Fairmount Families Week END Report
03.17.2023
Happy Friday, Fairmount Families!
Thank you to all the families who have initiated the registration process. Your attention to this is beneficial when it comes to our school-wide preparations for the 2023-2024 school year. We appreciate all returning families' support in completing this process by April 4th.
The Raptor system is being piloted at Fairmount School, and it was installed in our main office this week. Please review below for details about this new visitor management system that will be implemented district-wide after spring break. As a reminder, please bring your ID to Fairmount each time you visit in support of this new system.
As the weather has fluctuated over the past few weeks the office has had many daily changes in dismissal. If able, please notify the office of dismissal changes before 11:00 a.m. as later dismissal changes tend to be more disruptive to the learning environment. We understand late changes in dismissal often cannot be avoided, in which case, please call the school office directly in lieu of emailing. Emails regarding a change in dismissal should be sent to Jillian DeRango (jderango@dg58.org) and Jill Darrah (jdarrah@dg58.org) as classroom teachers may not see their emails at various points in the school day.
When we return from Spring Break, 3rd-6th grade students will be engaging in the IAR assessment (additional details below). If you know your child will not be in school at any point during the week of April 3rd, we kindly ask you to notify the office as soon as possible.
As we head into our last week before Spring Break, our Student Council has planned a Spirit Week. Please see below for additional details.
Enjoy your weekend!
Sincerely,
Lisa Niforatos, Principal
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @Fairmount58.
Please be sure to check out the "Lens into Learning" and "Celebration" sections later in the newsletter for photo highlights from the week.
Yearbook Deadline Approaching...
The school office does not have access to ordering information, however, all ordering details can be accessed directly through your TreeRing account.
3rd-6th Grade Book Exchange
Any questions - please contact Mrs. Stroud - estroud@dg58.org
District 58 Full Day Kindergarten 2023-2024
District 58 is excited to offer a universal full-day kindergarten program for the coming 2023-24 school year. What this means is that the tuition-based full-day kindergarten program known as OKEEP will end after the current school year. Yearly student registration fees will still be required. We are excited about this move as it provides a full-day program to all District 58 students and gives teachers more flexibility in delivering instruction, socialization time, deeper discovery and play-based learning. Please ask friends and neighbors with preschool-age children who are eligible for kindergarten (children who are five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2023) to contact our school at 630.719.5830 to be added to our incoming kindergarten list. Kindergarten Round-Up is scheduled for March 21, 2023 and we want to ensure that parents and guardians can visit their child’s future school and meet the principal and teacher. Families may visit www.dg58.org/kindergarten to access pertinent information in the District 58 Kindergarten Resource Guide.
Kindergarten Round-Up is THIS Week!
2023-24 registration for Grove Children’s Preschool is now open!
Will your child be 3 or 4 years old this August? Please consider applying for your child to attend Grove Children's Preschool in District 58! Grove has earned back-to-back gold ratings, which is the highest rating the State awards preschools for excellence in teaching and learning. Applications are now open at www.dg58.org/preschool.
Summer School Registration is OPEN!
Congratulations to our Young Author's Winners
Kindergarten: Reed S.
1st Grade: Elizabeth S.
2nd Grade: Liza G.
3rd Grade: Lexi B.
4th Grade: Lincoln M. and Donovan K.
5th Grade: Edie Z.
6th Grade: Ollie L.
School Winner: Lilly H. (Grade 4)
IAR Upcoming Assessments - 3rd-6th Grade
Week 1 IAR Testing
Wednesday, April 5th:3rd, 5th, 6th Grade AM testing; 4th Grade PM testing
Thursday, April 6th:
3rd, 5th, 6th Grade AM testing; 4th Grade PM testing
Week 2 IAR Testing
Monday, April 10th:
3rd, 4th, 5th Grade AM testing; 6th Grade PM testing
Tuesday, April 11th:
5th & 6th Grade AM testing; 3rd & 4th Grade PM testing
Wednesday, April 12th:
3rd, 5th, 6th Grade AM testing; 4th Grade PM testing
Thursday, April 13th:
3rd, 5th, 6th Grade AM testing; 4th Grade PM testing
Week 3 IAR Testing
Makeups will occur as needed from Monday, April 17th - Friday, April 21st.
Cougar's Reading Program
The Cougar's Reading Program has officially ended! Papers should have come home this week with your child with instructions for how to order tickets. All ordering is completed online. Tickets cannot be ordered until 3/23. Thank you to all who participated! We hope you enjoy your time at the Cougar's game as a reward for your hard work with reading!
PTA Spiritwear
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 hope you enjoy learning a little more about each of our staff members in the weekly Teacher Feature.
Teacher Feature - Ms. Kroll
Role at Fairmount: 1st Grade Teacher
# of Years at Fairmount School: 4 Years
Favorite Food or Restaurant: Chili's
If she is not at school, you can catch Ms. Kroll playing with my two kittens or watching the Food Network.
Favorite Quote: "Even the darkest nights will end and the sun will always rise again."
The best thing about working with children every day is... watching their reactions every time they learn something new or accomplish a challenging task.
Celebrating Students
Early Dismissal Monday
Mark your Calendars!
