The Wilmot Word: 01-14-2022
No School on Monday, January 17 - In Recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
5ESSENTIALS SURVEY NOW OPEN - LEND YOUR VOICE TO HELP OUR SCHOOL!
Again this year, parents across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, it allows you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness. Your responses also help guide district improvement.
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey is administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:
· Effective Leaders
· Collaborative Teachers
· Involved Families
· Supportive Environments
· Ambitious Instruction
To take the Parent Survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. Your identity and responses will be kept completely confidential and will not be connected to you or your child. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.
In addition to parents, 4th through 8th-grade students will also be responding to this survey. Per school board policy 7:15, you may opt your child out of any survey. If you would not like your child to participate in the 5Essentials Survey, please contact me and your child's classroom teacher.
5th Grade Information (Music Show, 6th Grade world Language Meeting and Candor Health Education Presentations
5th Grade Virtual Music Concert - January 18 (final posting)
All 5th graders should wear the class t-shirt for the concert on Tuesday
Zoom Information
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Jan 18, 2022 09:20 AM Central Time
Topic: 5th Grade Music Concert_Wilmot Elementary
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://dps109.zoom.us/j/95123447117
Middle School World Language Night Zoom (Save the Date) - 2nd posting
Thursday, 1/20/22 at 6:30pm: The Caruso and Shepard World Langage Teams are coming together to share information about our wonderful language programming for our incoming Bluejays and Spartans. Drop into the Zoom session to hear from the teachers and learn about our curriculum highlights in Mandarin, Hebrew, French, and Spanish.
A Zoom Link and Q&A Document will be shared prior to the meeting.
5th Grade Candor Health Puberty Education
Fathers & sons will meet on Thursday, January 27th at 6:30pm (THIS IS A REVISED TIME DUE TO THE TH GRADE WORLD LANGUAGE NIGHT).
LINK- https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86900600025?pwd=WCtFSThXWmdJRzFlUm0vVU9mM1hJZz09
At this event, fathers and sons will:
- Increase their knowledge of human anatomy
- Understand that changes are a normal part of human development
- Increase their comfort in discussion and caring for their changing bodies
Parents can find more information about Candor's programs on the links below:
FAQ sheet but video format: https://vimeo.com/444319972
Parent FAQ sheet : https://candorhealthed.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Puberty-1-FAQ-2020.pdf
Conversation Starters about Puberty 1: https://candorhealthed.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Conversations-Starters-Puberty-Aug2020.pdf
We hope to get as many 5th grade participants as possible. If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Robin (jamierobin110@gmail.com) or Jocelyn Weiner (jocwein@yahoo.com).
2nd and 4th Grade Music Concerts- Save These Dates
- The 4th-grade music concert will be held on Tuesday, February 8 at 9:20 am. Parents and guests will join us virtually, via Zoom.
- The 2nd-grade music concert will be held on Tuesday, February 15 at 9:20 am. Parents and guests will join us virtually, via Zoom.
REVISED QUARANTINE GUIDANCE
The CDC has put out clarifying guidance specifically for K-12 schools reducing the recommended time for isolation and quarantine periods to five days. IDPH & ISBE have since endorsed this new guidance.We are working to adjust our quarantine and isolation periods based on these new regulations and will contact affected individuals directly. The question of who is supposed to quarantine comes up often. Please check out this helpful explainer from the CDC.
SHIELD Testing
We have resumed our normal Shield Testing schedule will continue to test on Thursday mornings.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO FILL OUT THE SHIELD CONSENT FORM please
log in to Skyward/Family Access and it should appear as a green box next to your child’s name. Contact Kristen Neu (kneu@dps109.org) with any Family Access questions.
IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO OPT OUT OF A WEEK OF TESTING…
- Click here to fill out the required Google Form by 8:00 am each Wednesday (the day prior to Thursday testing):
OPTIONAL VACCINE DISCLOSURE FOR STUDENTS AGES 5+
Many families have recently chosen to have their 5-11-year-old student vaccinated.
As a reminder, your child is not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving their second dose.
You can complete an optional form in Family Access to let DPS 109 know that your child is vaccinated. This is the same form that was made available to students ages 12 and older earlier this year. Please click below to log into Family Access.
Why are we asking for this information?
A major benefit of completing the form is that if your child is deemed to be a close contact to a positive case, either in school or outside of it, our contact tracing team will quickly be able to potentially rule out quarantine for those that have voluntarily disclosed their child’s vaccination status or minimize the number of additional tests required to participate in the test to stay program.
Again, filling out this form is entirely optional. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to communications@dps109.org and we will put you in touch with the appropriate department.
The Latest COVID Information-ongoing posting
The district has a landing page with constantly updated COVID protocol information. Be sure to visit www.dps109.org/fall2021 to check out the latest updates on:
What do I do if my child wakes up sick? (and what happens to siblings)
Our COVID case dashboard - updated in real time
Save the Date
- January 10-28 - Math and Reading MAP assessments. Teachers will share their schedules in the coming weeks.
- Monday, January 17
- No school in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Tuesday, January 18
- Fifth-grade music concert. Virtual presentation for parents and guests at 9:20 am.
- Thursday, January 20
- BOE meeting at 7:00 pm
- Friday, January 28
- Wilmot Spelling Bee (4th and 5th-grade finalists) - 1:30 pm
- Tuesday, February 8
- 4th grade music concert (virtual performance) - 9:20 am
- Tuesday, February 15
- 2nd grade music concert (virtual performance) - 9:20 am