Thank you to the many of you who were able to stop by our meet-and-greet, the PTA's back-to-school party, or both. It was such a fun opportunity to connect with families and to ease some of those jitters prior to our first day. The music was blasting, staff members were cooling off in the dunk tank thanks to the students' good aim, and many families registered for PTA.

It was nice to visit with a number of you at today's parent breakfast. I know your schedules are packed, so it means a lot that you were able to stay and mingle as your time allowed. Thank you, PTA and Mrs. Hyde, for providing the coffee and light food.

Our Belle Aire staff also broke into six different teams to crash the neighborhoods on Tuesday in order to welcome our new students. Families were surprised and thrilled by our cheer-filled arrival at their homes, and they are now proudly displaying a Belle Aire Bulldog sign in their yards!

These events took the hands and plans of many adults, and we couldn't have pulled them off so successfully without the support of PTA or the donated time and talent of many of our parents. THANK YOU to all of you. Please take some time to consider how you might be able to support the students or what role you may be able to fill within PTA.

Our student Council commissioned Barb Lambert to paint murals and positive messages in our student restrooms, and they turned out great. It's our hope that this artwork will keep students in the right mindset for their best learning or help a student reset when he or she is having a tough time. Students' reactions to Barb's work have been filled with smiles.

Barb is a resident of the Belle Aire community, and her children are all former Bulldogs.

The District recently received notice from the State of Illinois of its additional funding to reduce the costs of milk for students for this year. The annual cost will be $23 for the year, down from the initial $70. All previous requests will only be charged the $23 rate. No one has been or will be charged the $70. If you chose not to buy milk due to the initial price and now would like to purchase it, you may still do so. Any new requests for milk will start effective September 6th.

Complete this form if you would like your child(ren) to start receiving milk:

Milk Order Form

Each student was sent home with a first-day packet yesterday. This packet contains important forms and information that we request that all parents/guardians review, and if applicable, sign and return. Please take some time to go through this packet, and sign and return the designated pages as soon as you are able.

This packet contains the following forms to sign and return (for each child):

• Family Handbook Receipt (all parents/guardians must sign for each child)

• The Family Handbook is available at www.dg58.org/family-resources;

• Medicaid Cover Letter and Consent Form (all parent/guardians must sign for each child)

There are also forms that some (but not all) families will fill out and return (for each child).

• Free and Reduced Lunch Waiver (only parent/guardians who qualify and would like their child to receive free meals must sign for each child)

• Milk Form (only parent/guardians who qualify and would like their child to receive free milk must sign for each child)

Thank you for taking the time to complete and return these forms!