Pierce Downer This Week

Pierce Downer Families,

District 58 invites parents and guardians to sign up for winter Parent-Teacher Conferences using the online PowerPTC conference signup system starting Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 at 11 a.m.

• Kindergarten through sixth grade conferences:

  • Feb. 1, 2024 4:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

  • Feb. 7, 2024 4:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

    
    

The signup window will close on Tuesday January 30, 2024 at 11 a.m.

View conference signup instructions here. (para Español: Registro para las reuniones de padres y maestros). If you still have questions, please complete a District 58 Technology Help Desk ticket at dg58.org/help.

If you miss the deadline and would like a conference, please contact your school.

We value communication with parents, but we have received feedback that as a result of strong and ongoing communication between home and school a winter conference may not be necessary for all families. You can simply choose not to sign up. As always, whether you participate in a conference this winter, please know that you can request a conference with your child’s teacher at any time throughout the year. Additionally, your child’s teacher(s) may contact you at any time if they feel a conference would be helpful.

Grove Children’s Preschool will host Open House on Feb. 15

Preschool applications for 2024-25 school year will open Feb. 21

Downers Grove Grade School District 58 invites prospective parents and guardians to attend an open house to learn more about the District’s gold-rated Grove Children’s Preschool program. The Grove Children’s Preschool Open House will take place Thursday, Feb. 15th from 5-6:30 p.m. at Henry Puffer School, 2220 Haddow Ave.

Parents and guardians may tour the preschool, meet the staff, hear an overview of the program, and ask questions throughout the open house.

Grove Children’s Preschool tuition applications for the 2024-25 school year will open online at www.dg58.org/preschool on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 8 a.m. First-priority preschool applications are due Monday, March 11.

Grove Children’s Preschool is located at Henry Puffer School and Indian Trail School (6235 Stonewall Ave.) in Downers Grove. Students attend school five days per week during either a morning or an afternoon session.

With that being said, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at LWagner@DG58.org or call the Pierce Downer Main Office at 630-719-5860.

As always, WE are PD!

Dr. Leland (Lucky) Wagner

This winter we have experienced some very challenging weather. With snow accumulation, dangerously cold temperatures, and extremely icy conditions, our custodians Mr. Suchy and Mr. Urie have worked hard to ensure our buildings are safe, warm, and welcoming for our staff, students, and families. Thank you!

District 58 strives to create a culture of well-being for students, parents, staff and community. To further support this endeavor, the District has invested in an additional support service through ReferralGPS.

ReferralGPS is a service providing assistance to our community in finding local mental health and substance use-related treatment resources. The service compliments the District’s existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS assists families in triage and appointment setting.

School district staff and families may access ReferralGPS in two ways:

1. Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists, counselors) to seek out treatment options

2. Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/DG58 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously

   
   

The platform has the ability to filter by mental health concern, clinician gender/specialty, location, and insurance acceptance. The service is available for all types of private and public insurance options including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, and families that are uninsured or underinsured.

ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored.

Congratulations to Ms. Eilers on being this week's PD Cup recipient! Ms. Eilers is a fifth-grade teacher at Pierce Downer School. Ms. Eilers has the ability to tap into her students interest to build an intrinsic motivation for learning. It is obvious that Ms. Eilers is committed to making her classroom a community where all feel welcome and can be successful.

Thank you Ms. EIlers for ALL that you do!

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.

February 1

100th Day of School

February 2

Fun Lunch: Chic-Fil-A

PD Promise Assembly

February 1 & 7

Parent Teacher Conferences: 4:45pm-8:00pm

February 7

World Read Aloud Day

Student Council Spirit Day: Favorite Color Day

February 8

PTA Presents: Culture Shock Assembly

Sweetheart Dance

February 13

General PTA Meeting

February 14

Student Council Spirit Day: Wear Red, Pink or Purple

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.