The Tiger Times Newsletter
Pleasantdale Middle School
April 19, 2020
4.19.20 Thoughts from Mr. Sonntag
Dear Middle School Community,
I shared the above message because as a parent, I needed to hear that message as a reminder that we're all in this together, our children are going to be ok, and we're going to come out of this even stronger together.
With Friday's announcement by the governor of the cancelation of in-person school for the remainder of the school year, eLearning is our way forward until the end of the school year. Let me start off by saying that while I completely support the decision for the sake of everyone's safety, I'm left very quiet. I'm left without the words to share what I am feeling as of yet, but I am definitely feeling so much right now. I'm certain in the coming weeks, I'll be able to better express my feelings, but for now, I'm just going to sit in them a little while before sharing.
New implementation of A/B eLearning begins tomorrow
While the announcement was not a surprise, the eLearning Steering committee has made some recommendations in order to sustain this eLearning for the next 6 weeks. Beginning tomorrow, Monday, April 20, the Middle school will observe an “A/B” schedule that looks like the following:
Mondays/Wednesdays: Math, Science, Specials, and PE
Tuesdays/Thursdays: ELA, Social Studies, Spanish, and PE.
Fridays will be reserved for academic-based enrichment activities, catch-up, remediation, and teacher collaboration time. At the Middle School, Fridays may include student/teacher contact time, mainly in the afternoon.
As we also begin to wrap our heads around eLearning for the remainder of the school year, we need to keep encouraging our kids to learn for the sake of learning. I've said for a very long time that so much learning occurs outside of the four walls of a school building. That belief is true now more than ever. Yes, teachers are going to continue to provide learning experiences for the kids, but there's also a real opportunity for parents to inspire growth and learning at home that is either completely disconnected from school learning or is connected through a passion project or genius hour. Regardless of what your kids are into, encourage them to learn at a depth they've never learned before about that topic. Take a look at this short video by a classmate of mine in middle and high school as he discusses the important role parents play in this growth.
How Parents Inspire Growth and Learning-5:27-Mawi Asegdom
Please also continue to read Dr. Palzet's updates each day as he is going to continue sharing with you important information about our eLearning programming and the district as a whole. His voice continues to be our one voice for the district so that everyone is receiving the same message at the same time. We will follow his messages with middle school specific messages as needed.
Future events/cancellations
Our administrative team is meeting multiple times this week to discuss this amongst other items now that the governor has canceled in-person school for the remainder of the school year. We will provide you updates in the near future about all the future events that had been previously scheduled.
Remember, we are all in this together. Together we are #P-DaleStrong.
Take care of yourselves, continue to stay home, and be well.
Mr. Sonntag
If you are in need of support, please reach out to us...
If you have needs (food, groceries, connection, anything), please do not hesitate to reach out to me at gsonntag@d107.org or 630-280-4704 and we will confidentially connect you to the support you're requesting.
Thank you to those of you who have contacted me and offered to help those in our community.
If you forgot to do the attendance form for your child on Friday...
As you probably read (a few times in the past couple of weeks), our attendance procedures changed last week. Parents need to fill out a short google form for each child (pre-K-8) indicating whether they were present or absent for eLearning throughout the week (April 14-17). If you completed this, thank you! If you didn't, please click on the link below and do so right away. We appreciate your continued support with our eLearning program.
Grade Level Assignments for eLearning All In One Place
We started sharing these documents with students this week and wanted to share them with you. These grade-level docs will be the jumping-off point for eLearning by grade level. Please bookmark these webpages because we will be updating the document each day/week.
You may not have access to some of the links contained inside the docs, but you'll be able to access them with your child(ren).
Check them out, and let me know what you think about them via email (gsonntag@d107.org).
5th Grade Assignments/Checklist
6th Grade Assignments/Checklist
Morning Announcements Are Here!
Each day, check out the morning announcements including information, birthdays, quote of the day, service idea from home, a request to respond, and much, much more! We send these out through Schoology each morning and will begin posting to social media as well! We hope the kids enjoy just a little bit of normalcy to their days in the form of our morning announcements.
Special thanks to Mrs. Bubulka, innovative teaching coach, and Mrs. Steinmetz for getting this up and running!
Student Council Information from Mrs. Driscoll and Ms. Newberry
Student Council Wednesday Meeting
Join us for Student Council on Wednesdays at 3pm.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/809276501?pwd=TVlXbjU0b2JJaXZDMW5rUG9LeXFsQT09
Meeting ID: 809 276 501
Password: 010726
Mrs. Driscoll & Mrs. Newberry
New Friday Yoga from Mrs. Driscoll
Take a yoga break this week and try this class called Hatha Yoga (Make Your World A Better Place!) 30 Minute Practice and enjoy the beach scenery!
Mrs. Driscoll
Future Events/Activities Update
Continued Appreciation for P-Dale Middle School Staff
District Communications All In One Place
To make it as easy as possible for you, the communications from our Superintendent Dr. Palzet are all in one place. They can be found on our district webpage here.
Photography Club Sponsored by Mr. Madsen
Please check out his video about how to be a part of the Photo Club and check Schoology for the submission form.
Educational Video Contest
During these times, we need to remember that sadness and acting out for some kids may take many forms. Please be extra patient and show extra love during these difficult times.
Quote of the Week-
"Kindness improves your immune system." It's actually true too!
