The Fernway Flash

Gather your family, put on your walking shoes or biking gear, and celebrate National Walk & Roll to School Day with us on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.

Fernway families are encouraged to walk or bike to school together using our Safe Route to School guide.

Our hope is that by encouraging participation in this event, more students will choose to walk or bike to school on a regular basis.

For pedestrian and bike safety information, please check out these tips from the Tinley Park Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit.

Students and staff are encouraged to wear orange on Unity Day, Wednesday, October 16, to show they care about safe and supportive schools and communities. This is the day when everyone can come together and send one large ORANGE message of kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.

During Red Ribbon Week, schools across the nation join together to promote a drug-free lifestyle and encourage students to make positive, healthy choices. It is an ideal way for communities to unite and take a visible stand against substance abuse.

• Monday, October 21: “Proud to be drug-free!”
  See how much red you can wear from head to toe.
  
• Tuesday, October 22: “Outshine drugs!”
  Wear neon or the color yellow.
• Wednesday, October 23: “Give drugs the boot!”
  Wear a western outfit, a flannel, or the color green. Yee haw!
• Thursday, October 24: “Put drugs to sleep!”
  Wear pajamas or the color blue.
• Friday, October 25: “Our school chooses to be drug-free!”
  Wear your school shirt or school colors.

The Orland Township Food Pantry is hosting a Scare Away Hunger Food Drive during the month of October. Please consider donating some much-needed food items from this list: apple sauce, boxed potatoes, broth, cake mix, canned fruit, canned tuna, canned beans )black, kidney, garbanzo), canned veggies, cereal, jello, pudding, ramen, soup, stuffing.

Donations can be dropped off at any KSD 140 school from Tuesday, October 1, through Thursday, October 31. For questions or more information, please contact Orland Township at 708-403-4222.

Students will be dismissed according to the schedule below. As a reminder, students will not need to bring a lunch to school that day.

Half-Day Dismissal Times

• Kindergarten – 5th Grade -- 7:55 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
  
• Preschool -- 9:40 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
  
• A.M. Early Childhood -- 7:55 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.
  
• P.M. Early Childhood -- 9:45 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

We are looking forward to seeing all of the amazing Halloween costumes on Thursday, October 31. Students are allowed to wear their costumes to school that day. Costumes must be school-appropriate. Any weapon props and masks that cover the entire face (making it hard to see) should not be brought to school.

As long as the weather allows, we will have a costume parade at 8:45 a.m. outside the school. Parents are welcome to find a spot outside the school to wave to the students as they parade by. Please do not stand on the sidewalk or walkway that goes around the school, as this is where students will be walking.

If the weather does not cooperate, we will have to move the parade indoors. If this happens, it will be a closed event, and visitors will not be allowed into the school.

Classroom parties will be from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Thank you to the room parents who are working so hard to plan fun parties for our students. A reminder to our room parents, no food or candy is allowed to be shared or passed out during the parties.

We will have your ID badges on a table in the commons for you to check-in. Please have your driver's license or state ID with you. Siblings are not allowed to attend parties.

Room parents who plan on taking their child(ren) home with them after the party MUST sign them out in the classroom. In addition, if a room parent is taking a child home that is not theirs, we MUST have a note from that child's parent. We cannot release any child after the party unless we have parent permission.

We have dismissal at 11:10 a.m. and will need the parking lots emptied as quickly as possible once the parties are over so we can proceed with dismissal.

Important October dates to mark on your calendar:

• Thursday, October 3 - Fernway Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) Meeting @ 8:15 a.m.
• Wednesday, October 9 - Walk & Roll to School Day
• Monday, October 14 - Columbus Day - No School
• Wednesday, October 16 - Unity Day - Students and staff are encouraged to wear orange on Unity Day to show they care about safe and supportive schools and communities.
  
• Monday, October 21 - Friday, October 25 - Red Ribbon Week
  
• Friday, October 25 - Last Day of the First Quarter
  
• Friday, October 25 - Fernway PTO's Trunk or Treat from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30 - Picture Retake Day
• Thursday, October 31 - Halloween
• School parade @ 8:45 a.m.
• Classroom parties from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
• Thursday, October 31 - Half-Day - Early Dismissal - Elementary schools will be dismissed at 11:10 a.m. and middle schools will be dismissed at 12 noon.
  

D140 prioritizes comprehensive strategies to support students' mental, emotional, and physical health. Please click Health Information to review our resources. Together, we can create a nurturing environment where every student can thrive.

Keep up to date with school and district information by visiting our social media pages. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. My door is always open.

Mrs. Hutchinson

Website: https://www.ksd140.org/fernway
Location: 16600 South 88th Avenue, Orland Park, IL, USA
Phone: 708-349-3810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FernwaySchool/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fernway_falcons/