Jefferson Journey
Jefferson in Bloom ~ Jefferson Florecido
8.23.23
First Days of School!
It has been a wonderful start to the school year. We love having our students in the building with us again. They have been working hard on getting back into the swing of school. Our focus has been on building relationships among classmates and students with teachers. We are a family here at Jefferson and we are so grateful for every one of our family members.
One of the things we have been focusing on are the expectations we have throughout the building - how to get around the building, how to behave in different spaces within the building, and how to interact with one another. We are looking through the lens of what respectful, responsible and safe looks like.
Do you have certain rules and expectations that you follow at home? Here is a sample of what we have been learning might look like at home!
Attention Car Riders
Attention families that drop students off by car:
Please DO NOT park on Hart or Harrison when picking up or dropping off your child. The roadways are being blocked and accidents are occurring. For your reference, please see the maps below:
Practice Drills
Upcoming Drills
As part of keeping our kids safe here at school, we do practice drills so that students know what to do in an emergency. We will be starting our drills in September. Please see the dates below to know when your child will be practicing the drills with their teachers.
9/13: Practice Law Enforcement / Lockdown Drill
This drill is when we practice what we do if there were to be someone or something in the building that we do not want to have access to our students. We practice this drill will Officer Kohn, our district School Resource Officer
9/13: Practice Bus Evacuation Drill
We do this drill so that students know what to do in the event that there is a mechanical issue or accident while on the bus. This provides them ways to safely exit the bus in the event of an emergency.
9/13: Practice Tornado Drill
Students learn what to do and where to go in the event of bad weather resulting in a tornado. Students will learn how to keep themselves safe within the spaces that they occupy.
9/14: Practice Fire Drill
We do this drill with assistance from the Harvard Fire Department. Students practice exiting the building in a safe, calm manner to meet at designated locations after they leave the building
Community Corner
Northern Illinois Food Bank
The Northern Illinois Food Bank is offering the BackPack Program to District 50 families again this year. Every other week throughout this school year, beginning in mid-September, families enrolled in the program will be provided with pre-bagged, shelf-stable, nutritious food items. Items may include: milk, pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, cereal, tuna, beans, rice, and more! Please contact Jason Henning at 815-943-6464 if you are interested in participating in this free program.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Jefferson Elementary has also partnered up with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program for this school year. BBBS works hard to support the relationship between Bigs and Littles. Their goal is for the relationship to be as successful as possible for everyone. The program will be held on Tuesdays from 3:00 - 4:00pm and will begin in late September. Please contact Jason Henning at 815-943-6464 for additional information and/or to sign up.
Picture Day!
Picture Day is coming to Jefferson on Friday, September 15th! Be sure that your child is wearing their smile! 😀
August & September Breakfast and Lunch Menus
August Breakfast (English)
August Lunch (English)
August Breakfast (Spanish)
August Lunch (Spanish)
September Breakfast (English)
September Lunch (English)
We love our Students!
We love getting to see our students each and every day. School attendance is so very important for students to continue learning and growing. We understand that your child may get sick from time to time - but if they are not sick, please make sure that they come to school.
When to keep your child home?
If your child has a fever of 100* or above, has been vomiting, or having diarrhea, please keep them home until they are better. The typical rule of thumb is 24 hours without a fever (over 100*), vomiting or diarrhea. We want to keep all of our students healthy and able to be at school. When in doubt, please reach out to our health office by calling (815)943-6464.
If your child will be absent, please call the Jefferson office and let us know by 7:30 am. (815)943-6464
Food Guidelines
We are committed to the health of our students and we need your help, too! As a reminder:
- Students should NOT bring pop / soda to school at all
- It is encouraged for students to bring a water bottle, but it should only have water in it. We have a filling station where they are able to fill their water bottle as needed
- Please send healthy snacks with your child if they will be bringing a snack that they will eat in their designated snack time (some examples are fruit, vegetables, goldfish crackers, apple sauce pouches, granola bars, crackers, etc.)
- If you need to drop off a lunch for your child, please refrain from bringing them fast food and soda
Upcoming Spirit Days
Upcoming Dates
8/25: Stripes and Polka Dots Spirit Day
9/1: Black and Gold Spirit Day
9/8: Football Jersey Day
9/11: Red, White & Blue Spirit Day
9/13: Bus Evacuation, Tornado, and Law Enforcement Drills
9/14: Fire Drill
9/15: Fall Picture Day 📸
Jefferson Elementary School Information
School Hours
Doors open: 7:45 am
School Begins: 7:55 am
School Ends: 2:55 pm
Early Release Days
Doors open: 7:45 am
School Begins: 7:55 am
School Ends: 1:05 pm
Delayed Starts (bad weather)
Doors open: 9:55 am
School Begins: 9:55 am
School Ends: 2:55 pm
Contact Information
Jefferson Elementary School
1200 N. Jefferson Street; Harvard, IL 60033
Office: (815) 943 - 6464
Principal: Rebecca Adams (radams@cusd50.org)
Student Support Facilitator: Sarah Wargaski (swargaski@cusd50.org)
Secretaries: Paulette Ortiz (portiz@cusd50.org) and Jo Gorham (jgorham@cusd50.org)
Be sure to check out our school social media!
1200 N Jefferson Street
Harvard, IL 60033
(815)943-6464