Fairmount Families Week END Report
04.05.2024
Happy Friday, Fairmount Families!
It was great to have everyone back in the building this week from what I hope was a wonderful and restful Spring Break.
IAR testing for 3rd through 6th grade students kicked off this week and will continue into next. We appreciate your support in doing your best to schedule appointments around testing, but will also support student make-ups as they are needed in the upcoming weeks.
Please be sure to check below for a number of "Save the Dates" regarding end of the year activities. More information will be shared in future newsletters.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Lisa Niforatos, Principal
Be sure to follow me on Twitter/X @Fairmount58.
Quick Links:
Information & Reminders
Please register by April 8th!
Families who have not yet registered their child(ren) for the coming year will have received an email from the District earlier this week asking them to register as soon as possible, preferably by Monday, April 8. In addition, our school will start contacting families inquiring whether their child(ren) will be returning for the 2024-25 school year and to ask them to register as soon as possible.
Timely registration is very important to us. It allows us to know how many students will be in each grade level and in each school, and allows us to plan for the number of teachers and support staff needed.
Click here to register. Please call the school if you have questions.
Solar Eclipse (previously shared in Communicate 58)
On Monday, April 8, 2024, District 58 will be along the path of a solar eclipse. Locally, this will be experienced as a partial eclipse, occurring during our regular school dismissal time, 2:00 pm for elementary schools and 2:10 pm for middle schools. There will be no changes to the regularly scheduled instructional day.
While this is a rare and exciting phenomenon, it presents a risk of eye injury to everyone, including children who may not understand the dangers of looking directly in the direction of the sun. The timing of the eclipse, when children are transitioning home, requires coordination in explaining to students they should not at any time be looking at the sun without appropriate eye protection. As students are dismissed staff will be reminding students about the importance of not looking directly into the sun.
If you choose to send properly certified protective eyewear to school with your child(ren), we will allow them to put on the glasses when they exit the building. Due to the timing of the partial eclipse occurring at dismissal, there will be no viewing events at any of the schools.
IAR Testing
IAR testing for 3rd-6th grade will continue next week. Please see below for information related to when your child's grade is scheduled to test each day.
Monday, April 8th: Make-Up Testing All Grades
Tuesday, April 9th: Grade 3, 4 and 5 Math Assessment
Wednesday, April 10th: 6th Grade Math Assessment; Make-Up Testing
Thursday, April 11th: 4th Grade Math Assessment; Make-Up Testing
Friday, April 12th: Make-Up Testing
Please read this letter from Assistant Superintendent Liz Ehrhart about these tests and ways to help support your student.
District 58 Students - Library Cards (previously emailed)
The Downers Grove Public Library’s (DGPL) Student Library Card program will make library cards available to all students in District 58 as part of an intergovernmental agreement recently signed between the two entities.
CLICK HERE for additional information.
Kids Heart Challenge Last Call
WOW! Our Kids Heart Challenge will be wrapping up shortly and we are so proud of the involvement
so far! A special thank you to the students who have registered and completed Finn’s Mission. For
those who have not yet, we’d love for you to join.
All you have to do is click this link to register!
Please contact Mr. Zieman (rzieman@dg58.org) with any questions.
24/7 Varsity Tutors
Did you know that the Downers Grove Grade School District has partnered with the DuPage County ROE to offer all students free homework assistance? This support is already available on your child's device. Simply navigate to Clever and select the Varsity Tutor app. It's that simple!
Summer School Registration is Now Open!
Please click on the link below to access information about DG58 Summer School opportunities:
Kindergarten Information for 2024-2025
Thank you for helping us spread the word to any neighbors who have a child preparing to enter Kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year. The information linked below has been emailed to current Fairmount families with future Kindergarteners (based on siblings) as well as those that have contacted our office for information.
Welcome to Kindergarten 2024-2025 - UPDATED!
1st and 2nd Grade Music Performance
Our 1st and 2nd Grade music performance will be held on Thursday April 18th at 6:00 p.m. 1st and 2nd grade families received a communication from Mr. Williams in February with additional details. If you have additional questions regarding this upcoming performance, please contact Mr. Williams at josephwilliams@dg58.org.
