10/8/2021
It was wonderful to have so many of our families participate in Walk to School Day this week! We were lucky that the rain held off so that our students could join in the fun. Just a reminder that we do not have indoor space to allow students to safely enter the building prior to their entrance time in the event of rain or inclement weather. Please have your child arrive at their line as close to their time as possible just as we did last year. Please do NOT park in the drop off lane. Pull all the way up to let your child out. Thank you!
I’m pleased to report that our SHIELD testing once again yielded zero cases of covid this week! Thank you to all of our families and staff for all your supporting our layered approach to implementing mitigation strategies. We know that masking, distancing, ventilation and weekly SHIELD testing are all effective strategies for keeping schools open and kids in classrooms. In our seven weeks of school we have only had one case. While we know that could change at any point, we are so pleased to have made it this far with such positive results. Normally when there is a holiday on Monday, we would skip our SHIELD testing that week, however the company is able to send a team out on Thursday instead so that we don’t miss our sample next week. For weekly updates on covid and quarantine numbers in our district please see the D97 Covid-19 Metrics Dashboard
This week in Spanish class 2nd graders participated in an international simulation through "Journey North." Their symbolic paper monarch butterflies are off on their journeys to students in Michoacán, México. In the spring students will receive paper butterflies from Mexico and we will be able to communicate with students participating in the project. If you want to explore the Journey North resources with your child, click the following link. https://journeynorth.org/tm/symbolic/jr/KidsJourneyNorth.html
Next Wednesday October 13th, in celebration of Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, Sra. Bruno has organized an all school Zoom concert, sponsored by the Hatch School PTO! Colombian-born singer-songwriter, Nathalia Palis will once again be entertaining us with some family friendly bilingual songs to sing along and dance to! If you want to preview her music, your child has some of her songs with lyrics in our school Seesaw accounts or go to Nathalia's website. https://www.nathaliamusic.com/
This week we began teaching the Bullying Prevention Unit lessons during our Second Step time to help students learn how to recognize, refuse and report bullying. This week all students learned to define and recognize bullying. We taught students that bullying is when someone keeps being mean to someone else on purpose. The person it’s happening to hasn’t been able to make it stop. It is unfair and one-sided. Not all unkindness is bullying. Also, bullying is different from conflict, which is a natural aspect of childhood. We reviewed different scenarios and asked students to determine if the scenario describes bullying. Below are home links for each grade level that you may refer to if you’d like to extend their learning at home!
Kindergarten- Recognizing Bullying
First Grade- Recognizing Bullying
Second Grade- Recognizing Bullying
Third Grade- Recognizing Bullying
Fourth Grade- Recognize, Report, Refuse
Fifth Grade- Recognize, Report, Refuse
As we prepare for the upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences we’d like to extend an invitation for you to meet with our specials and support staff as well. Please click on the Specials/Support Staff Fall Conferences link to sign up for a conference spot! This is not mandatory, but our team is available if you have any questions.
Halloween: While our no visitors policy currently does not allow for parents to attend classroom parties, we will be continuing the tradition of our annual Halloween parade with some slight modifications. Classes will participate one grade at a time and parents can gather across the street to cheer on our tigers just as we did for our 5th grade clap out in the spring. Mark your calendars for Friday October 29th in the afternoon. Specific times to follow!
Reminder: No school Monday, October 11, 2021 for Indiginous Peoples Day
Message from the PTO: Save those too-small coats, boots, scarves, etc.! Coming soon... Share the Warmth. The Hatch PTO is collaborating with PTOs across the district to collect new and gently used (no rips/stains/broken zippers) winter coats, jackets, and accessories for local families. If you have items in sizes baby through youth XL, please hold on to these items for a collection that will occur for two weeks in mid-October. The collection bin will be in the main entrance of Hatch school for collections beginning 10/12 and concluding 10/22. Thank you!
D97 Updates:
Dear District 97 Families of Kindergartners, 6th Grade, or New Students:
We are reaching out to you as a reminder that the State of Illinois requires that all kindergarteners, sixth-graders, and students new to our district submit a current State of Illinois school physical with up-to-date immunizations. Information on the requirements can be found here. Please note that according to Section 27-8.1 of the School Code of Illinois, District 97 is obligated to exclude students from school who have not provided proof of the required physical examinations and/or immunizations on Oct. 15, until they are in compliance.
If you have been contacted by your school nurse that your child is missing any of the required forms/information, please submit those records directly to them before the October 15 deadline.
Students who are excluded on October 15 who have not provided the required documents are not eligible for remote learning.
Superintendent Search Virtual Community Forum - Oct. 20, 7 p.m.
As you are aware, the District 97 Board of Education has initiated its search for a new superintendent of schools, and we want to hear your thoughts!
The search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) will be hosting a virtual community forum on Wednesday, Oct. 20, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The forum will be conducted using Zoom Webinar, which allows up to 500 participants (click here for details).
There are two ways to participate:
Via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81956079457
Via Phone: Dial 312-626-6799 (Webinar ID: 819 5607 9457)
Click here for the event flyer >
2021-22 District 97 Family Handbook
Click here for the updated 2021-22 District 97 Family Handbook, which contains general information about the district and its procedures. Please note that some of this information may be subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
Additionally, if you would like to request a hard copy of the handbook, please contact the school office.
Reminder: Stay Home When Sick!
Staying home when sick is essential to keep COVID-19 infections out of schools and prevent spread to others. Symptoms that should be monitored daily by District 97 staff, families and students are:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea