Cowlishaw News
9.17.2021
Safety Drills
Thank you for choosing Cowlishaw Elementary School to provide educational services to your child. We are proud to be able to serve you and your children and we will continually strive to provide a safe and positive learning environment for them as we prepare them to be lifelong learners.
The safety of your child and all children in our schools as well as the safety of the school staff and support personnel is very important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to study and learn, it is necessary that we practice our emergency and crisis response plans by having drills designed to exercise our procedures.
We will be conducting various emergency procedure drills over the next few months. This letter is to help you understand the importance of this as well as to understand each type of drill.
The students and staff at Cowlishaw will be practicing 4 primary emergency drills each year. They are “LAW ENFORCEMENT DRILLS”, “SHELTER-IN-PLACE”, “FIRE DRILLS”, and “BUS EVACUATION DRILLS.” Tentative dates and a summary of each drill is listed below.
LAW ENFORCEMENT DRILL: (Lockdown) Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 2:00pm
The school will conduct one “Lockdown Drill” periodically throughout each school year in conjunction with the Naperville city police department. This type of drill will secure the school building and safely shelter all students, staff and visitors inside the building. The purpose of this drill is to keep the students safe from any danger outside or inside the building. During a “lockdown drill” all of the perimeter doors to the school building will be locked and will remain locked until the danger or issue outside or inside the building is removed. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter the building or leave the building until the drill is completed.
SHELTER-IN-PLACE DRILL: Tuesday October 19, 2021 (various times)
The “Shelter-in-Place” drill will be conducted each school year. The purpose of this drill is to be prepared to move to a safe location within the building in case of severe weather or tornados.
FIRE DRILL: Wednesday September 29, 2021 (various times)
The school will conduct a fire drill three times per year. The first drill will be on September 29, 2021. This is an instructional to inform the student of what they need to do when the fire alarm goes off and what exit to evacuate. The second drill TBD is a walk through and the third drill TBD is an actual drill with the participation of the Naperville city fire department. This is a Fire code requirement as well as a requirement for all Illinois public schools. We want each student to understand and be aware of the importance of this drill and not be afraid when the fire alarm is sounded. By practicing they will know what to do and how to do it.
BUS EVACUATION DRILL: Monday October 4, 2021 at 9:30am
During a Bus Evacuation Drill, students will be safely escorted along a designated evacuation route to one of our predetermined evacuation sites. At the conclusion of the drill, all students will be escorted back to the school.
For the safety of everyone involved and to maintain order, we respectfully ask that you would abide by the following during these drills:
• Do not come to the school campus
• Do not call the school offices (as they will be busy with the drill or actual emergency)
• Do not contact students or staff members via cell phone or social media (as they will be busy with the drill or actual emergency)
• In the event of an actual emergency, avoid social media posts. Correct information will be disseminated through our automated system as soon as possible.
• Please make sure that your contact information is current at all times so that you can be reached without delay in the event of an emergency. You will receive notification where to pick up your child as soon as practicable.
Please remember that these safety practice drills are done to help maintain our schools as a safe place to learn and work.
If you have any questions regarding safety concerns, or do not want your child to participate in any of these drills please contact the Title 1 School Wide Facilitator, Cole Jordan at (630) 428- 6160.
Hispanic Heritage Month
To celebrate this month, teachers will incorporate stories of Hispanic American excellence in their classrooms. To learn more about National Hispanic Heritage month, below are several websites for you and your family to check out. #HispanicHeritageMonth
Pets on School Grounds
Looking Ahead
9/22/2021-Picture Day
10/11/2021-No School-Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day
10/22/2021-End of Quarter 1
11/18 &11/22 -Parent Teacher Conferences
CogAT Census Testing for 2nd and 5th Grade Students
The results of this assessment are used to identify individual learning strengths and weaknesses and determine student program placement. This assessment will be conducted in the regular classroom setting. At the second grade level, testing will take approximately forty-five minutes during three days. At the fifth grade level, testing will take approximately thirty minutes during three days. We anticipate receiving the results of this assessment by January 2022.
