Viking Newsletter

Report cards went live on TeacherEase on Friday. Please review your child’s grades and reach out to your child’s teacher(s) with any questions. We’re excited to celebrate our students' achievements at the upcoming awards ceremony on January 17 at 2:00 PM. Invitations have been sent home, and we look forward to seeing many of you there!

Teachers and Administration have been addressing social media challenges. We cannot do this alone and need support from home. We understand that social media is a significant part of their social world. While platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat can be fun and engaging, they also come with risks that require careful attention and guidance.

Here are some tips to help keep your child safe online:

1. Open Communication
   Talk openly with your child about their online activities. Ask which platforms they use, who they interact with, and what they post. Creating a judgment-free space encourages them to share concerns or ask for help if needed.

2. Address Negative Posting or Commenting
   Talk to your child about the impact of posting or commenting on content in a way that isn’t nice. Explain how words can hurt, even online, and encourage them to pause and think about how their comments might affect others. Reinforce that being kind and respectful online reflects positively on their character.

3. Privacy Settings
   Help your child enable privacy settings on their accounts to limit who can see their posts and send messages. Regularly review these settings as platforms often update their features.

4. Recognize Red Flags
   Teach your child to identify and report inappropriate behavior, such as cyberbullying or messages from strangers. Let them know it’s okay to block someone who makes them uncomfortable.

5. Lead by Example
   Model healthy social media habits. Be mindful of your own online behavior, and show your child how to use social media responsibly.

Junior high is a time of growth and discovery, and social media can play a positive role when used thoughtfully. By working together, we can help ensure our students stay safe while enjoying the benefits of technology.

If you have any questions or would like additional resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

We are so excited for 4th Grader, Aaron Lello, to be the first Viking of the Week in 2025. Whenever I see Aaron he always has the best attitude and is so polite. Here are the wonderful things Mrs. Kelly said about him. Aaron is a true Viking through and through! He is responsible with all his assignments, respectful when learning and to all his classmates, and is always ready to learn. He is enthusiastic and confident when participating and sharing his learning with the class, especially during math.

When Aaron is not being a star in the classroom, he is involved with the TPAA 4th grade basketball team. He also has participated in five camps over this past summer! He regularly studies Ju-jit-su, which is a form of martial arts. He is very knowledgeable about this martial arts practice. He will tell you that he loves math and social studies, but finds learning history amazing. He especially enjoys P.E. because he likes the adrenaline running through his veins. He states when he feels the wind running through his skin and his blood pumping, there is nothing better.

Mrs. Kammer’s students in K-5 are working hard to achieve their instructional goals. Here is what is going on in her class: In reading we are working on decoding and word analysis with sh, th, as well as letter combinations ol and or. In group reading, we are working on making predictions by using prior knowledge. In writing, we are working on indicating where sentences begin and end in a paragraph by utilizing a correct model, as well as discriminating between sentences that report on a picture versus sentences that convey an inference. In mathematics, we are working on an introduction to multiplication: how you can use equal groups to find how many in all, how multiplication is like addition, and how you can use models, and or skip counting to help you multiply.

The boys basketball team played Laraway and Union this week. They also participated in the Taft Tournament. The 7th grade team lost to both teams but took 3rd place in the Taft Tournament. Great work boys. The 8th grade team lost to Laraway but came back and beat Union. The boys have 3 games this week. They play Rockdale away on Monday, Elwood at home on Wednesday and Fairmont at home on Friday. Good luck boys.

The Lady Vikings Volleyball teams started their regular season play this week with games against Washington and Kelvin Grove. Both teams beat Washington. The 7th grade beat KG but 8th grade lost a close one. They have three games this week. They play Richland at home on Tuesday, at Dirksen on Wednesday and at home against Laraway on Thursday. Good luck ladies.

We also had our 78th Annual Taft Tournament the last two weekends. Congratulations to all of our teams, and thank you to all of the volunteers who made it another successful tournament. The 4th grade boys took 2nd place, the 5th grade girls took 3rd place, and the 7th grade girls are playing in the championship. Great work everyone.

Attached is the January look ahead calendar for your review. From time to time we may send an updated calendar if there are any changes.