Good News Network
Parent Education Corner
As a follow up to this blogpost on resiliency by my very talented wife, Dr. Jessica Sonntag, the third episode of their podcast dropped this week and it is all about how to build Confidence in our children. It's another great listen for parents with kids at all ages.
I hope you'll take a look at this and it will help you as we parent through these different and challenging times. Enjoy!
Episode #1 Royal-ly Resilient Video Podcast: Episode 1-24:36
This provides an overview of the book and allows you to get to know the presenters.
Episode #2 Royal-ly Resilient Video Podcast: Episode 2-24:26
Episode #2 focuses on developing competency in our kids and how as parents sometimes, we just need to "get out of the way" and allow children to "do".
New this week! Royal-ly Resilient Video Podcast: Episode 3-33:49
Episode #3 Join us as we discuss the importance of confidence and how we build it through our own experiences versus false affirmation.
Brené Brown's Podcast Continues To Be Very Helpful...
Here's another great listen--even if you don't think you've ever experienced anxiety, this is a really important listen because of how contagious anxiety has been found to be. It's 35:10 but feel free to skip the first 5:00 as she discusses a product she endorses.
Brené on Anxiety, Calm + Over/Under-Functioning--35:10
We all have patterned ways of managing our day-to-day anxiety, and these patterns often reflect the roles and expectations of our first families. In this episode, we’ll talk about over and under-functioning in anxious times, why anxiety is contagious, and how we can cultivate a calm practice. --Brené Brown
Summer Academy Update
Due to the on-going stay-at-home order and in-person school closure for the remainder of the school year, we are currently developing options for our summer academy programming. More information will be coming to you in the future.
Collections at the Middle School-Keep Collecting, Please
We collect the following at the middle school:
1. Pop Tabs-The Pop Tab competition by grade has begun so please continue to collect Pop Tabs for us throughout the year. We donate them to Ronald McDonald House to support families of children with cancer.
2. Box Tops for Education-These are all given to the PTO to support our schools!
3. Lids-Our Elements of Nature Club (EONC) 5th graders are collecting clean lids to drink and food containers to create art to put around the school. There is a collection place in the front hallway outside the office.
Throughout the year, there are other collections and drives that occur. Keep an eye out for how you can support the causes that are important to the students and staff here!
Tiger Tipline
While it is always best to talk directly to a staff member, we understand that sometimes this can be uncomfortable or difficult for students or parents. At Pleasantdale Middle School, we offer the Tiger Tipline as an anonymous tool for reporting unsafe, uncomfortable, or unkind behaviors and situations. We explicitly teach the students that if they ever see something or hear something that makes them feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or is unkind, either online or in person, they should tell a “trusted adult” which could be parents, school personnel, or other adults in their lives. The Tiger Tipline can be accessed here and we will post the link in Schoology and create a shortcut to the link on the student devices for easy access.
School Spirit Fridays!
Lunch information-Grab and Go Meal Available During Closure
"Beginning March 17, we will offer meals to any child in the community,18 or under, who needs nutritional support. In partnership with our food service provider, Just A Dash, we will provide breakfast and lunch at no charge. Pick up times are between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. This week we will provide lunches on Tuesday (today), Wednesday, and Friday. Moving forward, these “Grab & Go” meals will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays through April 6 (and during spring break). To encourage social distancing, we will provide curbside service. Simply pull up to door #25 in the back of the middle school (7450 S. Wolf Rd., Burr Ridge), and food will be brought to your vehicle."
Review complete email from Dr. Palzet about Grab and Go Meals During School Closure
Follow Us on Twitter @Pdaleprincipal for updates and pictures of the happenings around the middle school!
Follow pdalemsactivities on Instagram for reminders about school spirit days and events throughout the year!
This Week...
Monday, April 20-Day A, Math, Science, Specials, PE
Tuesday, April 21-Day B, ELA, SS, Spanish, Resource, PE
Wednesday, April 22-Day A, Math, Science, Specials, PE, 3 p.m. Student Council Meeting
Thursday, April 23-Day B, ELA, SS, Spanish, Resource, PE
Friday, April 24-Enrichment/Catch-up Friday-check grade level assignment docs
(Parents submit attendance through morning email from Dr. Palzet)
Remember, parents, Friday you will submit attendance for the week (4/20-4/24).
Next Week...
eLearning M-F for students (same schedule as above)
Wednesday, April 29, 3 p.m.-Weekly Student Council Meeting
Parents will submit attendance on 5/1.
Questions? We're here to help!
Athletics: 708-246-7382
Mr. Mark Dreher, Athletic Director, mdreher@d107.org
Attendance notification: 708-246-3210, extension 5 or email middleattendance@d107.org before 8:20 a.m., please.
Health Office: 708-246-7619
Mrs. Denise Rende, Nurse, drende@d107.org
Main Office: 708-246-3210, extension 0
Mrs. Stacey Tantillo, Secretary, stantillo@d107.org
Ms. Maria Cuevas, Clerical Aide, mcuevas@d107.org
Mrs. Brianne Malatt, Assistant Principal, bmalatt@d107.org, 708-246-7373
Mr. Griffin Sonntag, Principal, gsonntag@d107.org, 708-246-7609
Social Worker: 708-246-7505
Ms. Carrie Castaldo, Social Worker, ccastaldo@d107.org