Fairmount Families Week END Report
01.26.2024
Happy Friday, Fairmount Families!
It is difficult to believe that we are nearing the end of January. Since our return from Winter Break, we have wrapped up our Winter Benchmark assessments, engaged in three successful E-Learning days and continue to observe respectful, responsible and safe behaviors both in and out of the classroom.
We know the variations in temperature, various winter elements and other factors can make our "Winter Car Line" a bit longer, but continue to appreciate your patience and respect for all drivers as our staff supports this process as quickly and safely as possible each day.
Thank you for your continued support at home in making sure your child(ren) are ready to learn each day. Making sure they have their iPad, school materials, snack, instrument, etc., helps them feel prepared, which supports their day at school.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Lisa Niforatos, Principal
Be sure to follow me on Twitter/X @Fairmount58.
Quick Links:
Science Fair
Congratulations to all of the Fairmount Falcons who participated in the 2024 Science Fair. We are so proud of the effort and energy these scientists put into their projects.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher Conference Sign Up (Open through January 30th)
District 58 invites parents and guardians to sign up for winter Parent-Teacher Conferences using the online PowerPTC conference signup system starting Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 at 11 a.m.
Please note that the conference dates in yesterday’s Communicate 58 were in error.
The correct dates for conferences are:
Preschool through sixth grade conferences:
Feb. 1, 2024 4:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Feb. 7, 2024 4:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Middle school conferences:
Feb. 1, 2024 4:50 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Feb. 7, 2024 4:50 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The signup window will close on Tuesday January 30, 2024 at 11 a.m.
View conference signup instructions here. (para Español: Registro para las reuniones de padres y maestros). If you still have questions, please complete a District 58 Technology Help Desk ticket at dg58.org/help. If you miss the deadline and would like a conference, please contact your school.
We value communication with parents, but we have received feedback that as a result of strong and ongoing communication between home and school a winter conference may not be necessary for all families. You can simply choose not to sign up. As always, whether you participate in a conference this winter, please know that you can request a conference with your child’s teacher at any time throughout the year. Additionally, your child’s teacher(s) may contact you at any time if they feel a conference would be helpful.
Information & Reminders
Valentine's Day
While Fairmount does not have a Valentine's Day party at school, classroom teachers will allot a short amount of time on February 14th to allow students to exchange Valentine's Day cards with their classmates, if they so choose. This is, of course, completely optional. If you do choose to send cards with your child(ren), please note the following:
- A student must have a Valentine for every child in their class.
- Food is not allowed, however, non-food items are allowed (such as pencils and stickers).
On February 7th, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade will take part in a virtual author visit to celebrate World Read Aloud Day.
Surface Wipes & Tissues
Many of our non-classroom spaces, such as the main office, support rooms and specialists are in need of both surface (e.g. Clorox) wipes and tissues. If you are able and willing to donate either of these items to Fairmount we would certainly appreciate it. Your child is welcome to bring any donations to the office.
Grove Children’s Preschool holds Open House Feb. 15
Preschool parents and guardians are invited to an open house to learn more about the District’s gold-rated Grove Children’s Preschool program. The Open House will be Thursday, Feb. 15 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Henry Puffer School, 2220 Haddow Ave.
Parents and guardians may tour the preschool, meet the staff, hear an overview of the program, and ask questions throughout the open house.
Grove Children’s Preschool tuition applications for the 2024-25 school year will open online at www.dg58.org/preschool on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 8 a.m. First-priority preschool applications are due Monday, March 11.
Grove Children’s Preschool is located at Henry Puffer School and Indian Trail School (6235 Stonewall Ave.) in Downers Grove. Students attend school five days per week during either a morning or an afternoon session.
School Improvement Focus
Do you know about Dreambox?
This year our school improvement goal is focused on utilizing the Bridges curriculum and tailored small group instruction. Dreambox is an app that your child can access through their Clever account to continue working on this goal at home. Please encourage your child to access this individualized math tool at home. We understand that it can be challenging not to assist your child while they are working at home, but it is important that this application is used independently in order for your child to receive the appropriate support and instruction.
Fairmount PTA
Fairmount PTA
Fairmount is lucky to have a very active PTA. We encourage all parents/guardians to join the PTA. Please see the the PTA website for detailed information related to membership, events, and to subscribe to the weekly Falcon Flyer. We also encourage you to visit the events page on the PTA website to view all upcoming and ongoing events hosted by the PTA. As always, thank you to our wonderful PTA!
Orders due 02/11 for February PTA Fun Lunch
The next PTA Fun Lunch is scheduled for Friday, February 16th. Cozzi Corner will provide the food and orders are due by Sunday, February 11th. The ordering platform is now open. All meals are $5.00, and you can order for the remainder of the school year, if you wish. Contact Tiffany Melnyk at tiffanyjoy21@gmail.com with any questions about ordering, forgotten login information, or setting up an account.
Teacher Feature
Teacher Feature
We are so glad you are part of our school community! Whether this is your child's first or seventh year at Fairmount, we wanted to provide a fun way to get to know the many members of our teaching and school staff. We started this section last school year and look forward to continuing it during the 2023-2024 school year. Our teachers and staff have been asked new questions, so you can learn even more about them.
Meet Mr. Williams
# of Years at Fairmount: 2 Years
Favorite Movie: The Lord of the Rings
Favorite Place to Go/Travel to: State Parks
Favorite Dessert or Sweet Treat: Snickers or Kitkats!
A fun or unusual fact about me is... I sing in a rock band!
