Dear Field Families,
I hope that this finds you well. We are excited to welcome many of our students back to the building next week. You can find important reminders below to help you prepare for next week. Your child’s teacher will also communicate any classroom specific information with you.
I hope each of you had a nice break and were able to have some meaningful experiences with your family. I was able to unplug a bit and spend some quality time with my kids. They are growing up incredibly fast and I really enjoyed spending the time with them. If you follow Field on social media, you probably saw our Field Mascot introduction posted on Instagram and Facebook. If not, I have linked it here so that you can see it as well. I would like to send a special thanks to our PTA for purchasing the mascot for Field and to Mr. Kolb and our staff volunteers for creating the video to share with our students to introduce our Field Mascot. As always please reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Heidi Thomas
Informational Items:
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Elementary Hybrid Schedule & January Calendar
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Preparing for a Return to In Person
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Returning from Travel Guidance
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D205 Presents The Innovator’s Mindset w/George Couros
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Foundation 205 Virtual Showcase
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Important Winter Dates
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D205 Free Meal Pick Services Resumes
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District D205 Parent Engagement Series Presents “Mindframes for Students, Mindframes for Parents” - Jan. 13
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City of Elmhurst Commission on Youth presents “Depression in Kids During COVID” - Jan. 14
Other Resources
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Thrive D205 Wellness and Mental Health Resources and Information
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Virtual Backpack
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ComEd Bill Assistance
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Free Internet/WiFi Services
Elementary Hybrid Schedule:
Group A: in-person on Mon-Tues
Group B: in-person on Thurs-Fri
Group AB: in-person on Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri
Remote: Fully Remote (Monday - Friday)
*Please note that the changes in attendance days in January due to the student non-attendance days.
Preparing for In-Person Return
We are looking forward to welcoming our students back to school in-person in our Hybrid model next week (week of January 11th). Please be sure to double check your child’s group designation (A, B, AB, or remote) in order to be sure that you know which days your child will be attending. Please note changes were only made for new to in person students or families that were already contacted in order to support balancing classes. As a reminder, you can find your child’s group by logging into PowerSchool on a computer (not the mobile site) and looking at “Group” next to their ID number. For more detailed directions to look up your child’s group designation in PowerSchool, please click this link for directions. If you have any difficulty with this, please let us know.
To help you prepare for your child’s first in-person day, I wanted to share a resource with you. This slidedeck from the fall has been updated as there were some added pieces with this return due to our current designation. Please refer to these slides for important information. While we are in the current designation there are changes to snack procedures. Please review the information in the slidedeck related to snacks and weather. Further, please note that for next week while we get students back in the building and review procedures for lockers and winter gear, remote learners will start at 8:45 (next week only).
Our Field staff also put together a video in the fall for our students. Feel free to view it here. This may help to ease student nerves so they know what to anticipate. Please note one noticeable change from the fall is that many of our classrooms will be using cubbies and lockers to store winter weather gear. Teachers will review procedures with students related to this on your child’s first attendance day.
Students need to come on any in-person attendance day with their self-certification completed or we will not be able to let them in the building. We will need to keep them outside until we can reach you. Please know that we do not want to do this, but we do need to ensure that we keep all students and staff safe. The detailed directions for the self-certification process are below. I know that this can be tricky to remember. A little trick that has been helpful to me was entering the web address for self-certification into my phone contacts. I entered the name Elmhurst Self-Certification into my phone and the URL https://covid.elmhurst205.org.
Daily Student Health Self-Certification Process Required - As we begin to welcome our students back to in-person learning, I wanted to remind those of you that are moving from remote to in-person of the District safety measures that require parent/guardian attention. A primary safety effort that is part of our Open D205 plan is to certify student health information every day.
This request is being asked of all D205 faculty, staff, and families to complete. We need parents/guardians to complete our daily “certification” process prior to their child attempting to enter the school building each day. Please see our steps to complete the health certification process and watch our 1:47 video tutorial to learn how. The certification process is quick (less than 20 seconds per child) and the system is available now for parents/guardians to login and practice the health certification process.
Thank you so much for your time. We are looking forward to welcoming our students back in person the week of the 11th.
Returning from Travel
For the safety of our staff and students, we ask that you take it upon yourself to self-quarantine if you have engaged in any behaviors that could be deemed high-risk prior to attending school in person. The high-risk behaviors we are referencing are not wearing masks when out and about, not physically distancing, and/or gathering in groups of 10 or more outside of your family. If you meet any of these criteria, we suggest that you get tested 3-5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days following travel OR Stay home for 10 days when returning from any travel outside of Illinois. There is an added question to our D205 daily health certification regarding travel and the CDC’s recommendation quarantine. Please know that we understand that this is a difficult decision, and we ask that you consider the safety of our community prior to returning to school. We are happy to work with your family to accommodate self-quarantine.
