D15 Family Newsletter

Dear D15 Families,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and were able to enjoy extra special time with friends and family. I know the Heinz household was filled with family, food, connection, and laughter, which is what makes the holidays something to cherish.

What I love about the month of January is that it kicks off a new year, which allows time for reflection and offers endless possibilities for the year ahead.

2023 will continue to require the district to focus our attention on the many components of the Moving 15 Forward plan. Our teams are full speed ahead with all things Moving 15 Forward!

We are excited to share the NEW Moving 15 Forward newsletter. This newsletter will highlight any updates regarding Moving 15 Forward and what’s coming next in regards to the plan.

In our very first newsletter, you can review what’s been happening since the referendum was approved. Later this month, we will share information about our recent bond sale. These updates, the full plan, as well as an FAQ can be found on the Moving 15 Forward website.

Our staff fully utilized every moment of our half day on Wednesday. The time flew by, but it allowed staff the opportunity to collaborate, learn, and plan around how to ensure our classrooms and schools have clear and consistent behavior expectations, our students are engaged learners, and how to best build impactful relationships that lead to decreased behaviors. Our staff found great value in the time to collaborate and discuss trends in their school. We were thrilled to hear the staff found the day to be beneficial through their exit survey data. I will share more information with the Board of Education at our meeting next week.

My Parents as Partners group asked us to share information about the difference between this week’s half day professional development and our scheduled Institute Days. This past Wednesday, our staff received a presentation from our legal counsel regarding Senate Bill 100 and discussed behavior data for their students. Our institute days are planned a year in advance and provide staff the time for training or retraining on curriculum and various resources.

On behalf of our staff, I appreciate your support as we continue to model our deep commitment to students and ensure their academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs are met while also ensuring staff have the tools and support they need to work with students.

There will be no school on Monday, January 16 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or on Tuesday, January 17 for Teacher Institute Day. Staff will engage in additional learning opportunities around new curricular resources.

Our next Board of Education meeting is Wednesday, January 18 at 7:00 pm at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School. Click here to view the January Board Agenda.

Please make sure you have reviewed the Inclement Weather Plan on our website. Should weather conditions exist that meet warning criteria status, District 15 schools will be closed, and an emergency day will be utilized.

We will not be utilizing an eLearning day this year. If school is canceled, the decision is made no later than 5:30 - 6:00 am. Additional information about a warning versus an advisory can be found on our website.

On Thursday, February 9, 2023, Partners for Our Communities (POC) will host a fundraising event offering wine tastings paired with chocolates and appetizers. Proceeds from this event will help the POC continue to support our families.

We hope you are able to show your support for the POC and join us in this event!

This week, Winston Campus Elementary School's PTA hosted a Multicultural Night to celebrate the many cultures they have within their school! This fun evening was full of delicious food, great conversation, and amazing performances! Check out photos from this fun-packed evening throughout this newsletter!

Wishing you all a healthy start to your year!

Your partner in education,

Laurie Heinz
Superintendent of Schools

• January 23 - SPARK presents: Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know
• January 26 - Developing Engaged Readers
• February 7 - BPAC presents: La importancia del lenguaje positivo con los hijos (Lic. Ferney Ramirez) / The Importance of Positive Language with Children
• February 23 - A Parent’s Role in Emergency Situations (partnership with the PTA Presidents’ Council and the Palatine Police Department) - More information coming soon!

Details about each session and future Parent University dates can be found on our calendar or on the Parent University page on our website.

Beginning in February, we will be having “High Five Fridays” at each of our schools through the end of the school year. We have invited first responders in our communities to greet students as they arrive to school. We have listed the calendar of schools below and reminders will be sent in your schools’ newsletters as your school’s date approaches! We are very excited to begin this community initiative!

All K-2 students take FastBridge assessments in the fall, winter, and spring of each school year. FastBridge uses brief measures of early literacy and math at the kindergarten and first-grade levels. These brief assessments provide data on an early learner’s reading and math development. The FastBridge assessments typically take less than 10 minutes per student, but the data gained provides teachers with insights and suggestions to help address each child’s needs.

