Pirate's Cove
Weekly Newsletter - February 8 - February 12
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National African-American History Month
National African-American History Month starts on February 1st and continues through the month of February. We celebrate the important contributions, heritage, and culture of men and women of African descent.
The origins of National African-American History Month go back to 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week. For years, the second week of February was reserved to coincide with the birthday of Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, the week of recognition was expanded to a month, and since as been designated the month of February.
We will be celebrating the different family cultures all year at Plank. Students will have announcement slides, in-class and school-wide opportunities to learn of the significant cultural contributions from African-American men and women throughout history.
Principal's Message
Pirate parents and students,
Students have now been back in-person for two weeks. There are a few things we learned over this time. It seems there is confusion over afternoon classes and attendance. All students are expected to attend their GO LIVE! afternoon classes on their schedule. Attendance is taken in each class period. This will continue through next week as Phase I comes to a close. Below, you will find the Phase I schedule that all students are following.
I am noticing many students coming to school without coats. Some are getting rides, some are riding the bus. With the bitter cold February weather coming, I encourage all students to dress appropriately for the weather. Yes, it is more to carry with you throughout the day, but we want all of our students to be safe and secure.
Students are adhering to our safety protocols in the building. Masks are on, students are following posted expectations in classrooms, and taking most of the proper precautions. One thing we want students to continue to practice is maintaining distance from each other. We are reminding students with physical markers within the building, such as 3 ceiling tiles, 5 bricks on a wall, the yellow tape on the floor. With reminders, students will spread apart. We can use parents help in reinforcing these expectations at home with students as well. It's all about safety, and maintaining distance is one thing we can all do to keep each other safe.
Finally, Lunches are provided daily for all students. We have enough lunches to provide to everyone, however if students aren't leaving with a lunch it can create a lot of waste. If your child is hungry, encourage them to pick up a lunch at school at one of our Grab and Go stations.
Additional information about our Hybrid Learning Updates can be found following this link. There is a presentation that all students and families can view to help prepare for our return to school expectations and procedures. Plank families can view these presentations in English and in Spanish.
Any student planning to return to in person instruction in January needs to have all health paperwork submitted prior to Monday. If you have questions about paperwork, or received notice and need to submit documents to our nurse, please call Mr. Jenkins at 630-551-9402. Any paperwork can be dropped off in our main office during office hours.
If you have questions, please reach out to the Plank Main office at 630-551-9400. Please know that we are still working on the specifics for our return plans, and these plans are subject to change. Please be aware that information is changing regularly regarding our return to in-person instruction. Any changes to this will be communicated from our district office through email. We look forward to a great start to the second semester!
The staff at Plank Junior High is committed to serving the students and parents of the surrounding community. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, and we can work together to find solutions. I can be reached at 630-551-9400 and thaymond@sd308.org. We look forward to partnering with you and your child throughout the year.
Pirates Persevere!
Always in partnership,
Tyler Haymond
Principal
Plank Junior High School
Important upcoming dates
2/9/2021 - Group A Device Distribution
2/11/2021 - Group B Device Distribution
2/12/2021 - School Improvement Day - No afternoon GO LIVE Sessions
2/15/2021 - President's Day No school, no student attendance
2/16/2021 - First Day of Phase II Hybrid Instruction
2/16/2021 - Group A Picture Day
2/17/2021 - Remote Students Picture Day
2/18/2021 - Group B Picture Day
HYBRID LEARNING UPDATE
General Return Information:
- PLEASE look at the schedule so you know where you are supposed to be each day/each class period.
- If you are Group A or Group C, you will participate in Go Live! sessions and SST if needed tomorrow from 8:15-11:50 am and 1:00-3:25 pm.
- Classes all resume at 1:00 in the afternoon in a remote setting. Students are expected to log in and participate for attendance purposes.
- Students and parents should check student schedules to note of any possible classroom location changes. (This could be for lunch, study hall, or any other class)
- Please review the student handbook for expectations and procedures.
- Please also remember that school appropriate attire is expected when attending In-Person learning.
Arrival and Dismissal
In order to limit the traffic on Secretariat, I have attached an updated traffic map for drop off and pick up for Plank. Please adhere to the flow of traffic on the map so that we can expedite student arrival and dismissal for all families. Note that the traffic is one-way for this pick up for the safety of all of our students and staff.
Arrival - Enter through the Churchill entrance. Proceed from Churchill to Plank along the service road. Turn into the drop off area, and pull up to the Yellow Line, indicated by a stop sign on the map. Please do not block crosswalks so that we can safely move students. Once you have dropped off your child, please continue to exit out through the Churchill exit. The Plank exit needs to remain open for bus traffic.
