Billing and payment options for all-day kindergarten have been adjusted by semester. The option to pay for the full year has been removed and replaced with the option to pay in full for one semester at a time (5 months). You will still receive the 10% discount if the semester is paid in full by July 31, 2020.

Thank you for engaging in the weekly Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons. Across the past five weeks, parents and students have engaged in learning around each of the CASEL core competencies connected to SEL which are:

· Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.

· Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.

· Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

· Relationship skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.

· Responsible decision-making: The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.

This has been a very different school year. The collaborative relationship between home and school, established and made stronger by this health crisis, has supported students' ability to continue to come together to learn and grow. Remote learning has taken a toll on students and adults. As you enter the summer months, know D303 staff continue to be accessible to you. Do not hesitate to reach out via Let’s Talk or by connecting with your building administration. All previous SEL lessons are available through the D303 Remote Learning for Students. We are hopeful the resources shared will be a continued support to parents/guardians and children across the summer months. If you have any questions on the information provided or are seeking additional support for yourself or child, please contact Patti Palagi, Director Instructional Interventions (patti.palagi@d303.org or (331-228-6457). Additional resources to support you over the summer months are included here:

Coping with Quarantine

Coping During Times of Uncertainty

Self Care is defined as the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress (Additional resources: Self Care: CDC, 40 Things You Should Do for Yourself During Self-Quarantine, 25 Simple Self-Care Tools for Parents and Parents Self-Care: Prioritizing Your Own Well-Being Benefits your Whole Family

Returning Student Registration for 2020-2021 has moved to an online format and is due on or before June 5, 2020. In years past, parents completed the necessary paperwork in paper format. This year, all acknowledgments and authorizations are contained in a single electronic, online registration form that will be easily accessible from most electronic devices (computer, Chromebook, and Smartphones).

Parents can sign into the Returning Student Online Registration form using their Home Access Center (HAC) credentials, select individual students, and complete their registration. The form will be located in the Parents/Community menu of the District website.

Registration fees for elementary and middle school will be available in PushCoin beginning April 27, and billed to reflect the early bird discount of $10.00 if paid by May 22. High School fees will be available in June. For families who may qualify for a fee waiver, and are not directly certified by the state, a 2020-2021 district fee waiver application will be available on the District 303 website in July, accessible from the Parent/Community menu.

For assistance with PushCoin questions, please email deborah.pauling@d303.org

For assistance with Home Access Center (HAC), please email madonna.strom@d303.org

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) launched the Pandemic EBT application for families on May 1 at https://abe.illinois.gov/abe/access/. P-EBT is a new special benefit that can help families buy food for their school age children who would normally receive National School Lunch Program (NSLP) free or reduced-priced meals when schools are in session. All families with school age children who attend schools approved for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) are eligible for the benefits as they receive NSLP meals at no charge.

Families that currently receive SNAP benefits do not need to apply for P-EBT benefits. These additional P-EBT benefits will be loaded into Illinois LINK EBT accounts along with regular SNAP benefits. Families who do not currently receive SNAP benefits but do have children who receive NSLP free or reduced-priced meals will need to apply directly with IDHS. The fastest way for families to receive benefits is to complete the application for P-EBT available online (Click “Apply for Benefits” at the link.) A paper application in English and Spanish is also available and can be submitted by email to DHS.FCS.PEBT@illinois.gov. IDHS created a flyer to help families with the application process. We are asking NSLP sponsors to share this flyer with their families.

ISBE is working in partnership with IDHS to ensure that this validation is available for all NSLP sponsors, both public and non-public. Thank you to all the schools that participate in the NSLP for submitting data by the April 17 deadline. We are asking that you please continue to verify that count, so that all families who are eligible can access the additional financial support provided by P-EBT. Instructions for this crucial verification can be found online.

If NSLP sponsors need assistance with the data submission/update, please email the ISBE Nutrition Department at cnp@isbe.net. If families need technical assistance with the application, please direct them to email IDHS at DHS.FCS.PEBT@illinois.gov.

Nutrition Department, Illinois State Board of Education
100 N. First St., Springfield, IL 62777
cnp@isbe.net, www.isbe.net/nutrition

If your child has medication in the health office that you need to retrieve at this time, please email one of the Norton Creek Nurses for assistance. The Norton Creek Nurses' contact information is listed below.

Brittany Jensen, Certified School Nurse: Brittany.Jensen@d303.org

Cathy Leone, RISE Nurse: Cathy.Leone@d303.org

Sumana Parveen, Health Office Nurse: Sumana.Parveen@d303.org

Virginia Wicinski, Health Office Nurse: Virginia.Wicinski@d303.org

As District 303 has already explained, when guidance for public access to school settings is received from the Illinois Department of Public Health/CDC, details on a general medication pick up process/timeframe will be shared. Thank you for your understanding and support at this time.

Dear Future Orchestra Families,

All students entering 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade next fall are welcome to participate in Norton Creek's elementary string program! Our goal is to provide a meaningful learning experience in music and develop individual student achievement and appreciation of music. The elementary instrument music program also provides excellent preparation for the middle school and high school orchestras.

There are four string instruments for students to choose from.Click on these links to learn more about each one: violin, viola, cello, and the string bass.

As we are not currently in school, the introduction to the Orchestra Program will be different this year (all online and not face to face)!

To find out more about Norton Creek's Orchestra program, and to enroll you student in orchestra, click on the links below:

New Orchestra Information/ Registration Presentation

A screencastify version of the presentation is available at this link below:

Screencastify of Orchestra Information Presentation

If you have any questions about the Orchestra Program, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Elisabeth Mezera

Elisabeth.Mezera@d303.org

Mrs. Rita Borkowski

Rita.Borkowski@d303.org

P.S. Make sure to check your email inboxes early next week! We will be sending an email with information for a google meet "Orchestra Read Aloud" for all interested orchestra students! Stay tuned :)