We're So Excited!

Welcome Back Sward Families:

A quick reminder, our district will continue a “meet and greet” supply drop off time at all of our schools. The purpose of this event will be to meet your child’s upcoming teacher, take a sneak peek into the classroom, and drop off supplies. This event will occur at Sward School tomorrow, Tuesday, August 17th from 12:30-2:00. This is a drop-in event, so please stop by at your leisure. If you ordered a school supply kit through PTA and are having it shipped to the school, it is scheduled be in your child’s classroom on the first day of school. You are, of course, still welcome to come meet your child's teacher during this special time.***Special note to kindergarten parents: Since you will not know who your child's teacher is until following the kindergarten screening appointments, please do not bring your child's supplies on this day. The kindergarten teachers will be centrally located together in the gym so you'll be able to meet all 3 of them at the same time during the 12:30-2:00 time slot on August 17.

A new feature to the supply drop off time will be an evening option as well. If you are unable to visit school during the day on August 17, you are welcome to drop your child's supplies off between 6:00-7:30 p.m. However, please note that not all of the teachers will be available during this time. If your child's teacher is not available during this time, there will be a designated spot to place your child's materials. Please ensure your child's supplies are labeled. If you are in need of a school supply list, please click HERE.

I am looking forward to welcoming all of you for our first day of school for grades 1-5 on Wednesday, August 18th. This is a half day of school, so students will not eat lunch on that day. Students will be in attendance from 8:30 until 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 18th. (The typical hours on a school day are 8:30-3:20.) The first day can sometimes be stressful for the students as well as their parents. To help alleviate some of the stress, we will have all staff outside the building that day. Non-classroom teachers will have an alphabetical list to assist you in finding your line-up spot on our campus.

“New to Sward” parents are welcome to join our PTA in the Sward Faculty Room from 8:30-9:30 on Friday, August 20th for the Boohoo/Booyah Breakfast. This event is sponsored by the Sward PTA and will be a time for new parents to connect with other new parents as well as a time to meet our PTA Executive Board and hear about the variety of exciting volunteer opportunities that are available to you. Once your students have gone into the building, come around to the front doors on Brandt Ave. and our office staff will direct you.

Saturday, August 21st will be the D123 Back to School Extravaganza! We hope to see many of you at Oak Lawn- Hometown Middle School for the fun. This event begins at 11:00 and lasts until 1:30. There will be entertainment, games, food, and community organizations. It is a great time to reacquaint your family with others you may not have seen in awhile.

To ensure a smooth start to the school year, please refer to the drop off map and the procedures for parking and drop off that are included. Mornings can be a hectic time and following the procedures will lead to a calm and safe start to your child’s day.

Additional information:

• Open House will be held Wednesday, August 25 from 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Enjoy the few remaining days of summer and we look forward to welcoming you back to school!

Mrs. Candy Kramer

Sward School Principal

Some bits of information to keep in mind:

• Our Sward Eagles did a PHENOMENAL job with the masks last year... I am sure they will do a great job again. Please be sure to send your child with a clean mask each day. Please remember the masks with the vent valves are not permitted. If a mask breaks or is struggling to stay up, no worries... we have spares to provide to your children.
• We will continue to follow the guidance for quarantine as well as the travel guidance. If you call your child in to be absent from school, please remember that you will be asked quite a few questions that are related to Covid. These are routine questions that are being asked uniformly throughout the district.
• While some hand sanitizers have a nice scent, 20 different ones all at the same time kind of don't. We do have hand sanitizer in multiple locations throughout the building. However, if you would like to send your student with one of their own, please send them with an unscented one if at all possible.
• Refillable water bottles are highly encouraged. Please make sure your child's is clearly labeled with their name. Please ensure it is filled with water when they come to school. These tend to spill throughout the day and make the floors very sticky if they are filled with things like juice or kool-aid.
• While we will not be collecting the pink self certification slips to start out the school year, the students will still have their temperatures scanned as they enter the building.
• Students will be going outside throughout the school day. Please ensure they are dressed for the weather. Sunscreen might be a good idea on the very sunny days.

Your children may mention that they see some smiling new faces in the halls of Sward!

We are excited to introduce:

• Mrs. Keblusek- our new Library Teacher
• Mrs. Lee- our new Art Teacher
• Ms. Stephens- our new English Language Resource Teacher
• ...and not a new face, but in a new place... Ms. Hathaway is teaching third grade this year!

Your Sward PTA is looking forward to an amazing 2021-2022 school year. Please take a few minutes to fill out this quick, anonymous survey and help our Sward PTA plan for the year ahead. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/swdptasurvey

Our PTA Sward Family Block Party is just around the corner. It will occur on Friday, August 27. One of the many fun activities planned for this evening event is a cake walk. In order for many families to win a cake, we are looking for volunteers to bring a cake to be awarded to a lucky winner. Please ensure that the cake is store bought and includes a list of ingredients. If you would like to volunteer to bring a cake, please sign up through this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0449ACA628A5FF2-block1

Hi Preschool Parents,

Welcome to Sward! Please see below for information of dates and times.

