• Parent Teacher Conferences 11:00-7:00 - Students Dismissed at 11:00 - October 27

• Students Dismissed at 11:00 - October 28

• Halloween - October 31 - See details below

• 1st Day of Native American Heritage Month - November 1

• End of 1st Trimester - November 22 (Corrected Date)

• Picture Retake Day - November 7

• Election Day - NO SCHOOL - November 8

• Chorus Performance - November 10 - 7:00-7:45 - Holmes Auditorium

• PTO Community Meeting - November 16th
  

• Thanksgiving Holiday - November 23-25 - No School

The physical and emotional safety of our students and staff is our highest priority every day. One of the most important things we do to keep our school community safe is practice a variety of drills each year to ensure that everyone is prepared should an emergency occur. This includes:

• Three fire drills, including one with the fire department present to observe and provide feedback;

• One severe weather drill;

• One bus evacuation drill; and

• One law enforcement drill (more commonly referred to as a lockdown drill).

I’m writing today to provide more information about our lockdown drill, which will occur next Friday, Oct. 28. We realize these drills are sensitive in nature and would not conduct them unannounced. Please know that:

• Law enforcement support from the Oak Park Police Department has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of our process. Police will be on-site to observe and assist in evaluating the effectiveness of these drills.

• The goal is for drills to be teaching moments, not fear-inducing exercises. As such, any type of reenactment that employs an individual acting as an assailant, implying or displaying a weapon, or simulating the sound of gunfire will not be used by District 97.

• Students are briefed by school staff members in an age-appropriate manner before any lockdown drill so that they know what to do in the event of a lockdown situation being called.

• All building occupants participate in the lockdown drills: students, staff, and any visitors who may be in the building at that time.

• A parent or guardian may exempt their student(s) from participating in a lockdown drill. If you choose to exempt your child, you must notify our office in writing at least 24 hours prior to the drill.

• Under state law, schools must provide important safety education and instruction related to a lockdown event to students who do not participate in the lockdown drill, employing a less sensorial training approach.

• Our number one priority is always the safety of the students and staff, followed by efficient and accurate communication to families.

Should you have any questions regarding our lockdown drills, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your partnership.

We decided to start with bullying since October is bully prevention month. Check out part 1 of our bullying series.

Dear Holmes Families,

We are asking for your help in reminding and reteaching our recess expectations with our Holmes Hawks. Please watch this short video to review our expectations with your student at home.

A special thank you to our 3rd grader, Kassidy for her help in creating this video for our families.

In partnership,

Marianne Rehfield

Assistant Principal

We invite staff and students to share a photo of a loved one that has passed so that we can frame and place it in our school Ofrenda. You can email the photo to either Sra. Poleski or Sra. Pruitt and/or bring in an actual photo to be added to the Ofrenda by Thursday, October 27, 2022.

The Ofrenda will be included in the map for the official Oak Park River Forest Ofrenda walk on October 31st-November 5th. It will be on display in the windows on Chicago avenue. All students, families, and staff are welcome to participate. Click here for more information. ¡Gracias!

Our conferences are in-person this year. In the event you require a virtual conference, our teachers will gladly accommodate that request. Be sure to let them know when you sign up. Click the button below to choose your conference time.

Thank you to all who attended! If you were unable to attend, you can view this session by clicking on the link below.

• Click to view "Family University: Understanding District 97 Assessments" >>
• Click to view the session deck >>

We will exit the building and walk west on Chicago avenue to Woodbine. We turn on Woodbine and walk down the track and back toward the school to enter the building.

Please note - our parade is weather permitting. In the event of rain, we will not have our parade but will still have our classroom parties.

Costumes are NOT to be worn to school. Students will change into costumes in the afternoon right before the parade. Please make sure that costumes can be worn over your child's clothing so we can quickly make a change. We ask that you save face paint, face masks and all weapon-like costume accessories for after school. Also, remember to be mindful of cultural sensitivities when helping your child choose a costume for school.

Be sure to check your child's classroom newsletters for party specifics. While most will occur directly after the parade, there are some exceptions due to specials such as art, PE, music, and Spanish.

This week our students were taught lesson 3 of the Bullying Prevention Unit lessons. Our youngest students (grades K-3) learned how to refuse bullying by saying words that mean “no” in an assertive way when bullying is happening. Our older students (4th and 5th grade) learned about bystander responsibility. They watched videos to identify bullying and brainstormed actions that bystanders could take. They then role-played what to do after bullying occurs. We never have students role-play bullying, but practicing the actions you can take as a bystander makes it easier to follow through in real-life situations! Below are the home links for the upcoming lesson if you’d like to preview them with your child.

Kindergarten- Refusing Bullying

First Grade- Refusing Bullying

Second Grade- Refusing Bullying

Third Grade- Refusing Bullying

Fourth Grade- Bystander Responsibility

Fifth Grade- Bystander Responsibility

We’re still recruiting room parents volunteers! Room parents work together to coordinate holiday parties, teacher appreciation gifts, and assist teachers with other tasks as needed. Volunteer here to be a room parent for your child(ren)'s room - be a valuable link between teachers and families in the classroom!

The Holmes PTO Board is looking for a member of the community to co-lead Communications activities (managing social media, email, etc. to share key PTO info like upcoming events with our Holmes community). Read the description and sign up here.

Not interested in joining the Board but still want to get involved? No problem - you can also sign up to lead a committee or find out when we need volunteers.

Sra. Poleski and Srta. Pruitt have a new website that will be updated monthly for Spanish class! Included are grade-level vocabulary lists, photos, helpful links, and general information on Spanish class. Check out what your kids have been up to in 'la clase de Español' this month!

Here is the Link: Clases de Español