Hammerschmidt's Happenings
May 25th- 29th
The Last Weekly Staff News of the 2019-2020 School Year!
Dear WHS Staff,
Thank you for all that you are doing to make the final week as special as possible for our WHS students!
Grade Level Class List Finalization Meetings
Virtual grade level meetings will take place on Wednesday 5/27 to finalize the class lists for 2020-2021. See the times below.:
Grade 1 9:00 a.m.
Grade 2 9:30 a.m.
Grade 3 10:00 a.m
Grade 4 10:30 a.m.
Grade 5 Family Celebration- Virtual Video Premiere Party and Awards - Thursday 5/28, 6:30 pm
The Fifth Grade Farewell Committee has been working hard to provide an appropriate “Farewell” for our Hammerschmidt Graduating Class of 2020!
Part of the committee’s work included the creation of a special slideshow featuring our Grade 5 students over the years. Since we will not have the traditional opportunity to showcase the video slideshow at an “in-person” party, we are hosting a Virtual Video Premiere Party instead.
Please join the WHS Grade 5 Family Google Meet on Thursday night, May 28th to watch the video slideshow together. The video is approximately 20 minutes in length. The video will be followed by a short 5th Grade Awards and Recognition Ceremony. The entire event will not last more than 45 minutes.
Use the information below to join the celebration:
To join the video meeting, click this link:
https://meet.google.com/fqv-epfd-bcu
We hope to see you there!
WHS Staff "Reverse Parade" -- Friday 5/29
he team of planners for the End of the Year Reverse Parade met and discussed several details on how this will look for staff and students. Below are things that you should keep in mind as it may include grade level/team planning ahead of time.
- The parade will take place on and around the Hammerschmidt “campus” on Friday, May 29th. The parade will begin at 9 a.m. but staff should arrive early to set up their “station.”
- Staff members will be grouped with their grade level teams and will be given a location on where to set up camp.
- Each team should plan on bringing:
- Decorations and/or signs (may include pom poms, homemade posters, etc.)
- Lawn chairs
- Speakers w/music
- Snacks/beverages
- A canopy/tent/ blanket to act as a home base (optional)
- Please wear WHS spirit wear!
Below you will find the map of the event along with the parade route:
Last Names:
- A - C: 9:00- 9:30 a.m.
- D - G: 9:45- 10:15 a.m.
- H - L: 10:30- 11:00 a.m
- M -R: 11:15- 11:45 a.m.
- S - Z: 12:00- 12:30 p.m.
Report Cards: No Progress Reports Will Be Issued
There are two key messages for our staff to know about end of year progress and reporting for our students. First is that every student will pass onto the next grade level. ISBE has made it clear that grades that would result in “educational harm” to a student cannot be issued. Not allowing a student to move onto the next grade level due to performance during remote learning would clearly be in violation of this.
Second, because of this, all grades must be entered into Skyward by teachers as “pass” for each student by June 5. While you do have the option to enter “incomplete” for students who have not shown any level of engagement during remote learning, we would prefer you instead speak with your building principal prior to issuing this so we can understand your perspective. We must treat the Trimester 3 progress of our students with great sensitivity due to the COVID-19 Pandemic as well as because of progress reporting requirements put into place by ISBE.
Teachers should be aware that parents will have access to view their student’s information in Skyward. We will be sending out step-by-step directions for teachers to understand how to input the “pass” grade into Skyward and for parents to access the report card online. Teachers will also NOT be expected to enter any comments, including that of the typical “advance to new grade level” option you usually select each year.
Building secretaries will need to print out the report card only to place into the student’s cumm file. Building secretaries will need to coordinate when this will occur with their principal and Jon Dathe.
