Caruso Connect - September 24th
#CarusoWay
Last night was a GREAT night! We were able to present to the Board of Education about all of the great things happening at CMS during the "What's Good in D109!" section of the meeting! You can watch it here. You can read the brief recap of the meeting here, which includes a link to the full recording of the meeting. We hope that this week's newsletter is full of information including Halloween Dress Up Information. Also, we have a shipping delay and our locks should arrive early next week for students! When they are ready for 8th grade students to purchase, if they need them, we will send a message home. As a reminder, 6th and 7th grade students will be given them in class. Please read below for more information.
Have a GREAT weekend,
Tim and Caitlin
Tim Brodeur - Principal - tbrodeur@dps109.org
Caitlin Lucci - Associate Principal - clucci@dps109.org
Upcoming Events
10/8 - Picture Retake Day
10/11 - No School
10/15 - Health-Related Examinations and Immunization Requirements DUE
10/29 - Halloween Dress Up
11/11 - No School
11/22 - Parent Teacher Conferences (Evening)
11/23 - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
11/24-11/26 - No School
12/20-12/31 - No School
Blue Jays of the Week
Destination Imagination Information
If your students have an interest in a hands-on, collaborative and fun experience, please plan to have them attend a meeting next week on September 30th beginning at 3:15 to 3:45 in the auditorium about Destination Imagination. (DI). This will be a student driven program which teaches students to be innovative problem solvers. DI provides unique educational experiences across 7 project-based challenge types - Technical, Scientific, Engineering, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Service Learning and Early Learning. Mr. Brodeur and Mr. Arnold will be there to answer questions and explain more about this exciting program.
Caruso Halloween Guidelines
Caruso welcomes students to express their creative side and dress for Halloween while in school on Friday, October 29th. However, the following criteria are in place to ensure a safe and inclusive environment.
Students can only apply make-up, spray colored hairspray, or put on costumes at home. Parents should have full knowledge of what their child will wear for school on October 29th.
Students will not be permitted to wear any type of mask or any other costume that will obstruct the learning environment at school.
School rules for dress will apply. Students should not wear anything that has a sexual connotation or would be considered inappropriate dress.
Students should respect political views and religious beliefs.
Costumes that promote graphic violence are not permitted.
Students should not use costume props of a violent nature, such as toy guns, toy knives, and/or toy swords, to name a few.
Please be mindful of the impact of group costumes. We want to promote the social-emotional well-being of all students. If your child is participating in a group costume, please remind them to consider others and not intentionally exclude anyone.
Lockers
6th Grade, all 6th grade fees have covered the cost of the lock, locks will be distributed in your students ExSEL class on or before September 29th*.
7th Grade, last year your student's fees did not cover the lock. Locks will be distributed in your student's ExSEL class on or before September 29th*. Then the $6 lock fee will be added to their account.
8th Grade, if your student has a lock from 6th grade they should use this one. If they do not, they may visit the main office starting on September 27th* to purchase one for $6. Please do NOT send money to school with your student. We will add this fee to their account.
*Please note that these are the dates we are planning on and will communicate if they change.
What is Test To Stay?
This year, fewer students are needing to be quarantined if they are a close contact to a COVID-19 case, thanks to the Lake County Health Department's "Test To Stay" protocol. Click here to read more from the district about it.
SEL Student Survey
Building students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is important at CMS. As a part of the learning process, we will be asking our students to reflect on their own SEL mindsets via an online survey. The survey will be administered the week of October 4th and should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. It asks students to self-reflect on their own grit, growth mindset, self-efficacy, self-management, social awareness, and emotional regulation.
Individual student responses can provide the school and family with insight into what skills the child self-identifies as strengths and others they would like to develop. The overall data helps us (the educators) identify priorities and provide targeted learning opportunities to address the SEL needs in our classrooms.
Per policy, if you would like your child to opt out of taking the survey, please contact Mr. Brodeur no later than October 1st.
Student Health Requirements 21-22
We recognize and are mindful of the fact that many families may have had difficulty getting children in for physical, dental, and eye exams as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to routine medical care; however, at this time, all child-health related requirements for school attendance, remain in effect for children in public, private, or parochial schools, as per 105 ILCS 5/27-8.1.
Health-related examinations and immunization requirements are due no later than October 15. Please click here to be directed to our website for detailed information regarding specific requirements by grade level.
