News from Sundling Junior High

Happy almost October! It is hard to believe that we will be finishing up the first quarter of school in next few weeks, on Friday, October 14th. Please be aware that 1st quarter Progress Reports will be available for families to view on Friday, October 21st. If you should have any questions or concerns about, please reach out to your child's teacher.

I want to thank all of our students, families, and staff for pulling together and supporting each other during the past few months of school. It has been a great start, focused on building relationships and a sense of community at our school. We still have much work to do, but feel strongly that this focus will help support strong academic and social emotional growth over the entire school year. The staff and administration are appreciative of your continued support, patience, and feedback. We could not do this without the support and help of our Sundling families and community.

There are several resources within this newsletter to support families. Please continue to reach out to me, Mr. Rice, or your child's classroom teacher with ways we can support you and your child.

Thanks for all of your continued support of our school! It’s a Great Day to be a Paladin! #stronger4ever

Take care and stay well,

Jason Dietz

Principal

8th Grade Boys Basketball Tryouts- October 24th & October 25th 2:15-3:50PM

7th Grade Boys basketball Tryouts- October 26th & October 31st 2:15-3:50PM

Parent MUST complete registration (link below) and MUST have a completed and up to date physical on file in our nurse's office in order to attend tryouts.

🏀 REGISTRATION LINK 🏀

Fremd & Palatine Class of 2027 Placement testing will take place on October 15, 2022 at your home high school. Students should arrive no later than 7:45am. The test will run from 8am until 11:15am. Students should bring two #2 pencils and a calculator to testing. Information related to testing and bus routes can be found in freshmen transition guide. If your child cannot attend on October 15, please contact your high school to be scheduled to attend the make-up date scheduled for October 1

The District 15 Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to place a bond referendum on the November 8, 2022 ballot. Doing so will allow the District to repair and restore our facilities, bring full-day kindergarten to all elementary schools, update schools libraries and some learning spaces, and ensure feeder patterns from elementary to junior high and high school providing all student access to a neighborhood or near neighborhood school. To learn even more about the proposed improvements visit www.ccsd15.net/Moving15Forward.

District 15 will be hosting informational meetings on the following dates:

• October 6 - Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (Thomas Jefferson Middle School if the measure is approved)

• October 11 - Winston Campus Junior High

• October 13 - Plum Grove Junior High

• October 20 - Carl Sandburg Junior High

• October 25 - Walter R. Sundling Junior High

Voting information: To register to vote, you must be: a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old by the general election (November 8, 2022), and a resident of your precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day. Not sure if you’re registered to vote? You may also check your voting eligibility with the Cook County Clerk’s Office’s Your Voter Information search tool. If you have questions about your voting status, please e-mail Voter.Reg@cookcountyil.gov or call (312) 603-0906.

Ways to Vote:

• Vote by Mail

• Early Voting (October 24-November 7)

• Election Day Voting (November 8)

Community Consolidated School District 15 is committed to supporting every student’s academic growth as well as their social, emotional, and behavioral growth. In our continuing efforts to support the well-being of our students, District 15 is implementing a comprehensive mental health screening process this school year to identify students who may benefit from additional support.

As part of this process, District 15 is utilizing the Social, Academic, Emotional, Behaviors Risk Screener (SAEBRS) this school year. The screener for students, mySAEBRS, is a brief self-rating screener to assess social, academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning. This will be completed during the October/November timeframe.

Another component of the comprehensive mental health screening process is a Mental Health Awareness program through Erika’s Lighthouse. This program provides school staff the opportunity to teach students about mental health and teach them how to seek help if they are concerned about themselves or a friend. Students participating in this mental health awareness program will be reminded that hope and help are available in a variety of places including their own school.

The student program consists of a mental health awareness video, a group discussion, and ends with a student exit form in which students can choose to ask to talk with a school mental health professional. Self-referred students and students referred by peers will be interviewed by a school mental health professional, and parents will be notified.

On Thursday, October 13 at 7 PM, all junior-high parents are invited to an informational Zoom presentation which will include a showing of a Mental Health Awareness video. Following the presentation, questions will be taken and there will be links provided to information on mental health and a list of local mental health agencies. All materials from the evening will also be available in Spanish.

Here are links to community resources and good mental health tips so that you have information and resources about depression and its related risks.

If you do NOT wish your child to participate in the Social, Academic, Emotional, Behaviors Risk Screener (mySAEBRS) screening process and/or the Mental Health Awareness program in school, please email me with your student’s name. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program

On January 24th 2013, Governor Quinn signed into effect Public Act 097-1147, also known as Erin’s Law. Erin’s Law was named in honor of Erin Merryn, a brave young woman who has crossed the country advocating for laws that will increase awareness of sexual abuse against children. This law has passed in 37 states, Illinois being one of them.

