
109 News
Issue #3 - September 19th, 2023

Happy October!
We are into the full swing of things this school year. Fall conferences are right around the corner. Sports and clubs are well underway. Seemingly everything will soon be pumpkin-spiced if it isn't already.
We hope you are having a great year! Please reach out to us at communications@dps109.org if you have any questions. We are happy to help!
Nationwide Alert Test Tomorrow
The federal government is testing the national Emergency Alert System tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. To help ensure that these alerts are accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities, the alerts are accompanied by a unique tone and vibration on devices. In order to minimize the disruption at school, teachers will give students a heads up on this tomorrow prior to the test.. We encourage you to discuss with your student as well so that they are aware of what is going on and that there is no emergency occurring.
Safety Exercise On Friday
On Friday, October 6, District 109 staff, who all train ALICE annually, will review the ALICE procedures with students. Students in grades K-3 will read a book, “I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared,” followed by a discussion with their teacher; students in grades 4-8 will watch a short screencast that reviews the different components of ALICE, and they will discuss how they would respond to various situations. District 109 does not conduct unannounced drills, and we do not simulate any type of danger or violence. Students will not notice any sort of extra law enforcement presence in their school. If you have any questions, please our district Director of Safety & Security, Solveig Jurmu at sjurmu@dps109.org.
Communications Review/Audit
We asked and you answered! Last spring, DPS 109 completed a communications audit. This involved a thorough study of our current practices & work, surveys completed by parents, staff, and community members, and ten focus groups comprised of different stakeholders.
We have taken your feedback and are getting right to work! Some things you will notice soon:
- A greater emphasis on texting (in addition to email) for pressing matters
- A revamp of the K-5 report card to simplify and clarify what students are learning
- A redo of our website... launching in Fall 2024
- More information about our finances & facilities & how we manage your money
We have created a three-year plan to address the seven official recommendations. The green dashed lines indicate that we are constantly working on all of these to improve. The red solid line shows the time period where efforts will be concentrated on a particular goal, and the check mark is when we aim to have each completed.
We also invite you to watch the portion of the board meeting (about 10 minutes) where this was presented to the BOE. Click below for more.
The BOE Recap
The DPS 109 Board of Education met on September 21st. For What's Good in 109, we had the honor of hearing from 2nd graders from Mrs. Ray's class at Wilmot, who presented about an activity they did that involved spending and budgeting money and having to rethink things when something unexpected happened like their car breaking down! Click below the photos to read the entire BOE Recap.
A Now A Minute With Officer Maldonado...
Community Corner: Sharing News & Events
How To Model Giving Back For Your Kids
Our community is full of excellent role models. CTAD's (Community: The Anti-Drug) October newsletter highlights local residents who set the example and a variety of volunteer opportunities to help our youth stay drug-free.
What's Good in 109?
There are so many GOOD things going on in our buildings and around our district each day... we do our best to try and capture it and bring it to you!
South Park School Spirit!
Kipling 2nd Graders Open Up Shop
Walden Readers
We have a lot of FABULOUS new teachers we want to introduce you to! Check out our New Teacher Tuesday posts that will appear during the year on our Facebook page. Click below to give us a follow!