August 16 @ 4PM Check PowerSchool for your Child's Teacher!

August 19 & 20 Teacher Institute Days - No Student Attendance

August 21 First Day of School for Students!

August 21 - 30 iReady (Math) Diagnostic Assessment Window

September 2 NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

Dear Bridgeview Families,

Welcome Back to School!

I hope you are relaxed, recharged, and ready to start a new school year. I am so delighted that you are part of our amazing learning community. I welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to our school, and I look forward to continuing to work with you and your child(ren).

Our skilled and devoted staff is already planning and preparing for your child(ren). Our office team is registering families, ordering needed materials, and updating student files. Our hard working and conscientious custodians have spent the entire summer cleaning our facility. We are indeed a joyous and caring school family with the common goals of nurturing responsible, caring students and promoting high-level learning.

Our students' first day of school will be Wednesday, August 21st. Please be aware that the first day is a full day of attendance. Students will be allowed to enter the building starting at 8:00AM daily. After 8:15, students will be marked tardy. Dismissal is at 2:30PM.

Other Things to Note

- Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school daily.

- Students will be offered a free breakfast daily. Students are not allowed to bring breakfast from home.

- Students can order a free hot lunch daily, or can bring cold lunch from home.

- No edible birthday or holiday treats will be allowed. If your child has a birthday during the school year and you would like to recognize the special day, please think about sending non-edible items such as pencils, stickers, erasers, etc.

New Staff

Each year brings positive change. This includes some new additions to our staff. We are delighted to welcome Gabriella Beggs (Kindergarten teacher) and Safyah Nasser (1st Grade teacher). We are fortunate to have them join our team, as each of them brings a solid skill set and a gentle, sensitive approach to meeting children's emotional and academic needs.

Student Placement

A great deal of time, effort, and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2024-2025 school year. Check out the full list of our classroom teachers and their room numbers below.

STUDENT CLASSROOM PLACEMENT WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE PowerSchool PARENT PORTAL ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 16th after 4:00PM.

Thank you for your patience!

Careful consideration was given from staff as we thought about each child individually. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially, and student learning styles were also considered. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities.

Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping him or her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff works hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Bridgeview School is eagerly looking forward to enriching your child's life. Please understand that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group, and teacher.

Warmest Regards,

Candice Del Prete

Bridgeview School Principal

Bridgeview School continues to make a special effort to ensure that all students fully benefit from their education by attending school regularly. Students who attend school regularly feel more connected to their school community and are more engaged in the learning process. As a result, they are more likely to earn better grades and test scores, and they have greater chances of graduating and achieving postsecondary success.

From pre-K through high school, poor attendance can negatively affect students socially and emotionally:

• They feel out of place
• They fall behind in their work
• They miss important opportunities that can inspire their future
• They have a hard time working with others
• They don’t see how school is connected to their future success
• Students who are chronically absent or truant are more likely to have low grades and test scores, and they are less likely to be on track for high school graduation. Each week of absence per semester in ninth grade lowers the likelihood of graduating by 25 percentage points.

It is important that our families understand our school policies and procedures, as well as Illinois School Law. A student is chronically absent from school when s/he has missed 10 percent or more of the days enrolled (that is about 17 days of school). Chronic absenteeism is a primary cause of low academic achievement and a powerful predictor of those students who may eventually drop out of school. As a school, we are held accountable by the state for your child’s regular attendance. In order to provide the necessary resources along with communication, we will be periodically sending letters home to inform you of the number of absences your child has accrued.

We know that there are a variety of reasons that students are absent from school and we miss your child when he/she is not here. However, if your child is going to be absent, please contact us to inform us of your child’s absence. You can do this by calling our school office at 708-496-8713 or by submitting your child’s absence via our online form.

Your involvement and partnership are vital in promoting your child's academic success. By working together, we can ensure that your child attends school regularly and is on the path to achieving their full potential.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to a successful school year with your child.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Del Prete

Students are allowed to enter through three doors upon their arrival each morning. Arrival time is 8:00-8:15AM.

Door 1 (Main Entrance) for walkers and car riders

Door 7 (Gym Vestibule Door - from playground) for walkers and car riders

Door 3 (Gym Vestibule Door - from parking lot) for BUS RIDERS ONLY!

If you are going to be dropping your student(s) off at school in the morning, there is only ONE lane for drop off. All students must exit the passenger side of your vehicle on 78th Street, located on the north side of the school building on the brick paved area (see photo below).

For safety reasons, please do not drop your student(s) off on Thomas OR on either side of 78th Street east of Thomas Avenue.

Walkers and car riders will be dismissed, as usual, onto our back playground.

In order to assure the safety of your child each day, it is imperative to notify the school office and your child's teacher if your child will not be riding the bus home on any particular day. Please email our office staff (jborst@isd109.org, mprouty@isd109.org) OR send a written note stating that your child will not be riding the bus that day. If a note is not sent to school, your child will be sent home on the bus - we will not take your child's "word for it" if he/she says they are not supposed to ride the bus. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

8:10AM 1st Bell

8:15AM Tardy Bell

2:30PM School Dismissed

All students arriving late to school (after 8:15AM) must report to the office for a tardy slip. Every 5th tardy a note will be sent home. Continuous tardiness may constitute other disciplinary consequences. Our goal is for all students to arrive at school on time each day. When students are late, they miss instructional opportunities. Please keep in mind that students arriving after 9:15AM are no longer considered tardy, but will instead receive a half day absence.

Being late is detrimental to all students' learning, especially if it occurs on a consistent basis. Be sure to do all you can to prevent tardiness. Your child will thank you for it!

Parents/Guardians should be aware that School District #109 applies lawn care products in order to maintain a beautiful campus of which all of us can be proud. With that being said, by law, our school must maintain a registry of all parents/guardians of students that wish to be notified prior to the application of pesticides to school grounds. Should you wish such notification, please contact our school office at your convenience.

Indian Springs SD #109 is looking to add to its list of available substitute teachers and paraprofessionals. If you are interested in being a substitute in our school district, please contact Marilyn Leja, School District Receptionist, at (708) 796-8700. The eligibility requirement to be a substitute teacher is to possess a teaching license or substitute teacher license (the substitute teacher license requires a Bachelor's Degree). The eligibility requirement to be a substitute paraprofessional is to possess a paraprofessional license. Feel free to contact Marilyn Leja for further details.

Candice Del Prete, Principal

Email: cdelprete@isd109.org
Website: www.isd109.org
Location: 7800 S Thomas Ave Bridgeview, IL 60455
Phone: 708-496-8713
Twitter: @BVGoBobcats

Instagram: @BVGoBobcats