Dismissal - Enter through the Churchill entrance. Proceed from Churchill to Plank along the service road. Turn into the pick up area, and pull up to the Yellow Line, indicated by a stop sign on the map. Please do not block crosswalks so that we can safely move students. Once you have picked up your child, please continue to exit out through the Churchill exit, or exit through the Plank exit. The Plank exit needs to remain open for bus traffic.
If you have specific questions, please contact the main office 630-551-9400.
Self Certification Acknowledgement Form
The Self Certification Acknowledgement Form opened up in Tyler for families. All students who will be attending In-Person Learning will need to have this form completed prior to being able to attend school. This form is a precursor to the daily self certification form that will need to be completed once we start in person.
Although it is mandatory for all families who chose In-Person Learning, we would like for all families to complete the form, so that if there are any changes throughout the remainder of the year, we have the acknowledgement form completed for each family.
Self Certification Acknowledgement Form Directions in TylerSIS
PE - Supplies for In-Person Learners
Viewing schedules in Tyler SIS - Lunch period Study Halls
Parents - You can see your child's second semester schedule in the Tyler Parent Portal. One thing to check is the lunch study hall with location and instructor. Students are all assigned a lunch study hall with an instructor. Students will need to have their updated second semester schedules so they know the locations of their lunch study hall. Some students may have "staff" as their instructor: This means that Mr. Lewis, Mrs. Campbell, or Mr. Curtis will be the supervisor during that lunch study period.
Picking up students early from school
If you must sign out your student, follow the instructions listed below.
Enter vestibule through Door #1
Have your driver license ready
Ring the doorbell in the vestibule
A Secretary will ask you who you are picking up
You will be instructed to hold your driver license up to the camera
Secretary will match your contact information to your student
Your student will be called out of class to meet you in the vestibule
Allow extra time to sign out your student. Secretaries will do the sign out
log from the office. They will also log the name of parent who is picking up
the student. Parents will remain in the vestibule until joined by their child.
Parents may not return to their car until their student arrives for student safety.
In order to maintain appropriate distances and due to lack of space to house students outside of classrooms, students cannot be pulled out of class before parents arrive.
As a notice for all parents; students must leave with a parent or guardian if they are being picked up early for the day. Children may not walk home on their own since there are no adults available to supervise as they exit the Plank/Churchill campus, and no crossing guards. Call the Plank Main Office if you plan on picking up your child regularly.
10 things to start a successful second semester
1. Students should find a spot in the house to keep their device charged. Dedicate an area to store their device and keep it plugged in to maintain the charge.
2. Students should restart their device to clear cache to improve performance during classes. Restarts will usually help with many of the technical problems that our devices encounter. Updates to hardware and software usually are prompted from a restart as well. Holding down the power button will turn the Chromebook off and on.
3. Students need to log in, check their email, and open Google Classroom prior to Wednesday so that they can start the second semester smoothly. Write down passwords and keep them close to the computer on a sticky note if the password is tough to remember.
4. Students need to log into Tyler SIS Portal to view their updated second semester schedule on Wednesday for any schedule changes.
5. Set alarms to help maintain prompt attendance to remote classes. If you have Amazon or Google Devices (Echo, Alexa, or Google devices can have verbal prompts to set alarms at certain times.)
6. Second semester is a fresh start. There are no grades in the second semester gradebook.
7. Re-establish a schedule during the remote portions of the school week. Check Tyler SIS and Google Classroom regularly for completed and missing work, and preview work prior to your student submitting it, if possible during the day.
8. Students need to utilize the provided support time with teachers. If they are having trouble with work, not understanding, or falling behind, Student Support Time is available with ALL teachers from 2:10 to 3:00 during Remote Learning, and continues with our Hybrid Schedule from 3:00 to 3:25.
9. Students are to keep cameras on during instruction. This helped our teachers and students during remote learning. The expectation to have students keep their Chromebook cameras on, unless permission is given from the teacher. Be aware that Google now has filters that will blur backgrounds for added privacy for students.
10. Contact teachers if there are questions about attendance. Our attendance secretary makes the calls, but often doesn't have the details about why attendance was recorded as it was.
Student Support Time
During our Hybrid Schedule, Student Support Time will be from 3:00 to 3:25 every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please encourage your child(ren) to reach out to staff and request help if/when needed.
LRC Returns
SORA Overdrive - Plank Partnership with Oswego Public Library
Our district now subscribes to Sora from Overdrive! To get started, visit https://soraapp.com/library/oswegoil. On a device, download the Sora app through the Google Play or Apple App stores and use setup code oswegoil.
The app also appears in the Google waffle in the upper right corner of the Google site. Just sign in with your Google credentials. Our collection is called “Oswego Community School District 308” books can immediately be checked out from this collection.
Since we are in partnership with the Oswego Public Library, it is possible to add the public library to Sora. The Oswego Public Library collection is called “Online Media of Northern Illinois Libraries” You will no longer need to use your library card number to borrow books from the Sora public library collection, or OMNI. However, the library card allows students to access other digital materials from the Oswego Public Library. Here’s a one-minute video from Sora.
If your student does not have a library card number, fill out the attached Google Form. After you complete it, Dr. Meyer, will contact you with access instructions and the library card number. The library card number will be active as soon as you receive it, and will expire on June 1, 2021. Please be sure to complete the form for every child in your household who attends Plank JHS so that we may give each child her/his own library card number. Information on obtaining cards for elementary and junior high school students will come from the elementary and junior high school librarians. In addition to immediate access to the digital library, students will also have the option to visit either campus of the library to get “physical” access to books, movies, video games, etc. The form for obtaining physical resources is attached.
Oswego Public Library eCard Application For Digital Services Google Form
Plank Staff Shout Out
Staff Shout Out Form
Students and families can complete this form.
Yearbook Information
Time to order your 2020-2021 Plank Yearbook!
Just a note to now promote your online books sales for $20.00 a book.
You could use this direct order link below if you don't have one...
https://www.balfour.com/illinois/oswego/plank-junior-high-school
Otherwise parents could also buy a yearbook online by typing in at their url: balfour.com, then typing in your school name Plank Junior High School Oswego at the Top Search line to get the order button.
Sales are open till 3/19/21 for you.
Submit school appropriate pictures with descriptions to be considered for this year's yearbook. Consider first day pictures, remote learning pictures, Spirit Week pictures, Plank Spirit Week pictures, etc. If you have any summer, school prep, fall, or winter pictures, start to collect them and send them our way once we have our submission link live!
Attention 8th Grade Pirates!
https://plank8thgrade21.itemorder.com/sale
Parent Resources
Follow the links to access the parent resources that we have available.
- A Parent's Guide to Google Classroom - A step-by-step guide to help parents that are unfamiliar with accessing Google Classroom.
- Google Classroom Cheat Sheet for students - Shake Up Learning
- Google Meets Expectations - Many teachers use these expectations within their Google Hangout Live Meets.
- Google Suite Tutorials - A collection of Google tutorials that students will be using with their teachers during remote learning. There are dozens of resources here that cover almost anything you need to know about using Google Suite.
- Parent's Guide to Student Portal - Tyler 360 document that outlines Student Portal access and features.
- Parent's Guide to Google Suite Applications - From Google Docs to Google Meets, this is a guide for parents to use as a reference for all of the available Google Suite Applications.
Kendall County Community Food Pantry
The Oswego Location of the Kendall County Community Food Pantry is the first Friday of every month from 6 - 7:30 pm at East View Academy, 4175 Route 71, Oswego. Bring your ID with your address. Please come out to receive a variety of food items, including fresh produce, bread, meat, boxed and canned goods. Food will be delivered directly to your car. We look forward to seeing you!
For more information please call 630.636.3667 or click HERE.
Supporting Students and Families
The Student Services team at Plank has compiled a list of valuable resources for families to use. These resources are available to all of our families. There are two forms that can be completed to provide assistance if needed during the summer. We miss you, Pirates!.
This form is a short survey for families. Fill out the family form here.
To visit our Student Services resources Page, please click here.
Set up a time to meet with the Plank Counselors!
Our Plank counseling team is using a new scheduling tool this year. It allows students and parents to directly book a meeting with us. Follow the links below to access the editable schedule to meet with one of our counselors. They also created and released the Counselors Corner Newsletter. If you have questions, reach out to our counseling team below!
Mrs. Gannon (students with last names A-L) cgannon-sd308.youcanbook.me/
Mrs. Hlavacs (students with last names M-Z) khlavacs-sd308.youcanbook.me/
Mrs. Modaff (students with last names M-Z) jmodaff-sd308.youcanbook.me/
Health Paperwork
6th graders:
A complete physical, immunization record ( including the required Meningococcal and Tdap vaccines on or after the 11th birthday) are being collected at this time. Please make sure to fill out and sign the health history on page 2 of the physical form.
A dental exam is also a requirement. The dental exam can be dated from November 15, 2019 to May 15, 2021.
**We are following the current exclusion date given to us by the state of IL of October 15, 2020. Failure to provide these required documents will result in exclusion from school.**
7th graders:
If you did not get in your dental exam required for last school year due to COVID, please do so at this time.
ALL Students:
- Action plans for Asthma, Severe Allergy, Seizure and Diabetes are being collected for the new school year along with medication authorization forms for emergency and daily medications that will be given during school hours. All forms are located under the Health Services tab on the district website.
- Please fill out an Annual health history for your child if you have not done so already. Log into the parent portal of Tyler to complete this portion.
- If your child sustains an injury during remote learning and requires modifications and accommodations for class, please provide a detailed doctor's note to the health office.
- If we are missing any documents required for your child's health file, an email or phone call will be given or sent to you.
