Superintendent News
Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95
A Message from Dr. Kelley Gallt
November 30, 2021
Dear District 95 Families,
I hope you and your loved ones enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and break!
As we approach the end of the first half of the school year and the season where inclement weather sometimes impacts our schedules, you may wish to read the article below ("As We Approach Winter...") which discusses how we will handle severe weather and other emergency situations.
Please also be sure to read our Health & Wellness update as we do our part in keeping everyone as healthy as possible in these final weeks of school before winter break.
In this season of giving and joy, I hope you will join me in celebrating the many ways our District 95 community takes care of one another. The high school's recent "12 Days of Giving" collections are such an example and this effort was supported by families across the district. Donations to Joanie's Closet through their boot and snow pant collection is another example. As I reflect on these examples of how our community gives selflessly, I continue to be so very impressed by the generous spirit and caring attitude of our community! Thank you for all you do to make our District 95 learning community a kind and thoughtful place.
Best wishes for a safe and healthy December!
Sincerely,
Dr. Kelley Gallt
As We Approach Winter...
- If we believe situations will improve within a short period of time, we will call for a delayed start to the school day. This means the day starts two hours later than normal, but dismissal is at the usual time.
- In situations where we feel the inclement conditions will persist throughout the day, we will call for a traditional snow day and one of the emergency days will then be used at the end of the school year.
There may be other situations that arise and prevent us from using one or more of our schools (for example, a broken water main). In such situations, we will follow these guidelines:
- If we believe situations will improve within a short period of time, we will call for a delayed start to the school day.
- In situations where we feel the situation will persist throughout the day, but where staff can access a district facility, we will call for a synchronous learning day.
These guidelines are intended to help families plan in advance for certain situations. As it is impossible to anticipate or predict every emergency situation, we reserve the right to follow the best judgement of the administration given the situation at hand. Thank you for your understanding!
Health & Wellness Updates
Contact Tracers
To support administrators and nursing staff, the district has hired two contact tracers who will assist in making calls to parents/guardians when a COVID exposure has occurred. Please be mindful that you may receive a call from a school administrator, nurse, or contact tracer should the situation arise.
Vaccination Record Submission
Families who choose to submit proof of vaccination for their student(s) may do so in one of the following ways:
Send a copy of your student’s vaccination record to school (copies of vaccination records should be dropped off in the Health Office)
Submit a copy of your student’s vaccination record through the secure Health Form Dropbox; the dropbox link can be found HERE (please email your school nurse to alert them that you are submitting through the dropbox if choosing this platform)
Sending a copy of your student’s vaccination record via email to your school nurse
Please note that having vaccination information on file expedites the contact tracing process, should your student be identified as a close contact to a confirmed COVID case.
Note that students who are unvaccinated will be required to quarantine following certain exposures to confirmed cases, per Lake County Health Department and state school exclusion requirements.
Elementary Lunch Update
As we continue to see cases rise, necessitating an increase in the number of students quarantined, the District will shift to 6 feet of physical distancing at lunch for the next few weeks of school (starting Monday 12/6/2021). This is intended to be a short-term mitigation measure due to the impact on learning spaces and supervision needs, which will be further discussed at the next District Health & Wellness Team meeting. This shift will result in some instructional areas (such as gyms or library spaces) being impacted, which will vary depending on the building.
Thanks for Visiting!
Last month we opened the old May Whitney Elementary School to the public (previously also known as Ela Township HS, Ela-Vernon HS, Lake Zurich HS, LZ Junior High, and LZ Middle School North) for guided tours prior to the demolition of the building in early 2022. We had nearly 500 people come through the building, often with family or friends, and most with a plethora of stories to share about their time in the school - regardless of the generation!! It was truly a joy to meet so many families and to hear their amazing stories of friendship, learning, and life.
In the months to come we will be publishing photos and video clips from the building for those who were not able to tour in person. We are also providing an opportunity for former students/staff to share their stories. If you attended the school and would like to share a memory (please note, your memory may be shared publicly), PLEASE CLICK HERE.
The decorative elements of the oldest section of the building are being taken down and stored, possibly to be used elsewhere in the district. We will also facilitate the sale of commemorative bricks from the old building and will share more information on this when available.
A Day in the Class of…Mrs. Papaleo, Spencer Loomis
In this feature article, “A Day in the Class of…”, we will highlight the Superintendent as a member of a classroom for one full period. A different school and class will be highlighted each month, allowing readers a view into the classroom from a new perspective! Enjoy!
I had an incredible time in Mrs. Papaleo’s first grade classroom at Spencer Loomis! Everyone was assigned Cadet Partners and were challenged to complete three different missions. Together we found success in solving different math story problems related to representing tens and ones in teen numbers, telling time, and using mathematical pictures to represent numbers and solve equations. I was so impressed with how each team worked hard to complete the missions in the time we were given and how important technology was in communicating our work with Mrs. Papaleo. We took pictures of our work and uploaded it to Seesaw. It also felt like Mrs. Papaleo was some sort of superhero, as she worked with small groups, checked our progress, answered our questions, and celebrated our successes with stickers throughout the entire time we worked on our missions… WOW!
A special thank you to Mrs. Papaleo and her first grade students for letting me join them for an incredible time of learning!
Symptom Monitoring Reminders
We want to take this opportunity to provide a reminder that while the District is currently not requiring a daily health screener, all students, families, and staff members must remember that regular symptom monitoring is an important mitigation strategy to maintain the ability to continue in-person instruction. As such, please remember that students who are not feeling well CANNOT attend school, and families MUST report their symptoms to their school health office. In addition, siblings or family members of ill or symptomatic students CANNOT attend school until the symptomatic student has been cleared by the school nurse, which may include a negative COVID test. Finally, students and/or students of family members who have tested positive for COVID cannot attend school and must contact the school nurse.