Listen and Learn
Additional Listen & Learn sessions will be held on Thursday, November 4 at Granger Middle School and Tuesday, December 14 at Crone Middle School.
Cowlishaw Birthday Book Club Is Back!!!
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FUN WAY TO HONOR YOUR CHILD’S BIRTHDAY?
Cowlishaw’s LMC has the answer! Donating a book to Cowlishaw’s LMC helps to build our library collection and make your child feel special at the same time.
At some time during the month of your child’s birthday, we will invite your child to come down to the LMC and choose a book from the birthday cart. If your child’s birthday is in June, July or August, we will invite him or her to come down to the LMC during the month of his or her half birthday. There will be a flat $10.00 price for each book.
When your child chooses a book, we take his/her picture to put in the front of the book with a bookplate commemorating the donation. Your child’s name will go up on the Birthday Book Club bulletin board in the LMC, and your child will be the first to check out the book he/she chose! What an opportunity!
The registration for Cowlishaw’s Birthday Book club can be found in the PushCoin Webstore.
Please see the document below if you need help with accessing the Webstore:
How to access the IPSD Webstore
Thank you for considering this program!
It’s a great way for your child to feel special and to support the Cowlishaw LMC at the same time.
Boundary Committee
The community is invited to observe all boundary committee meetings. There will also be an opportunity for community members to view concepts and provide feedback before the final proposals are created and presented to the board of education. The community’s feedback will be incorporated into the final proposals that will be presented to the board of education for approval.
Community forums will be held at our three high schools on the following dates.
Monday, November 8 at 7 pm - Waubonsie Valley High School
Tuesday, November 9 at 7 pm - Neuqua Valley High School
Wednesday, November 10 at 7 pm - Metea Valley High School
The next boundary committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 22 at 6:30 pm at Still Middle School. For more information on the boundary process, to view meeting materials, or watch meeting videos, visit 2021 Boundary Committee.
IPSD 204 District COVID Dashboard
Positive cases of COVID-19 each school in Indian Prairie 204 can be found on the District's COVID Dashboard. The dashboard includes all positive cases of COVID-19 reported to District 204 for individuals who were on campus. The information is updated each Monday by 4 pm. If your child is in close contact with someone who tested positive, a member of the COVID-19 Response Team will notify you directly regarding the need to quarantine as a precaution. Additional information found on this page includes the current transmission level and a link to the corresponding mitigation strategies.
PTA Updates
Happy Friday Koala Families, We would like to thank the Koala Families for participating in Donuts for Dads. We had such a great turn out and a special thanks to our volunteers who made this event possible. Save the date for our upcoming events: ● PTA’s General Zoom meeting on Wednesday, October 20th at 6:30 pm. ● Halloween Party on Friday, October 29th, Time TBA. Also, if you haven’t had a chance to fill out your membership and volunteering forms to join the PTA. ● You can fill out and pay your membership dues on this link: https://cowlishaw.memberhub.com/store ● PTA Website and Volunteer Forms: https://sites.google.com/site/cowlishawelementarypta/home?authuser=0 Have a nice weekend and thanks again for your ongoing support! STAY CONNECTED Find us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/CowlishawPTA Follow us on Twitter! @cowlishawkoalas Email us at: cowlishawpta.president@gmail.com
Lunch and Breakfast Service
This year, we will continue to provide a grab and go style lunch at no charge to all Cowlishaw students. Please visit the IPSD website for more information on the free meal program and for menu options.
Health and Safety Measures
Elementary School Hours
Regular Hours:
Arrival: Doors open at 8:50. Bell rings at 9:05. Students should be in class and ready to learn at 9:05.
Dismissal: 3:35 Every Day
WEDNESDAY Hours
Arrival on Wednesdays ONLY-Doors open at 9:00 and bell rings at 9:15.
Dismissal: 3:35
Cowlishaw Koalas
Email: sarah_maldonado@ipsd.org
Website: http://cowlishaw.ipsd.org/
Location: 1212 Sanctuary Lane, Naperville, IL, USA
Phone: 630.428.6100
Twitter: @cowlishawkoalas