Henry Puffer Post

Below are the topics in this week's Newsletter.

• Principal's Corner
• Celebrating Students & Staff
• Lens Into Learning
• Weekly Preview
• Looking Ahead
• Fall MAP Benchmark Testing
• Curriculum Night
• Exciting Music Changes
• Updated Bus Routes
• Special Needs Resource Fair
• Lunch/Recess Supervision
• District 58 Family Handbook
• Below the Line

Dear Henry Puffer Families,

It was a very successful first full week of the 2022-2023 school year. We are fortunate to have such amazing students and staff at Henry Puffer! Our students & their teachers are busy learning new routines & beginning to focus on academics. We began MAP testing this past week & will continue over the next two weeks. In observance of Labor Day, we will not have school on Monday. As always, please reach out to me at mleipart@dg58.org with any questions or feedback.

Enjoy your Monday off!

Mark Leipart

Principal

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @HenryPufferDG58.

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During the school year, this section will be dedicated to shining a spotlight on the learning taking place in our school.

09/05: No School - Labor Day

09/05: No School - Labor Day

09/12: Board of Education Meeting 7:00-10:00 p.m. (O'Neill Middle School)

09/13: Curriculum Night from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

09/22: PTA Meeting 7:00-8:00 p.m.

2022-2023 School Calendar

We will continue our Fall MAP benchmark testing next week. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to demonstrate their knowledge, as well as for our teachers to collect information that will help inform their instruction in the classroom as a whole and in small groups. As with any other day, we encourage our students to get a good night's sleep, have a healthy breakfast, and to give their best effort!

District 58 has been working with its transportation providers to evaluate bus routes and make corrections and improvements as needed. This work has been completed, and the District has updated its bus routes. The updated bus routes will go into effect Tuesday, Sept. 6. We have posted the updated general education bus routes online at https://www.dg58.org/family-resources/bus-routes. While several updates were made, most were very minor. We encourage all bus riders to check their routes for updates.

If you believe your child’s general education bus stop is still missing or incorrect, please locate the bus stop closest to your home and use that stop on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Please also contact your school office when offices reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

If your child rides a specialized route and you have a concern about your bus stop or bus route, please contact the Special Services Department at 630-719-5824.

We are looking to fill 5 Lunch & Recess Supervisor positions and identify potential substitutes to fill in from time to time. Our lunch & recess block goes from 11:30-12:10 each day. Please fill out this form if you would be interested in helping out in any of those roles this year.

Thank you!

Mr. Leipart

District 58 has published the 2022-23 Schools of 58: A Handbook for Families. Please take time to review this important handbook with your child, as it offers an overview of the District’s policies, procedures, resources and student expectations. During the first full week of school, all families will receive a handbook receipt to sign, acknowledging that they and their child reviewed and understood the handbook. Please sign and return the handbook receipt at Curriculum Night or sooner. Here are the links to this year’s family handbook. If you need a print copy, please contact the school office at 630-968-0294, and we can print you a copy.

• English: 2022-23 District 58 Family Handbook

• Español: 2022-23 Manual Familias del Distrito 58

Please note that information BELOW this point is repeated information that has been shared in a previous newsletter(s), but is still made available here for your reference.

Mark Leipart, Principal mleipart@dg58.org

Jennifer Srabian, Secretary jsrabian@dg58.org

Cynthia Burcham, Secretary cburcham@dg58.org

Email: mleipart@dg58.org
Website: www.dg58.org/hp/
Location: 2220 Haddow Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.968.0294
Twitter: @HenryPufferDG58

The Board of Education approved the 2022-23 school year calendar. Calendar highlights include:

• First Day of School: Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022
• Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 23-25, 2022
• Winter Break: Dec. 19, 2022 -Jan. 2, 2023
• Spring Break: March 27-31, 2023
• Last Day of School: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 (if no emergency days are used)

If your child is going to be absent or late to school, please call the Henry Puffer Office at 630-968-0294 or email our secretary, Cynthia Burcham, responsible for attendance at cburcham@dg58.org to report his/her absence. If you call before or after office hours, you are welcome to leave attendance information on the school's voicemail. We kindly ask that you do not email attendance information to the teacher or principal.

We are excited about all the updates to our building this summer! The list includes asbestos abatement, tuck-pointing the bricks outside, new floors through our main hallway, repaved parking lots, and the beginning of installing an updated fire alarm system.

We are also excited about our next renovation project to the gutters of the kindergarten entrance. While the entrance is structurally sound, the gutters give off the appearance of the roof being sagged. We are looking forward to that being updated and giving off a fresh look to that entrance.

