Munhall Bulletin

Hello Munhall Families,

SEL Lessons:

This week's SEL lesson focuses on perspective taking; The ability to look beyond your own point of view, so that you can consider how someone else may think or feel about something. To do this successfully, you must have some understanding of others' thoughts, feelings, motivations, and intentions.” (Socially Skilled Kids, 2020). There are activities embedded in the presentation for students and adults. The five developmental stages of perspective taking; age 3 through 15+ is interesting and helpful to understanding this social-emotional competency.

• Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
  
  

The challenges and uncertainty facing families and children are impactful on overall mental health and well-being. We are hopeful the resources shared will be a support to parents/guardians and children. If you have any questions on the information provided or are seeking additional support for yourself or child, please contact Patti Palagi, Director Instructional Interventions (patti.palagi@d303.org or 331-228-6457).

Retrieving Student Materials/Belongings from Munhall

We are working on a detailed and safe plan to have families retrieve any student items from the school. Please look for this communication by the end of next week. Stay tuned…

How our 4th Graders Define Growth Mindset:

The concept of Growth Mindset is valued mightily by the Munhall staff, and is a mindset we try to foster within our students. Therefore, Mrs. Dainko and Mrs. Kaye tasked our 4th grade students to provide their definition of Growth Mindset through a video submission, which is compiled below:

4th Grade Growth Mindset Definition Video

I will also attach a parent guide for fostering growth mindset, which I refer to frequently as a father of two elementary aged children. The reference sheet can be found here.

Teacher Appreciation FlipGrid

Next week marks Teacher Appreciation Week. Our amazing PTO typically provides delicious food and treats for our staff. It is absolutely amazing! This year, working in conjunction with the PTO, we will be celebrating our teachers and staff in a slightly different manner. We are asking any students or parents to share sentiments of gratitude and appreciation through a venue called FlipGrid. Here is the link for Munhall's Teacher Appreciation Flipgrid. The password to enter the grid is "Mustangs". Instructions for recording are embedded within the grid. Thank you in advance for considering this option, as I am confident it will be very meaningful to the teachers and staff.

2020-2021 Class Placement—Parent Feedback:

In planning for the upcoming school year, parents are invited to provide information that will assist us in the class placement process. Since every learner is unique, our goal is to pair each learner with an environment that maximizes his or her potential. Therefore, balancing classrooms based on gender, special needs or talents, learning styles, and personalities are all factored as we compile class lists. As you can imagine, this is a complex process and a very important one.

We welcome any information that you would like to provide about your student in order to assist us in

making the best possible placement. Because of the many factors considered when putting a class roster together, requests for specific teachers will not be accepted. Clearly defining the needs of your child will be most helpful in making a good classroom assignment.

If you have information that will assist us in making a placement for your child, please forward that

information to me in writing. You may wish to include the following types of information:

• Your child’s talents and needs

• The type of classroom environment that has been or will be most beneficial for your child

• Your child’s personality and learning style

Letters must be received by May 15th, 2020 to receive consideration. Letters can be submitted through

US mail to 1400 South 13th Avenue, St. Charles, IL, 60174, or through an email attachment at Jarrod.Buxton@d303.org.

Thank you for your assistance in this important matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 331-228-6637.

Registration for Returning Students—2020-2021 School Year

Registration for all students returning to D303 for the 2020-2021 school year opened this past Monday. Registration for next year is done entirely online. All families should have received a postcard from the district office with all pertinent information regarding registration. Detailed instruction regarding 2020-2021 registration were included in last week’s Munhall Bulletin.

Finally, if you have moved, and don’t plan on returning to Munhall in the fall, please email Allyson Taylor at Allyson.Taylor@d303.org and Heather Miller at Heather.Miller@d303.org. If you questions regarding registration, logging into Home Access Center, etc., please call 331-228-2600 and leave a voicemail. Mrs. Miller or Mrs. Taylor will follow up with you.

Medication Pick-Up

If your child has medication (Epi-Pen, Inhaler, etc.) in the health office that you need to retrieve at this time, please email Wendy Landers wendy.landers@d303.org or Megan Mueller megan.mueller@d303.org for assistance.

As I have explained, when guidance for public access to school settings is received from the Illinois Department of Public Health/CDC, details on a general medication pick up process/timeframe will be shared. Thank you for your understanding and support at this time.

I wish all of you a restful and healthy weekend! Take care of each other…

Jarrod Buxton, Principal