9-11-20
Many thanks to everyone who attended our Curriculum Night! We had a wonderful turnout and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both parents and teachers. Our dedicated teachers did a fantastic job. If you were not able to make it to Curriculum Night, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher for the information you missed.
Please don’t worry! There is a plan when district/teacher technology fails! If the teacher’s internet goes out, please encourage your child to be patient and grab a book until we resolve the issue. If it’s something that cannot be resolved in a reasonable amount of time, another teacher will come into the class zoom. For individual assistance, please email [email protected] Internet/WiFi, Zoom, & Apps all will have difficulties at some point!
This year we will continue our district-wide Social-Emotional curriculum called Second Step. This program teaches skills that strengthen students' ability to learn, have empathy, manage emotions, and solve problems. This program is a universal, classroom-based curriculum designed to increase students' school success and decrease problem behaviors by promoting social-emotional competence and self-regulation. Each week, students will have a lesson from the Second Step curriculum. We will include follow-up information that you can use at home to support what was learned in school in future Friday newsletters. This week we completed our first lesson. The first unit focuses on Skills for Learning: students gain skills to help themselves learn, including how to focus their attention, listen carefully, use self-talk to stay on task, and be assertive when asking for help with schoolwork. Please do not feel pressured to complete these lessons but they are a great way to support your students social emotional development during this difficult time. They are a great conversation starter! Here is a link to the Home Links for Second Step.
Specials and Special Education Team Curriculum Night Presentation
In case you missed the presentation on Wednesday night, here is the presentation that the specials team and Special Education Team Presented. If you have any questions please reach out to the appropriate staff member.
Oak Park Public Library Ebooks on the student Devices
If you would like to set-up Hoopla or Libby on the District 97 device for your child to be able to read or listen to audiobooks you can! Here are the directions from OPPL as well as some book recommendations in Hoopla from Mrs. Howe.
Get an Oak Park Public Library Card
Book Recommendations from Mrs. Howe
Hatch Newsroom
Does your child know a joke? Do they want to be a part of the Hatch Newsroom? Starting the week of September 21st, every Hatch Newsroom Episode will include a Joke of the Week from a student(s) from Hatch! If your child would like to participate please have them submit a joke video on this Flipgrid. (Students have Flipgrid on their iPad and the join code is: f9c608dd) When a video is posted to Flipgrid, please note you are giving the green light for that video to be added to an upcoming episode of the Hatch Newsroom, which is posted on YouTube. If you aren't sure how to post a video on Flipgrid, please watch this video here to learn more.
4th/5th Grade Families: The recording of the Virtual Open House for Beginning Band & Orchestra, along with the interactive slide deck is now available on the D97 website at www.op97.org/instrumental-music. Families need to make sure that they have both secured (rented) an instrument and registered for Beginning Band & Orchestra. All of the links to our music vendors and registration is available as well on our website. If families have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact myself or our orchestra teacher, Ericka Shannon. Registration deadline is this Sunday evening, Sep. 13th.
Throughout the school year, the social worker and speech and language pathologist will be facilitating small social skills groups to not only meet individual students' special education needs, but also to help improve all students' social skills. The topics include but are not limited to: sharing, citizenship, good sportsmanship, cooperation, conflict resolution, and friendship. Please read this letter for further information.
Sarah Mendez
Hatch School Principal
1000 N Ridgeland Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 524-3095
Continued Social-Emotional Wellness Check-Ins for Students
The District 97 school psychologists and school nurses have collaborated to offer access to virtual mental-health wellness checks-ins for individual students. Check-ins are offered throughout the week in 25-minute sessions. These sessions give students a chance to speak about whatever is on their mind in order to help them manage stress in a healthy way. Students may attend up to three sessions per trimester at which point they may be referred for other school-based supports if continued monitoring is necessary. If your child is experiencing an immediate mental health crisis, please do not use this service and instead call the Thrive 24hr Crisis Hotline at 708-383-7500. You may also refer to this local resource guide created by the Community Mental Health Board of the Oak Park Township.
How can my child access this service?
Follow this link to see openings and secure your child’s appointment. Once you have signed up, the appointment will be added to your personal Google calendar with a link for a GoogleMeet. This is the link that your child will follow for their session. Please reach out to your school psychologist (Bett Rogers, [email protected]) if you have any issues with the signup process.
During these unusual times, we need to partner with you to ensure your child arrives at the correct video link during their scheduled time and returns to their classroom Zoom after the appointment. Please remember to coordinate with your daycare providers if applicable.
We will inform your child’s teacher, so your child will be excused from class.
To ensure someone is available to meet with your child, please book appointments by the night before the appointment (at the latest).
Next Meal D97 Meal Distribution: Tuesday, Sept. 15
During Trimester 1, meals will be provided free of cost to any District 97 student in need. Meal distributions will be held every Tuesday, 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.
Each bag of food will contain five breakfasts and five lunches. Click here for the September 2020 menus.
Click here for more information about food service during Trimester 1. If you have any questions, please reach out to the district's food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at [email protected].
D97 to Host Virtual Parent Circles on September 16 and 23
District 97 families are invited to join two upcoming Virtual Parent Circles, which will be facilitated in partnership with the E-Team of Oak Park. Events will be held:
Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (click here to register)
Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (click here to register)
These sessions were organized to accommodate families who were unable to participate in parent circles during our Aug. 13 Parent University. The sessions are designed to build community among District 97 parents and guardians and provide support as we navigate remote learning.