Blue Jay Buzz

In this issue you will find:

*NO SCHOOL Monday 9/2 (Labor Day)*

New Info

• "It's a Good Tired."
• Open House Recap
• Crazy Hat Day!
• The Anxious Generation Parent Event RSVP
• Check-in System Information
• Caruso Clubs
• Upcoming SEL Survey
• Picture Day
• Yearbook (Last Day to Order 10/10)
• Spirit Wear!
• MAP Testing
• 6th Grade Bash and Pep Rally
• Traffic Flow Update from our SRO Lauren Maldonado

Reminders from Last Week:

• Medication
• Attendance
• Tardiness to school
• Picture Day
• Cold Weather Gear Order (Part 2)
• PTO Information (Marla's lunch)

8/23/2024 Newsletter

8/12/2024 Newsletter

8/4/2024 Newsletter

Mark T. Schwarz - Principal - mschwarz@dps109.org

Donnie Castans - Associate Principal - dcastans@dps109.org

Marcia Klita - Director for Student Services - mklita@dps109.org

As we wrap up our second week, I’m reminded of something my Principal/mentor, Dr. Bohanenk, once said to me. At the end of my first week of teaching, he asked if I was tired. I was, of course—teaching is challenging, and I was just starting out. He looked at me, smiled, and said, "Me too," paused, and added, "But it’s a good tired." He was absolutely right. It was a good tired.

This week, I’m feeling that same "good tired," but it’s got me reflecting: what makes it a good tired? It’s not just the long hours or the hard work; it’s the sense of purpose and knowing that we’re helping our students grow, connect, and thrive. It’s seeing the spark in their eyes when they feel supported and excited about learning. That’s what makes all the effort worth it.

My hope is that this year, our weeks are filled with those "good tired" feelings for all of us—students, parents, and staff alike.

Thanks for a great start to the year!

In case you missed Open House - Click here the Admin Presentation

RSVP. As a district, we’ve been focusing on finding new ways to support our community. Rob Wegley, the principal at Shepard, and I are collaborating to host a parent event centered around the topics in The Anxious Generation. This book and topic are especially important as they address the growing concerns around anxiety in our youth and provide insights on how we, as educators and parents, can better support our children’s mental health and well-being. Stay tuned for an event date.

If you don’t have time to read, I highly recommend this podcast as a quick and valuable resource. - The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt

Dear Blue Jay Families and Students,

Caruso Middle School is proud to share with you our plan for continued support of student learning and success. We recognize the need for a transparent and consistent school wide plan across all grade levels and subject areas. We are committed to working as an entire school community to ensure your student’s social, emotional, and academic success. This takes elements of current successful plans from some of our core teams and systematizes it school-wide. Over the next few weeks, we will be working proactively to ensure understanding of expected student behavior including but not limited to tardiness to school in the morning, tardiness to class, preparedness for class, hallway expectations, and bathroom expectations. Click Here to Read More

Building students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is important in District 109. As a part of the learning process, we ask students in grades K-8 to reflect on skills related to social-emotional learning and the school environment. The fall survey will be administered to all students between September 3rd and September 20th and it should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Per policy, if you would like your child to opt out of taking the survey, please contact your school principal no later than Wednesday, September 4.

Fall MAP testing is Tuesday, September 3rd and Thursday, September 5th. All grade levels will start their day at CORE 1 to take their test.

Parking and Traffic Guidelines

Please be mindful of the surrounding residences when parking. This includes:

• Avoiding blocking driveways or fire hydrants.
• Parking close to the curb to ensure that school buses and emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, can easily pass through.

Additionally, U-turns at the end of Montgomery Dr. are not permitted to avoid entering the Caruso Circle around the school. This area experiences heavy foot traffic, especially during dismissal times, so please proceed with caution and be considerate.

Please note that school buses are on a tight schedule, so your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Have you checked out our new AI chatbot, Scout? Visit dps109.org, and Scout will appear on the bottom left-hand corner of your screen. Scout is on a two-month trial from now until the end of September. The more you help train him (ask him questions), the faster he learns and "scouts" our website to help find the answers to your questions! Please use the feedback button and star rating system to help us decide if Scout is here to stay.

Cell phones will be off and away in lockers from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm every day (8:00 am - 2:00 pm on early release Wednesdays). Here's the why: This will help our students focus on their learning, build relationships with those around them, and hopefully disconnect from the anxiety that comes from even just having a phone in the pocket, wondering what notifications they are missing.

If students are using their phones during the school day, they will be instructed to bring their phone to the main office. There will be a progressive response when this occurs that resets each semester:

First and Second Occurrence: Email home and student picks up phone at the end of the school day.

Third Occurrence: Parent/guardian must come pick the phone up from school. Student will serve a lunch reflection.

Fourth Occurrence +: Parent/guardian must come pick the phone up from school. Student will also drop phone off at office each morning. Student will serve an after-school reflection.

MUST be wired and are not used during passing periods.

A student who fails to meet the expectations will be asked to comply with them and may be subject to a verbal warning or behavior check in.

