LONDON LOOP
October 20, 2019 - Vol. 4, Issue 5
#WeAreLondon
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Dear London Families,
As you know, our school regularly practices drills to ensure our students know what to do to remain safe in various situations.
In May 2019, our students practiced exiting the building and visiting our pre-determined Rally Point as a component of our active shooter response drill. Over the next couple of weeks, we will add another component to our active shooter response drill by discussing the ALICE protocol in an age-appropriate manner, followed by conducting an ALICE drill in partnership with the Wheeling Police Department.
The ALICE acronym stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. This response model emphasizes proactive options-based strategies over a lockdown-only model, and is supported by federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations. School District 21, in consultation with local law enforcement, has adopted this model and teachers began training on this protocol in February 2019.
Conversations will start in classrooms where teachers will explain to students that if there were ever a dangerous person in the school, options exist to keep ourselves safe. It is possible that part or the whole school would enter lockdown, but it is also possible that some or all students and staff would leave the school and go to the Rally Point. We will review the ALICE acronym and understand how information will be relayed to the school in the event of a dangerous situation. Finally, we will conduct a drill where students and staff will learn that there is a dangerous situation in a designated area of the school, and they will practice the safest response.
Your child may tell you about the discussions he/she will have in class, the drill we conduct, the location of our Rally Point, and more, but as I’m sure you can appreciate, the details of our protocols and location of our Rally Point are not widely published as they are part of our safety procedures. Likewise, should an event occur where we use our Rally Point, this might not be the location where you reunite with your child. In the event of an emergency situation, you will receive any updates and further direction electronically. Please be sure that your contact information is always up to date with our office.
Practicing drills like this, prioritizing the security work completed in our office this summer, and continually reflecting on and refining our practices are critical to keeping our students safe. Together with Kim Cline, our new Assistant Superintendent for Support Services and School Safety, we appreciate your ongoing support as we maintain a safe learning environment for everyone.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Dr. Luis Correa
Principal
PTSA Lock-In
For the first time in a while, we had a strong representation of dads showing up to help make the event run smoothly. Way to go dads!!! A special thanks to Melissa Mykleby and Georgiann Vlachos for the countless number of hours they put in making sure every detail was covered for the Lock-In.
We are looking forward to the next PTSA event!
Save the Date for a Family Field Trip
Principal's Advisory Council (PAC)
Please join us at the upcoming Principal’s Advisory Council (PAC). This group has met with the principal historically throughout the year to discuss different topics impacting London Middle School. Our initial PAC meeting will be on Tuesday, October 22nd at 9:30 AM. We hope you can join us.
Spreading Kindness
As we continue to settle in the new academic year, with new schedules, classes, activities, friends, and having to wake up earlier, spreading kindness perse, may not always be at the front of our minds as a priority, as it may get lost in the day to day activities and routines of the year.
Bullying, unfortunately, has reached the news headlines as being a challenge in schools across the country, ranging from elementary to even college. Bullying, defined as when one or more people harm, harass, intimidate, or exclude another person or person's, is unfair and one-sided can leave a profound socio-emotional impact on both the individual being bullied and the one doing the bullying.
October is the national prevention month for bullying. According to StopBullying.gov, spreading kindness in schools not only promotes a positive school climate for all students, but engaging in constant and consistent opportunities for socio-emotional learning, has a positive impact on student socio-emotional health and well-being, and more importantly, studies suggest it decreases bullying (Spreading Kindness).
At London, students have access and are engaging in numerous socio-emotional learning opportunities throughout their day. Teachers are implementing SEL (socio-emotional) activities that help students identify how they are feeling, and learning to choose a coping strategy that will help them with appropriate emotional regulation. Learning skills in emotional self-regulation enhances the student’s ability to use emotional intelligence and skills in difficult situations that may arise. For instance, if they see a peer being bullied, they learn how to empathize with the person being bullied, and how to get help. Students also partake in weekly advisory lessons that delve deeper in the month’s SEL theme where they can also pose questions and reflect on how the topic relates to their experience.
How can you help your student spread kindness?
Encourage them to identify ways in which to spread kindness, not only at school, at home and in the community too! There are many ways to do so from helping with chores to writing a peer a note with a positive quote to volunteering for a food drive.
Ask them questions that allow for taking a different perspective other than their own. For instance, How do you feel when people care about what you have to say and show it by the way they listen?
Continue to model for your student how to include and support others who appear to have difficulty making friends or fitting in.
The middle school years are filled with social-emotional rollercoasters, let’s continue to help all students navigate these challenging changes that are part of growing up.
Smart Phone Safety Tips
For more information and tips on internet and device safety, please visit:
https://www.netsmartz.org/home
PTSA Calendar
October
- 21 - District 21 Orchestra Festival Sectionals - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
- 24 - One Acts Performance - 7:00pm
- 25 - One Acts Performance - 7:00pm
- 29 - District 21 Orchestra Festival - 7:00pm at Buffalo Grove High School
- 30 - Parent-Teacher Conferences - 4:30pm - 8:00pm
November
- 1 - School Improvement Day - 11:30am Student Dismissal
- 5 - Boys Basketball vs. MacArthur - 4:00pm
- 5 - Girls Basketball @ MacArthur - 4:00pm
- 7 - Parent-Teacher Conferences - 4:30pm - 8:00pm
London Middle School
Designated Illinois Horizon Schools To Watch
2009, 2012, 2015, 2018
Website: https://london.ccsd21.org/
Location: 1001 West Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL, USA
Phone: 847-520-2745
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccsd21london/
Twitter: @ccsd21london