PUNS Training
Have you ever wondered what the PUNS brochure is all about? It's that piece of paper that prints with every IEP that we are required to share with families annually. Two of DG58's very own parents of students with special needs are pairing up to educate other families about their experience working through the PUNS system. Please consider attending one of their sessions if your schedule allows. We can help better educate our families as more informed consumers.
Save the Date - Spring & End of the Year Events
More information to come on all of the following, but please Save the Date for these Spring and End of the Year events at Fairmount.
Fairmount Open House 2024
Fairmount Open House will be on Thursday, April 25th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. This year, our PTA will be hosting a STEAM Night during Open House hours in the gym. This will be a wonderful evening to visit your child's classroom, see other learning spaces AND check-out STEM Night!
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!
April Fun Lunch
The next Fun Lunch will be provided by Cozzi Corner on Friday, April 12th (order deadline Sunday, April 7th). Order at https://fairmount.h1.hotlunchonline.net and contact Tiffany Melnyk at tiffanyjoy21@gmail.com with any questions.
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 Mrs. Eakley
Role at Fairmount: Orchestra Teacher
# of Years at Fairmount: This will be my 8th year, but this is my first year after a 7 year gap.
Favorite Movie: Star Wars: ALL OF THEM
Favorite Place to Go/Travel to: Florida
Favorite Dessert or Sweet Treat: Organic whipped cream with organic raspberries
A fun or unusual fact about me is... my sister is the band teacher at Fairmount!
Lens into Learning
Talk about Tuesday
In the Zone
We've Got Spirit!
Our Kindergarten students in Mrs. Micele's class showed off some serious spirit on their "math" day. Students (and staff) had numbers and patterns on their clothes!
Fairmount MVPs - Celebrating Students
Young Authors
We are so proud of all of the students who participated in Young Authors.
Congratulations to the following winners:
Kindergarten: Brielle M.
1st Grade: Lyla N.
2nd Grade: Vivian H.
3rd Grade: Gracyn N. and Sydney D.
4th Grade: Rowan N.
5th Grade: Nora D.
6th Grade: Edith Z.
School Winner: Sophie D. - 4th Grade
Calendar & Important Dates
Early Dismissal Monday, April 8th
Monday, April 8this 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!
IAR Testing 3rd-6th Grade (see above for details)
04.08: Happy Monday! Wear Orange! Monthy Matters Assembly
04.10: Chess Wizards for Registered Students
04.11: 6th Grade Outdoor Education (see details from teachers)
04.12: Falcon Friday - Wear School Colors or Spiritwear; PTA Fun Lunch!
A Look Ahead...
04.18: 1st and 2nd Grade Music Performance at Fairmount
05.27: Memorial Day - No School!
05.28: Save the Date: 2024 FIeld Day
05.29: Last Day for Students (Half Day); Grade 6 Clap-Out
2023-2024 School Calendar - Updated
Last Day of School: Wednesday, May 29, 2024 (if no additional emergency days are used)
Below the Line: Repeated Information
Below the Line
Construction begins in District 58
Construction begins at many District 58 schools over spring break. To keep parents apprised of construction progress, updates will be provided on our website here, including progress dashboards of our middle schools.
If you’d like to learn more about spring break work in the District, click here.
Helping Children Grow Award
Congratulations to 5th Graders, Thanu Sri and Jeanette, who were recognized by the Grove Foundation and awarded the Helping Children Grow Award. We are so proud of the hard work, kindness and perseverance these two falcons show in and out of the classroom.
Lost and Found
A friendly reminder that our Lost and Found is conveniently located in the entryway vestibule so parents/guardians can access this in the morning before school, during the school day and/or after school.
We encourage families and students to check-out the Lost and Found prior to Spring Break. We will be donating any unclaimed or unmarked items to a local charity at the end of next week.
Grove Children’s Preschool
Grove Children’s Preschool tuition applications for the 2024-25 school year are opened. (www.dg58.org/preschool). 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.
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.
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
Andrea Laama, Secretary alaama@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