Bulldog Paw Prints
08/18/2021
Come on over for a school visit!
August 24 - 2:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Belle Aire open house/meet and greet.
This will be a great opportunity for all of our families to head to the school, meet with your new teacher(s), and start reconnecting with your neighbors and with us. Feel free to come and go as your schedule allows within those 45 minutes. I understand that you may not be able to attend this event, but know that this is just one of other opportunities to come.
This event will be a mix of indoor/outdoor. We will all be outside starting at 2:45 p.m. Teachers will be outside various doors at the school, so please plan to head to the door that your child will use for arrival and dismissal each day. You can find that information here and in the Arrival & Dismissal section in this newsletter. After you've had the chance to meet with your teacher and catch up with your neighbors, you can enter the designated door to drop off supplies and then head back outside. Families with more than one Bulldog can pick which teacher to start with and make your way around the building as needed. Feel free to visit and reconnect with your child's previous teachers as well!
In addition to the meet and greet, we are tentatively planning a PTA-sponsored event that will take place outside of the school starting at 3:30 p.m. More details and information to come.
*Masks are not required when outside.
**Please wear a mask when you enter the school.
Orange Frog and Happiness Advantage
While we have accomplished a great deal these past two years during the pandemic, I recognize the toll all of this has had on our students, staff and families. We have all experienced the span of emotions, frustrations, and we didn't experience the amount of excitement that we hope is always tied to education. While none of this is unique to Belle Aire or to District 58, we hope this year provides everyone with an opportunity to rediscover the joy, excitement, and strength of our school . As we move forward together, the District is committed to working alongside all of us to make this a top priority. We want to move forward in a manner that fosters the healing process from COVID -19's impacts and continues to unite us as a team. In order to move in this direction, the district has embraced the power of positive psychology. District 58 is turning orange--get ready to see many orange frogs throughout the District!
Over the summer, administrators and staff from each building participated in a workshop centered on Shawn Achor’s two books, The Happiness Advantage and The Orange Frog. In these two books, Shawn Achor reveals how rewiring our brain for happiness helps us achieve more in our careers and our relationships (source: The Happiness Advantage). Several staff members who participated in the summer workshops shared that the work is transformational. We can’t wait to share it with all staff on Aug. 24, and to see how this positively impacts our students--both socially-emotionally and academically.
Optional COVID-19 testing
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends regular testing as an effective COVID-19 prevention strategy. Regular testing helps schools promptly identify asymptomatic individuals to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
This school year, unvaccinated District 58 students and staff can participate in optional weekly free PCR COVID-19 testing. Northshore Clinical Laboratories will facilitate this testing. Northshore is a CLIA-licensed lab that has serviced diagnostic needs for Chicagoland physicians and medical providers for nearly 30 years, and they currently provide COVID-19 testing services for several local school districts. Northshore will maintain strict confidentiality of all information, data and/or records relating to District 58 students and staff.
Families, if you would like your child to participate in District 58’s optional COVID-19 testing program, please complete this brief form by Thursday, Aug. 19. District 58 staff: you will receive more information and a staff interest form at the end of next week. Additional information and an enrollment form will be shared if sufficient community interest is received.
Click here to learn details regarding this voluntary opportunity.
Chalk the Walk!
We will be partnering with the Downers Grove Junior Women's club this Sunday from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Grab your chalk, and come on up to the school!
A Message from our health office
Kindergarten - Completed physical dated within the past year (no earlier than August 26, 2021), full immunization record and vision exam by October 15. Dental exam is required this year, but they have until May 15, 2022.
Second grade - Dental exam is required this year, but they have until May 15, 2022.
Sixth grade - Completed physical dated within the past year (no earlier than August 26, 2021), and proof of the Meningococcal and Tdap vaccinations are due by October 15. Dental exam is required this year, but they have until May 15, 2022.
Bus Transportation
Earlier this week, Amy sent an email to all families we anticipate using bus transportation. Please give Amy a call at the school if you did not get an email from her and you do plan to use bus transportation this year. 630-719-5820
Traffic and Points of Entry
Please take a moment to read the procedures below, and be sure to share them with anyone who may be driving your students to school - parents, grandparents, caregivers, neighbors, etc.
There are two designated drop-off areas for those arriving by car. One is in our parking lot, and the other is at Herbert Circle. Should you decide to park and walk your children to the entry point, you may park on the west side of Belle Aire Lane (so your're facing Ogden) or in an open parking spot in our lot. Parking next to the school's sidewalks or on the perimeter of the lot is prohibited as it blocks and disrupts traffic patterns.
Main Parking Lot Drop-Off Zone:
There are two turn-in lanes available upon entering the school's parking lot. The first, most southern lane should only be used if you intend to park your car in an open spot. Parents who are dropping off students should use the second entrance (the one after the small median), which directs you to the circle drive in front of the school.