Teacher Requested PD & Supply and Ordering
With access to buildings being limited, we know teachers have been unable to develop inventory lists and request supplies for next school year. This combined with the overall uncertainty of what next school year will look like, we have decided to postpone all ordering for next school year. Instead, we will address this at a later date once more details are known as well as once access can be provided in a way that allows us to order in the most informed way. In terms of teacher requested professional development, we will be freezing all requests at this time. Instead, internal opportunities through D44 University classes will be provided. More information about this will be forthcoming.
Digital Programs and Summer Access:
Here is some information regarding some of our digital programs and summer access:
MobyMax: Students can access this program under their current teacher until 8/1. On this day, students can still access MobyMax, but their progress will not be saved for the next school year.
Zearn: Students will be able to access Zearn all summer. Please ignore any emails you received from Zearn at this point, and do NOT remove any students from your current class.
Seesaw: Students can access their Seesaw classes until 8/1. On this day, the district will archive Seesaw classes. If parents would like to download their child's journal to keep those items, you can send them these directions. Because we have the paid version of Seesaw, the district will be rostering classes. You do not need to manually set up your Seesaw class in the fall, as you may have done in the past. More information will be available about this after 8/1.
The rest of the programs (Newsela, Khan etc.) should be available until you archive the class in the fall.
Assistant Principal Named at GWMS
At Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, Mrs. Carmen Abraham was approved to be Assistant Principal of GWMS starting next school year.
Mrs. Abraham currently serves as Community Parent Liaison at Madison Elementary. She brings to the position a variety of diverse experiences as well as a passion for the students of this district. She was one several highly qualified candidates who were considered for the position.
Mrs. Abraham will assume the role beginning July 1, with current Assistant Principal Scott Stehlik taking over as principal following the departure of Mike Fumagalli. Please join me in congratulating her!
New Board Members Seated
I am excited to share with you the appointment of two new community members to the Lombard District 44 Board of Education. Please join me in welcoming these individuals to serve in this crucial leadership role.
James Robinette
Occupation: Principal Suburban Elementary District
Attendance Area: Pleasant Lane
Mr. Robinette previously served on the Lombard District 44 Board of Education. While he previously had to step down to complete his doctoral classes and achieve his school superintendent endorsement, Mr. Robinette is excited to re-join in service of our students and staff.
Priscilla Oliveros-Gallego
Occupation: Owner of Security Services Firm
Attendance Area: Madison
Ms. Oliveros-Gallego has a history of volunteering for the district, having served on the PTA. We are excited to welcome her to support our students and staff and share her knowledge, diverse experiences and perspectives.
Mr. Robinette and Ms. Oliveros-Gallego fill seats previously held by Mr. John Schroder and Ms. Kristina Moxley. They will each serve one-year terms, with their seats up for reelection next April.
We are fortunate to welcome such experienced, passionate and dedicated individuals to our Board of Education.
Tweets of the Week:
Below you will find some of the highlights from the FINAL WEEK:
Celebrity Doppelganger
3 Little Know Netflix (or other streaming service) Recommendations:
Favorite Class Assignment
Favorite Cabin Fever Remedy
Best Quarantine Impulse Buy
Individual Team Score Sheets For Week #3:
Great job everyone!
I hope you had fun participating in this 3 week challenge!
Staff Shout Outs!
Shelly Meiers
Shelley held down the fort on my Google Meet when I lost internet connection! Thank you!
Cathi, Brianna, Kristen, Tracie, Kristin, Kurt, Karen, Shelly, and Michelle
Marie Erickson
Allison Brown
WHS Staff "Shout Out" Nominations
GCN Tutorials are Available for 2020-21
Please use the login information provided:
CLICK HERE for the GCN Login Site
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Stay safe, stay positive!
Rebecca Harris
As we close our year, I thought this video was an appropriate way for us all to "Keep the end in mind!" Enjoy!
Contact Me Anytime!
Email: ddanielski@sd44.org
Website: http://wh.sd44.org/
Location: Wm Hammerschmidt Elementary School, Hammerschmidt Avenue, Lombard, IL, United States
Phone: 630-677-8457
Twitter: @ddanielski