Haskin Happenings
Haskin Elementary School- December 2023
Happy New Year!
Our staff spent today learning new instructional strategies and working hard to prepare for upcoming learning. I am very excited to see what our staff has up their sleeves the next few months! They are working diligently to make learning meaningful and fun.
Please send your child with all the winter essentials: coat, hat, gloves, boots, and snow pants. This way, they will make the most of their recess time by playing in the snow with their friends. Should anyone be in need of any winter gear, please let your classroom teacher or office know. We have a stock of extra supplies.
Stay warm!
Ms. Martha Venetucci
Important Upcoming Dates
January:
8th - Teacher Institute: Non-Attendance Students
9th - School Resumes
9th - HOP meeting 1:30-2:30 @ LGH
12th - School Improvement Day: 11:10 Dismissal
15th - Martin Luther King Day: No School
16th - School Board Meeting: 7:00
19th - Therapy Dog Visit
February:
8th - Haskin One School One Book Night: 5:30-7:00
14th - Valentine's Day Party: 1:30 - 2:30
15th - Butter Bread Fundraiser Begins
16th - 11:10 Dismissal
19th - No School
23rd - End of 2nd Trimester
29th - Butter Bread Fundraiser Ends
30th - 2nd Trimester Reports Sent Home
Celebrate the Haskin Staff!
We are blessed with an amazingly dedicated staff here at Haskin. Each day, our staff arrives with a student-centered mindset and goes to great lengths to help students learn academically, socially, and emotionally. If you are feeling extra appreciative of any of our staff members at any time this year, please give them a shoutout! It truly makes their day to receive such validations and appreciation form our stakeholders. Click the button below to access our Haskin Staff Spotlight Google Form.
Dekalb County Top Workplaces 2023
We loooovvveeeee our amazing school! Our staff is absolutely incredible and we are giddy with joy each morning to come to "work" each day. Help us recognize our school as a top workplace in DeKalb County. It will take less than 30 seconds of your time.
2) Choose School/School District
3) Type in Lynn G. Haskin Elementary School (once you start typing Lynn, it will pop up)
4) Type your email
That's it! Thanks for helping us out!
Winter Weather
As a reminder, we will have outdoor recess before school and during lunch as long as the "real feel" is 15 degrees or above. While at recess, only students with winter boots, snow pants and gloves can play in the snow. Snow pants, winter boots and gloves help keep our students warm and dry when they return to their classrooms and engage in learning. You are welcome to leave a pair of boots here at school, if necessary. If you need winter clothing, don't hesitate to contact our main office at 815-786-8812.
Attendance Matters
Since switching over to our new system, TeacherEase, we've been updating attendance codes, etc. needed for the state and we will soon begin sending out attendance letters again. Below you will find an abbreviated attendance policy to make things a little easier to understand. If you receive a formal district letter, this information will hopefully make more sense.
Please remember that we are required by law to follow truancy laws and notifications to families. We understand that children get sick and things come up as a family. You should not be overly concerned about the truancy laws unless you receive emails or phone calls specifically about your child's attendance from Ms. Venetucci.
Attendance Policy
*Students are excused for 7 days per year regardless of why they miss. (This will not count if a student is marked truant from the previous year.) You will receive a letter at 5 excused and 7 excused, just as an update or reminder of your student’s attendance.
*Anything after 7 days needs a doctor note to be excused.
*Any time a doctor note is supplied, it is counted as an excused absence.
*After 3 unexcused absences, a letter will be sent home reminding the parents/guardians about the amount of unexcused absences.
*After 5 unexcused absences, school is required to notify truancy and truancy will usually set up a meeting to discuss needs and/or further actions.
*Parents/guardians must call the office to let school know their student will be absent that day.
"Students shall be permitted no more than seven (7) excused absences, including vacations, per school year based upon parental/legal guardian confirmation for the reasons of the absence. After the student has been excused seven times in one school year, additional excused absences for illnesses may only be verified through a written medical statement from a physician.
After seven (7) excused absences, the school office will notify the parents/legal guardians by mail. Other excused absences will be limited to death in the family, a family emergency requiring the absence of the student (this must be approved by the administrator at the building level), religious reasons that prohibit attendance for a given time and/or other reasons determined by the administration. The parent/legal guardian must verify the reasons for such absences. If a student is sent home due to illness documented by school personnel or if a student’s absence is verified by a doctor’s excuse before the student has reached the limit of seven days (or classes) of excused absences, that absence will not count towards the seven days permitted by this section. If the student was sent home from school with fever, vomiting, diarrhea or at the nurse/administrator discretion, they will not be penalized with an unexcused absence and will not count toward the seven parent/guardian excused absences. The following day may also be included in instances of fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. All doctor notes must be turned in to the office in a timely manner or the administration has the discretion not to accept the doctor’s note. For extended absences, the administration may ask for updated documentation of the absence.
When a student reaches three (3) unexcused absences, a letter will be sent to the parent/legal guardian warning of future consequences related to attendance. At five (5) unexcused absences, the student will be referred to the DeKalb County Truant Office for intervention.
When counting unexcused absences, the district will count back 180 school days (i.e. unexcused attendance days from the previous year will be counted towards the student’s current school year attendance records). When requested, the student will be required to provide a doctor’s note. Notes and letters will be placed in the student’s temporary file."
Nurse's Desk
Please keep your student home if they have experienced vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever (>100) in the last 24 hours.
Fall and winter illness is not uncommon in public environments such as schools. Most of the United States is currently experiencing high rates of respiratory illness, especially among children. This includes: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza viruses (flu A and B), SARS-CoV-2 (Covid), and rhinovirus/enterovirus (cold).
We have several processes in place to attempt to decrease transmission of illness in our schools. These include: frequent wiping of surfaces, air scrubber (purifier) in the Gym/Lunchroom, disinfectant sprays when children are out of room (specifically classrooms with a high percentage of students out with reported illness). The attendance secretaries and nurses work together to monitor reported illness and notify the health department when we meet certain thresholds.
Please continue to reinforce the importance of hand hygiene and covering their cough/sneeze with your student. Soap and water as well as hand sanitizers are located in multiple locations in every building and should be used before eating, after going outside, after using the restroom, etc.
Please reach out to your school nurse with any questions.
Registration Fees - Still Due
If you have not yet fulfilled payment for registration fees you have/will receive a note home from school with your remaining balance. If you have any questions regarding these fees, please reacch out to our main office at 815-786-8812.
Lynn G. Haskin Elementary School
Email: sgaskin@sandwich430.org
Location: 720 Wells Street, Sandwich, IL, USA
Phone: 815-786-8812