It was truly a pleasure to see so many of you at Curriculum Night! Your presence and engagement are what make our school community so vibrant and supportive. Thank you for taking the time to connect with our teachers and learn more about the exciting year ahead.

I would also like to inform you that we will be conducting our emergency drills on Tuesday. These drills are an essential part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and preparedness of our students and staff. Rest assured, these exercises are designed to be as smooth and reassuring as possible for everyone involved.

We also want all of our parents and guardians to know that we will be closely watching the weather this week with expected temperatures to be extremely hot. Most likely we will restrict all outside recesses and other activities to ensure that students remain safe. We are also adjusting the building's air conditioning systems to begin cooling the building earlier each morning and will make plans for classrooms in the 1909 building to have access to classrooms on the 1959 side as well.

The softball team played Rockdale and Laraway this week. The Vikings came away victorious over both teams. They beat Rockdale by a score of 16 to 3 and Laraway by a score of 16 to 0. The girls play Lukancic at home on Tuesday at 4:30 and Kelvin Grove at home on Thursday at 4:00.

The baseball team had 3 games this week. They played Rockdale, Elwood and Laraway. The Vikings were victorious in all 3 this week. They beat Rockdale by a score of 14 to 4, Elwood by a score of 13 to 7 and Laraway by a score of 9 to 1. The boys have 2 games this week. They play Richland at home on Tuesday at 4:15 and at Kelvin Grove on Wednesday at 4:15.

Good luck to both teams.

The Taft Foundation is meeting on Tuesday, August 27th at 7:00 PM. The meetings last an hour and we would love to see some new faces. We have a fantastic group of Taft parents and community members who are all active in working together to help support all Taft students. We would love to see some new faces. Please consider joining us at the meeting.

After well over a decade of running our PTA our current PTA Board is looking for a group of parents to take over the reigns. Historically, the Taft PTA has held multiple fundraisers to help support our school by providing necessary monetary resources to help support assemblies, provide classroom resources for teachers, help support our annual 7th/8th Grade Dance. They have also hosted many fantastic nighttime events like various movie nights, parent events like candy bar bingo, our annual Fun Fair, holiday shop, amongst many other fantastic activities for our Taft community.

While all of these activities seem like they require a lot of time and effort, if we can get a great group of parents to each give a little bit of time and effort we can ensure that this transition is seamless. If you are interested in helping to ensure our PTA continues and would like to donate a little bit of your time please reach out to Kim Thompson at k.thompson@taftsd90.org or Nikki Lane at n.lane@taftsd90.org.

Please see the September Monthly Look Ahead Calendar Below. As hard as we try there are times that we need to change various events. If that happens we will send out a new calendar highlighting any changes. The monthly Look Ahead Calendar is designed for whole school type events and does not include sport practices and games.

Taft SD 90 though our involvement with LASEC does offer free preschool screening for our families to help identify students who may be in need of early interventions. Please see the flyer below for more information.

We are in need of a 7th and 8th Grade Boys Basketball Coach for this upcoming boys basketball season. The season begins in October and runs though the end of January. The team practices everyday either before school at 6:45AM or after school at 3:15 PM. Once games begin practices are still held every day when there is not a game. The team plays approximately 20 games a year. Please use the button below to access the online application and reach out to Coach Howard or Jim Calabrese if you or someone you know is interested.

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

Lunch is ordered a month in advance, but changes can be made up to a week before if needed. So unfortunately lunch orders for the first few weeks of school are closed. If you want to still order for September please use the form below. You can select Hot, Cold, or Milk for your child's lunch on any given day. The form can be downloaded, saved, and edited, and then emailed back to Mrs. Zimmerman at j.zimmerman@taftsd90.org as soon as possible. Please ensure that your child's name and grade are included on the top part of the form.

At the start of the school year, extra lunches will be ordered just in case you are not able to return the form by 8/3/24.

Even if you qualify for free or reduced meals, a form must be filled out for each day your child desires a school lunch. You may choose between a Hot or Cold option. The cost of a school lunch is $4.35 per meal. Failure to fill out the form may result in not having lunch available for your child. If your child only wants milk, a charge of $0.50 will be applied, even if you qualify for free or reduced meals.

Please see the attached below for the 2024-2025 School Calendar.

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.

  
  

Did you know that every time you shop on Walmart.com, you can round up your change and donate it to TAFT FOUNDATION? Learn how small acts can lead to big impact at #WalmartSparkGood by using this link https://www.walmart.com/nonprofits/e52a139c-c723-4715-bf4d-27802d3cccbb/profile or by hitting the button below.

Taft is proud to have the “Stop It” program up and running for the 2021-2022 school year. 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 Mr. Davini 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