One of the law’s requirements is that schools provide an age/developmentally appropriate presentation to all students relating to sexual abuse and safety skills, which may include a variety of discussions, activities, videos and/or role play scenarios. These topics include concepts such as; safe and unsafe touches, getting help, boundaries, and empowerment. The purpose of this presentation is to provide students with tools needed for personal safety. We also strive to provide a nurturing and caring environment to openly discuss these topics, if a student desires.

Nationwide, 1 in 3 girls, and 1 in 5 boys, will be the victim of child sexual abuse by the age of 18. Strangers were just 3% of the offenders in cases of victims under age 6, and 5% of youth ages 6-11. Only one in 10 abused children tell someone. Through this program, aimed at educating and empowering students, we want to provide your child with the knowledge and skills to use if ever affected by sexual abuse.

Trained staff members will be presenting these lessons, in their classrooms, by winter break to meet the requirements of this law and to offer a safe space to students.

If you have any questions or would like additional information on the Erin’s Law presentations, please contact your building’s clinician or administrator. If you would like your child to opt out of these lessons please call your building principal. The District 15 website also has a list of parental resources for your reference.

During each season of the school year, we will be offering students the opportunity to participate in a variety of intramural sports. Examples could include: yoga, softball, basketball, pickle ball, and much more. Information will be shared with students when those activities are up and running and students can choose to attend as they wish.

In order for students to participate, parents will need to complete the online form below. This form will need to be completed for any intramural sport (but once completed, will cover the entire school year), so it would be a good idea to complete and submit even if you think your child may want to participate.

We look forward to getting our programs up and running very soon!

WRS Intramurals Registration 2022/23

The Sundling Library is in full swing as we are already deep into our first quarter of learning. Students are actively using our self checkout station and spending time collaborating with their classmates in our seating areas set up to facilitate discussions and cooperative group work. Just this week 7th grade Social Studies classes worked on and practiced their regional presentations and many ELA classes took advantage of the cozy spots for independent reading.

Mrs. Burns is busy traveling to classes to give “New Book Blasts” where students are exposed to many of the new books in our updated Library catalog. The Sundling Library also welcomed a new face this month, Mr. Charles Diestel. Mr “D” is the new Library clerical and the students have already enjoyed his help and support with Chromebook troubleshooting and book selection and check out. As a reminder, please encourage your students to use Destiny Discover to check their book due dates. All students have access to destiny on their Clever homepage.

Walter R. Sundling Family Assistance Form
If you are someone who is in need of community resources, please fill out this form. After you have completed and submitted it, one of the social workers will reach out to assist you.

WRS Family Assistance Form

Thursday, October 6th- Lifetouch Picture Retake Day (AM)

Monday, October 10th- No School (Indigenous Peoples Day)

Tuesday, October 11th- No School (Teacher Plan Day)

Friday, October 14th- End of Quarter #1

Saturday, October 15- 8th Grade High School Placement testing (PHS & FHS) 8:00am

Wednesday, October 19th- D15 Board of Education Meeting

Friday, October 21st- Quarter 1 Progress Reports Available in infinite Campus (4:00pm)

Monday, October 24th- Evacuation & Relocation Drill (tentative)

Monday, October 24 & Tuesday, October 25- 8th Grade Boys Basketball Tryouts

Wednesday, October 26 & Monday, October 31st- 7th Grade Boys Basketball Tryouts

Tuesday, October 25th- D15 Moving Forward Information Session at WRS 6:00 PM

Tuesday, October 25th- 7th Grade Fall Band Concert 7:00 PM

Wednesday, October 26th- WRS PTA Meeting 7:00 PM

Thursday, October 27th- WRS PTA Black & Orange Social (2:30-3:50)

Thursday, October 28th- 8th Grade Fall Band Concert

The PTA is excited at the possibility of providing fun activities for our students this year. We need the support of our Sundling community to make it happen. For $7 for single membership or $12 for family membership you can help create a memorable year for our kids.

Two Ways to Become a Member!

• Sign up online at: https://sundlingpta.new.memberhub.store/store

(There is a MemberHub service change of 75¢ (Individual) and 92¢ (Household) to join online.)

-OR-

• Return this form to the school office in an envelope marked “PTA MEMBERSHIP” along with exact cash or check (payable to: “Sundling PTA”)

Website: www.ccsd15.net/WRS
Location: 1100 North Smith Street, Palatine, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-3700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.dietz.1217
Twitter: @SundlingJH

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrsjhpaladins/