Pierce Downer This Week
September 29, 2023
Pierce Downer Families,
Catching up from the weekend, I want to recognize the PD PTA for a fantastic golf outing! I really enjoyed getting to stop by and see some of our families, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive!
This week, the Pierce Downer HOPE Club delivered collection bags to help support the Community Adult Day Care of Downers Grove. These items will help support the CADC Drive that is being held on September 30th.
Today, the District Office sent student NWEA MAP and AIMSWeb+ reports home electronically. Please reach out to me if that did not make it to your inbox.
Today we had our 2nd required fire drill for the 23-24 school year. This included having the Downers Grove Fire Department onsite. At no time was there an actual emergency. The students and staff did a phenomenal job evacuating and following the established procedures. A special thank you to the DGFD for all of their support and partnership.
Continuing with our emergency preparedness, next week at Pierce Downer School we will be having our active threat drill. Like other safety drills, we hold this drill to prepare our students and staff for the unlikely event of an active threat in our school. In a true emergency, we consider an “active threat” to be any occasion in which a perceived dangerous intruder enters the school. Please know that ahead of this drill, teachers and staff will communicate and emphasize to students that this is a practice drill.
As mentioned in a previous newsletter, please remember that pets are not allowed on school grounds during the school day, especially during our arrivals and dismissals. I know how fun it is to have our furry friends with us to drop off or pick up students but we need your help in following these guidelines.
With that being said, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at LWagner@DG58.org or call the Pierce Downer Main Office at 630-719-5860.
As always, WE are PD!
Dr. Leland (Lucky) Wagner
BRIDGES Math Support for Families (click the picture to access the link)
National Bike or Walk to School Day, October 4!
Grab your bike or put on your walking shoes and join us as we promote healthy, active choices by walking or biking to school on Wednesday, October 4th! Any child who walks or bikes to school on Oct 4th will be asked to share that information with homeroom teachers. The class with the greatest participation rate will be awarded a prize! We hope all our students give walking or biking to school a try!
Mondays and Fridays
As a reminder, every MONDAY students are dismissed at 2pm. We also invite students to wear orange on Mondays to support our commitment to a positive mindset, and spirit wear or school colors (blue and white) every Friday!
2nd Grade goes to the Morton Arboretum
Our 2nd grade students went to the Morton Arboretum this week! This field trip is a mix of guided programs that allows a member of the Morton Arboretum staff to share their wealth of knowledge with our students along with self-guided activities for students to have exploration time on their own.
Book Fair
PD Cup Recipient
Congratulations to Mr. Bowser, Instructional Assistant, on being this week's PD Cup recipient. Mr. Bowser is kind-hearted and has a passion for supporting all students at Pierce Downer School. You will always find Mr. Bowser with a smile on his face and looking for ways to lend a helping hand.
Thank you Mr. Bowser for everything you do!
Keeping the PD Promise
You might find your student coming home with a "I was caught keeping my PD Promise" ticket. These tickets are used to recognize students who are keeping their promise to BE RESPECTFUL, BE RESPONSIBLE, and BE SAFE. When you see these tickets, ask your student how they earned it and share ways they can also continue to keep the PD Promise.
Your encouragement is appreciated in supporting our common behavior expectations!
3rd and 4th Grade Musical Opportunity!
Changes to lunch & recess schedules
This year Pierce Downer has the exciting opportunity to pilot a schedule that includes three lunch and three recess periods. Our goal is to reduce the overall number of students within each lunch and recess period in order to maximize staff supervision and increase student safety. This is also a part of our continued efforts to support positive student behavior. It is important to note that as with any pilot, if we do not find success by implementing this model, we will revert to our typical lunch and recess schedule. The pilot schedule is as follows:
- Kindergarten and First Grade will eat lunch at 11:20 am
- Second, Third, and Fourth Grade will eat lunch at 11:40 am
- Fifth and Sixth Grade will eat lunch at 12:00 pm
Raptor Visitor Management System
District 58 is pleased to continue using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff. Community High School District 99 currently utilizes the same platform on its campuses.
Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present photo identification, such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.
The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district.
Enrichment Opportunities
October 9
PTA Sponsored Assembly
October 12
Parent/Teacher Conferences
October 18
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Safe2Help Illinois
District 58 has partnered with Safe2Help to give students a safe and confidential way to report potential threats or crises. Safe2Help was launched by the State of Illinois in December 2020 and aims to help prevent suicide, bullying, school violence and other threats to school safety.
With Safe2Help, students can connect with a trained crisis professional during their own crisis, or to report a potential threat. Students can submit a Safe2Help alert via the following ways:
- Website: https://app.safe22helpil.com
- Text: SAFE2 (72332)
- Phone: 844-4-SAFEIL (844-472-3345)
- App: "Safe2Help Illinois" app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
- Email: HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com
All alerts are responded to by a trained Safe2Help crisis professional. Safe2Help is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
District 58 staff are not the initial responders to the alert and will receive each alert after the Safe2Help professional provides support. District 58 staff will review alerts sent by Safe2Help during regular school hours, unless the nature of the alert necessitates immediate school action.