Blue Jay Buzz

In this issue you will find:

New Info

• Community Corner
• Upcoming Dates
• REMINDER - Traffic Flow
• Elyssa's Mission
• Weekly Tech Tip - Social Media Red Flags!
• RSVP : Chasing Childhood Film Screening @ Caruso
• No Place for Hate
• Reminder: Info verification due by November 1st!
  
• Clubs and Activities Update
• Cold Weather Gear
• Halloween Guidelines
• Spirit Days!
• PTO Upcoming Events
• DHS - Trunk or Treat

Old News:

• Deerfield Parent Network Event
• Wrestling is Coming.
• Cellphones, Medication, Attendance, Tardiness to school

10/18/2024 Newsletter

10/11/2024 Newsletter

10/4/2024 Newsletter

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

Donnie Castans - Associate Principal - dcastans@dps109.org

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

A message from Dana Spies:

Every morning, our Caruso Community gets an instant energy boost, thanks to 8th graders, Caroline N. and Riley B who deliver the announcements with a level of positivity and enthusiasm that's contagious! They set the tone for the day with their bright voices and upbeat spirit, reminding us all that school is a place where excitement and community come together. Here they are pictured with two sixth graders who won the opportunity to be guest announcers for the day.

These two don’t just share information—they bring our school closer with every word.

Our Associate Principal, Donnie Castans, just welcomed his second child, Zoey, on Monday, October 21! Donnie will be taking some well-deserved time off to be with his growing family and will return in the last week of November. We’re thrilled for Donnie and his family and wish them all the best as they enjoy this special time together.

Ms. LaFleur will be joining us while Mr. Castans is on leave, and we’re excited to welcome her back to Caruso! See her bio below:

Tuesday, October 29th, 6:30PM Viewing of Chasing Childhood @ Caruso

Thursday, October 31st Halloween

Tuesday, November 5th No School, Election Day

Tuesday, November 11th No School, Veteran's Day

Thursday, November 14th 2-2:40PM Coffee @ Caruso

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.

Dear Parent or Guardian:

The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions – difficult for students, their parents and educators. It is easy to misinterpret depression as “normal” adolescent moodiness; however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression – which is treatable – is a leading risk factor for suicide. In addition, self-injury has become a growing problem among youth.

To proactively address these issues, Caruso Middle School is offering depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program. The program aims to increase help-seeking behaviors among students concerned about themselves or a friend. Listed on SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, the SOS program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% in randomized control studies (Aseltine et al., 2007 & Schilling et al., 2016).

Our goals in participating in this program are as follows:

• To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness

• To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression

• To provide students with the training on how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in themselves or a friend

• To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns

• To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help, if they need it

This program will be presented to our 6th to 8th graders during the week of November 11, 2024 (6th Grade: 11/12, 7th Grade: 11/14, & 8th Grade: 11/15). The SOS program is brought to us by Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute and implement SOS. To get more information on suicide prevention, visit their website at www.elyssasmission.org. Make sure to view their online Parent Presentation at https://elyssasmission.org/for-parents/ for specific information on warning signs and how to keep your child safe. We also encourage you to visit www.sossignsofsuicide.org/parent for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.

As part of the program, facilitators, which includes our social workers, counselors, psychologists and P.E. staff will show SOS video clips and lead students in discussion. Students will then complete a brief depression screener, as well as fill out a Response Card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult about themselves or a friend. The depression screening tool addresses thoughts and feelings which a parent may be unaware their child is having. This tool does not provide a diagnosis of depression, and rather alerts school staff to those students requiring further investigation. School mental health staff or a qualified community mental health partner will be available to meet with designated students; school staff will subsequently notify parents/guardians regarding any needed next steps.

In addition, attached to this correspondence, is a parent/caregiver handout for your review.

If you do NOT want your child to participate in the SOS program, please complete THIS form by Friday, November 8th. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program.

Sincerely,

Mr. Mark T. Schwarz, Principal

While we encourage everyone to limit time spent on devices, we understand that these tools can foster meaningful connections when used wisely. However, in today’s digital age, it can be difficult to stay informed about the latest apps and trends to ensure your child's online safety. We want to do our part in supporting students and families in the various ways they can implement security settings on their children’s devices and monitor time spent online. What better time to introduce these tech tips than October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Throughout the school year, we will feature practical technology tips in our newsletters, offering fresh ideas for families to use at home developed by our own Student Resource Officer, Lauren Maldonado, and our Innovations Specialist, Maria Galanis.

Join us on Tuesday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the Caruso Middle School auditorium for a special screening of Chasing Childhood. This thought-provoking documentary explores the decline of free play and independence in children’s lives, replaced by a culture of perfectionism that has fueled increasing rates of anxiety and depression.

Some families still need to complete the quick process of verifying their information for this year. As winter approaches, we want to ensure we have the right contact info on file for you. It's also an easy way to read and acknowledge our handbook and review district opt-out forms. Please head to Skyward to get started today!

We are excited to announce that both Shepard Middle School and Caruso Middle School will be participating in the No Place for Hate program this school year. This initiative, created by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), is designed to foster a positive, inclusive school environment where all students feel safe, respected, and valued.

As part of No Place for Hate, our schools will focus on promoting respect, empathy, and kindness among students in partnership with student leadership groups. Throughout the year, students will engage in activities and lessons that celebrate diversity and encourage a culture of acceptance and unity. More information will be coming soon after our first student committee meeting. Together, we can emphasize a school community where everyone belongs.

If you have any questions about No Place for Hate or would like more information, please feel free to contact Mark Schwarz at mschwarz@dps109.org (Caruso) or Rob Wegley at rwegley@dps109.org (Shepard).

Thank you for your continued partnership in creating a positive learning environment for all of our students.

Last & Final Call for PE Cold Weather Gear for the 2024-2025 school year is November 11th at 12PM

If you’re still in need of our PE Cold Weather Gear click the Link below to ord

This year, we will be celebrating Halloween at Caruso on Tuesday, October 31. We want to remind families to be cautious when helping your child select a costume for Halloween. Using another's culture as a Halloween costume can be viewed as insensitive or offensive. In addition, we encourage students to be as inclusive as possible when dressing in group costumes so that students do not feel excluded during the Halloween festivities.

Below are some additional reminders about wearing costumes at school:

• Students can only apply make-up, spray colored hairspray, or put costumes on at home. We want to make sure you have full knowledge of what your child will wear for school on Halloween.
• Props of a violent nature, such as toy guns, swords, knives, etc. are strictly prohibited.
• Students will not be permitted to wear any type of mask or any other costume that will obstruct/interfere with the learning environment at school.
• School rules for dress will apply. Students should not wear anything that has a sensual connotation or would be considered inappropriate dress.
• Costumes that promote graphic violence are not permitted.
• Please do not send students with accessories (e.g. witch's broom)

Thank you for your partnership!

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.

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.

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