December 17, 2021
Principal's Message
Dear LaSalle II Families-
We made it to the holiday break! We hope you take this time to enjoy some much needed rest and time with family and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2022.
I know the ongoing pandemic continues to weigh on all of us, but I am so proud of our students and staff for their resilience. Despite the challenges, it has been absolutely wonderful to have the building full of student voices and laughter again.
As we move farther into winter and the spread of the new variant is apparent, I highly encourage all students opt-in to weekly covid testing at the school, regardless of vaccination status. We want to continue to keep everyone safe and this is an effective mitigation strategy that we should take advantage of. The sign-up link can be found below.
Thanks!
Principal
Announcements
New Visitor Management System (VMS)
CPS Covid Self-Report Form
If your child is a close contact to a positive case, please contact administration with a copy of the positive test. This is required in order for your child to receive remote learning.
Student Covid Testing
If you are interested in having your child participate in testing, please follow the link below and complete the registration process. A parent or guardian must register any minor under 18 years old, and you’ll give a one-time consent and HIPAA authorization to share your child’s results with the school and district.
Testing is optional for students, except for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated student athletes. Testing will take place during regular school hours and results will be available in 24 to 48 hours. Color Health will follow up with you directly if the pool in which your child participated has a positive result.
We strongly encourage all students, especially those who are unvaccinated, to participate in testing.
Vaccination Records
In the event of an exposure to a positive COVID-19 case at the school, vaccinated individuals will not be quarantined if they are asymptomatic. In order to avoid your child being flipped to remote while the CPS contact tracing investigates the case, we strongly recommend that you submit a copy of the vaccination records. The records will be added to your child's school health file and will help to expedite the contact tracing process.To submit a copy of your child’s vaccination card, please submit to our school nurse Joanna Saa at jsaa1@cps.edu. You can send a hard copy to school with your child if you prefer. They should give it to their homeroom teacher who will give it to the main office where the school nurse will enter the form into Aspen.
Equitable Bathroom Usage
As you may know, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued guidance explaining that Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex includes (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation and (2) discrimination based on gender identity.
These changes to Title IX are in direct alignment with our previous district guidelines on supporting trans and gender noncomforming students and policy on nondiscrimination. While discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity have previously been investigated as violations of district policy, they will now also be considered as Title IX violations -- a significant step toward gender equity.
It is now under the purview of Title IX that students must have fair and equitable access to restroom facilities that align with their gender identity and comfort. Per district mandate, all restroom signage will be relabeled to be more inclusive. The new signage identifies the fixtures available in the restroom and make it clear that our restrooms are open for use to anyone who feels comfortable.
CPS has put together this video highlighting the changes.
A few other important notes:
- The goal of the equitable restroom usage policy is to allow students whose gender identity does not match their biological gender to utilize the bathroom which they will feel more comfortable in. This does not mean that any student will be encouraged to use any bathroom at any time, merely that we want to be inclusive of all students.
- All bathrooms utilize single stalls for privacy, just as has been the case in the past. Boys + may also have urinals, but for privacy reasons, they are in no way mandatory to use by anyone.
- As to concerns regarding security issues, we have a security guard stationed close to every bathroom to monitor students entering and exiting, plus teachers monitor to ensure students are not going to the bathroom in groups or for extended periods of time.
Chicago Travel Advisory
The travel restrictions for unvaccinated people has not changed. Please follow these guidelines and take into consideration if planning to leave the state to states that are orange or red on the travel advisory over the Winter Break with unvaccinated children. See map HERE, (map updates weekly). These requirements apply to all unvaccinated students even if students were isolated while out of state.
- The CDC recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated;
- Unvaccinated persons who leave the state of Illinois to visit orange states (this includes all children 11-years-old and younger who are not yet fully vaccinated) should self-quarantine for 7 days after returning to Chicago, even if they have received a negative COVID test; AND
- Unvaccinated students who leave the state should not come to school during their self-quarantine period, which is 7 days if they receive a negative COVID test 3-5 days after they return to Chicago or 10 days if they do not covid test
- Vaccinated travelers are not required to self-quarantine or test unless they develop symptoms if traveling within the United States.
Virtual School Tour
We are excited to announce the release of our first ever virtual school tour! We know that many families have never had the opportunity to come inside the building due to the pandemic so this is a great resource to get a glimpse of our facilities. Please click the link below.
Featured Stories
Happenings in Middle School Social Studies
Our 6th grade scholars recently finished a unit on Ancient Mesopotamia and the cradle of civilization. They created many fantastic projects with a keen eye on detail as shown in the attached picture. We are currently studying ancient Egypt and its importance to history and how future civilizations borrowed many ideas and customs. Students currently are studying Egyptian geography and will dive deeper into understanding social class, achievements, religion, government and economies during this time. After the holiday break, we will learn about Ancient China, India, Greece and Rome!
7th grade scholars are closing out a unit on the original 13 Colonies in America. We have investigated the political, economic, geographic, social, and cultural development during this time period. Students have explored the first Thanksgiving that took place exactly 400 years ago! We have also learned more about how each group of colonies (Southern, Middle, and New England) came to be and what made each unique. Next week they will begin a small group project where students will choose their favorite colony and practice quality research techniques. As we enter the break, we'll begin learning about the American Revolution and the implications it had on the world. In the new year, we will begin our unit on the American and Illinoisan Constitutions.
Upcoming Events
- 12/17- Pajama Day
- 12/17- Q2 Progress Reports Sent Home
- 12/18-1/2- Winter Break
- 1/3 LSC Meeting @ 5pm
About Us
Email: laalbani@cps.edu
Website: https://lasalle2school.com/
Location: 1148 N Honore St, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: 773-534-0490