Fairmount Families Week END Report

As winter break begins, I want to thank you for your continued support and partnership. Today our building was filled with volunteers... events such as Fun Lunch and Classroom Parties would not be possible without your contributions and support.

I’m proud to share that together, we collected over 200 winter items through our Fairmount Giving Tree. Your generosity will make a meaningful difference for families in need this season. Thank you to our Student Council and everyone for coming together as a community to support this effort.

This season is a time to rest, reflect, and enjoy moments with loved ones. Whether traveling or staying home, I hope you all have a safe and wonderful break. On behalf of our staff, I wish you a joyful holiday season. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2025!

Sincerely,

Lisa Niforatos

Be sure to follow me on X/Twitter @Fairmount58.

Fairmount School Attendance Form

Past Newsletters

After winter break, District 58's elementary schools will join the National School Lunch Program and partner with a new elementary food service provider, Open Kitchens.

To help with the transition, District 58 will automatically provide meals to all students who currently receive boxed lunches during the week of Jan. 6. Families do not need to pre-order meals for this week.

Starting with the week of Jan. 13, all families who would like their child to receive a boxed lunch will be required to pre-order it online through the MyMealOrder system. Lunch orders for the week of Jan. 13 are due on Monday, Jan. 6 at the end of the day.

Click here to learn more information about ordering elementary boxed lunches.

Buy tickets now! Proceeds will support the District 58 Education Foundation

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 invites Fairmount to its Harlem Wizards fundraiser game on Sunday, Jan. 19 from 6-8 p.m. at Downers Grove South High School.

Buy tickets online at www.58foundation.org/events/Wizards. All event proceeds will be donated to the Education Foundation, a non-profit that raises money to support District 58 students.

Learn more here!

The District 58 Science Fair registration is now open visit the District 58 Science Fair page or scan the flyer below for more details.

During the month of January, Mrs. Laama will be out of the office. To ensure all communications are received during this time, please email Jill DeRango at jderango@dg58.org. Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this month as we will have substitute coverage assisting Mrs. DeRango in the office.

NWEA MAP Winter Benchmarking will begin the week we return from Winter Break. Testing will not begin before Wednesday, January 8th. Please look for additional details and schedules following our return from break.

Thank you to the many Falcons who donated items to our Winter Giving Tree. Together we collected 211 winter items.

Questions regarding 2nd/3rd grade Spanish Club, email Ms. Kozlowski at akozlowski@dg58.org.

District 58 will start residency verification after winter break...

If your family has moved in the past year, or if your student’s address information has changed in any way, please contact Andrea Laama (alaama@dg58.org) and Jill DeRango (jderango@dg58.org) or call 630-719-5830 and provide your updated information prior to winter break. In addition, if you rent a property, please make sure that your school has a copy of your most recent lease. You may email a copy of your lease to the building secretaries (email above) or drop off a copy at our school office.

District 58 will open 2025-26 student registration in February 2025. As part of the student registration process, District 58 works with a third-party vendor to verify that all students live within the District’s boundaries. After winter break, District 58 will begin the student address verification process. By starting this process earlier, we hope student registration will go more smoothly and more efficiently.

If our third-party vendor, Thomson Reuters CLEAR, cannot confirm that a student lives at their registered address, they will flag that student. District 58 will contact the student’s family and request additional documentation to confirm their address. A family will not be able to register their student for the 2025-26 school year until their residency is confirmed.

Keeping your child’s address information up-to-date will help make the registration process go more smoothly and ensure your child’s registration is completed without delay. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter! District 58 will share more information about 2025-26 student registration after winter break.

Monday, January 6th is a Professional Learning Monday. All students are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. according to their regular dismissal plan. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your child to be picked up from Fairmount at 2:00 p.m. each Monday.

Fairmount School is focused on a handful of school improvement goals this year that involve our ELA curriculum implementation, a supportive focus on the Zones of Regulation as well as targeted goals centered around ELA/Literacy for K-2 and 3-6. Each month we will provide information in our "Home Connection to Learning" section of the newsletter focused on one of these goal areas.

Our 3rd-6th grade students are focusing on understanding literary elements. They will do this by analyzing point of view, identifying themes, identifying author’s purpose, and reviewing literary features and structure.

You can help support your child to read a variety of genres within their daily reading at home with books that are appropriate for his/her reading level.

