3rd, 4th, and 5th grade parents,

Did you know that your child has access to interactive monthly activities in Schoology? The video linked below shows click-by-click directions on how your child can access these activities in their Empower Schoology course! The artist, maker of the month, and monthly challenges would be great to look through and participate in over Spring Break! Have your child take a picture of a completed challenge to receive a Golden Ticket from Mrs. Schaaf!

Check out the video with step-by-step directions below, and thank you for supporting the Empower program! Please note, there is not sound with this video.

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/y9mwCG0CfzYh4pEikAPx

Students in grades 3 through 8 will be taking state tests in English/Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics between April 3 and April 12. This is the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). Information about this year’s test has been posted at: https://district.d303.org/departments/assessment

For sample questions please go to: https://il.digitalitemlibrary.com/home

Testing at Ferson Creek with begin on Tuesday, April 4th. That week, students will test Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. During the week of the 10th, students will test Tuesday through Friday. There are two ELA assessments and three math assessments that will be completed during our testing block. For additional information from D303 Assessment, please view this letter.

BERNIE’S BOOK BANK DONATION DRIVE

The D303 donation drive for Bernie’s Book Bank will be held for one week, April 3-12, 2023, at all D303 schools. Please consider bringing in new and gently used children’s books for birth through 6th grade to one of the D303 schools during the donation drive. Parents or students may place books in the collection bins located in the front hallway. D303’s goal for the 2023 donation drive is 20,000 books. Every book will help us reach our goal.

Please check that the books you are sending fit the following criteria:

Donate to Bernie’s Book Bank

• Birth through 6th grade only

• Must be in good physical condition

• Books written in English or Spanish

• Storybooks

• Board books

• Chapter books

• Recent nonfiction and graphic novels

Keep or donate elsewhere

• Languages other than English and Spanish

• Young adult (Ex. Hunger Games, John Green novels…)

• Adult books (Ex. “Chicken Soup” books)

• Religious books

• LRC books (Contact Bernie’s Book Bank to get more information about what they will accept.)

• Reference books (dictionaries, atlases…)

• Textbooks or test prep books

• Magazines

• Outdated nonfiction (Ex. technology books published before 2017)

• Science project books

• Activity Books (Ec. cookbooks, sticker books with no story or with missing stickers, gaming books with no story, books for handwriting practice,,,)

• Self-help books (Ex. The Care and Keeping of You, why parents get divorced, how to deal with death, bullying…)

• Poor physical condition

• Torn or bent covers

• Torn pages

• Heavy marking

• Mildew/mold

• Off odor

• Very yellow pages

• Cracked bindings

• Hardcover books with cardboard showing in the corner

• Noise making buttons that don’t work

Illinois State law requires all Kindergarten and 2nd Grade students to have an oral health examination. If you have not completed this requirement, a licensed dentist must perform the dental exam and sign and date the exam form. This exam is due by May 15 of the school year.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has established a waiver for children who show undue burden or lack of access to a dentist. Parents or legal guardians who object to the dental examination on religious grounds shall present to the school a signed, detailed statement of objection.

The dental exam and waiver form can be found on our District 303 website under “Departments” , “Health Services” , “Health Documents and Forms” Most dental offices also have the dental exam form.

The forms can be emailed to Nurse Holloway at Donna.Holloway@d303.org

If you have any questions, please contact the Health Office at 331-228-2304.

The Ferson Creek PTO is taking Board nominations!

The Ferson Creek PTO is comprised of 3-8 elected Board officers, dozens of non-elected committee chairs, and numerous volunteers. These positions are open to parents, guardians, and Ferson staff as well. Our Board officers work collaboratively, in place of titled positions. We work together as a team, sharing the responsibilities that come up and tackle the needs of the organization as a group. Board officers are volunteers and each person's availability may fluctuate day to day, as well as throughout the year; however, each Board officer is a valuable part of the team and participation is crucial to the success of the organization.

If you are interested in running for a position as a Board officer for the 2023-2024 school year, or know someone who would be a good fit, please complete the form below.

Members of the current Board will reach out to anyone who is nominated to share what it is like to be a Board officer and to answer questions.

For more information about the open positions, please contact Kristy McKnight, Principal, or any of our current PTO Officers: Kristi Bruns, Ashley Holdsworth, Melissa Kline, Abby Kupp, Clare Merritt, Elizabeth Pendexter, Shannon Puri, Mindy Stricker. You may also email the current PTO Board at FersonCreekPTO@gmail.com .

https://forms.gle/xD6ro2XE9mEXaCfP8

Are you going out of town? Taking a family vacation? Heading to a regional athletic competition? If yes, then you need to fill out a pre-arranged absence form. The Pre-arranged Absence Request Form should be turned in at least (2) school days prior to the requested absence to the main office. These forms need to be signed by both classroom teacher and the principal.

The building principal has the authority to grant up to (5) days of excused absence per year for the following types of absences:

 Participation in regional and/or national contests or awards

 Family vacation—qualified by the phrase “accompanied by parent”

 Special religious events

Please see below for the attached pre-arranged absence form.

We want to ensure you’re getting timely alerts on inclement weather operations and other important notifications. Please take a moment to do the following:

View Notification Preferences/Enable Text Messages
District 303 will send notifications to families through the ParentLink system by text message, phone call and email based on your settings. Parents/guardians can view and edit their contact settings through the Home Access Center.
To receive timely emergency communications, we strongly encourage families to enable text notifications. For most people, this is the fastest way to receive and view important messages. Here’s how:

• From the HAC main menu, select the “registration” tab to view your contact settings
• Select the “edit” button to change your contact settings
• To enable text message notifications, enter your cell phone number in the Cell/Text field
• Select the “save” button