrival/dismissal and P.E.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Lisa Niforatos (Principal) or Jen Glynn (Social Worker) if you do not have access to the resources to secure cold-weather gear for your child(ren).

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.

The PTA is excited to share information about the Fairmount 58 Plays fundraisers. Money raised will support Fairmount's fun, new, innovative playground. Show your Falcon Pride and order your yard sign today or purchase Fairmount 58 Plays spirit wear here.

Cozzi Corner will provide the next Fairmount School Fun Lunch on Friday, November 4th. Meals are $5.00 and must be preordered by Sunday, October 30th. No "day of" purchase option is available. You can order at: https://fairmount.h1.hotlunchonline.net/frontend.php

If you have any questions, contact Tiffany Melnyk (tiffanyjoy21@gmail.com).

Reminder: Students need to provide their own drink on Fun Lunch days. Fun Lunch is the meal only. Remind your student to bring their water bottle with them to lunch or send an alternate drink from home. If you purchased milk for your student this year, milk will still be available to your student on Fun Lunch days.

We are so glad you are part of our school community! Whether this is your child's first or seventh year at Fairmount, we wanted to provide a fun way to get to know the many members of our teaching and school staff.

We hope you enjoy learning a little more about each of our staff members in the NEW weekly Teacher Feature.

Role at Fairmount: 5th Grade Teacher

# of Years at Fairmount School: 10 Years

Favorite Food or Restaurant: Chipotle

If she is not at school, you can catch Ms. Matson spending time with family and friends, going for bike rides, or trying out new restaurants.

Favorite Quote: "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." -Mother Teresa

The best thing about working with children every day is... Learning new things from them, seeing the "lightbulb" go on, and building relationships.

We will be continuously supporting students (both in and out of the classroom) to Be Ready, In Control, Kind and Safe.

Our current school focus is "Be Ready" and we are so very proud of our students for continuing to demonstrate this important learner behavior.

In the spring of 2022 at our PTA's Trivia Night, 6th-grade student Marlee Kasper won the Principal for the Day experience. Marlee (Miss Kasper) had her experience on Monday, October 24th. Check-out the photos below from her day as principal.

From birthdays (and half birthdays), Positive Office Referrals, Lost Teeth and more... we love celebrating our students at Fairmount.

Thank you for taking a moment to review the car line procedures in support of all students and families:

Please see the diagram below for car line details. The car line queue will form on Blodgett facing south only. Cars may not enter the car line if traveling north on Blodgett. Cars will begin entering the parking lot (in a single line) at 8:05 a.m. for arrival and 2:50 p.m. for dismissal (1:50 p.m. on Mondays).

The cars should stay within the marked yellow solid lines in the Fairmount lot; cars may not pass one another. There will be four drop zones within the parking lot, and staff will be present to assist. Drivers are asked to follow the prompts of the staff members and pull up to the furthest available drop zone. Students should only exit and enter from the passenger side of the vehicle, and drivers should not exit their vehicles. After unloading at arrival, students will walk to their assigned arrival door.

Cars accessing the car line at dismissal are asked to have the pink "Car Line Sign" visible on the passenger side window to assist with the dismissal process. This sign will be available at the Move-In/Meet the Teacher event and will also be available in the entryway vestibule.

To support the flow of the car line, families and students who are arriving or dismissing at Fairmount as walkers are asked to walk behind/around the building to avoid crowding the sidewalk in front of the building.

Important Notes:

• The car line should only be used for student drop-off and pick-up. If you would like to walk your child to and from their arrival/dismissal door, please do not use the car line, as parking is not allowed in the school parking lot during arrival or dismissal.
• Parking will not be allowed during the posted times on Blodgett to support our car line as well as student bussing (7:00-9:00 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m.).

Monday, October 31st, is a 2:00 p.m. dismissal for students. All students are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. according to their regular dismissal plan. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your child to be picked up from Fairmount at 2:00 p.m.

Student Council Spirit Week! (see details above)

10.31: Happy Halloween! Please see above for Halloween/Costume procedures/expectations. Student Dismissal 2:00 p.m.

11.01: Welcome November! Sports Day!

11.02: 3:00 p.m. Run Club (for registered students); Dress like your Teacher Day!

11.03: 3:00 p.m. Bricks for Kids (for registered students); Favorite Color Day!

11.04: Falcon Friday! Wear your spirit wear! PTA Fun Lunch; PJ/Comfy Clothes Day!

11.08: No School - Election Day

11.09: ESSA Parent Forum at 5:30 p.m. (see communication emailed on 10/27)

11.23-11.25: No School - Thanksgiving Break

2022-2023 School Calendar

Calendar Highlights:

• Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 23-25, 2022

• Winter Break: Dec. 19, 2022 -Jan. 2, 2023

• Spring Break: March 27-31, 2023

• Last Day of School: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 (if no emergency days are used)

Please note that information BELOW this point is repeated information that has been shared in a previous newsletter(s), but is still made available here for your reference.

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.

If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please call the Fairmount Office at 630.719.5830 to report his/her absence. If you call before or after office hours, you are welcome to leave attendance information on the school's voicemail. We kindly ask that you do not email attendance information to the teacher or principal.

If your child's dismissal plan will be different (e.g. not taking the bus), please communicate this to both the school secretaries and classroom teacher as promptly as possible. This is especially important for our younger students, so we can support their dismissal process. In the event of a last-minute change, we ask that you please call the school office (630-719.5830) as staff members may not check their emails prior to daily dismissal.

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.

Learn more about Safe2Help and District 58's crisis resources.

Visit the Safe2Help website.

While a student can bring their electronic device (including cell phones and AirPods) to school, all non-district-issued technologies are to be silenced and out of sight throughout the school day. Students are allowed to wear smartwatches, but they are to be silenced during the school day. The district-provided technology will be utilized for students to participate in lessons and complete assignments. Please be sure to go over the expectations with your student as the policy was recently amended.

District 58 has published the 2022-23 Schools of 58: A Handbook for Families. Please take time to review this important handbook with your child, as it offers an overview of the District’s policies, procedures, resources and student expectations. During the first full week of school, all families will receive a handbook receipt to sign, acknowledging that they and their child reviewed and understood the handbook. Please sign and return the handbook receipt at Curriculum Night or sooner. Here are the links to this year’s family handbook. If you need a print copy, please contact the school office at 630-719-5830, and we can print you a copy.

• English: 2022-23 District 58 Family Handbook

• Español: 2022-23 Manual Familias del Distrito 58

Lisa Niforatos, Principal lniforatos@dg58.org

Jillian DeRango, Secretary jderango@dg58.org

Jill Darrah, Secretary jdarrah@dg58.org

Email: lniforatos@dg58.org
Website: www.dg58.org/fa/
Location: 6036 Blodgett Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.719.5830
Twitter: @Fairmount58