Our Kindergarten students had an exciting week of learning! From their Creepy Carrots, to phonics work, marvelous math and more... our youngest learners are doing a wonderful job!

The students have enjoyed having Mr. Y for PE. This week they engaged in a winter themed Matching/Memory activity that had them laughing & moving!

From Birthdays (or half-birthdays), Lost Teeth, Positive Behaviors and More... we love celebrating our Falcons!

It was a fun-filled week to celebrate the Fairmount staff. Every day had a theme and the students joined me in thanking the amazing teachers and staff for all they do.

We are so glad you are part of our school community! Whether this is your child's first or seventh year at Fairmount, we wanted to provide a fun way to get to know the many members of our teaching and school staff. We started this section two years ago and look forward to continuing it during the 2024-2025 school year. This year we have added a "school twist" for our staff.

Role at Fairmount: Instructional Assistant

Years at Fairmount: Over 23 Years

Favorite Subject in Elementary School: Science

Least Favorite Subject in Elementary School: I loved all the subjects!

Favorite Grade in School: 3rd grade

A big part of why I became an Instructional Assistant...I love working with children. If I can be of help to a child, I know I've made a positive outcome for that childs future. That makes me happy.

A memorable moment of my time in school was... 3rd grade science- watching a praying mantis give birth to many babies & watching them grow! It was super cool

If I wasn't a teacher/didn't work in a school I would... An accountant or some position in the medical field.

01.06: Welcome Back! Student Dismissal 2:00 p.m.; Monthly Matters Assembly; Wear Orange!

01.07: 3:00-4:00 p.m. Language Lab Club (for registered students), 3:00-3:45 p.m.Sign Language Club (for registered students)

01.08: 3:00-4:00 p.m. Chess Wizards (for registered students), Winter MAP Testing Begins, PTA Meeting via Zoom 7:00 p.m.

01.09: 3:00-4:00 p.m. Young Rembrandts (for registered students); 3:00-3:45 p.m. 2nd/3rd Grade Spanish Club

01.10: Falcon Friday! Wear School colors or Spiritwear

01.20.25: No School, District Closed

02.17.25: No School, District Closed

2024-2025 DG58 School Calendar (PDF)

Important Calendar Highlights:

• Winter Break: Dec. 21, 2024 -Jan. 5, 2025

• Spring Break: March 31-April 4, 2025

• Last Day of School: Friday, May 23, 2025 (if no emergency days are used)

If you are looking for any information from our amazing Fairmount PTA, please visit their website:

Fairmount PTA

Information regarding upcoming events, spiritwear, membership and more can be found throughout the site.

Please note that information BELOW this point is repeated information that has been shared in a previous newsletter(s), but is still made available here for your reference.

As we enter the month of December and have now experienced our first snowfall of the year, we wanted to share a few important reminders regarding outdoor gear to help support students during their recess and playtime outside.

Students will go outside, weather permitting, each day. In the event of inclement weather or the combined temperature and wind chill is below 0 degrees and/or if the conditions outside do not support safe play (e.g. extreme ice) students will take part in indoor recess.

It is important that students come prepared for outdoor weather each day. We certainly know that the weather can vary significantly at this time of year, so students are encouraged to have a “gear bag” that includes hats, gloves, snow pants, and snow/winter boots. Thank you, in advance, for writing your child’s name on all of their gear to support finding lost items.

In the event of snowfall/accumulated snow on the ground, students MUST have both snow pants and snow boots to play in the snow. This includes being on the field/grass area. While students do not need snow pants to play on the playground equipment, they do need to have snow boots in order to access the playground area.

If your family faces hardship in purchasing/securing winter gear, please contact Jen Mejdrech (jmejdrech@dg58.org) or Lisa Niforatos (lniforatos@dg58.org) for assistance.

If your child's dismissal plan will be different (e.g. not taking the bus), please communicate this to both the school secretaries and classroom teacher as promptly as possible. This is especially important for our younger students, so we can support their dismissal process. In the event of a last-minute change (anytime after 11:30 a.m.), we ask that you please call the school office (630.719.5830) as staff members may not check their emails prior to daily dismissal.

Lisa Niforatos, Principal lniforatos@dg58.org

Jillian DeRango, Secretary jderango@dg58.org

Andrea Laama, Secretary alaama@dg58.org

Website: www.dg58.org/fa/

Location: 6036 Blodgett Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.719.5830
Twitter/X: @Fairmount58