Tuition Preschool Meet and Greet: Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 17th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. we would like to invite each of our Tuition Preschool families to attend our Preschool Meet and Greet. This will be located on the west side of the Sward School property. It is a great opportunity to meet the preschool teachers, other preschool families, join the D123 Preschool Association, and continue to build the vital home-school partnership that drives student success.

August "Open House" Visitations: The Tuition Preschool Program will kick off the 2021-2022 school year by offering families open house visitation opportunities on Thursday, August 19th and Friday, August 20. For these visitation times, please park on 50th Ct. and enter directly through Door 5. Masks are required for all. Listed below are the Preschool Open House dates and times. The actual student classes will officially begin on Monday, August 23rd for those classes that meet on Mondays and on Tuesday, August 24th for those Tuesday/Thursday programs.

Preschool Open House visitations dates and times:

• 2 yr 9 month T/Th Morning session- Thursday, August 19th from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
• 3 year old M/W/F Morning session- Friday, August 20th from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
• 3 year old T/Th Afternoon session- Thursday, August 19th from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• 4 year old M/W/F Afternoon session - Friday, August 20th from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• 4 year old M-F Morning session- Thursday, August 19th from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
• 4 year old M-F Afternoon session- Thursday, August 19th from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
• 4 year old M-F Full Day session- Thursday, August 19th from 9:00-11:00 a.m. OR 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Daily Start and End Times: The morning session of the preschool program begins at 8:45 a.m. and concludes at 11:10 a.m. The afternoon session of the preschool program begins at 12:45 p.m. and concludes at 3:10 p.m.

Pick Up and Drop Off Procedures: To ensure a safe and efficient pick up and drop off, all Tuition Preschool Students will be entering and exiting the school from Door 5 located on the South face of the school adjacent to the faculty parking lot. We ask that all Tuition Preschool families park on 50th Ct. to the West of the school and walk their children up to Door 5. The Faculty Parking Lot is reserved for staff parking only.

Thank you!

• Effective immediately, students, staff, and visitors will be required to properly wear face coverings while indoors in all District 123 schools and on all District 123 school buses.

• Families should continue to keep their children at home if they display any signs of infectious illness or have a temperature above 100.4.

• Students will:

• Return to in-person learning and regularly scheduled extracurricular programs.

• Continue to have dedicated time to practice hand-washing.

• Be given age-appropriate instruction on proper respiratory etiquette.

• Practice social distancing to the extent possible.

• Staff will:

• Use temperature checks during the start of the school day.

• Isolate students within the building if they begin to display symptoms of infection.

• District 123 will:

• Implement a voluntary COVID-19 screening and testing program in partnership with the University of Illinois and the SHIELD program.

• Utilize enhanced cleaning, disinfection, and ventilation.

• Continue to follow quarantine, isolation, and contact tracing protocols as recommended by the CDC/IDPH/ISBE.

Exciting news: Both breakfast and lunch will be available to our students at no cost throughout the 2021-2022 school year!

Breakfast: As we begin this school year, breakfasts in D123 will NOT be served in the traditional fashion. Instead, as attendance is being taken in the morning, the children will also be asked if they would like to order a breakfast for the next day. At the end of the school day, the breakfast bags will be distributed to the children to take home with them and eat (at home) the following morning.

Lunch: This year, there will be 2 meal choices for lunchtime. As always, your child is welcome to either order a lunch or bring a lunch from home. If you are sending a lunch from home, please know that soda is not allowed during this time.

Please click HERE for the map that shows the traffic pattern and zones for the drop off and pick up of the students. Please note that there are "no parking" zones for the morning's drop off. These zones will remain "no parking" for the entire school year. If you do wish to help your child out of your car, please go to one of the parking zones which are marked on the map.

Children will enter and exit the school building through various assigned doors. Please note the following doors and assignments:

• Kindergarten and Grade 5 students will enter and exit on the west side of the building on 50th Ct. through door 6.
• Grade 1 and 2 students will enter and exit on the north side of the building on 98th St. through door 11.
• Grade 3 and 4 students will enter and exit on the east side of the building on Brandt Ave. through door 1.

Families will have the opportunity to sign up for Chromebook Insurance, and are encouraged to do so, prior to September 30, 2021 at the cost of $25.00 per child. This can be completed through Skyward Family Access. If you have any questions, please call the Sward main office at (708)423-7820.

Before and after school care is offered, for a fee, through the Oak Lawn Park District. It is housed at Sward School. An informational flyer can be accessed by clicking HERE. Please click HERE for additional information and registration details.

Website: d123.org/sward
Location: 9830 Brandt Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL, USA
Phone: 708-423-7820
Twitter: @d123sward

Email: ckramer@d123.org
Website: d123.org/sward
Phone: 708-423-7820
Twitter: @MrsKramerD123