Bulldog Paw Prints

We held our next all-school meeting this week, and the students were great. Each month, we establish an all-school challenge, and the primary grade/classroom and the intermediate grade/classroom that best meets the challenge houses one of our school trophies for the month.

WE ARE COINING OUR NEXT MONTH AS RESPONSIBILITY MONTH, and this is going to take some partnership with you as well. The school trophies will be awarded to the primary class and the intermediate class that has the least number of items delivered to the school after the start of the day (think iPad, musical instrument, library book, folder, etc.), the least number of reminder phone calls about after-school plans, etc.

This next month is a great opportunity for students (and/or students with adult help) to support their own needs for each school day. Students will be encouraged to use checklists, iPad reminders, set iPad alarms, use their assignment notebook, etc. as a means to be prepared and successful from the moment they enter the school. AND it may end up saving you some time without making extra trips to and from the school. We will be providing some updates for you throughout the month!

We also accomplished a lot of other things at our meeting as well.

The following students had their Bark-Outs pulled and were recognized for their respectful, responsible and safe behavior over the past month:

KH: Edison; Nora

KO: Vivian; Liam

1S: Caleb; Haley

1W: Ensley; Eleanor

2L: Kendall; Evan

2S: Aron; Christian

3F: Teagan; Mason

4C: William; Konstantin

4L: Angelique; Jameson

5DE: Jaila; Rayhan

5DO: Nehemiah; Ricky

6B: Aaron; Emma

6M: Cade; Cormac

This month's Minute-to-Win-It game was snowball scope, and the blue team came out on top and walked away with the championship belt. All players did a great job. :)

We met our all-school goal for Bark-Outs, and students will enjoy a glow party lunch. Thank you to our PTA for funding to help make this happen.

We recognized all January birthdays and July half-birthdays for students and staff.

We closed out the meeting with our Kindness Club Belle Aire Pledge.

District 58's Board of Education Legislative Committee held its annual Legislative Breakfast on Friday, Jan. 31 at O'Neill Middle School. The District welcomed six elected officials and one legislative chief of staff to the event, along with approximately 100 local community and school district leaders.

For the first half hour, guests mingled, enjoyed refreshments, and listened to the O'Neill Chamber Strings Orchestra perform. Board President Darren Hughes then kicked off the formal portion of the event with a warm welcome; then, Herrick and O'Neill's Student Council leaders introduced each legislator in attendance. The full panel of elected officials each gave a welcome statement and shared their top education priority for 2025. The elected officials then broke into small groups with the Legislative Breakfast guests, during which time they answered questions and had candid conversations about education at the local, state and federal levels. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell gave closing remarks.

District 58 thanks the following elected officials and chief of staff who participated in today's event:

• U.S. Congressman Sean Casten - 6th Congressional District
• Senator John Curran - 41st District of the Illinois State Senate
• Senator Laura Ellman - 21st District of the Illinois State Senate
• Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton - 24th District of the Illinois State Senate
• Representative Terra Costa Howard - 42nd District of the Illinois General Assembly
• Representative Marti Deuter - 45th District of the Illinois General Assembly
• Ms. Kim Brondyke - Chief of Staff to Representative Anne Stava-Murray, 81st District of the Illinois General Assembly
• 
  

District 58 appreciates the time our elected officials took to learn more about the issues facing District 58 and to discuss opportunities we can partner together to improve education in our community.

Valentine's Day cards may be passed out in the classrooms on Friday, February 14, 2025. This is an option for families, but please send a card for every child in the classroom should you like to take part in the card exchange.

Please make sure that all cards are school-appropriate and that they do not include food or candy of any type. Thank you for your help with that.

I sent a stand-alone email to families earlier this week to share that the next attendance letter would be coming home on January 31. Students should be in possession of them, so be sure to check backpacks today or this weekend.

I've included the body of the email below in case you missed it:

Regular school attendance is crucial for your child’s academic and social development. We appreciate your partnership in helping them arrive at school on time each day.

District 58 and our school are focused on improving student attendance, and as a part of this effort, I will be sending an attendance awareness letter home to each student’s family. This letter will be sent home on Friday, January 31, and it will include the number of days your child has been in attendance as of our 100th day (January 27, 2025). Please take some time to read through that letter, and reach out to me should you have any questions about your child’s attendance or this letter.

District 58 will open 2025-26 student registration on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Look out for an email from Megan Hewitt with registration details or visit www.dg58.org/registration for more information. We will be asking all families to complete registration by March 31. New this year, we will ask families who are leaving District 58 to please complete registration as well; you will only need to answer a couple of questions confirming your withdrawal.

Grove Children’s Preschool will hold an open house on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Henry Puffer School, 2220 Haddow Ave. Parents and guardians may tour the preschool, meet some of the staff, hear an overview of the program, and ask questions throughout the open house.

Grove Children’s Preschool tuition applications for the 2025-26 school year will open online at www.dg58.org/preschool on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 8 a.m. First priority applications are due Wednesday, March 19.

Learn here more.

Downers Grove Grade School District 58 invites parents and guardians of soon-to-be kindergarteners to attend Kindergarten Roundup at their future school this March. Kindergarten Roundup gives parents and guardians the opportunity to visit their child’s future school, meet the principal and staff, and ask questions.

Children who will be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2025 may attend kindergarten during the 2025-26 school year. Parents and guardians are encouraged to directly call or email their neighborhood elementary school prior to Kindergarten Roundup to request to be added to any school-specific kindergarten contact lists.

Families may visit www.dg58.org/kindergarten to access the District 58 Kindergarten Resource Guide. This guide includes school boundary maps, kindergarten registration information, immunization requirements, kindergarten curriculum information, the two-way Dual Language Program for kindergarteners, and much more. District 58 will continue to update this page throughout the winter and spring.

Belle Aire School is set to host our roundup on Thursday, March 6, from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Information will be directly shared with our incoming families as the event nears.

As the weather changes, I'd like to send a couple recess reminders your way.

-As in past years, we will continue to have outdoor recess during the winter months so long as the weather permits AND so long as the real feel temperature is zero degrees or above. It will be important that students come to school dressed for the weather and that they have the appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear to stay safe and warm.

-At the times when we have snow, students will be able to head off of the blacktop to play in it. The key to that is that they are prepared. In order to play in the snow off of the blacktop areas, the students need to be wearing snow boots and snow pants/snowsuit.

Monday, February 3: 2:00 Dismissal

Tuesday, February 4 Lunchtime Book Club (Gr. 4); BAM Theater (PTA Club); Parent/Teacher Confernces

Thursday, February 6: Lunchtime Book Club (Gr. 2); Young Authors Club (3:00 - 3:45); Student Council Meeting (MOVED TO THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20); Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, February 7: PTA Fun Lunch (for those who ordered)

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February 14: Valentine's Day (Students may opt to bring cards to exchange with their classroom peers)

February 17: No School

February 28: No School

2024 - 2025