
Cherokee Newsletter 9.16.22
Sept 16, 2022

September 16, 2022
A Message from the Principal
Dear Cherokee Families,
We had such a great week at Cherokee!! We had an amazing assembly with Matt Wilhelm, BMX three-time X Games Medalist, World Championship Silver Medalist, two-time United States National Champion, and Guinness World Record Holder. He shared phenomenal messages that are applicable to our children of all ages. He said, “Our words are like money, they can tear someone apart or make someone feel like a million dollars.” You can overcome any challenge, never give up! Hard work pays off!
Thank you to Spirit of 67 for bringing Matt to our schools!
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the summer-like weather!
~Dr. Cavanaugh
For Your Information
Student Leadership Team
Cherokee is looking forward to creating our Student Leadership Team (SLT) for 3rd and 4th grade students! Our focus this year will be on creating school-wide events to build relationships and extending our service to others within our community and beyond. Please see the attached letter with additional information about the team and the process for applying for SLT. All applications and videos will be due Tuesday, September 20th.
School-Wide Reading Incentives
Each month the IRC will host a school-wide reading incentive. Students will earn a small prize if they complete that month’s reading incentive criteria. They will also be entered into a raffle to win books and other prizes each month they participate in the reading incentive. The goal of this incentive is to help increase students’ reading interest, grow their knowledge and vocabulary, as well as reward them for their hard work. Each month we will have a different activity to participate in. This is completely optional. If you have any questions, please contact us. We can’t wait to see what you read! Happy Reading!
Mrs. Mobile
Mrs. Dohrmann
Grades 3-4 SEPTEMBER
Grades K-2 SEPTEMBER
Picture Day
Fall picture day will be held on September 22nd. Afterwards, you’ll be able to select your image for your yearbook. (please remember to do so before it’s selected for you), and all orders will be delivered to your home. To view and order photos from Picture Day: You’ll receive an email when your images are ready to view online. Or, you can search for them at vipis.com shortly after photos are taken. If you need further assistance, contact VIP at support@vipis.com.
Cherokee Cheetah Paws
During the month of September we have been focusing on Kindness. We set a school-wide goal of 300 Cheetah Paws earned by the students for displaying acts of kindness. The students met that goal on Tuesday!! Thus, we had an all-school dance party on Friday afternoon to celebrate. We are increasing our goal to 400 Cheetah Paws for acts of kindness and displays of safe, respectful, and responsible behavior. Ask your child what acts of kindness they displayed at school!!
Gentle Reminders
Please do not block or use resident driveways on Forest Hill Road when driving your child to school or attending school programming. In addition, please make sure that you are parking only on one side of the street.
District Updates
Strategic Planning
District 67 is kicking off our strategic planning process! The process will kick off in October when representatives of our District will begin meeting to create the D67 five-year strategic plan, intended to build academic excellence and the six core competencies of our Portrait of a Learner - Adaptability, Empathy, Citizenship, Communication, Confidence, and Critical Thinking. Our process will consist of three meetings over the course of the fall and early winter, during which the D67 Planning Team will convene in person on the following dates:
Thursday, October 6 1:00-3:00pm
Wednesday, October 26 8:30-10:30am
Tuesday, January 10 1:00-3:00pm
If you are interested in serving on the Planning Team, please complete this form by 12pm on Thursday, September 22.
District-Sponsored Landline/SMS-Text/Mobile Phone Survey
In an effort to stay in sync with the perspectives of our community members, the district has commissioned a confidential telephone and text survey of residents regarding various education matters in our community. The survey, a sanctioned polling effort being conducted by Fallon Research, is currently underway and will end Monday, September 19. If you are contacted by Fallon Research, I hope you will consider participating in this important effort. Results will be tabulated, shared with the Boards of Education, and our community later this fall.
District Social Media Update
Recently, we have received a few community questions regarding our use of social media in District 67. As many of you know, District 67 uses social media as one way of telling the stories of our schools and how our exemplary faculty and staff develop compassionate, confident, and accomplished students.
Some of our District administrators and teachers have school Twitter and Instagram profiles and share family-friendly, positive content on these profiles pages and via the hashtag #LFmoments. We take our responsibility for safe social media usage seriously and continue to educate our staff on how to appropriately use these platforms in a safe and secure manner. Staff members have also been instructed to not share student personal information (including first or last name), to post about events in the past tense, to not tag locations on any posts, and to not extend “friend requests” or “follows” to parent private accounts.
While many of these accounts are public, we prioritize every family’s right to opt their children out of photography and videography used for communication purposes, including social media. During the annual registration process, families are asked whether they would like to opt out of the use of their student’s images. We would like to give families an additional opportunity to consider this topic. To opt out, please click here. The link will stay open through 5pm on Friday, September 23.