Lens into Learning
Kinders Can
Talk about Tuesday
Marvelous Music
E-Learning Day Highlights
Morning Meeting
Spectacular Sounds
Excellent ELA
Fairmount MVPs - Celebrating Students
Calendar & Important Dates
Early Dismissal Monday, January 29th
Monday, January 29th is our next Professional Learning Monday. All students are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. according to their regular dismissal plan. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your child to be picked up from Fairmount at 2:00 p.m. each Monday.
Mark your Calendars!
01.29: Happy Monday! Wear Orange; 2:00 p.m. Student Dismissal
01.30: Mindful Club for Registered Students; 3:00-3:45 p.m. Sign Language Club for Registered Students
01.31: Chess Wizards for Registered Students
02.01: Happy February! Parent-Teacher Conferences
02.02: Falcon Friday: Wear School Colors and Gear!
A Look Ahead...
02.07: Parent-Teacher Conferences Evening 2
02.19: No School - President's Day
03.01: No School Students - Teacher Institute Day
03.25-03.29: Spring Break: School and Office Closed
2023-2024 School Calendar - Updated
Spring Break: March 25-29, 2024
Last Day of School: Wednesday, May 29, 2024 (if no additional emergency days are used)
Below the Line: Repeated Information
Below the Line
Winter Weather Procedures and Reminders
A friendly reminder to please send your child with both snow pants and snow boots if they would like to be on the field and/or play in the snow. Additionally, there are many days when we need to require both boots and snow pants to be on the playground to make sure students are both safe and dry. If you have any trouble securing these items for your child please contact Lisa Niforatos or Jen (Glynn) Mejdrech.
A reminder that District 58 Winter Weather Procedures can be found by clicking the link below:
Winter Weather Procedures in District 58
Air temperature: How cold is it? What is the wind chill? Can children safely walk to school? There are times when schools may need to be closed due to dangerously cold temperatures. In these situations, wind chill is also taken into account, as well as the extent to which the temperatures are sustained throughout the school day. District 58 has collaborated with District 99 and the elementary districts that feed into District 99 to develop consistent standards. We will likely close school based on extremely cold conditions when a wind chill warning is issued by the National Weather Service during the times students are traveling to or from school. A wind chill warning is typically issued when the wind chill will be -25 degrees Fahrenheit or colder or the actual air temperature is -25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Referral GPS
District 58 strives to create a culture of well-being for students, parents, staff and community. To further support this endeavor, the District has invested in an additional support service through ReferralGPS.
ReferralGPS is a service providing assistance to our community in finding local mental health and substance use-related treatment resources. The service compliments the District’s existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS assists families in triage and appointment setting.
School district staff and families may access ReferralGPS in two ways:
Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists, counselors) to seek out treatment options
Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/DG58 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously
The platform has the ability to filter by mental health concern, clinician gender/specialty, location, and insurance acceptance. The service is available for all types of private and public insurance options including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, and families that are uninsured or underinsured.
ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored.
District 58 shares e-learning plan and winter weather school closing procedures (previously shared in Communicate 58)
If inclement winter weather prompts District 58 to close its schools and facilities this year, the District will notify families and staff as soon as possible using a variety of communication tools. Please note, extreme weather is very unpredictable, and the decision to close schools is typically not able to be made until the morning of the event. District 58 will only send a message if schools will be closed. Otherwise, the day will proceed as usual. District 58 anticipates that most inclement weather "snow days" will be e-learning days.
If schools cannot be open due to inclement weather, District 58 will have the option to declare an emergency day (also known as “snow day”) or an e-learning day. The Board of Education has approved an e-learning plan that allows District 58 to use e-learning days in lieu of emergency days. As communicated previously, because of construction plans this summer and the need to maximize that time for construction, it is more likely that District 58 will prioritize an e-learning day in lieu of an emergency day (“snow day”). An e-learning day does not need to be made up in June. However, students are required to participate in e-learning from home in order to earn credit for the school day. If District 58 uses a traditional emergency day, that day will need to be made up in June. Read more about winter weather procedures.
Weather Reminders
As enter the month of December and have now experienced our first snowfall of the year, we wanted to share a few important reminders regarding outdoor gear to help support students during their recess and playtime outside.
Students will go outside, weather permitting, each day. In the event of inclement weather or the combined temperature and wind chill is below 0 degrees and/or if the conditions outside do not support safe play (e.g. extreme ice) students will take part in indoor recess.
It is important that students come prepared for outdoor weather each day. We certainly know that the weather can vary significantly at this time of year, so students are encouraged to have a “gear bag” that includes hats, gloves, snow pants, and snow/winter boots. Thank you, in advance, for writing your child’s name on all of their gear to support finding lost items.
In the event of snowfall/accumulated snow on the ground, students MUST have both snow pants and snow boots to play in the snow. This includes being on the field/grass area. While students do not need snow pants to play on the playground equipment, they do need to have snow boots in order to access the playground area.
If your family faces hardship in purchasing/securing winter gear, please contact Jen (Glynn) Mejdrech (jglynn@dg58.org) or Lisa Niforatos (lniforatos@dg58.org) for assistance.
Safe to Help
- Click here to connect with Safe2Help Illinois. Students can contact Safe2Help Illinois to safely and confidentially report a crisis or threat involving themselves or someone they know. Safe2Help is monitored 24/7 by trained crisis professionals. District 58 staff will receive an alert after the Safe2Help professional provides support. Through Safe2Help, students can report a crisis or threat through 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
- Call or text "988" and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will provide 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones.
- Text “ACT” to 741741: The National Crisis Text line will connect you with free, confidential assistance.
Fairmount Office Contact Information
Lisa Niforatos, Principal lniforatos@dg58.org
Jill DeRango, Secretary jderango@dg58.org
Email: lniforatos@dg58.org
Website: www.dg58.org/fa/
Location: 6036 Blodgett Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.719.5830
Twitter: @Fairmount58