Christian's Weekly Communication
September 7, 2020
Recap of the week!
Wow! We did it! Last week we welcomed each student back to school. In addition, we held several grade level assemblies facilitated by Ms. Gina Harris and I. Teachers expressed high levels of excitement as they welcomed students into their virtual spaces. I would like to personally thank the many parents that complimented our staff, our teachers especially, regarding their preparation, delivery, and high levels of instruction. I’ve shared many emails with our staff that illustrate your support of their work and preparation as the school year began. I am very proud of our teachers and staff. Their limitless energy and ideas have certainly created a great learning experience for our students. Thank you, Julian Teachers and Staff members.
CURRICULUM NIGHT
Parents, our Julian Teachers and Staff welcomes you to our first virtual Curriculum Night. Curriculum Night will commence on Thursday, September 10th at 6:00 p.m. Parents will have the opportunity to meet each of their child’s teachers via the zoom links attached below. The schedule will mimic the daily A/B schedule that your child follows. The night is designed to allow various opportunities to learn about our curriculum and instructional practices. The Curriculum Night schedule will be as follows:
Periods: 1, 2, Advisory, 3, 7, 8, 4, 5, 6, 9.
PLEASE NOTE: Parents will meet with their child's ADVISORY teacher during the Advisory period. Parents will have the opportunity to meet with their students grade level Assistant Principal during their students lunch period.
Please click the attached letter for instructions that provide further information regarding how you might access your child’s teachers during the event.
Zoom Expectations
STAMPED
Dear Families,
We, as a District 97 Middle School Community, are consistently working to uphold our district’s Racial and Educational Equity Policy by, in part, ensuring all students feel welcome and by teaching antiracism within the curriculum.
This year, all of our middle school students at Brooks and Julian will start the school year reading and discussing Stamped by Jason Reynolds. This is the Young Adult version of Kendi Ibram's Stamped From The Beginning. Our statement of inquiry for this unit is: How might learning about the source of racist ideas help you to know the present and yourself? There will be activities, assessments, and other supplemental materials suited for every learning level. The book and related support will provide students with a "lens" for everything they learn for the remainder of the year. Please see a few resources about the book below.
We are excited this project is in partnership with the Oak Park Public Library where the E-Team will lead parent and community book talks. We have many invested District 97 community members who are collaborating to support this effort, our students and staff as we engage in this important work together (e.g., D97 Diversity Council, Climate and Culture Coaches, E-Team, Social Workers, D97 Teaching and Learning Department and D97 Equity Department).
We hope this is the start of several new, engaging and courageous conversations aimed at antiracist teaching and learning in support of our families and students.
Thank you for being the most important part of your child’s education.
Sincerely,
April Capuder, Brooks Middle School Principal
Jeremy E. Christian, Julian Middle School Principal
District 97 Middle School Language and Literature Department
PTO Meeting
PTO-Meeting
Join Zoom Meeting: https://op97-org.zoom.us/j/87376248449
Meeting ID: 873 7624 8449
One tap mobile: +13126266799,,87376248449# US (Chicago)
Wednesday, Sep 9, 2020, 07:15 PM
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Meal Distribution Update
District 97 to Continue Providing Free Meals to All Students Every Tuesday
On Aug. 31, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will extend key waivers that allow school districts to continue serving free meals to all children into the fall months. This will ensure that all District 97 students have access to nutritious food at no cost—regardless of where they are learning or whether they qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Beginning Sept. 8, meals will be provided free of cost to any District 97 student in need. Meal distributions will be held every Tuesday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Longfellow Elementary School (for Julian and feeder schools), 715 S. Highland Ave., and Brooks Middle School (for Brooks and feeder schools), 325 S. Kenilworth Ave.
Each bag of food will contain five breakfasts and five lunches. Click here for the September 2020 menus.
Click here for more information about food service during Trimester 1. If you have any questions, please reach out to the district's food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at cellis@op97.org.
Virtual Parent Circles - Sept. 16 and 23
D97 to Host Virtual Parent Circles on September 16 and 23
District 97 families are invited to join two upcoming Virtual Parent Circles, which will be facilitated in partnership with the E-Team of Oak Park. Events will be held:
- Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (click here to register)
- Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (click here to register)
These sessions were organized to accommodate families who were unable to participate in parent circles during our Aug. 13 Parent University. The sessions are designed to build community among District 97 parents and guardians and provide support as we navigate remote learning.
Back-to-School Photos
Share Your Back-to-School Photos!
District 97 families—we want to see your back-to-school photos! You can share your photos by tweeting us (@OakPark97, use the hashtags #MyD97 and #OakPark97) or emailing them to d97feedback@op97.org.
If you email us photos or videos, we will make sure they comply with the board policies and laws that govern issues such as privacy, appropriate use, etc. before they get posted.