Message from April 17, 2020
As you may have heard, the governor announced we will not be returning to in person learning this school year. While many of us anticipated this decision and are committed to doing our part to keep everyone safe, it can still be disappointing for all of us as a community. Please know we have been planning for this possibility and will make the appropriate adjustments. As our plans develop, we will keep you posted on how we will accommodate for this unprecedented end of the school year including picking up personal belongings, transitioning to new schools and our end of the year celebrations. In the meantime, remote learning will continue, and we will of course adjust to meet the needs of your family. Please feel free to reach out if your needs change or if there are supports you would find helpful. We thank you for your patience and continued support as we do our best to reinvent the educational experience and differentiate for a variety of needs. As always, we will get through this together as a Hatch family!
Thank you to everyone who submitted videos for our Parent/Teacher Basketball Activity. Although we cannot be together in person right now, it’s wonderful to connect in creative ways virtually!
Next Tuesday evening at 7pm we will be hosting our first virtual PTO meeting. The PTO will be sending the Zoom link for you to join. Topics include updates on remote learning and ways we are supporting the Hatch community at this time. Specific questions can be submitted in advance by emailing them to [email protected] and [email protected]. We hope to see you there, virtually!
Topic: Hatch Virtual PTO Meeting
Time: Apr 21, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 963 6678 4653
Password: Tigers
If you would like to donate to help Hatch families in need, please click here. Thank you to our amazing PTO for their support. Your generosity is so appreciated during this time. This is just part of what makes our Hatch community so very special. (link on PTO facebook page)
The Hatch Bookfair is coming to Hatch via the internet! Starting Monday, April 20th, you can go to the Hatch Scholastic Book Fair website and order books that will be delivered directly to your house! Remember that 25% of what you purchase comes back to Hatch for the teachers to order books and other learning materials for their classroom and for the librarian to order books, bean bag chairs, robots and more for the students at Hatch! The shopping is open until May 3rd. Thank you the PTO for providing this wonderful opportunity for the Hatch community!
We are now planning for the 2020-21 school year and would like to know more about your elementary-aged child from your point of view. Creating class lists for the upcoming school year is a complex process that has several stages. For this initial stage, we want to provide an opportunity for our families to provide us information about your child. To access our brief form, please click the following link:
While we follow the “shelter in place” guidelines, the week of April 20th will continue as remote learning to provide the continuation of learning in students’ coursework in homes without interruption. Please check your homeroom teacher’s communication method (such as email, blog, or website) for these lesson plans. In addition, on the Hatch Website, families can find links to grade level and teacher information and special area assignments (PE, Art, Music, Library, & FLESS). Once again, please make this work for your family. You can adjust schedules and prioritize assignments to fit your family’s situation/needs. We understand that everyone has different situations and stressors right now. Please note that Friday, April 24th is a planning day for teachers, and no new assignments will be posted that day.
Beyond Hunger (formerly the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry) traditionally holds their annual “Can Do Challenge” in April of each year and encourages all schools in Oak Park to a little friendly competition for a great cause. Given the startling circumstances of the past several days, and the uncertainty that many folks in Oak Park and surrounding communities are facing, the need for food and nutritional support is greater than ever. Hatch won last year’s D97 challenge because of the generous support of many of you in our school community. This year’s contest will only consist of on-line monetary donations, given the current circumstances. The good news is that every dollar donated is able to purchase 3 meals from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Let’s do this together, and win this thing for the good people of Oak Park and our surrounding communities who need our help at this very challenging and uncertain time.
With the transition to remote learning due to COVID-19, District 97 has been working to develop and improve strategies to help students and families. As we continue to strive for continuous learning and we move forward with further plans, we would REALLY like to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey on remote learning in District 97. Your feedback and suggestions will be helpful in allowing us to better serve you and inform our future plans for all students. This survey will be open through Thursday, April 23, and we will carefully consider all feedback received through this date. Thank you for your continued partnership and extraordinary efforts to support your children throughout remote learning.
Technical support will be available from school and district technology staff by accessing the Help Desk through email, [email protected]. When an email is submitted, a Help Desk ticket is created and assigned to technology staff, who will be working throughout the day to address technology concerns. Our technology team can support District 97 devices and student online programs.
Meal Distributions: District 97 will hold meal distributions every Monday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Longfellow Elementary School (for Julian and feeder schools), 715 S. Highland Ave., and Brooks Middle School (for Brooks and feeder schools), 325 S. Kenilworth Ave. Meals are available to any District 97 family in need. Each student will receive breakfast and lunch items for five days. If you have any questions, please contact our food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at [email protected].
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications: Given the economic impact of COVID-19, families may have experienced a financial change such as income reduction or job loss. Even if it is temporary and regardless of other financial factors, a change of income may qualify your children for free or reduced lunch from now until October 1, including summer meals. We encourage all families who have experienced a loss or reduction of income to take a few minutes to complete the National School Lunch application. To learn more or access the application, please visit https://bit.ly/3c5gxvV. Applications will also be available at our meal pick-up sites.
The District 97 Student Services Department is hosting a virtual Special Education Parent Support Meeting on Monday, April 20, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to allow parents to come together to discuss what is working for them during remote learning and what they may need in terms of support from each other. Parents and district staff have been listening and sharing ideas together.
Please see the details below to join us.
Topic: Special Education Parent Support Group
Date/Time: Monday, April 20, at 6:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 966 3793 7565
Password: 028632
FREE INTERNET ACCESS: We want to be sure you are aware of the free internet access opportunities from AT&T, Spectrum, and Comcast. The Illinois State Board of Education has listed these opportunities at www.isbe.net/keeplearning.
For the latest D97 information and updates, please visit our district website (https://www.op97.org/updatecenter/index), and please monitor your email and phone for messages from the district.
Flu/COVID Information:
If you or a family member have a fever, cough, or and/or flu-like symptoms, please consult with your primary care provider BEFORE going to urgent care or the emergency department. There are specific protocols in place for managing illness at this time that are designed to protect you and others. Your primary doctor or health care provider can help keep you safe while managing your symptoms.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss any health care related issues further, Nurse Rossi is available and happy to help. Please email her at [email protected]. In your message please indicate if you would prefer to email or talk via phone.
As you know, the situation regarding COVID-19 is rapidly changing. Please go to one of these links for the most current information:
Continue to follow frequent handwashing, not touching your face, and physical distancing. We will get through this together!
As we continue to learn and grow our practices in remote learning, we want to thank you again for your patience and support!
Sarah Mendez
Hatch School Principal
William Hatch School
1000 N. Ridgeland Ave. | Oak Park, IL 60302
Tel: (708) 524-3095 | www.op97.org/hatch
Attendance: (708) 665-3063 | [email protected]