Students will be engaging in a Fire Drill this week!
03.20: Spirit Week: Couch Potato Day: dress comfy; 2:00 p.m. Early Dismissal
03.21: Spirit Week: Disney Day; 5th Grade ISA Science Assessment (see teacher email); 6:00-7:00 p.m. Kindergarten Round-Up
03.22: Spirit Week: Western Wednesday; 3rd-6th Grade Book Swap; 3:00-3:45 p.m. Sign Language Club for Registered Students;
03.23: Spirit Week: Dress like a Principal Day; 3:00-3:45 p.m. Reader's Theater for Registered Students
03.24: Sprit Week: Fun Friday: dress wacky or mismatched!
03.27-03.31: No School: Spring Break - School office is closed.
A Look Ahead...
04.04: No School for Students - Teacher Institute
04.07: No School
06.07: Last Day of School (if no emergency days are used)
2023-2024 School Calendar
The Board of Education approved the District 58 2023-24 school year calendar.
Highlights include:
First Day of School: Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023
Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 22-24, 2023
Winter Break: Dec. 25, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024
Spring Break: March 25-29, 2024
Last Day of School: Friday, May 24 (if no emergency days are used)
Below the Line
Visitor Screening System (previously in Communicate 58)
As discussed in this week's Communicate 58, District 58 will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and know who is in our building at all times. District 99 uses the Raptor system at both of its schools.
Upon entering a school, 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 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 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 school safety protocols in our district. We appreciate your patience as we implement this new protocol.
PTA's One School, One Book Began 3/6
This month, Fairmount School is participating in a PTA-sponsored, national family-read program called One School, One Book. Every family received one copy of the same book – Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson - and are encouraged to read it together at home over the next three weeks. Please note, this program is an optional family activity.
Building Bricks - Being our Best!
Our current Falcon Focus is "Being Kind". We love watching our Falcon Focus bulletin board fill up with stickers in recognition of all our students' kind actions!
Parent/Guardian and Student Surveys (previously emailed)
To help us ensure a nurturing, supportive and child-centered learning environment for every student, we ask our parents/guardians to please participate in District 58’s annual Parent/Guardian School Environment Survey. This survey should take just a few minutes, yet the valuable input you provide will help guide the work of our principals, teachers and district administrators as they plan school improvement efforts. All responses are anonymous.
Parents may take the Parent/Guardian School Environment Survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/2023District58Survey now through Friday, Feb. 17. The survey is also linked online at www.dg58.org/surveys. If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact your child’s school for a paper copy. If you have a child attending more than one District 58 school, please complete a separate survey for each building. We value your responses and thank you for your time and effort!
We also invite parents/guardians to take the Illinois State Board of Education’s 5Essentials Parent Survey at https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/ now through Friday, March 31. District 58 will receive 5Essentials Parent Survey data if 20% or more of a school’s parents/guardians participate in this survey. This survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. Your participation in this survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected to you or your child.
In addition to the parent/guardian surveys, fourth through eighth grade students will be asked to participate in a 5Essentials Student Survey sometime between Jan. 31-March 24. If you do not wish to have your fourth through eighth grade student(s) participate, please complete this Opt-Out Form and return it to your child’s school office by Friday, Jan. 27.
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey: Organizing Schools for Improvement was developed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The survey’s results will become part of the 2023 Illinois State Report Card for your child’s school. Student, staff and parent identities will be kept confidential, and responses will not be linked to any individual. To view the privacy policy related to this survey, visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/privacy. To view the 5Essentials survey that will be administered to fourth through eighth grade students, visit https://impactsurveyshelp.force.com/s/article/illinois-5essentials-survey-questions. The survey results will be used by your child’s school to inform planning.
If you have any questions about these surveys, please contact District 58 Community Relations Coordinator Megan Hewitt at mhewitt@dg58.org.
Attendance, Arrival and Dismissal Reminders
If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please call the Fairmount Office at 630.719.5830 to report his/her absence. If you call before or after office hours, you are welcome to leave attendance information on the school's voicemail. We kindly ask that you do not email attendance information to the teacher or principal.
If your child's dismissal plan will be different (e.g. not taking the bus), please communicate this to both the school secretaries and classroom teacher as promptly as possible. This is especially important for our younger students, so we can support their dismissal process. In the event of a last-minute change, we ask that you please call the school office (630-719.5830) as staff members may not check their emails prior to daily dismissal.
Reminder: Cold Weather/Snow Gear
If your child would like to play in the snow/be on the field (assuming conditions are safe to do so), they must have both snow pants and snow boots. We also appreciate your support in making sure your child(ren) comes prepared for the weather/elements each day as we will typically go outside for recess if the conditions permit and the feels like temperature is above 0 degrees.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to Lisa Niforatos (Principal) or Jen Glynn (Social Worker) if you do not have access to the resources to secure cold-weather gear for your child(ren).
Safe 2 Help
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.
Learn more about Safe2Help and District 58's crisis resources.
Fairmount Office Contact Information
Lisa Niforatos, Principal lniforatos@dg58.org
Jillian DeRango, Secretary jderango@dg58.org
Jill Darrah, Secretary jdarrah@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