Prairie Trails Newsletter

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Dear Prairie Trails Families,

Over the past two weeks, we have received important updates regarding immigration enforcement and its potential impact on public schools in Illinois. Alongside Dr. Megerle and the entire District 26 team, I want to reaffirm our commitment to supporting all students. We firmly believe that every child deserves a welcoming environment where they can learn and thrive. We are dedicated to ensuring that dignity, respect, and opportunity are at the heart of their educational experience.

We also want to reassure all parents that our district has clear policies in place to safeguard the safety, privacy, and well-being of our students, should immigration officials ever visit our schools.

• Every child is entitled to a free public education, regardless of their background or immigration status. In line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe, District 26 does not ask about or collect information regarding a student’s or family’s immigration status during the enrollment process.
  
  

• Federal and state privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Illinois School Student Records Act (ISSRA), protect student information. These laws prevent the sharing of student records with law enforcement or immigration officials unless proper legal authorization is provided or consent from a parent/guardian is obtained.
  
  

• Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are not permitted to enter our school buildings without a valid, judge-signed warrant. In the event of any such situation, we will carefully review and manage the matter with the guidance of legal counsel to ensure the rights of our students and families are fully protected.

The Illinois State Board of Education has offered non-regulatory guidance and resources to public schools that you can access at this link.

Please know that your child’s safety and well-being are always our top priorities. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Amy Veytsman, Principal

Dr. Jodi Megerle, Superintendent

• February 11- PTC Meeting 5:45-6:45

• February 11-Board of Education at Prairie Trails 7:00

• February 14-PTC Valentine's Day Parties

• February 17- President's Day-NO SCHOOL

• February 19- Kindergarten Registration 4:00-8:00 pm

• February 25- Family STEM Night 6:00pm

• February 26- PTC Lou Malnati's Dine & Share

Save the Date: Family STEM & Math Night!

Get ready for a fun-filled evening of learning and exploration at our Family STEM Night Join us for an interactive event where families can work together to solve puzzles, tackle hands-on math challenges, and explore exciting STEM activities.

📅 Date: February 25
⏰ Time: 6:00-7:00
📍 Location: Prairie Trails School

This is a great opportunity to spark curiosity, build problem-solving skills, and enjoy quality time as a family. Mark your calendars—you won’t want to miss it!

"Valentine’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate kindness and friendship! However, to ensure the safety and well-being of all students, please refrain from sending any food or candy to school. Instead, we encourage families to share non-food items like cards, stickers, or small tokens that promote inclusivity and fun for everyone. Thank you for helping us create a safe and joyful celebration!"

ART

Kindergarteners are currently illustrating textures in their artwork using different types of lines. Next, students will practice drawing geometric and organic shapes to form a castle. Students are mastering their fine motor skills by drawing with different tools, painting, cutting with scissors and gluing paper. Our chipmunks are having a great time using different art materials such as tempera paint, oil pastels, markers, crayons, and paint sticks.

LIBRARY

Please make sure your child returns their book every Wednesday so they can check out a new book for the week.

MUSIC

The kindergarteners are exploring how music can activate our imaginations. We’re listening to pieces from Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of Animals” and transforming into each animal in the music room. It’s helping us explore high and low sounds, as well as fast and slow tempos.

On Thursday, May 22nd we will be having a Kindergarten performance in the Prairie Trails School gym. More details to come, but mark your calendars!

PE

It’s Kids Heart Challenge time in P.E.! Please work with your kids to set a goal and fundraise for the American Heart Association to help heart and stroke research. If you haven’t signed your child up, you can do so now at www.heart.org/khc If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at ssalisbury@rtsd26.org and thank you for your support!

In P.E. class we are working with on keeping on learning how to jump rope. Since this is a very complex skill for a kindergartener and takes quite a bit of perseverance, I will be giving the student’s jumping challenges to keep their interest and encourage them to keep practicing.

STEM

Students in STEM class have been learning how to code robots! So far, they have learned how to use color command tiles to make Indi Robot move on a path and Evo the Ozobot to use color pattern commands to make movements along paths. Kindergarten students are now working with game based computer coding in order to get ready for our last physical robot, Code and Go Mouse.

These game based coding challenges are through Hour of Code. We have chosen Code Monkey, Jr. in order to teach students how to code a sequence and a loop of movements. These games are free and do not require sign up for an hour of use. Please check out the links below for more information, and ask your student to show you more about Code Monkey!

Hour of Code

Code Monkey, Jr.

Jeannine Wagner

All current kindergarten grade students are required to turn in a dental exam form signed by a licensed dentist before May 15, 2025. Miles of Smiles is a great way to fulfill this requirement! Forms have been sent home in your child's backpack. Please reach out to the nurse or main office if you need another copy. Exams will be taking place at Prairie Trails on March 5.

Summer Camp registration through the River Trails Park District opens for residents on February 4th. Scholarships are available (click here for more information).

Take a minute and give a shout out to a Prairie Trails staff member, ask a question, or give us some feedback. https://forms.gle/h2mNhKLxEkvo9rT66

When you receive an initial text message notification from the district, you will need to opt-in to receive future text messages from us.

Please reply "YES" when prompted to do so.

Amy Veytsman, Principal aveytsman@rtsd26.org

Natalie Hudson, Assistant Principal nhudson@rtsd26.org

Mary Cannata- School Secretary - mcannata@rtsd26.org

Kristina Garry- School Nurse- kgarry@rtsd26.org