Pierce Downer This Week
February 9, 2024
Pierce Downer Families,
It has been great to have a break in the colder temps and I think we ALL needed the sunshine! With the sunshine and warmer temperatures, it is a nice time to remind families the expectations for arrival and dismissal. Prior to the school day, students should not be arriving to school before 8:05 am and the playground/blacktop/basketball court are closed. Similarly, after school, students should be going home and checking in with parents before returning to school grounds.
NWEA MAP Reports
I am so proud of all of the hard work our students put into our winter NWEA MAP assessment! The district sent home the digital reports today. If you have not yet received your report, please check your spam folder. If you are still not seeing your child's report, email me and I will be happy to help troubleshoot. If you would prefer a paper copy, you can also reach out to me or your child's teacher to have that provided.
Parent Teacher Conferences
The 2nd round of Parent Teacher Conferences finished up on Wednesday evening. Thank you to both our staff and families for working together to support our students. While conferences are a great time to collaborate, please remember you are always welcome to schedule time with myself or teachers to address any concerns.
Personal Electronic/Technology Devices Policy in DG58
It is amazing how far technology has come over the last decade and continues to advance. I recognize the value technology has not just in education, but our world. However, I am hoping we can work together to remind students that during the school day, personal electronic devices should be turned off or silenced and out of sight. This includes wearable devices if they become distracting to the learning environment. Students should not be using phones, Apple Watches, or other devices to send or receive text messages or phone calls during the school day.
March 19, 2024
We are pleased to report that Tuesday, March 19 will now be an in-person/regular school day, instead of an e-Learning Day. The school day was originally scheduled as an e-Learning Day because several District 58 schools were scheduled to be used as polling places. District 58 closes its buildings when its schools are designated as polling places to provide for the safety and security of its students and staff. After numerous conversations with the DuPage County Election Board, the District was notified that none of its schools will be used as a polling site for the Primary Election on March 19, 2024. Therefore, students will be in school on that day instead of having an e-Learning Day. The District has no control over when its schools are designated as polling places but will continue to advocate that locations other than District 58 schools be utilized.
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
Culture Shock Chicago PTA Assembly
Thank you PD PTA for providing a fun, engaging assembly for our entire building! Culture Shock Chicago performances allow performers to share their art form through dance and music-exposing audience members to the rich history of hip hop and its many cultural influences. Performing throughout the Chicagoland area and touring the US and Canada, Culture Shock is deeply committed to creating innovative and thought provoking works that challenge the perception of hip hop and concert dance. This assembly had students and staff on their feet and dancing along!
Grove Children's Preschool 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.
Adopt-a-Firefighter
PD Cup Recipient
Congratulations to Ms. Minardi on being this week's PD Cup recipient. Ms. Minardi is the teacher librarian at Pierce Downer School. In her role, Ms. Minardi shares her love for reading with all students. She showcases student achievement on the AR Wall of Fame and has a passion for helping all students find their love for reading.
Thank you Ms. Minardi for ALL that you do!
BRIDGES Math Support for Families (click the picture to access the link)
New Services for Mental Health Resources
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:
Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists, counselors) to seek out treatment options
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.
Raptor Visitor Management System
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 13
General PTA Meeting
February 14
Student Council Spirit Day: Wear Red, Pink or Purple
Safe2Help Illinois
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.