WHS Principal Post - September 2020

We are now almost a full week into our full-remote learning model in D44. We understand that our roll-out was far from the "perfect plan". Having said that, we remain committed to supporting you and your family with obstacles that arise!

Together, we will find success because we are "Hammerschmidt STRONG!"

Please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher or to me directly if there is something we can do to support you or the learning experience for our students!

During the first week of each month, I will push out a Principal Post Family Newsletter. This publication will also be posted on our WHS Website for future reference.

The D44 school calendar for 2020-2021 has now been updated on our school and district websites. Click on the link below to access printable versions:

2020-2021 D44 School Calendar

Monday, September 7

• NO SCHOOL, Labor Day

Wednesday, September 9

• WHS PTA Dine-Out Fundraiser- Sebastians: Our first PTA Dine Out fundraiser will be Wednesday September 9, noon - 9pm at Sebastian's Ale House, 801 E Roosevelt Rd. They will donate 15% of all sales to the WHS PTA with the mention of code word: BACON. Come support this local restaurant and our PTA at the same time! www.sebastianshouse.com

Friday, September 11

• Spirit Wear orders due (see information below)
• PTA Phone Book Entries Due

Tuesday, September 22

• WHS "Virtual" PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 23

• WHS PTA Dine Out- Sweet Street Ice Cream

Each Wednesday, I will facilitate a School Wide Morning Meeting (SWMM) with information and activities for our students to engage with. The link will be on your child's lesson plan pushed out through Google Classroom or Seesaw. As you saw with this week's lesson, it will be a recording. Unfortunately the Google Meet platform's participant restriction of 250 guests does not allow all of our students to meet virtually in "real time".

As we move through the weeks, it is my hope to get some help leading these meetings from our students!

In the event that your child mentioned the Principal was acting very weird dressed in some sort of king costume, I provided the video below as reference point. The video below was included as part of the SWMM on Wednesday, September 2nd. I apologize in advance for the "performance."

In addition to the School Wide Morning Meeting, the Wednesday lesson plans will feature links for Art, Music, and PE lessons by grade level. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons and Staff Spotlight challenges will also be featured on a weekly basis.

Our hope is that these lessons and activities allow our school community to get to know us a little more, and also to have some fun along the way. Ms. Erickson will be leading the SEL- related lessons and a new staff member's spotlight activity will be included each week!

A variety of curricular resource and student manipulative supplies have been ordered and have been arriving at WHS. In the next week or so we will be sorting , labeling, and bagging these supplies. A curb-side pick-up will be scheduled most likely during the week of Sept. 14th. Items included in the supply bags will be the following:

• curriculum workbooks and materials
• manipulatives for music
• Grade level supplies ordered by teachers
• art supplies
• Yearbooks (from 2019-20)
• Welcome to Kdg. Signs (for our school's newest members)

More information about the WHS Supply Pick Up will be coming soon!

See the details in the flyer below.

During this time of remote learning, we know some of you may be interested in taking photos of different activities your children are participating in and sharing on various social media platforms. Please be mindful that we do have students who cannot be photographed due to safety reasons.

When sharing photos of your child’s learning on social media, it is important that only your child is seen in the photograph. It is also very easy for a child’s name to be captured in the background of a photo or in other documents shared with you (i.e. class roster information). We ask that you please only share photographs and information that relate directly to your child. Thank you for working in partnership with us to ensure the safety of all our students.

Just a reminder….

For kindergarten students and students new to Hammerschmidt School, the State of Illinois Certificate of Child Health Examination (Physical) and Immunization form should be turned in to the Health Office prior to the first day of school. If you have not yet turned in this form, please do so as soon as possible. A scanned copy can be emailed to jkurtz@sd44.org, faxed to 630-620-3733, or mailed/dropped-off at the school.

In addition, a vision exam completed by an eye doctor is due on or before October 15, 2020 and a dental exam completed by a dentist is due on or before May 20, 2021.

For second grade students, a dental exam completed by a dentist is due on or before May 20, 2021.

Please contact me with any questions. Thank you!

Jenn C. Kurtz, MAT, BSN, RN, PEL-CSN

Certified School Nurse

Pleasant Lane School & Hammerschmidt School

Lombard District 44

630-827-4681

jkurtz@sd44.org

In an effort to keep our buildings as safe as possible, we do require that all visitors make an appointment prior to coming in. You may do so by contacting your building secretary via e-mail. When e-mailing them, please let them know the nature of your visit and time/date when you would like to come to the school. They will then respond with a confirmation or alternative times and dates. They will also send you a self-certification request, which you will be required to provide in advance of your visit to ensure you do not currently have COVID-19-like symptoms.

We encourage you to follow our school and district social media accounts. Parents should also be aware that this school year, we have opened up YouTube access so our teachers can share videos with our students related to their teaching and instruction. It is important that just with any other social media channel, you carefully monitor your child’s use of YouTube, as filtering restrictions will not be in place in order for our teachers to share videos that are educational in nature.

https://www.facebook.com/whselementary

https://twitter.com/WHS_Elementary

Submit your information for the PTA Phone Book and register for membership by September 12. Please fill out the phone book form even if you do not wish to be a PTA member. All members will receive the valuable Phone Book once it's compiled.

If you've already filled out the Phone Book form but still need to pay for membership, visit the online store (where you can also purchase Spirit Wear) OR print this Mail-in Membership Form and mail with your cash/check payment to the school office.

Questions? Contact Melissa Jarosh (melissajarosh@sbcglobal.net) for membership or Kecia Waldschmidt (keciagerman@hotmail.com) for the phone book. Thank you for your participation!

Order your WHS Spirit Wear today! This year we are selling short sleeve, cotton shirts featuring the Hammerschmidt Strong theme. We are also selling child-sized face masks with the WHS star. Orders are due next week, Friday, September 11th. Check out the spirit wear flyer for information, and visit the WHS Memberhub store to place your order. (You can also pay for PTA membership at the memberhub store. A small service fee applies). Questions? Contact Heather Knight (HeatherNKnight@hotmail.com).

Our first PTA Dine Out fundraiser will be Wednesday September 9, noon - 9pm at Sebastian's Ale House, 801 E Roosevelt Rd. They will donate 15% of all sales to the WHS PTA with the mention of code word: BACON. Come support this local restaurant and our PTA at the same time! www.sebastianshouse.com

Click on the links below for assistance with your D44 technology devices:

D44 Tech Resource Hub

Direct Link for a "Help Ticket"

Email: ddanielski@sd44.org
Location: Wm Hammerschmidt Elementary School, Hammerschmidt Avenue, Lombard, IL, United States
Phone: 630-827-4207
Twitter: @ddanielski