Backpacks must be kept in students’ lockers throughout the school day unless it is a documented accommodation. They will not be traveling from class to class. Here's the why: We do not have room in our classrooms to safely store backpacks without having a tripping/fire hazard, and—by keeping backpacks in lockers—we have a wonderful opportunity to teach and reinforce important executive functioning skills with material organization, case-its, and other organizational tools.

We ask that you try to limit student deliveries during the school day. We will not be allowing and/or accepting any DoorDash or similar delivery options for any student under any circumstances. All deliveries will be refused. Families are welcome to drop off lunches themselves. We have extra Chromebooks, chargers, and copies of books here at Caruso, so it is not necessary to drop what you're doing and run these items to school. If something is truly needed during the day, we ask that you bring it in to the front entrance, label it with your student's name and grade, and leave it on the Drop Off table in the vestibule. We will then bring it into the office for your student to pick it up. Please note, students are not permitted to order their own lunches during the school day. If you order/bring lunch for your student, please do not provide food for other students.

If arriving between 7:30 and 7:45, students should enter at the north side of the building at the Athletics Entrance. Students will wait until 7:45 to head to class. If a student needs to see a teacher before school, they will need to present a pass/note/email from the teacher to do so.

After 7:45, students should utilize the following entrances:

All students riding the bus: Athletics Entrance (north side of building)

6th Grade - Front Door (south side of building)

7th Grade - 7th Grade Door, north side of building (walk down sidewalk towards building)

8th Grade - 8th Grade Door, west side of building

Students should enter and exit vehicles only on the passenger side and on to the sidewalk or grass, and once you drop off, please keep moving.

Respect the staff working and please follow their directions. They are doing all they can to keep all students and staff safe.

When the weather is beautiful, we have many students who walk or ride their bikes to school. When the weather is less than ideal, many more students are driven. Please ensure that you leave home early enough to account for the increased volume of traffic. It is expected that students are in class at 8:00 AM ready to learn.

Students entering after 8:00 AM must do so through the main office and will receive a tardy pass.

If you are picking up your student during the school day, please buzz the front door and we will call your student down for dismissal.

Please help us be good neighbors, and do not turn around in driveways in the neighborhood.

Please do not send any medication, over-the-counter pain pills (Tylenol/Advil/aspirin), or cough drops with your students. State law prohibits students from taking medication at school outside of the nurse's office with a doctors' note on file. We will confiscate any meds found outside of the nurse's office. Contact our school nurse Ms. Gwen Dowell gdowell@dps109.org

Attendance:

If your student will not be in school, please report the absence to the health office by phone ((847) 945-8430 x6103) or email (carusoattendance@dps109.org) before 8:00 am. If you do not contact our school nurse by this time, she will contact you at home or at work to ascertain your child’s whereabouts. Children must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. Students will only be dismissed to a parent or legal guardian, or to emergency contacts designated in Family Access.

Student Tardiness to School:

Students who arrive late are greatly disadvantaged because they miss starting the day with their peers and miss out on the instruction given at the beginning of class. This means that they are often unsettled and confused about tasks, resulting in reduced achievement, regardless of academic ability. It is also very important that students establish good routines and habits in preparation for the rest of their lives. Punctuality is a life skill that is important to develop.

Tardiness to school will be unexcused even if a family member brings the student(s) to school. Oversleeping, missing the bus, car/traffic problems, etc. are all unexcused. Tardies are excusable under the following circumstances: personal illness of student, serious illness or death in the family, a doctor/dentist/professional appointment (a note or phone call from a parent or a professional), family emergencies, and religious holidays.

School begins promptly at 8:00 am. Students are expected to be in class ready to learn by 8:00 am. If students are not in the classroom, they will be sent to the office for a pass. The consequences for tardiness are as follows:

• Tardy #1: No consequence

• Tardy #2: Warning and a phone call home

• Tardy #3 & 4: Student will be assigned to the after school Reflection Room.

• Tardy #5: Return with a family member. A family member must meet with a member of the administrative team and the student to discuss intervention measures going forward.

• Please note: at the beginning of each quarter, students’ tardies will be reset to zero.

Student Tardies to Class:

Students are expected to be in class, in their seats, ready to learn at the start of class. Students who who don't abide by this will receive a check-in.

Caruso is pleased to offer cold weather gear options for ALL 6th, 7th & 8th grade Physical Education (PE) Classes. We want to emphasize that purchasing these items is entirely optional but highly recommended. Should you decide to acquire them, students will have the flexibility to wear these specialized garments both indoors and outdoors during PE sessions. They are great to have on our chilly weather days. Click here for more information and ordering link. Deadline 9/1/2024

Contact Ms. Signa (msigna@dps109.org) for any questions.

PTO Facebook Page

Join us for coffee @ Caruso; a way for the adults in our students' lives to build stronger connections with us at Caruso. Space is limited to 25 people per event, please RSVP by calling the Caruso Main Office at 847-945-8430. Thanks to the PTO for Sponsoring Coffee.

Thursday, August 29

• Open House 5:00-7:15 * (notice the time change. Schedule coming soon!)

Monday, September 2

• No School, Labor Day

Tuesday 9/3 and Thursday 9/5

• MAP Testing

Friday, September 6

• Picture Day

Email: cmsoffice@dps109.org
Website: https://www.dps109.org/Page/9
Location: 1801 Montgomery Road, Deerfield, IL, USA