1. Hello! My Name is... Ms. Anitra McGee
2. I am... an Administrative Assistant and how long have you worked at Whittier? I'm not sure, lol!
3. My favorite color is... Orange
4. What I like most about Whittier is... Whittier is a family. The entire staff and community are very welcoming.
5. If I had a SuperPower it would be… Why? My superpower would be to teleport. I love to travel and explore different places.
6. If I was an animal I would be a/an… because... I would be a Jaguar. They come in many shades(even orange)! They are the largest of South America's big cats and the third-largest in the world.
7. What advice would you give the scholars of Whittier? I would tell you to hold on to your dreams. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to as long as you work hard and stay determined.

• Are non-IEP students who will be between the ages of 3 and 4 years by Sept. 1, 2022;
• Demonstrate age-appropriate language and social skills;
• Are Oak Park residents;
• Are not enrolled in a preschool program.

This year our school is sponsoring the CAN DO Drive for our local Food Pantry, Beyond Hunger, again! With job and work losses amounting amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, Beyond Hunger has even more people visiting their pantries. Now more than ever they need our support to meet this growing need. Online donations allow Beyond Hunger to offer the essential nutrients that people need right now. Just $1 allows Beyond Hunger to provide 3 meals. Whittier will be collecting these specific foods at school. Please ONLY bring these items:

• Jelly
• Peanut Butter
• Canned Chicken Soup
• Cheerios’ Cereal
• Canned Mixed Vegetables (low sodium)
• Diced Tomatoes
• Tomato Paste
• Bagged Rice (White or Brown)
• Refried and Dry Beans (Pinto and Black)
• Canned Pineapples

You can donate to the Whittier School CAN DO online fundraiser page by clicking here. Feel free to share this link on social media to help Beyond Hunger. Our fundraiser runs from April 1st-30th.

Feel free to contact Mrs. Weiss (lweiss@op97.org) with questions.

At Whittier, we want to support each student as best we can during these challenging times. Our PTO received financial funds from an anonymous donor that we can use to support our students and families in need.

If you are in need of additional support, please take a few minutes to help us better understand how we can support your family's current needs by filling out a google form (https://forms.gle/5xqKFJQ5gBH4YBM47). If your child is identified as needing additional support, someone from our school will be in touch with you within the week. Please fill this out for EACH child in your family. Thank you in advance.

Please note - ALL these responses will be kept confidential and can only be accessed by school social workers, the assistant principal, and the principal.

This week our kindergarten and first-grade students learned about the fair ways to play. The fair ways to play offer three solutions when children both want to play with the same thing. Sharing, trading, and taking turns promote fairness and mutual enjoyment so students are less likely to use aggressive solutions. Our second graders learned about taking responsibility when they have hurt someone else’s feelings or upset them. They learned that taking responsibility means admitting what you did, apologizing, and offering to make amends. Our third through fifth graders are continuing to apply the problem-solving steps. Learning new skills requires review and practice! Students are further cementing their knowledge of the problem-solving steps by using them to come up with positive solutions to interpersonal problems and identifying when they need to ask an adult for help. Below are the home links for this week:

Kindergarten- Fair Ways to Play

First Grade- Fair Ways to Play

Second Grade- Taking Responsibility

Third Grade- Solving Classroom Problems

Fourth Grade- Solving Playground Problems

Fifth Grade- Seeking Help

Please support Nurse Winkelhake by LEAVING A REASON when you call your child in sick from school. Our nurse follows up on every absence call when a specific reason is not provided. If your child is staying home due to reasons unrelated to COVID-19, sharing that information in the message helps the nurse determine whether a call is necessary. When calling please slowly state:

1. Your Name
2. Your Child’s Name
3. Your Child’s Grade and Homeroom/Advisory Teacher
4. Reason for the Absence
5. Best phone number to reach you

To effectively streamline our Covid related procedures and policies, starting the week of January 17, all communications regarding positive student cases and close contacts will happen vis email. Due to the number of cases and the amount of contact tracing, we will no longer be able to call all families of positive cases or close contacts. Please continue to check your email regularly for communications from the school.

All communications will have detailed information regarding the following steps, quarantine/return dates, and other pertinent information. If families have additional questions after receiving a communication, please continue to reach out with questions and concerns. We hope the adaptive format and procedures will help us as a school community better mitigate the spread of covid and better serve our students, staff, and community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and state/local health officials, fully vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine due to potential COVID-19 exposure as long as they are asymptomatic. Additionally, achieving a high rate of vaccination will strengthen our overall safety plan and will put the district in the best possible position to reconsider other mitigations as conditions improve in our community.

