Jefferson Jotter
October 2021
Letter from Principal
Dear Jefferson Parents,
It is hard to believe that we are already half way through October and Halloween will soon be upon us! Our students have certainly enjoyed being outside to observe the season changing to fall.
Over the past eight weeks, the children have done a marvelous job of learning the school routines, gaining more independence with their arrival and departure tasks, navigating through the hallways, verbally sharing their ideas, and engaging in problem solving. In two months we have already seen personal growth in all of the children! We look forward to documenting and sharing your child’s growth with you throughout the school year.
One of our primary goals for all of the children is to develop self-help and independence skills so that they can feel a sense of pride in accomplishing new tasks and are well prepared for kindergarten and first grade. For example, rather than emptying a child’s backpack or zipping/unzipping fasteners we have the children do it even though it would be faster if one of the adults did it. Additionally, we encourage a child to use his/her words to ask for help rather than automatically helping them when we can see they need something. There is nothing better than the look on a child’s face when he/she does something that was difficult for them in the past, thought they couldn’t do something, or that their older sibling can already do!
As parents, you too are encouraged to foster your child’s self-help and independence skills at home. For example, you could give your child safety scissors to cut open a snack bag rather than opening it yourself, encourage your child to tell you why they are upset even if you saw what might have upset them, and giving them small household tasks to assist with meal preparation, setup, or cleanup. At school you can also work on independence by having your child carry his/her backpack rather than you carrying it for them and after a welcome hug, have them walk to the car rather than carrying them. Independence is a great gift we can give our children and one that will benefit them throughout their life!
Thank you for all that you do to provide a nurturing and stimulating environment for your child and for working in collaboration with the Jefferson team to make the 2021-22 school year a great success for your child and all children at Jefferson School!
Respectfully,
Lisa Halverson
Principal
Upcoming Events
Thursday, October 21
- Board of Education Meeting - 7:00 p.m. - Franklin School
Friday, October 22
- Bus evacuation drills
Saturday, October 23
- Steffen Strong Drive - 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - St Andrew's Lutheran Church
Monday, October 25
- Lockdown Drill - 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 26
- Lockdown Drill - 9:15 a.m.
Friday, October 29
- Halloween Activities
Tuesday, November 2
- Election Day
Thursday, November 4
- PK Parent Teacher Conferences - 4:00 - 7:45 p.m. (by appointment)
Tuesday, November 9
- Preschool Screenings - 9:00 - 12:00 (by appointment)
Thursday, November 11
- Veteran's Day
Friday, November 12
- End. of 1st Trimester
Thursday, November 18
- PK Parent Teacher Conferences - 4:00 - 7:45 p.m. (by appointment)
- Board of Education Meeting - 7:00 p.m. - Roosevelt
November 22 - 26
- No School - Thanksgiving Break
Inspire every child to discover, learn, achieve, and care
Jefferson School Information
I sent an email to all Jefferson families to inform you that we will be having a lockdown drill the week of October 25th. The lockdown for afternoon students will be Monday, October 25 and for students attending in the morning the lockdown will be Tuesday, October 26. As the email stated, if you don't want your child to participate in the drill you need to notify Ms. Halverson.
It is important that the staff and students know what to do in the event of an intruder. However given the age of Jefferson students, we focus more on following the teachers' directions to be safe and not the circumstances of why we may need to go into lockdown.
This is how the drill is handled:
- An announcement is made over the intercom that we are having a lockdown drill
- Staff members direct students to go to their seat and remain quiet while the teacher locks the door and covers the door window
- Any students in the hallway go to the nearest classroom
- A police officer and Ms. Halverson walk around the school to check that all of the doors are locked and we can't hear people behind locked doors
- Afterwards, we take attendance to make certain all of the adults and children are accounted for before allowing classes to leave their classroom
Prior to COVID we would have had everyone gather together in a corner of the room and out of sight from the door window, but for social distancing reasons we aren't doing that this year. If you have any questions or don't want your child to participate, please contact Ms. Halverson.
One of our current EDK parents was diagnosed with a rare cancer last spring and is in need of a stem cell transplant. As the family has gone through this process, they've learned about the shortage of potential donors in the donor matching pool so are hosting a donor drive to educate and allow people to easily become part of the donor pool. Anyone between the ages of 18-55 and in good general health can become a potential donor. The donor drive will be a quick, 3 minute cheek swab at St. Andrews Church in Park Ridge where they can stay in their car.
The family has created a video to share their story. Please take a few minutes to view this heartfelt video and consider being a donor. For specific details click on the flier.
Teachers take students outside for learning activities and physical exercise on a daily or regular basis, which may involve water. Please send a change of clothes for your preschool and/or kindergartener to keep at school. Recently we've had a number of students needing a change of clothes but they didn't have anything to change into in their locker. While we have a few spare clothes in the office we don't have enough for each situation nor all of the necessary sizes. Also, remember to write your child's name on the clothing tags so that it can be returned to its rightful owner!
Preschool and EDK Tuition Payments
On the 15th of each month you will receive an invoice via email from the District’s electronic invoicing system, My School Bucks. Payment of fees is due by the 1st of each month and can be done through credit card through My School Bucks or by mailing a check to the District office. A $25.00 late fee will be assessed if payment isn’t received by the 3rd business day of the month. If payment isn’t received by the 20th day of the month an additional $25.00 will be assessed, totaling $50.00 late fee. If a family is late 2 times with their payments, their child(ren) will be dismissed from the program indefinitely. If your child is eligible for the preschool classroom because of special needs, you are not responsible for paying tuition.Developmental Screenings
On a monthly basis the Early Childhood Diagnostic Team conducts screenings of children ages three to five. The screenings are conducted by a team, consisting of an occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, psychologist, and social worker. The areas assessed include motor, communication, play skills, pre-academic and thinking skills. If you have concerns about your child's development in any of these areas please call 847-318-4290 to schedule an appointment for the screening. The next Preschool Screening is scheduled for November 9th.