You will soon be receiving communication from our building nurse if your child is missing any of the required documentation. Students not in compliance with the health examination and immunization requirements will be excluded from school beginning Friday, October 15, 2021. Please reach out with any questions regarding these requirements as we want to partner with you to ensure compliance with these requirements. Thank you.
Wednesday ExSEL
This week students met in their ExSEL groups!
ExSEL (Executive Functioning + Social-Emotional Learning) is a new addition to our Wednesday early release schedule. This is designated school-wide time each week for students to build relationships with teachers and peers. During this time, students will have the space and opportunity to check in with teachers while focusing on social-emotional learning, executive functioning, relationship building, coping strategies, and self-awareness.
SHIELD Testing
Students will begin SHIELD testing at 8:30 AM. Please ensure that students do not have food, gum, or drinks an hour prior to testing. Students will be called out of class for SHIELD testing according to the schedule below. Please communicate with your student if you would like them to test or not. We make reminder calls for all students for testing, and if students have your consent they can test even if they do not have a QR code/lanyard yet. (We are working with district office to ensure everyone has one soon!)
8th Grade 8:30-8:50 from Encore 1
6th Grade 8:50-9:10 from Core 1
7th Grade 9:20-9:40 from Core 2
CARUSO - 8:30 AM - 10:45 AM
- Wednesday, September 29
- Wednesday, October 6
- Wednesday, October 13
- Wednesday, October 20
- Wednesday, October 27
- Wednesday, November 3
- Wednesday, November 10
- Wednesday, November 17
-Wednesday, December 1
- Wednesday, December 8
- Wednesday, December 15
Testing is not mandatory. By consenting to the testing, your child’s name is put on a roster and the expectation is that they will be testing weekly unless a parent/guardian notifies us otherwise.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO FILL OUT THE SHIELD CONSENT FORM…
Log in to Skyward/Family Access and it should appear as a green box next to your child’s name. Contact Kristen Neu (kneu@dps109.org) with any Family Access questions.
IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO OPT OUT OF A WEEK OF TESTING…
Fill out this Google Form prior to 7 AM on the day that our school tests: Wednesday
Activities and Sports Update
One of the best things about school is all the clubs and activities that are offered! We are THRILLED to bring back a full slate of options for lots of ways to get involved at Caruso. Please check out our Clubs and Activities Website for more information - when you find a club you're interested in joining, click on the page for more info and reach out to the sponsor!
We encourage every single student to join at least ONE club or activity this year -- and if your student has an idea for a club that currently isn't being offered, reach out to Mrs. Lucci with a proposal and we'll try to get it up and running!
Homework Club and Gear Begins
Beginning Monday, August 30, Homework Club and Gear Up will be available after school in rooms E-6 and E-8. See the attached letter for more details.
If you have any additional questions, please see Miss Gold or Mrs. Reisman.
Family Support
Student Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures
Arrival will take place from 7:45-8:00. All late arrivals should come to the front office.
Entry Locations/Doors
6th Grade: Main Entrance
8th Grade: West Entrance (side of building)
7th Grade: Corner of West/North Side (drop off students at end of sidewalk before bus area)
Walkers/Bussers: Activities Entrance (back of building)
Dismissal is at 3:00 on M/T/TH/F , and 2:00 on Wednesdays.
**Wednesday, August 25 will NOT be an early release day.**
If you are picking up your student during the school day, please contact the main office by calling or buzzing the front door. If you need to drop something off for your student you will be buzzed into the building and be able to leave it in the lobby. Please make sure to label the item with your student's first and last name.
COVID Information
TESTING FOR SYMPTOMATIC STUDENTS
DPS 109 will be offering testing for symptomatic students Monday through Friday afternoons during the school year. The BinaxNOW test will be administered outside of the District Office in the beige testing building (please look for sign on door). Testing is free of charge to families. Click here to read more about testing.
WHAT DO I DO IF MY CHILD WAKES UP SICK? DO OTHER SIBLINGS HAVE TO STAY HOME?
It’s always a tough situation when this happens in the morning! Be sure to read this section in our COVID information hub, especially if you have multiple children enrolled in DPS 109. Our school exclusion guidance comes from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Who to Contact?
Mrs. Lucci
Mr. Brodeur
Caruso Middle School
Email: cmsoffice@dps109.org
Website: https://www.dps109.org/Page/9
Location: 1801 Montgomery Road, Deerfield, IL, USA
Twitter: @109Caruso