To help us reduce any unnecessary quarantines and accurately track our student vaccination rate, District 97 requests that families submit proof of vaccination for their students as soon as they have received their second dose. There are two options:

• IF YOU HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT: Fill out a brief Google Form and upload a copy of the student’s vaccination card. CLICK HERE to access the Whittier vaccine form.

• IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT: Email a copy of your student’s vaccination card to Nurse Hilary Winkelhake (hwinkelhake@op97.org). Please include the child’s full name and grade.

Students Who Participated in Clinics at District 97 Schools
If your student completed their vaccine series at one of the school-based clinics, a staff member should have taken a photo of their vaccination card following the second dose.

• If your child's card was documented, no further action is needed.

• If your child's card was not scanned or photographed, or if your child did not receive their second dose at a school clinic, please email a copy of the card to your school nurse.

If you have any questions, please contact Nurse Hilary. Thank you for your support and partnership in keeping our schools safe!

The Book Fair is nearly here: May 15 - 18! Just like last fall, weather permitting the Book Fair will be OUTSIDE near the Greenleaf Garden. Here is how you can participate:

1. Load an eWallet for your child(ren): Set up a free account simply and easily and have funds available for your child(ren) to shop at the fair. No physical card needed! The digital dollars will be in the system under the child’s name. Load it up today: https://bit.ly/eWalletSpg22

2. Helpers Needed: The legendary Scholastic Book Fair CANNOT happen without you! We need (vaccinated) helpers to set up, cashier and pack up at the end of the day. Please take a moment to find a volunteer slot that works for you: https://whittierpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/88372 This is a fun and easy way to help the school and watch the kiddos get excited about reading. Our school receives 55% of the sales from the Fair! Please support this valuable fundraiser by pitching in for an hour or two.

3. Shop Online: Can’t get to the in-person Fair? Online sales run May 16 – 29. Follow the link from our Book Fair home page and shop from a huge selection of educational products, games, crafts, and kits. All book orders ship home for free, and we'll earn 25% in rewards on purchases made during the Online sales window. Share that news with friends and family! It is a great way to purchase gifts and support our school!

FAQ:

I think I had leftover funds on my child’s eWallet last time? Now what?

Whomever created the eWallet will receive a monthly email reminder of their Scholastic balance to ensure it is not forgotten. The funds become an eGift card balance and can be used throughout Scholastic online or to fund an eWallet for a future Book Fair.

Can we contribute to our classroom’s library?

Yes! By next week your classroom teacher will update us with a new eWallet account for you to add funds to. Then they can spend that at the fair for the classroom library! We will share those widely as soon as they start coming in.

Questions? Email us at bookfair@whittierpto.org

DePaul University, in partnership with the Oak Park Township Community Mental Health Board and District 97, plan to offer a series of community talks to the District 97 community as part of the Mindful Middle Schoolers and Mindfulness Matters Program.

Below is a list of upcoming VIRTUAL talks, which will be held via Zoom. Registration via the Eventbrite links below is requested. Once you register, a link will be emailed to you prior to the start of each event.

"Mindful Middle-Schoolers" Spring 2022 Community Talk Flyer

Upcoming Virtual Community Talks (Open to All)

• May 12 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Strategies to support executive functioning and self-regulation https://www.eventbrite.com/e/328920168077
• May 17 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Understanding depression in youth and strategies for treatment and support https://www.eventbrite.com/e/329134148097
• May 25 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Understanding anxiety in youth and strategies for treatment and support https://www.eventbrite.com/e/329137498117
• June 7 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Mindfulness-based strategies and their applications in academic environments https://www.eventbrite.com/e/256953403547
• June 15 (6 p.m. - 7 p.m.): Summer’s here! Promoting social-emotional wellness in out-of-school time https://www.eventbrite.com/e/329142513117

District 97 anticipates receiving approximately $2.9 million in ESSER III funds, of which 20% must be spent on learning loss. Funds may be used for pre-award costs dating back to March 13, 2020, when the national emergency was declared; they are available for obligation through September 30, 2024.

We are seeking feedback from all district and community stakeholders to help determine how we should best utilize these resources to address ongoing COVID-19 recovery in our schools. Please take time to let us know your opinion by completing a brief survey by Friday, May 13: https://forms.gle/yuhUAfyanHape3LK6

West Cook YMCA Offering Complimentary Sessions for Access to Swim Program
The West Cook YMCA is offering District 97 families a complimentary session in its Access to Swim program, which will include a swim assessment of all children and placed in an appropriate class based on swim level and the skills of the children. The program is designed to increase the opportunity for swimmers to gain access to water safety and swim lessons for all of our communities and families. The Access to Swim program is for children ages 3 to 12 years old in Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Melrose Park, and Maywood and/or who are students in Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89, River Forest School District 90, Forest Park School District 91, or Oak Park School District 97. CLICK HERE for more details >