Community Newsletter
Aug. 11, 2023
Shine Bright with Supt. Rebecca A. Jenkins
Hello to all our wonderful District 70 families!
The buzz of a new school year is in the air, and I can't help but be excited about the adventures ahead. Together, we're about to dive into another chapter of learning, growth, and some good old-fashioned fun. Our district's guiding vision, "Learning Together," is not just a motto for our educators and staff but a promise to you and your children.
At our staff’s Opening Day, I will share a quote by Vincent Van Gogh: "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." We see this metaphor play out every year in District 70. Each small action adds up – the early morning preparations, the heartening conversations at drop-offs, the smile of a teacher, and the quiet evenings spent preparing for the next school day. Together, our collective efforts in these moments, paired with all the moments of care and attention in our classrooms, are painting a big, beautiful picture of success for our students.
I promise you this: we're in it together. Through every challenge and every celebration, we will lean on each other and make this year unforgettable for our students. I'm excited about all we will do this year, and I'm confident that, as a district and community, we are headed for greatness.
Here's to a year of discoveries, achievements, and lots of learning fun. Let's do this, District 70!
Shine Bright,
Rebecca
Rebecca A. Jenkins
Superintendent of Schools
Libertyville School District 70
Rebecca's Twitter
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Teacher, Class Assignments Online Aug. 16
The 2023-24 class assignments for pre-K through 8th grade will be available online via the PowerSchool PARENT PORTAL on Wednesday, Aug. 16. Class schedules will not be accessible before this date.
This information will only be available to families who have registered their child(ren) for school and have created a PowerSchool account.
Bus information also can be accessed through the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
Parents use the PowerSchool Parent Portal when registering students for the coming school year, checking grades, etc. After logging into the site, you can click on buttons labeled “Parent Connection" or “Current Schedule” in the menu bar on the left side of the screen. Schedules can be printed using the link at the bottom of the Current Schedule page.
Please remember that class placements have been made with great care and collaboration between teachers.
Useful links:
POWERSCHOOL PARENT PORTAL - Login to PowerSchool Parent Portal
REQUEST A RESET - Forgot PowerSchool Parent Portal username or password
PowerSchool Information - Link to D70 website (d70schools.org, go to Departments, to Technology, To PowerSchool) with info about PowerSchool.
If you have not registered your child(ren) for school, you may start the process on our website under Student Registration. After you register your child(ren), you will see the class assignment.
If you are having problems logging into PowerSchool, with your password or viewing your child's class assignments, please contact the D70 Registrar, Dina Lepczynski, at 847-362-9695 ex: 7116.
Changes and Updates for Lunches this Year
District 70's food services program, like most households and businesses, has been impacted by increased labor costs and near-record levels of inflation related to food costs over the past few years, in addition to normal levels of inflation over the last decade.
In the 2023-2024 school year, District 70 will raise the lunch fee for the first time in 13 years. Elementary lunches will increase to $4 from $3 to allow the District to continue offering healthy and sustainable food options at all of our buildings and for any student who chooses to access D70 food services. Milk prices also will increase to .50 cents from .35 cents.
In a continual effort to improve the food service program, the business office is working with Chartwells, the district’s food service provider, on program enhancements to offer more options for students. As such, Chartwells is adding meal combos for Highland Middle School students wanting to add a la carte items to their meals. (See flyer above.)
The goal of the school food program is to operate as close to break-even as possible. This change in pricing will help D70 get closer to this target. Families may still apply for free and reduced lunches if they qualify. Forms to apply can be found in the Finance & Operations Dept. under Student Forms.
Please contact Stacey Bachar, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, at sbachar@d70schools.org, with any questions.
Supply Drop-Off Day on Aug. 21st for Preschool, 1st-5th Grades
District 70 is hosting a new Supply Drop-Off Day from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21st (Teacher Institute Day) at each of the four grade schools for students in Little Sprouts Preschool, and first through fifth grades. This change will provide consistency across the district for students to meet their teachers, see the school, and be prepared for the first day by having their supplies in place.
If you cannot attend from 1:30-3 p.m. on Aug. 21st., students are invited to bring their supplies to school with them on Aug. 24th, the first day of school.
Kindergartners may bring their supplies to school from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m. during the districtwide Kindergarten Kickoff on Aug. 24th. As a reminder, the first full day of kindergarten is on Aug. 25th.
Highland Middle School students may drop off their supplies during Fall Preview, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 16th, and from 9 to 11 a.m. on Aug. 17th.
We are excited that students attending Adler Park, Butterfield, Copeland Manor, and Rockland schools will have an opportunity to meet their teachers and drop off supplies before the first day of school to create an ease of transition and minimize anxiety. We continue to look at ways to coordinate districtwide experiences like Supply Drop-Off Day, for students and staff.
What's Been Going on Since You've Been Gone
We've been busy this summer!
D70's facilities team only has 11 weeks between the last day of school in the 2022-23 school year to the first day of class in the 2023-24 school year.
There's a lot to be done in between those two days and our fabulous custodial and maintenance teams do an amazing job! Never mind that they have to do their work around and pitch in to help during Summer School, Camp Invention, Camp Carollo, as well as the Champions childcare service. Great job!
Other departments also have been busy with projects and updates! Tremendous work by all!
Summer projects include:
New electrical and plumbing to make way for a new backup generator,
New cooling units at Copeland Manor,
Plumbing repairs at Rockland,
Sewer repairs at Copeland Manor,
prep HVAC work at Copeland Manor and Highland Middle Schools for new rooftop units,
Sealing and blacktop work in the staff and public parking lots at all our schools.
Also, a big thank you to our tech department which has taken on some paramount projects as well.
Tech Summer projects include:
Teacher laptop refresh,
New and improved security,
New guest service management at all the schools!
Work In Progress or completed:
- Safety - updating school alarm systems and external swipe card/fob systems, and making sure all the school security camera systems are working efficiently and effectively.
- A door audit was completed and adjustments were made as needed.
- Annual Inspections - we are working our way through 12 different annual types of inspections, the majority of which are done over the summer, including walk-throughs with the Libertyville Fire Department.
- Maintenance/Custodial - Even with 5 new hires, we are working very well as a unit and this summer we are working diligently to get through all the projects and improvements. Deep cleaning and waxing are on schedule with additional summer help to assist the custodians.
- Building Automation Systems were tweaked so our utilities, such as mechanical and electrical systems as well as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, are working well.
- A new performance management system was implemented with daily rounds of monitoring and logging equipment.
Chiller and rooftop unit coil cleanings.
All filters changed.
Boiler system draining and refilling.
School buildings, HMS garage workshop, and ERC storage areas were purged and reorganized.
Plumbing - continued plumbing fixture repair and replacement.
- Roofing - summer roof inspections and repairs are ongoing.
- Electrical - repairs are ongoing.
Painting - painting throughout schools and ERC.
Grounds -plants, sod, and woodchips added where needed, bought new lawn equipment to care for D70's 63 acres, lawn treatments added, planted two memorial trees to honor late Butterfield student Kathleen Bowe, excited to work with HMS Student Council on beautification progress of courtyards at Highland Middle School.
Upcoming BOE Meeting on Aug. 28
The public is welcome to attend.
The meeting also will be live-streamed and recorded.
Questions?
Email: rkollman@d70schools.org
Website: d70schools.org
Location: 1381 Lake Street, Libertyville, IL, USA
Phone: 847-362-9695
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LibertyvilleSchoolDistrict70/
Twitter: @libertyville