Some Thoughts

Week number 1 is in the books. Although it was short, it was very busy! I loved getting to meet some of the students and several parents! It is what I have been waiting for.

One last time, I wanted to thank all of the people that made our Meet and Greet Day a success. The staff, students, parents and PTO all worked together to make the day a huge success. Since this was our (Ms. Logemann and my) first event that we 'owned', I was particularly worried about it, but as it turned out, there was no need to anxious. When you give something over to the Kipling staff and the PTO, it cannot fail. Thank you to all who had a hand in making it a very successful event.

Thursday and Friday afternoon I received many emails from parents about how remote learning is going. I am going to attempt to respond to them all in the very near future, but in the meantime, I wanted to take a moment to discuss them. Many of the emails were extremely complimentary about our plan and how they feel the days are going. Thank you to all of you that wrote such nice messages. Many of the emails I read were respectful and kind, but expressed their fears and concerns regarding the amount of time spent in front of a screen. Some of the emails asked for more movement and brain breaks scattered throughout the day. All of the emails were well thought out and very respectful and kind. Thank you for keeping that kindness.

When I was a first grade teacher (which I was for ten years), I would have been reluctant to let anybody into my classroom to observe on the first day of school. It is quite a site. It is in no way indicative of what a normal day in my classroom looked like. It was crazy in there. First graders are still babies and they needed a lot of hand-holding in order to get anything done...and those were first graders. Kindergarten was even harder.

The moral of this story is...please give the Kipling teachers time to establish routines and set expectations. The teachers are busy doing that now. They are helping the students acclimate to this new type of learning and this new instructional method, but it can’t be done in one day. Teachers would love to provide more breaks for the students, but first, we needed to make sure that if we let them go, we can get them back. Teachers would love to use other resources to aid in their instruction, but before they do, they need to make sure the students can access those resources on their own before the teachers offer them. One of the key 'takeaways' that we heard from parents is that students need to be more independent this time around. Building that independence takes time. We will get the students there. We just ask for your patience along the way.

After talking with a few teachers on Friday, I am also finding out that teachers are still working on being able to ‘read the room’ using Zoom. When students and teachers are in-person, the teachers are continually gauging how the students are doing - are they losing focus, do they have the wiggles, do they understand what we are working on - they read the room and understand the cues that the students are sending out. This is a bit more challenging on Zoom. It will take a bit of time to be as adept on Zoom as they are when they are in-person.

I can assure that as the year goes on, the Kipling staff will continually monitor and reflect on our practices to ensure that we are doing what we feel is best for the Kipling students. This would be the case if we were live and in-person and it is certainly the case while we are remote learning.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at aelbert@dps109.org or by phone at 847-948-5151.

Morning Announcements

Each school day, either Ms. Logemann or myself will be hosting the morning announcements. The announcements start at 8:40am each week day we have school. They are typically over by 8:45am. During the announcements, we do the Pledge of Allegiance, we go over birthdays and we might have another special announcement or two. We start on time and we end quickly so don't blink or you might miss it. See you then. Please click here for the link.

Kindergarten Video

The Kipling Kindergarten team put together a great video under the direction of our District Director of Communication, Eric Steckling. The video is available here. Thank you, Kindergarten Team, for being great sports.

Please note that all children entering kindergarten or students who are newly enrolled in District 109 are required by law to have a complete health examination by a licensed physician within 12 months before beginning school. Below you will find information regarding the current State of Illinois health requirements. Health forms may be submitted in person at the Kipling Meet and Greet event on August 19th or emailed to the Building Nurse, Edina Szabo, RN at eszabo@dps109.org

If you have questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact the school nurse at eszabo@dps109.org or 847-948-5151 x 1103.

Requirements

Important Dates

Physical Examination

Due at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

Immunizations

Due at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

Eye Exam

Due at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

Dental Examination

Must be completed between November 15, 2019, and
May 15, 2021.

Physical Examination: This physical exam must be recorded on the State of Illinois Certificate of Child Health Examination Form. All physical exam forms are required to have the parent section completed on top of page 2, including a parent signature.

Immunizations: Immunizations must be up-to-date, recorded on the State of Illinois Certificate of Child Health Examination Form, and administered as recommended by the Illinois Department of Public Health per State of Illinois mandates.

Eye Examination: The examination must be performed by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, completed on the State of Illinois Eye Examination Report and submitted to the school health office.

Dental Examination: Dental examinations must be performed by a licensed dentist, completed on the Dental Examination Record Form, and be on file in the school health office. To meet the 2020-2021 school year requirements, the dental examinations must be completed between November 15, 2019, and May 15, 2021.