Message from September 20, 2019

What an amazing Hatch Harvest Dinner we had yesterday! It was so inspiring to see our school community sit down for a family dinner in celebration of this year’s fall Harvest. Many, many thanks to our PTO and all our volunteers who helped make this experience a success. It took an enormous amount of “behind the scenes” work to make this event possible. This year we harvested a total of 500 lbs of food from the Hatch Patch. We were able to donate 300 lbs of that harvest to the Oak Park Food Pantry! Thanks to our teachers for their support, many of whom brought their own families to the celebration, as well as our custodial team for all their hard work in setting up and shutting down. 

 

As we settle into the routines of school and I spend time popping into classrooms, I am excited to see students highly engaged in hands on activities and challenging discussions. It is obvious that teachers have been busy planning over the summer! We also had two successful safety drills this week. At the beginning of each year we practice routines throughout the building including our safety procedures. Students did a wonderful job completing both the shelter in place and the lockdown drills.  

 

Urgent Health Issue: If your child attends an after school program, please know that those programs DO NOT have access to the health office. If your child requires an Epi-Pen, asthma inhaler, or any other emergency medication, arrangements have to be made for your child to have the medication available after school. 

 

Dental Clinic, October 3 and 4:

The dental clinic is back again this year! Take advantage of this free service offered by The Children's Clinic of Oak Park. Free exams and sealants will be provided. The Dental Clinic is open to all students at Hatch.  For students in Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades, this covers your dental form requirement. Any questions, contact Nurse Rossi 708-524-3093 or [email protected].  Please click here for the dental clinic info and permission form and click here for the Hatch dental flyer.   If you have not received a permission slip by Monday, September 16th, please contact Nurse Rossi. 

 

Background Checks: Just a reminder that any parent/guardian that will attend a field trip or will not be supervised by a District 97 staff member during a classroom/school activity will need to be fingerprinted. A supervised volunteer (classroom/school activity) will have a background check conducted. If you believe you have been fingerprinted with District 97 before, please email (preferred) Ellen McKay at [email protected] or call 708-524-3000 to inquire if you are already in the system.

Central Office has added Tuesday and Thursday evening sessions for parents to have background checks completed. You can sign up via the district website: https://www.op97.org/parents/background-checks

 

 

Don’t forget to purchase the 2019-2020 Yearbook by September 30 to receive a 15% discount! See flyer for more information and go directly to Treering.com to purchase a Yearbook.

 

Reminder: All schools are open on Monday, Oct. 14 (Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day)

 

Sarah Mendez

Hatch School Principal 

1000 N Ridgeland Ave

Oak Park, IL 60302

(708) 524-3095

 

 PTO Reminders

 

Order Hatch wear for yourself or your child! Orders taken online. The Fall sale closes September 22. https://hatch19.itemorder.com/sale

 

Diversity Committee Karaoke fundraiser. Eat, drink, mingle and maybe even sing with other Hatch parents while giving back to your child’s school! Saturday, October 5, at Amy’s Winehouse in Forest Park. Cost: $40. To buy tickets Zelle to [email protected] (Zelle) or Venmo @Kavita-Vermani Please include your full name and note Divco fundraiser.

 

PTO sponsored world language enrichment classes will be running November - April, on Tuesdays during lunch. We offer classes in French, German and Spanish, open to all students, but recommended for grades 2-5. No prior experience necessary. Look for a registration paper to come home in your child's take-home folder in late September. Questions? Contact Christine Wehman at [email protected].

 

Join our Collaborative Team and Chair the Taste of Hatch Patch!

We need a new chair or co-chairs to run the show and we need a commitment by Oct. 4th in order to proceed with next year’s event. We have a strong, experienced team in place and we have some spots where we need to add a few people, but first we need a new leader. There is certainly room for the event to improve, so creative ideas from a new leader are welcome. If you are organized, a team leader, have kids in 3rd grade or under next year, and are up for the challenge and privilege of running this long-standing Hatch community tradition, please email Katie Maschoff [email protected] for more information. We will answer any and all questions you might have.

 

It's a great opportunity for someone to hone some event planning or project management skills – and people management skills; or, for a full-time parent or part-time parent with those skills already to put them to good use until returning to full-time employment!