News from Sundling Junior High
August 10, 2020
Letter from the Principal
August 2020
Dear Sundling Families:
I hope that this end of summer email finds you well. We realize that we will not be starting the school year in person, and that many changes to a “normal” school start brings up many questions and unknowns, as well as unwanted stress and anxiety. As we all adjust to this together, please know that the administration and staff at Sundling remains committed to providing an engaging and meaningful junior high school experience, with continued support and resources, as needed. We are looking forward to starting school and getting back into a school routine. We are all in this together, and will continue to focus our work on what’s most important, our students!
The Sundling staff is gearing up after the summer months, and looks forward to working with you as our “Partners in Learning” this year. Please remember that our front office staff is here to assist with your transition into the new school year. Colleen Butterly, our school secretary, Jennifer Ratkovich, our office clerical, and Tricia Prebil, our school nurse, will be available for support throughout the year. The Sundling Leadership Team remains the same for the upcoming school year, and consists of myself, Assistant Principal Kelly Rice, and Michelle Burton, our School Counselor. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if we can be of assistance to you. As a leadership team, it is our goal to provide a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable learning experience for our students so that they continue to achieve the academic excellence that the community has come to expect from Sundling. If you have questions or areas of concern, we encourage you to contact any of your child’s teachers, our school counselor, or the administrative staff so that we can work together to help your child reach his/her academic goals throughout the year.
Students will have access to their schedules using the Infinite Campus Student Portal on Wednesday, August 12th after 1:00 PM. Students can use their Chromebook login information to gain access and view their schedule. Prior to the start of school on Wednesday, August 19th, students should begin logging into their school email account to look for messages from their teachers, getting them set up with Google Classroom codes and information prior to the first day. Help us to remind students to have their Chromebook charged and ready for learning each day, and to regularly check emails for daily updates and news a few days prior to school, and thereafter. I will also share a a copy of our daily schedule with this newsletter. Students will use this bell schedule and their own schedule to move through their classes each day. Teachers will be taking attendance for classes at the beginning of the school day as normal, and for each class period to ensure that students attend classes and remain engaged in learning.
Our adopted motto will remain, “Pledge to the Paladin!” We will focus on this motto in various ways throughout the school year as we teach students what it looks like to be respectful, responsible, and safe in all school-related settings in the junior high. We will support them by kicking off the year with virtual lessons and activities that teach them about our behavioral expectations while gearing them up to be the best student they can be.
Please note these important upcoming events:
*Monday, August 17, 1:00 PM Virtual Walk Your Schedule & Welcome to WRS
We will be sharing a Virtual Walk Your Schedule presentation to all of our students through various communication avenues. This presentation will be made available at 1:00 PM, and can be viewed any time after that. This is an opportunity for the administration and staff to welcome our students to Sundling, and for students to use their daily schedules to meet the teachers that they will be working with each day!
*Wednesday, August 19, 7:50 AM-2:30 PM First Day of School for Students
School will begin virtually with their 1st period class at 7:50 AM. The first few days of school will be utilized to connect with our students and orient/re-orient students to the processes and procedures at Sundling, especially starting virtually. Students will have the opportunity to meet teachers, administrators and staff; ask questions; and meet their classmates. Students will also review lessons on Digital Citizenship throughout the week to support appropriate and safe use of the Chromebook both on and off school grounds.
Enjoy the remainder of your summer. I look forward to the opportunity to meet and work with you and your child to help promote growth and success during their junior high experience.
Sincerely,
Jason A. Dietz
Principal
Student Schedules for the 20/21 School Year
The process of scheduling a junior high school of more than 650 students is extremely complex. During the past several months, the Sundling staff has been working through the scheduling process for all students. This was a time-consuming process that involved content specialists and student support staff. We appreciate the trust you have given us in using our best professional judgment in placing students. Our scheduling process is a team effort that is very complex and completed with great care. Please know that we work to place each student in the best schedule possible. Every consideration is made to best accommodate each student’s needs. During the scheduling process, we consider the following factors:
Teacher input
Math placements
Distribution of students with special considerations such as IEP, EL, Dual Language, and Discovery
Balance of students’ achievement levels and social emotional needs
Please know that our priority when scheduling is ensuring that your child is placed in the appropriate core content classes (language arts, mathematics, social science, science, and PE/health). Once those classes are scheduled, every effort has been made to honor your child’s elective requests. However, due to priority scheduling placed on core content class placement, we cannot guarantee that your child will get both electives they have requested. With more than 650 students in our school, the task of ensuring that all students are placed into their requested electives is challenging.
We understand that your child’s schedule is very important to you and your student. It would be wonderful if every student and parent were able to request/determine their student’s class schedule for the upcoming academic year. Unfortunately, it is impossible to honor over 650 requests. As such, we will not be able to change schedules if students did not receive their elective of choice. Doing so would create unbalanced classes and upset the instructional environment for all. Thank you for your understanding. We appreciate you for relying on and trusting our professional judgments on this important issue.
School Supply Lists
Internet Service Provider Assistance Programs
Community Consolidated School District 15 recognizes that providing internet at home may represent a financial hardship for some families. Internet providers recognize this need as well and have programs in place for qualifying families:
To locate additional companies that offer low-cost internet, please visit:
Our community also offers free Wi-Fi at various locations. Find links to locations in our community and surrounding areas that offer free Wi-Fi:
Walter R. Sundling Junior High School
Website: www.ccsd15.net/WRS
Location: 1100 North Smith Street, Palatine, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-3700
Twitter: @SundlingJH