Sex Education Standards
Some of our families have asked for an update on the District’s sex education offering.
With support from the District 67 Board of Education, our District did not adopt the National Sex Education Standards. Given that sex education has historically not been part of our K-4 programming, it was determined that District 67 would not add sex education standards to our elementary (K-4) curriculum.
At the middle school level, and in alignment with recent Illinois State Board of Education guidance, our District will continue to use our current middle school sex education curriculum with no change. Our middle school sex education curriculum meets the Illinois Physical Development and Health Standards.
As always, parents and guardians have the right to opt out of this curriculum for their students.
Food Service News
September Food Service Events - Week Three
For other events and information, please visit the Food Services page of the website.
APT News and Events
Happy Friday! We have several upcoming events, so mark your calendars!
-Wednesday, September 21st is our First APT Meeting in the multi-purpose room at Cherokee! Coffee will be available beginning at 9:00am and our meeting will start at 9:30am. All parents are welcome! Please remember to bring your IDs to check in at the front desk upon arrival.
-Thursday, September 22nd - Cherokee Picture Day!
-Friday, September 23rd from 9:30-11:00 at Gorton: There are Way Worse Moms Than You in conversation with local mom and author T-Ann Pierce and Michelle Hirschfield. This will be a very laid back, FUN but relevant discussion. You won't want to miss this!
-Wednesday, October 12th - Visiting Author, Aaron Reynolds!
-Tuesday, October 18th from 7:00-8:00pm at Deer Path Middle School - Community Safety Series: The SRO’s Roles
-Wednesday, October 19th at 9:30am - October Cherokee APT meeting
-Friday, October 21st - SPOOKFEST! Details coming soon.
Staff Appreciation: We need approximately 18 gift cards for our teacher appreciation monthly raffle! If you would like to donate to the monthly gift card raffle you can Venmo Lacy Fidler @Lacy-Fidler.
Have a great weekend!
Gillian Goodfriend
Cherokee APT President 2022-2024
(773) 294-8131
Spirit News and Events
JUST LOOK UP author and inspirational speaker, Joe Beckman will be coming to DPM on 9/22! A presentation that can be life-changing for some, the DPM community is in for a treat when he delivers his “5 Life Saving Message Every Human Needs to Hear!” This long awaited Spirit of 67 Grant will be enhanced by a special presentation for all district 67 parents too! Plan to join us at Croya on Thursday, September 22 at 12:30pm! We hope to see you there!
Have you purchased your Home Tour Ticket yet? Visit Hometour2022.givesmart.com to secure your chance to visit 4 of Lake Forest’s finest homes and gardens. Amble through elegant outdoor AND indoor spaces while enjoying “tastes of the town” small bites and beverages. Bring a friend, neighbor or family member and be our guest! The day will be yours to enjoy! Discounted tickets are available for volunteers!
Also remember to purchase raffle tickets to win any of the FOUR designer tablescapes that will be on display at the home tour OR a luxury Executive vacation! What is an Executive Vacation? Well imagine a home away from home where every wish is fulfilled just by asking–like having your own personal concierge service!
Community Programs and Events
Visit the Green Backpack or the front page of your school website to view the latest programs offered in our community.
Community Resources
Help is only a text away: Lead Text-for-Help. The only youth-focused mental health crisis text hotline in the country that is available 24/7, fully confidential, and staffed by licensed mental health counselors.
Cherokee Cub Scout Pack 48
Join Cub Scouts! Girls or boys K- 5 who are interested in scouting through the BSA program should contact Jane Slover at lfcsp48@gmail.com. Informal informational open session 6:30 - 8 this Sunday 9/18 on the playground at Cherokee School.
TrueNorth Family Bi-weekly Update
The TrueNorth Association of Parents and Staff sends out weekly a newsletter sharing upcoming community learning and social opportunities for families and professionals. To view the latest edition and subscribe, please use this link!
Save The Dates
- Project FULL on Sunday, October 16th - District 67 will join other Lake Forest and Lake Bluff schools to provide a fall food market at Beacon Place for needy families in neighboring Waukegan. There will be volunteer opportunities for families, including: event set up, game stations for children, and food distribution. More details and sign up to come.
- H.U.G.S Thanksgiving Food Drive — first week of November (begins Monday, Oct. 31st through Friday, Nov. 4th). All students can participate in our annual food drive by bringing food items to help Lake Country food pantries. Our goal is to provide 500 complete meal bags for neighbors in need. Volunteer hours for students are available on Friday, Nov 4th to help sort the collected food at CROYA from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Many hands make light work and our schools always come together in a big way to help those in need
475 E. Cherokee Rd.
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045