All documents can be emailed to kjenkins@sd308.org or faxed to 630-551-9697.
Important - Absence Reporting
Parents- please remember to check your child’s attendance in Tyler Portal. If you notice one or two absences, call the Attendance Office to report the reason. This includes appointments and technology issues. Any student that misses up to two classes without a parent call will be marked “U” Unexcused for those classes. Any student that is marked absent for three or more classes, a call will go home to the parents. Also, please remember that students are expected to be present in class for the entire class period.
Have questions or need help? The Attendance Line number is 630-551-9401. You can also email Mrs. Montes-Mijarez at amontesmijarez@sd308.org.
Attendance Guidelines
Plank Attendance Guidelines
630-551-9401
Please leave a message on the Attendance Line noting the reason for the absence. Include all symptoms or the reason for the absence if it is not illness related. Students need to be called in if they will miss a partial day. Please note the class/classes that will be missed in addition to the reason for the absences.
Teachers are keeping attendance through their hangout meet times, as well as their Wednesday attendance forms. If you have questions, please reach out to the individual teachers about these procedures. If your child was experiencing technical issues with devices, please reach out to the main office to talk with our attendance secretary.
Study Hall and Study Dynamics are classes that do not meet, and there is no need for attendance to be taken. If students have questions during this time, they can reach out to that Study Hall teacher to have questions answered through email.
There is the 2:15 to 3:00 Student Support time at the end of the day. Teachers may be reaching out to students and families to encourage additional support as we get into the school year. This is a time when students will be able to access their classroom teachers for help.
Buried in emails?
Employment Opportunities
3hrs. per day
1.5hrs. am
1.5pm when school is in session.
Apply on Applitrack Churchill Elem School. ID#10080 if you want to add the vacancy ID#.
Volunteers Needed - Sunday, February 7th
SD 308 is grateful for our partnership with the Kendall Co Health Department who will be offering over 4,000 COVID vaccines to our community this weekend. Sunday is set aside as Super Educator Sunday, vaccinating 2,000 educators! Over 1,300 of our staff are included in the schedule. To assist in putting an event of this magnitude together, we are arranging for many volunteers to assist. We have over 40 nurses set to provide the vaccine, but we still need assistance in filling non-clinical roles for Sunday. We need people to help with registration and discharge as individuals arrive and get checked in and leave after receiving the vaccine. Volunteers need to be 18 or older.
Volunteers are needed 8am-3:45 pm; shifts can be broken into 8am- 12pm and 11:30-3:45pm.
If you are available to assist, please email Theresa Komitas (tkomitas@sd308.org) to be added to the roster. Theresa will forward you the volunteer registration forms from the health department along with information on logistics for the day.
We sincerely appreciate your consideration, this is an incredible community effort!
Important People to Know
Administration:
Principal
Tyler Haymond 630-551-9410 thaymond@sd308.org
Assistant Principal
Dr. Marcus Lewis 630-551-9411 mlewis@sd308.org
Assistant Principal
Bailey Campbell 630-551-9412 bcampbell@sd308.org
Student Support Lead Teachers
Lead Special Education Teacher
Carrie Quinn 630-551-9497 cquinn@sd308.org
EL Coordinator
Guadalupe Gallardo Escobedo 630-551-9466 ggallardoescobedo@sd308.org
Secretaries:
Principal Secretary
Laurie Williams 630-551-9409 lwilliams@sd308.org
Registrar/Discipline Secretary
Camille Simmons 630-551-9418 csimmons@sd308.org
Attendance Secretary
Asusana (Susie) Montes-Mijarez 630-551-9408 amontesmijarez@sd308.org
Student Services:
Counselors:
Caitlin Gannon 630-551-9414 cgannon@sd308.org
Students with last names A-L
Kelly Hlavacs and Jen Modaff 630-551-9415 khlavacs@sd308.org, jmodaff@sd308.org
Students with last names L-Z
Dr. Tawanda Kitchen 630-551-9483 tkitchen@sd308.org
Restorative Practice Counselor
Social Workers:
Regena Alonzo 630-551-9405 ralonzo@sd308.org
Marguerite Slinger 630-551-9416 mslinger@sd308.org
Building Nurse:
Kristin Jenkins 630-551-9402 kjenkins@sd308.org
Important Resources
Transportation: 630-636-2999
Tyler Parent Portal login/access questions: tylerhelp@sd308.org
Waiver of Fee questions: Kaitlyn Dolenak 630-636-3662
Free/Reduced Lunch Application Status: Paola Lares Luna: 630-636-3663
Plank Junior High School
Email: thaymond@sd308.org
Website: https://www.sd308.org/plank
Location: Plank Jr. High, Secretariat Lane, Oswego, IL, USA
Phone: 6305519400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plank308/?scrlybrkr=2abf877d
Twitter: @Plank308