D205 Presents The Innovator’s Mindset w/George Couros
D205 is pleased to present a special parent session with innovation leader George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity and his latest book, Innovate Inside the Box, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 15 via Zoom. The session is free by clicking here to register.
Schools, like learning, are continuously evolving, and how does that change our role as parents? In this talk, George will discuss the idea and characteristics of “The Innovator’s Mindset” and share persuasive examples on why this is so crucial for all educators. George’s presentations are known to be emotional, humorous, all while pushing your thinking, and will connect to your heart first, in a way that will last with you long after this keynote.
Foundation 205 Virtual Showcase
Foundation 205 is hosting a Virtual Showcase: Standing Strong for our Students on February 6th at 7pm. The event is free to watch, but there are multiple opportunities to support BOTH our students and local businesses. Visit the website to register and get direct access to the live event link and online auction.
The evening will feature national comedian Pat McGann, TikTok sensation Sofie Sanfillipo and performances from York, Sandburg and Edison. The event will run about 45 minutes and will also highlight teachers and students from across the district implementing grants supported by Foundation 205. The current needs of our students are even greater in this new educational landscape. The ability to respond with innovative resources and support will play a critical role in their success throughout this pandemic and beyond.
Important Winter Dates
January 11, 2021 - Hybrid learning begins for all students except those remaining fully remote
January 15, 2021 - Teacher Institute Day. No school for all students
January 18, 2021 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day observed. No school for all students
D205 Free Meal Pick-Up Services
District 205 Food Services is helping connect school and families by offering Free meal kits for ALL children, ages 1-18! Seven days of meals (breakfast and lunch) is provided with each pickup. No pre-order or ID is required.
Pickup is Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5:00 PM at the following locations:
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York High School, Main Entrance Door #3
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Bryan Middle School, East Entrance Door #13
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Churchville Middle School, Main Entrance Door #1
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Sandburg Middle School, Main Entrance Door #3
Updates
January 11 - Meal pick up from 3:30-5 p.m. at all four locations
January 13 - Meal pick up from 3:30-5 p.m. at all four locations
January 18 - No Meal Pick Up
January 20 - Meal pick up from 3:30-5 p.m. at all four locations
January 25 - Meal pick up from 3:30-5 p.m. at all four locations
January 27 - Meal pick up from 3:30-5 p.m. at all four locations
Please help everyone to stay safe by wearing your mask and staying inside your car (roll down back windows or open the trunk to receive the meal kits). Thank you!
District D205 Parent Engagement Series Presents “Mindframes for Students, Mindframes for Parents” - Jan. 13
District 205 Parent Engagement Series Presents
“Mindframes for Students, Mindframes for Parents” 6:30 p.m., Jan. 13, 2021 Via Zoom
The Distance Learning Playbook for Parents, Chapter 4 Register
Session Description: As your students are learning at home, it offers a unique opportunity into their world of learning. This session will focus on understanding how students can monitor their own progress, how parents can challenge their students appropriately, and how to gradually release responsibility for learning during the course of the year.
Did you miss “That’s Not How I Learned It!” - Distance Learning Playbook for Parents, Chapter 2? Catch the replay here.
City of Elmhurst Commission on Youth presents “Depression in Kids During COVID” - Jan. 14
The City of Elmhurst Commission on Youth is hosting a series of “Youth Issues During Covid”. The next virtual live event is: “Depression in Kids During Covid”. Sponsored by Amita Health and Dr. Jason Washburn.
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Thursday, January 14th, 7:00-8:30pm
When is the change of mood we are seeing in kids considered temporary stress? When is it something you need to take action on where it could be the onset of a mental health disorder? We will cover emotional/behavioral difficulties related to covid and remote/hybrid learning. Many kids are struggling. Anger outbursts, strong mood fluctuations, and isolating are some areas parents are having concern.
The free event will take place live on the Elmhurst TV YouTube channel. For the Q&A portion at the end, please email any questions to Jackie.Haddad-Tamer@elmhurst.
Additional Resources:
Thrive D205 Wellness & Mental Health Resources
Thrive D205 School & Community Wellness Partnership is a wellness and mental health initiative launched by Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 in 2019. The effort is designed to start a community conversation and create a subsequent plan to better understand, support and reduce the stress levels among students in our school community. Click here to discover the Thrive D205 resources page.
Virtual Backpack
Looking for non-profit, community activities or information that is fun and educational for students? Check out the D205 Virtual Backpack page.
ComEd Bill Assistance
If you are aware of families that could benefit from additional support, we ask that you share this information with them and have them call ComEd immediately at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), M-F, 7am-7pm. Customers can also visit ComEd.com/Support to learn more about the following payment assistance options and eligibility requirements:
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CARE Customer Hardship Grants
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COVID-19 Financial Bill Assistance
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Flexible, Extended Payment Arrangements
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