While a student may bring their electronic device (including cell phones and AirPods) to school, all non-district-issued technologies are to be silenced and out of sight throughout the school day. Students may wear smartwatches, but they are to be silenced during the school day. The district-provided technology will be utilized for students to participate in lessons and complete assignments. Please be sure to go over the expectations with your student as the policy was recently amended by our school board.

We recognize that there may be times throughout the day that your child may forget a needed item (water bottle, lunch, instrument, etc.). We ask anyone dropping off materials to leave these on the table in the vestibule. Please use the available post-its and pens to label anything you are dropping off with the student's name and teacher.

Important Note: Please know that students cannot return to the school after hours to pick up forgotten materials. Even though Champions (after care program) or park district leagues may be in the building, these groups are not able to let students in to access classrooms or cubbies. Additionally, if you are picking up your child from Champions or park district leagues, classrooms and other areas of the buildings should not be accessed after school hours.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school building safe!

District 58 launches the Safe2Help crisis reporting system ••

District 58 has partnered with Safe2Help to give students a safe and confidential way to report potential threats or crises. Safe2Help was launched by the State of Illinois in December 2020 and aims to help prevent suicide, bullying, school violence and other threats to school safety.

With Safe2Help, students can connect with a trained crisis professional during their own crisis, or to report a potential threat. Students can submit a Safe2Help alert via the following ways:

• Website: https://app.safe22helpil.com
• Text: SAFE2 (72332)
• Phone: 844-4-SAFEIL (844-472-3345)
• App: "Safe2Help Illinois" app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
• Email: HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com

All alerts are responded to by a trained Safe2Help crisis professional. Safe2Help is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

District 58 staff are not the initial responders to the alert and will receive each alert after the Safe2Help professional provides support. District 58 staff will review alerts sent by Safe2Help during regular school hours, unless the nature of the alert necessitates immediate school action.

Learn more about Safe2Help and District 58's crisis resources.

Visit the Safe2Help website.

If your child is a bus rider, you may access 2022-23 general education bus routes online at www.dg58.org/family-resources/bus-routes or on your PowerSchool parent account (instructions are on the bus route webpage). Families whose children use specialized bus routes should have been contacted by the bus company/bus driver with their bus pickup and drop-off information by Wednesday, August 24th.

If you signed up for general education bus service and your child’s bus stop is either missing or inaccurate on PowerSchool, please do two things:

1. Look at your school’s bus routes and determine the closest stop to your house. Your child should use that stop and will be allowed on the bus.

2. Please email or call your school office and let them know. We will be working with the bus company to update PowerSchool student accounts with the correct bus route and stop.

If your child rides on a specialized bus route and you don’t receive a call from the bus company or bus driver by Wednesday morning, please contact Assistant Superintendent for Special Services Jessica Stewart at 630-719-5824 or jstewart@dg58.org for assistance.

District 58 requests that students please arrive at their bus stops a few minutes early during the first weeks of school. As bus drivers get acquainted with new routes, it is likely that some routes may run early or late, and we may adjust bus stop times as needed. Any student who arrives late due to a delayed bus will be excused. We appreciate your patience and flexibility!

Arrival

Students may arrive at Henry Puffer School beginning at 8:05 a.m. each day when adult supervision begins. In order to assist with a timely and safe arrival process, the school playground will be closed before school. Upon arrival, students should line up by their assigned door. Students will be directed to enter the building beginning at 8:10 am. Anyone arriving after 8:15 a.m. should enter through Door One for an office pass.

Dismissal/After School

Following daily dismissal at Henry Puffer School (2:00 p.m. on Monday and 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), all students who are not scheduled to remain in the building must leave the school grounds and check in at their destination as there is no supervision on school grounds. We want to ensure the safety of all students.

Students may return to the playground after school hours and/or on the weekends. This will be done at family discretion, as our district playgrounds also function as community parks outside of school hours.

*Please note that entrance times may change as students build routines. We have not used our normal entrance procedures in several years, and we recognize that it may take students longer at the start of the school year to be ready to start the school day. The District also recognizes that bus arrival times vary during the first few weeks of school as drivers learn new routes. As students build routines and bus arrival times become more consistent, student entry times may get pushed back. This will allow our teachers the necessary time to prepare for the day. Supervision times will remain the same and any changes will be communicated in advance.

Please make sure your child has a snack each day. Snack breaks should consist of nutritious food choices such as fruits, vegetables, and other portable snacks. This aligns with Policy 6:50. The health and safety of our students are our highest priorities. Therefore certain snacks or foods may be prohibited in your child’s classroom due to food allergies. A daily snack can be provided for students who qualify for free/ reduced lunch.