FastBridge test results for K-2 students from the fall and winter testing periods will be available to parents in mid-February via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. When you log into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal you will need to select "more" from the dropdown window and then select "Assessments."

To learn more about each assessment and how to interpret your child's scores, please visit our district’s FastBridge webpage.

We are pleased to announce that we are now enrolling current 4th and 5th grade students into the instrumental music program for the 2023-24 school year. If you are a parent of a current 4th or 5th grader, you will find a survey in your Infinite Campus Parent Portal to indicate your student’s interest. You will then be contacted by a member of our instrumental music staff.

The instrumental music program in District 15 includes band, orchestra, and mariachi (Winston Campus Elementary and Jane Addams– new for 2023-24!) and is an optional elective program in elementary school.

If you miss the Campus Parent survey, reach out to Beth Rihtar (rihtare@ccsd15.net) via email, or indicate interest when you complete your registration for the 2023-24 school year on Campus Parent.

Please contact Beth Rihtar (rihtare@ccsd15.net - 847-963-3137) with any questions.

Seventh and eighth grade ELA classes will begin a process this year assessing and reporting student progress on three of the Illinois State Learning Standards at the end of second and fourth quarters in addition to final grades. These standards will have no effect on GPAs, Honor Rolls, or High School placement. They are being addressed as a way for parents and guardians to learn more specifics about their student’s development in English Language Arts and provide a cohesive picture of the K-8 reading progress as seen on report cards. District 15 teachers chose the three standards that serve as a foundation for students in their development of reading, speaking and listening, and writing skills. The standards that will be reported are:

• Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text;
• Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly;
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

More details and information can be found in this document.

Parents can always view their students' breakfast and lunch accounts in SchoolCafé. If you have not created a SchoolCafé account, there are step-by-step instructions on the Nutrition Services SchoolCafé page on the website.

Please also be aware that à la carte items are being offered to students at the junior highs. A student will need to have money on their account to purchase an à la carte item. Cash is also being accepted at the à la carte terminals.

If you have any questions about setting up an account in SchoolCafé or your student’s account balance, please feel free to contact Nutrition Services at 847-963-3929 or woodst@ccsd15.net.

We are pleased to host three meetings to share information about our Dual Language Program in D15. If you would like to learn more about applying for our Dual Language Program that starts in kindergarten, please join us on February 2nd at Jane Addams, February 9th at Winston Campus Elementary, or February 13th at Kimball Hill. Meetings at all buildings will be in English from 6:30-7:30 pm and in Spanish from 7:30-8:30 pm. Please view the flyer for more information. More than ever, we are proud of our Dual Language program which is growing our bilingual, biliterate, and globally competent community!

The ACCESS testing window for our English learners opened on January 12 and will remain open through February 28. This assessment will help us measure students’ growth in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English and will provide us with valuable information for designing effective instruction. We anticipate the results will arrive in May.

Come learn more about our open positions at an upcoming job fair!

Dates:

• January 19, 26
• February 1, 6, 16, 22

Location: Palatine Library, 700 N. North Court, Palatine, IL 60067

Time: 12:00-3:00 pm

Please contact Lori Thum at thuml@ccsd15.net regarding job fairs.

• January 16 - No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
  
• January 17 - No School, Teacher Institute Day
  
• January 18 - Board of Education Meeting
  
• January 19 - D15 Job Fair
  
• January 23 - Online Registration Open
  
• January 23 - SPARK Meeting
  
• January 26 - D15 Job Fair
  
• January 26 - D15 Parent University: Developing Engaged Readers
  
• February 1 - D15 Job Fair
  
• February 1 - D15 Spelling Bee
  
• February 2 - Kindergarten Dual Language Information Meeting at Jane Addams
  
• February 6 - D15 Job Fair
  
• February 7 - B-PAC Meeting
  
• February 8 - Board of Education Meeting
  
• February 9 - Kindergarten Dual Language Information Meeting at Winston Campus Elementary
  
• February 13 - Kindergarten Dual Language Information Meeting at Kimball Hill