The District 25 Dish

This edition of the District Dish features the following:

• Need 2 Know
  Calendar Updates
  2023-2024 Calendar (REVISED)
  D25's Parent Academy | Fall 2023
  Arlington Heights All-Stars | Track & Field Team
  Early Childhood Program | Lottery Form
  Full Day Kindergarten Update
• Superintendent Search | 23-24
• Celebrate With Us!
  Hanukkah
  Christmas Day
  Kwanzaa
• Community
  Arlington Heights Police and Fire Departments | Toys for Tots and Coat Drive
  ABC/25 | 2023-2024 Grant Recipients & Upcoming Events
  Arlington Heights Memorial Library | Winter Reading
  North Cook ROE/ISC | Movie for Parents on Anxiety
  Arlington Heights Park District | Scholarship Program
  
• Feel Good Story
  SEL (Ruler) in District 25
• Help Needed
  Substitute Food Service Employee
  Director of Student Learning
  Student Services Coordinator
  School Nurse
  and more!
• #Build25 Update | Ongoing Updates!
• Instagram | @ahsd25social
  Early Childhood Family Fun | Photos
  
• Strategic Plan 21-25, Dashboard
• Board of Education
  School Board Meeting | Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 7:00 pm
• #d25ItsPersonal

Thank you! Click around and enjoy!

Superintendent Open Door

• Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Winter Break | All Schools Closed

• Monday, December 25, 2023 - Friday, January 5, 2024

Institute Day | Staff Only

• Monday, January 8, 2024
  

School Board Meeting

• Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 7:00 pm

At the May 9th, 2023 Board meeting, a REVISED calendar for the 2023-2024 school year was approved. Please note the following changes. Please also note that the updated calendar has the word REVISED at the top in red:

1. Tuesday, March 19, 2024 is a Non-Attendance Day | Election Day

2. Monday, April 1, 2024 is a Staff Attendance Only | School Improvement (SIP) Day

3. Monday, April 1, 2024 is an Emergency Day 1

4. Friday, April 5, 2024 is a School Attendance Day

5. Monday, April 8, 2024 is a School Attendance Day

Please download and print this calendar linked here for your reference.

This calendar is also available on our website at www.sd25.org/Calendar.

A new Parent Academy Newsletter went out on Wednesday, November 15, on how to best Support Your Child Through Tragedy.

Parent Academy is a partnership between parents and District 25, in which parents are invited to join our community of learners. The goal of Parent Academy is to provide learning opportunities for parents to better understand ways to support their students’ academic success and personal well-being.

To visit the Parent Academy webpage, click here.

Would your student like to join the Special Olympics All-Stars Track & Field team? Our All-Stars team will meet for practices on Wednesdays after school starting February 7th, 2024. The Track & Field Skills Competition will be held on the weekend of April 13 - 14, 2024 at Prospect High School.

Special Olympics of Illinois requires that athletes are at least 8 years old with an intellectual disability.

For more information on Arlington Heights All-Stars team, click here. To complete an Athlete Interest Form, click here.

Our District 25 Early Childhood Program offers preschool classes Monday - Thursday in the morning (9:10 am - 11:40 am) and afternoon (12:50 pm - 3:20 pm) at a tuition cost of $350/month following the D25 school calendar.

We offer a lottery for the open tuition spots. Please click here to complete the 2024-25 Lottery Form. The lottery is open until January 25, 2024 at 4:00 pm.

For more information please visit our website, stop by our booth at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library | Preschool Information Night on January 17th, or contact us at 847-398-4211.

On December 13, 2023, Superintendent, Dr. Lori Bein, sent a letter to our community regarding updates on our upcoming Full Day Kindergarten program, which launches August 2024. To read this letter, please click here.

For more information on the District’s Full Day Kindergarten program, please visit our new kindergarten web page.

District 25’s Superintendent, Dr. Lori Bein, will begin her well-deserved retirement at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. As such, the Board of Education has begun the search for the District’s next Superintendent. This search process is underway.

Upcoming Timeline

STEPS TO FOLLOW

• District 25's Board of Education selects their top choice and may choose to conduct a site visit or conduct reference calls.
• District 25's Board of Education negotiates contract with selected candidate.
• District 25's Board of Education takes formal action on the next Superintendent's contract.

For more information as well as general updates on the Superintendent Search, please visit the Superintendent Search page on our website (https://www.sd25.org/SuptSearch).

"Hanukkah" means dedication in Hebrew. This holiday is also known as The Festival of Lights and represents joy. The celebration includes time with loved ones, gifts, food, and lighting a candle on the menorah each night. The dates change year to year.

Christmas is a federal holiday celebrated as a religious and cultural celebration in all states and territories as well as across the world. This celebration includes time with loved ones, gifts and a feast.

Kwanzaa is a seven-day, African-American cultural festival dedicated to the seven principles: unity, self determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

It is the season of giving! The Arlington Heights Police and Fire Departments are once again running Toys for Tots campaigns. They are accepting new, unwrapped toys until December 21.

The Arlington Heights Fire Department is also hosting its 12th Annual Coat Drive, which has collected nearly 6,000 coats for residents and students in need! Please bring in new and gently used coats for donations.

To find more information regarding where to drop off donations, click here.

ABC/25 has been up to a lot lately and we just wanted to thank them for their efforts to support District 25 students and teachers! Check out these items below!

2023-24 Grant Recipients

36 teacher grants were funded, for a total of $36,360.33. Check out and share the ABC/25 facebook post highlighting all the winners or visit their website to see more details.

Upcoming Events

To foster innovation, creativity, and excellence for the children of District 25, the ABC/25 Foundation invites you to their "No School Day" events!