No School
Students and Staff will not have school the week of November 22 - 26. Please mark your calendars!
See What’s Going on in Our Community!
From the library to the park district, our communities of Park Ridge-Niles have lots to offer. For information on all the latest happenings, be sure to check the Community Info & Events webpage.preschool information
Another safety drill our preschoolers will participate in is a bus evacuation drill. On Friday, October 22nd our students will practice disembarking from a bus and gathering at a designated spot where our staff will make certain all students exited the bus. Weather permitting, we will have the students exit from both the front and back of the bus. When exiting the back of the bus, an adult(s) stands outside of the emergency exit, directs the student to sit on the bus floor at the edge of the emergency door, and to scoot out of the bus as the adult helps them to the ground.
By now your child's preschool teacher should have sent you information about how to sign up for the upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences. Conferences will be held on Thursday, November 4 and 18 from 4:00 - 7:45 p.m. Conferences will be held in person at Jefferson School. If you are unable to attend the conference during that time, please contact your child's teacher to arrange another date/time.
Earlier this week Dr. Olson sent out information about the Test-to-Stay program. This program is only for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, not our preschoolers. At the other buildings a substitute teacher provides remote instruction when students need to quarantine. At Jefferson, your child's preschool teacher will provide the remote instruction when the class needs to quarantine. If you have questions please contact Ms. Halverson at 847-318-4249. We will continue to offer weekly SHIELD testing for 4 year old preschoolers.
Our preschoolers will celebrate Halloween on Friday, October 29th. If they would like, children can wear a costume to school and bring non-edible treats to hand out to their classmates. Costumes should be age appropriate and not include weapons or look-a-like weapons, or blood. Students will still need to wear a cloth or disposable mask for COVID mitigation.
Parents are invited to see all of the preschoolers in costume at the end of their preschool day parade. Classes will parade along the preschool sidewalk and walk to their normal drop off/pick up location. Therefore, students in Ms. Amy's, Ms. Demarinis', Mrs. Sanchez's, and Ms. Hallerduff's classrooms will come out of the building from the door by the flagpole and walk to the preschool entrance (door #3). Students in Ms. Jaime's and Mrs. Holtz's classrooms will come out of the building by the preschool door (door #3) and walk to the entrance by the flagpole.
In September I sent out a survey to find out which families were familiar with Seesaw and whether you have a tablet (i.e. ipad or Android) your child could use if they needed to quarantine. Thank you to the families who returned the survey. At the preschool level there could be two situations where your child went to remote instruction (1) if your child's class had to quarantine due to a positive COVID case or (2) in the event of inclement weather and the district called an E-Learning day. So that we are prepared for both scenarios, we need to have this information on all families. We will be contacting the families who didn't complete the survey to find out if you would need a loaner ipad for remote instruction.
Safety during PE and gross motor time
Every day the students engage in gross motor play either in the gym or on the playground. When the children are running, climbing, and/or engaging in various movement activities it can be dangerous when wearing sandals, flip flops, or Crocs. To ensure your child's safety, please send your child to school on T, W, and F in athletic shoes or send a pair to be left at school. Your child will have the opportunity to change into athletic/gym shoes before going to PE. Additionally, girls who wear flowing dresses and/or skirts on PE days find it hard to actively participate and/or are not safe because of the dress/skirt getting caught in the equipment. Please help your child be safe by sending them to school on PE days in clothing that will keep them safe!
When picking up and/or dropping off your child, please remember to pull forward as far as possible so that we can get as many cars as possible into the designated parking areas.
Preschool Learning!
Let's Play a Guessing Game!
Greeting Our Friends!
I'm Learning to Count with Cubes!
extended day kindergarten (edk) information
Our EDK students will be celebrating Halloween on Friday, October 29th. Students are allowed to come to school in costume if they would like, but it isn't required. Students will still need to wear their cloth or disposable mask for COVID mitigation. If your child's costume includes a mask they should leave it at home. Halloween costumes should be age appropriate and not include weapons, look-a-like weapons, or blood. The EDK students may also bring non-edible treats to share with their classmates, but it isn't required. The kindergarten students will parade through each of the EDK classrooms so they can see their friends' and teachers' costumes.
When dropping off your child for morning EDK, please drive slowly and safely through the back parking lot, watch for children and parents as they navigate through the parking lot, and check each direction before pulling out of a parking spot. We want your child and every Jefferson student to be safe as they to school!
If your child will be absent from the EDK program, please call or email the Jefferson School nurse, Paula Coleman, at 847-318-5441 or pcoleman@d64.org. If your child attends the Beyond the Bell program please also notify the Park District.
Changes with EDK Enrollment
If you are planning to drop days and/or the EDK program in entirety the office must be notified by the 14th of the month or before an invoice is submitted. Otherwise, you will be expected to pay for the upcoming month even if your child doesn't attend all of the days covered on the invoice. If you have any billing questions contact Valerie Varhalla at 847-318-4322 or vvarhalla@d64.org.