Pierce Downer This Week

Pierce Downer Families,

It was so great to see our families at PD for this year's Curriculum Night! Walking through the halls, it was obvious how strong our home/school connection is. I hope you all enjoyed listening to our staff share the wonderful things happening in each grade-level.

This week we had our first drawing of the year to recognize students keeping the PD Promise to be RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, and SAFE. When your student is bringing home a PD Promise ticket, ask them how they earned it!

Our arrivals and dismissals have been going really well, I appreciate all of the support from our families getting our students to school on time. As a reminder, while we love seeing our furry friends, we kindly ask that pets are kept off of school grounds during arrival and dismissal.

Elementary Lunch Program

The District will send a survey this week to all elementary parents to gauge interest in a pre-packaged lunch program that can be ordered and paid online ahead of time, and then delivered to your child’s school.

This format is a precursor to the District developing a full-scale elementary meal program. New kitchens at the two middle schools will be built as part of the referendum to prepare food for an elementary school program. However, completion of the kitchens is two years away. In the meantime, the district is developing other options.

With that being said, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at LWagner@DG58.org or call the Pierce Downer Main Office at 630-719-5860.

As always, WE are PD!

Dr. Leland (Lucky) Wagner

As a reminder, every MONDAY students are dismissed at 2pm. We also invite students to wear orange on Mondays to support our commitment to a positive mindset, and spirit wear or school colors (blue and white) every Friday!

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 is gearing up for our 10th Annual Oktoberfest ! As we celebrate a decade of fun, friendship, and supporting our schools, we need YOU to make it the best yet.

Dates: Friday, September 15 & Saturday, September 16

We're seeking enthusiastic volunteers for various shifts across both days. Whether you've got a knack for setting up, serving, or simply bringing smiles, we have a place for you.

Ready to join in the fun? Sign up here: https://bit.ly/45XB4iF

Thank you for your ongoing support! It's the strength of our community that makes events like this so successful. Let's come together and make this Oktoberfest a memorable milestone!

We are so excited to launch a new year in BAND and ORCHESTRA and begin making music together again! We look forward to seeing returning students and also are thrilled to meet the more than 400 beginners who are starting their musical journey this year!

Lessons will be starting at each elementary school the week of Sept. 11th. In the fall, students will also participate in weekly after school rehearsals to prepare for their concerts! Please watch for an email from your student’s orchestra or band teacher with details about lesson and rehearsal schedules. Click here to meet your band and orchestra teachers - we look forward to seeing you soon!

Congratulations to Ms. Barc, RISE teacher, on being this week's PD Cup recipient. Ms. Barc approaches each day as an opportunity to help her students grow! Her energy and passion for teaching is contagious.

Thank you Ms. Barc for everything you do!

This year Pierce Downer has the exciting opportunity to pilot a schedule that includes three lunch and three recess periods. Our goal is to reduce the overall number of students within each lunch and recess period in order to maximize staff supervision and increase student safety. This is also a part of our continued efforts to support positive student behavior. It is important to note that as with any pilot, if we do not find success by implementing this model, we will revert to our typical lunch and recess schedule. The pilot schedule is as follows:

• Kindergarten and First Grade will eat lunch at 11:20 am
• Second, Third, and Fourth Grade will eat lunch at 11:40 am
• Fifth and Sixth Grade will eat lunch at 12:00 pm

We hope your family is excited for a great start to the 2023-24 school year! Please sign and return the attached receipt indicating that you have reviewed the Schools of District 58 Handbook with your child(ren). The form is due on or before our school’s Curriculum Night, which is Tuesday, September 5th.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this form!

District 58 is pleased to continue using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff. Community High School District 99 currently utilizes the same platform on its campuses.

Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present photo identification, such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.

The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district.

September 13

Picture Day

October 12

Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 18

Parent/Teacher Conferences

District 58 has partnered with Safe2Help to give students a safe and confidential way to report potential threats or crises. Safe2Help was launched by the State of Illinois in December 2020 and aims to help prevent suicide, bullying, school violence and other threats to school safety.

With Safe2Help, students can connect with a trained crisis professional during their own crisis, or to report a potential threat. Students can submit a Safe2Help alert via the following ways:

• Website: https://app.safe22helpil.com
• Text: SAFE2 (72332)
• Phone: 844-4-SAFEIL (844-472-3345)
• App: "Safe2Help Illinois" app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
• Email: HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com

All alerts are responded to by a trained Safe2Help crisis professional. Safe2Help is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

District 58 staff are not the initial responders to the alert and will receive each alert after the Safe2Help professional provides support. District 58 staff will review alerts sent by Safe2Help during regular school hours, unless the nature of the alert necessitates immediate school action.