• Monday, January 15, 2024 | Thrown Elements Painting Party @ Windsor - Paint a large ceramic mug and pick it up at the store after it is glazed. Free for members, $20 per child for non-members. 100 child limit.
• Monday, February 19, 2024 | Mr. Freeze STEM Event @ Ivy Hill - 2 shows will be available during the day. Free for members, $10 per person for non-members.

To register for these events, please click here.

Not an ABC/25 member? Join for $40 for the whole family to support District 25 and get free access to these events! Click here to sign up!

This winter, children up to grade 12 can track their reading, play to win winter prizes, and earn a free book when they finish! Starting December 18, 2023, you can pick up a paper log in Kids' World or the Hub at Arlington Heights Memorial Library. This Winter Reading incentive will last until January 28, 2024.

For more information, please click here.

We'd like to make our parents aware of a resource provided by the North Cook Regional Office of Education/Intermediate Service Center. They are offering a film-based program designed to raise awareness around anxiety. The film, Angst, includes interviews with kids, teens, educators, experts, parents and a very special interview with Michael Phelps. We recommend this film for parents with middle school students.

Please click here to view the trailer and/or the full-length film.

The Arlington Heights Park District provides opportunities for fun for everyone!

Apply for a scholarship to help reduce certain fees & charges by calling 847-577-3009.

Our students and teachers reflect on how the first three years of the RULER SEL (Social Emotional Learning) curriculum has gone!

• Director of Student Learning
• Student Services Coordinator

• Certified School Nurse | Full Time
• School Nurse - RN | Patton Elementary | Full Time

ALL TEACHING ASSISTANT POSITIONS LINKED HERE

• Special Education Teaching Assistants | Full Time
• EL Teaching Assistant | Part Time

• Substitute Teacher
• Substitute Registered Nurse
• Substitute Teaching Assistant
• Substitute Clerical Assistant
• Substitute Food Service Employee
  
• Substitute Custodian/Substitute Building Attendant
  
• Substitute Crossing Guard

As always, you can visit www.sd25.org/Build25 to stay up to date on the #Build25 progress.

RENDERINGS: Check out the renderings of what our additions are anticipated to look like!

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES: As construction commences, you can follow along on our Build25 site for visual and written updates!

Our #Build25 team has made GROUNDBREAKING progress on District 25’s expansion and capital projects!

LATEST PROGRESS:

Fall 2023

So much is happening in the #Build25 effort!

Dryden: Additional Classrooms & Expanded Gym

• Foundations are being installed for the gym and classroom expansion

Greenbrier: Additional Classrooms

• The construction fence has been installed.
• Site mobilization, construction, & excavation has begun for the foundation.
• Major construction will not start until the Spring of 2024.

Olive-Mary Stitt: Additional Classrooms

• Building addition is underway.
• Masonry is proceeding for the new interior and exterior walls.

Patton: Additional Classrooms & New Gym

• Site preparations are underway.
• Foundational work has begun for the gym and classroom expansion.

Westgate: Additional Classrooms & New Gym

• Site preparations are underway.
• Foundations will be installed for the gym and classroom expansion in the near future.

Windsor: Additional Classrooms

• The construction fence has been installed.
• Site mobilization and construction began in October for the foundation.
• Major construction will not start until the Spring of 2024.

For the full timeline of events, visit the Build25 page: www.sd25.org/Build25.

It was a Winter Wonderland at the Early Childhood Program’s Family Fun event!

Students and their families had so much fun as they dressed in cozy clothes, decorated gingerbread, played number and letter games on scooters, read in the dark, played with light tables, and much more! Not only were these games and activities a blast, but these forms of play help our younger students with many developmental and learning skills.

Our 2024-2025 Lottery Form for our Early Childhood Program is now open! The lottery is open until 4:00 pm on January 25, 2024. Help us spread the word! For more information please visit our website.

#d25itspersonal

Follow along with our progress on the following goals within our Strategic Plan, 21-25:

• Student Achievement
• Family & Community
• Learning Environment
• High-Quality Staff
• Stewardship of Resources

You can stay up to date on the progress of our goals and strategies that guide us in our everyday work: www.sd25.org/StrategicPlan.

BOARD AGENDAS:

As a reminder, our board agendas are made public 48 hours before each board meeting and can be accessed via our BoardDocs online program. To access BoardDocs, visit our website: www.sd25.org/BoardAgenda or click here.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Anyone who wishes to make a public comment can do so, in-person, at our Board of Education meetings. The Board hosts two public comment opportunities on their agenda: 1) at the beginning of the meeting, prior to any agenda items, 2) at the end of the meeting after the agenda items have been discussed/presented.

The Board can be reached outside of Board Meeting hours by emailing boardfeedback@sd25.org.

UPCOMING BOARD MEETINGS:

What: School Board Meeting

When: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 @ 7:00 pm
Where: Dunton Administration Building

The Board meetings will be livestreamed via YouTube. The links can be found on the Board Agenda page (www.sd25.org/BoardAgenda) the week of each meeting, but often are posted earlier than that. The recordings of the meetings will be posted the day following meetings at www.sd25.org/CatchUpOnMeetings.

Our teachers teach from a personal place. #d25ItsPersonal has become a way for our teachers and staff to share daily occurrences, and reasons why they do what they do for a living and why it's fulfilling, right here in District 25. Here is a look at a few tweets that show our staff's personal side!

Together Today 2 Transform Tomorrow

Website: www.sd25.org
Location: 1200 South Dunton Avenue
Phone: (847) 758.4900
Facebook: facebook.com/ahsd25
Twitter: @ahsd25

Instagram: @ahsd25social