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Staff will be outside each morning beginning at 8:10 AM - 8:20 AM to supervise students prior to them entering the building at 8:20 AM. Before 8:10 AM, there will not be any supervision for students so we ask that parents please do not drop off your students before that. There is no parking in the drop-off lanes on 16th and 17th Streets. Parents who wish to park or wait with their children are expected to use the spaces on Washington Street. The drop-off lanes on 16th and 17th Streets are designed for parents to drive up and drop students off and proceed forward. Parents should simply wait in line until they get close to the school and then drop off students. Jumping the line to save a few seconds is dangerous and breaks down the process for everyone and will take longer in the end.

School ends at 3:15 PM and pick-up time generally follows the same procedures except parents will typically begin lining up prior to school letting out. During pickup time it is acceptable for parents to wait in their cars for their students however parents should not park, and leave their cars in the pickup lane unattended. As the line moves we ask that parents pull as far forward as possible to ensure the traffic flows and to allow more students to enter their cars. Please note that with the upgraded curves on the 16th Street side that there is a change in the traffic pattern.

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade - Line up on the back playground each morning and enter through Door 4. Teachers will come out and get them from their lines. First and second-grade students will be dismissed out the playground doors each day. Kindergarten will be dismissed from Door 2 nearest to the kindergarten classroom. All students in kindergarten through 2nd grade must be picked up by a parent or sibling and checked out with their teachers to ensure our youngest students are safely picked up.

3rd & 4th Grade - Line up and dismissed from Door 7 on 17th Street

5th - 8th Grade - Line up and dismissed from Door 2 on 16th Street

All students entering early childhood-including speech services, kindergarten, and 6th grade are required to have a current physical examination completed on the approved Illinois Department of Public Health Form.. A sports physical does not meet the requirement. The parent portion on the upper backside of the form must be completed and signed. Required physical exam with updated immunizations must be turned in by October 15,2023 to avoid exclusion from school.

• Preschool
  

  
  

  Complete Preschool Physical Examination

  No additional immunization requirement if up-to-date.

  
  

• Kindergarten
  

  
  

  Complete Kindergarten Physical Examination and all required immunizations including:

  • Two doses of MMR Vaccine

  • Four doses of Polio Vaccine

  • Four doses of DPT/DTaP Vaccine

  • Three doses of Hepatitis B

  • Two doses of Varicella Vaccine (chicken pox)

  • Complete Kindergarten Eye Examination - Must be turned in prior to October 15 of the current school year.
    

  • Complete Kindergarten Dental Examination - Must be turned in prior to May 15 of the current school year.

  
  

  • 6th Grade
    

    
    

    Complete 6th grade Physical Examination and all required immunizations including:

    • One dose of Tdap Vaccine

    • One dose of Meningococcal Vaccine (meningitis) after the 11th birthday

    • Two doses of Varicella Vaccine (chicken pox)

    • Three doses of Hepatitis B at the required intervals

    Complete 6th grade Dental Examination - Must be turned in prior to May 15 of the current school year.

    
    

  
  

  Students entering an Illinois school from out of state or out of the country for the first time at any grade level must also provide the physical exam form. The exam must be completed no earlier than a year (365 days) prior to the start of attendance at an Illinois school.

  
  

Stop it is an online program that students can use to report bullying or any unsafe behavior while remaining anonymous. These reports come through to the Superintendent, Principal, and Social Worker via text so we can address the situation right away. This provides the student with an opportunity to share their concerns if they feel they cannot speak immediately to an adult.

We continue to teach our students to advocate for themselves in situations where they feel they can speak to a situation on their own. The students are reminded there are different approaches to stop bullying or unsafe situations outside of reporting things anonymously. Students are encouraged to share concerns with friends, staff, and family to learn to advocate for themselves. However, we understand that there are some situations where students may feel safer reporting discreetly.

If you have any questions regarding the Stop It program, please contact Mrs. Thompson or Mr. Calabrese.

Email: j.calabrese@taftsd90.org
Website: www.taft90.org
Location: 1605 South Washington Street, Lockport, IL, USA
Phone: (815)838-0434
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taft.vikings
Twitter: @jjcalabrese