Currently, we treat the drop-off zone like the curbside drop-off at the airport, and it can be extremely dangerous because of moving traffic. The circle drive splits into two lanes at the sidewalk. The right lane nearest the sidewalk is where students should exit vehicles; the left lane is for passing/moving traffic exiting the lot. Students are the only ones who exit the vehicle in this procedure. Parents who exit the vehicle in this area are putting themselves in danger and slowing down our drop-off procedure. Please be aware of your surroundings, check your mirrors, and stay off of your cell phones.
When entering the drop-off zone, pull as far forward as possible at all times. We need to use the entire drop-off zone as a unit. If you are the first/only car in the zone, we ask that you still pull up all the way so that cars that eventually appear behind you are able to drop-off as well.
Students should only exit the vehicle from the passenger side and when the vehicle is next to the sidewalk.
Herbert Circle Drop-Off Zone
Vehicles should follow the typical, counter-clockwise traffic pattern of entering and exiting the circle. Students should exit the passenger side of the vehicle and walk along the guardrail until they reach the path to the school. Student walkers must use the paved path (outside of the guardrail) to enter campus rather than walking through Herbert Circle.
Please do everything you can to prepare your children to exit the vehicle quickly and always on the passenger side.
If you need to exit your vehicle to assist your children for any reason and/or for any amount of time, please use the parking spaces and not the circle drive drop-off zone.
Here is a short video to help you see are entry/departure areas.
Arrival & Dismissal
ARRIVAL
Our arrival procedures will look very similar to last year, as we will be utilizing multiple entry points to promote social distancing, limit the traffic within the school, and help build community with students being welcomed by many of our staff members. Please see the attached map to determine which door your student(s) will use. It's a two-page document.
Prior to students entering Belle Aire, they will need to be wearing an appropriate mask (covering nose and mouth). Staff members will have extra masks, and each student will receive hand sanitizer. Paw prints are painted on the ground outside of each entrance as a visual to help students maintain social distancing as they enter the building.
Doors will open for student arrival beginning at 8:05 a.m. each day and will continue until 8:15 a.m. PLEASE DO NOT HAVE YOUR STUDENT ARRIVE ON CAMPUS PRIOR TO 8:05 A.M. AS THERE WILL BE NO ADULT SUPERVISION. Students arriving after 8:15 a.m. will enter at the main entrance (Door 1) and buzz the office.
DISMISSAL
Students will follow a staggered dismissal procedure and exit out the same doors that they used to enter. We will also be dismissing students in various groupings to support distancing. Please do all you can to make sure your child understands your family's dismissal plan (meeting outside of the door, being picked up in Herbert Circle, being picked up in the main parking lot, walking home with brother/sister, etc.).
KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS:
Kindergarten students will remain in the building until they are picked up by an older sibling or by an adult, dismissed to Champions, or until they are escorted by a staff member for pick up in the school’s parking lot (to depart via car or bus).
Here are the groupings we will use to support our staggered dismissal:
*Students attending Champions
*Walkers/Bike Riders/Those meeting parents outside of the assigned entry/exit door.
*Students leaving by car in Herbert Circle
*Students leaving by bus
*Students leaving by car in the main parking lot:
Students who will be leaving school by car in the main parking lot will be dismissed in the order that families arrive. Please have a sign with your family's name on the passenger window so we can relay your arrival to the teachers inside.
Playground
PLAYGROUND/PARENT SUPPORT/PARTNERSHIP
The playground will not be utilized prior to the start of the day due to lack of supervision and in order to get the students into the building in an efficient manner. At family discretion, students may return to the playground after 3:45 p.m.
We are so excited to see all of our Bulldogs at school again! We do however need your help as we are transitioning students out of summer break. Please help us communicate consistent expectations, and while masks aren’t required outside, it will go a long way for all adults to model social distancing for the students. We understand the excitement and emotions that come with seeing friends and staff for the first time and we are asking for your support and cooperation with maintaining an awareness of distance between one another. We know this does not come naturally for most of us- but it is possible and important. We have painted paw prints on the ground in front of the entry points in an effort to help students maintain this spacing throughout arrival.
What's to Come?
August 18 - Special school board meeting to discuss the 2021-2022 Return to Learn plan. I anticipate this being an opportunity to better understand what a typical school day will look like.
August 22 - Chalk the Walk event at Belle Aire (12:00 - 2:00 p.m.)
August 23 - Teachers report to District 58 for district-wide and school-based inservice.
August 24 - Teachers and staff report to District 58 for school-based inservice.
August 24 - 2:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Belle Aire open house/meet and greet. This will be a great opportunity for all of our families to head to the school, meet with your new teacher(s), and start reconnecting with your neighbors and with us. Feel free to come and go as your schedule allows within those 45 minutes. I understand that you may not be able to attend this event, but know that this is just one of other opportunities to come.
August 25 - Instructional support staff reports to District 58 for inservice.
August 26 - First full day of student attendance. Please send a lunch and water bottle.
About us
Email: bborchelt@dg58.org
Website: www.dg58.org/ba
Location: 3935 Belle Aire Lane, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.719.5820
Twitter: @BBorcheltDG58