LIGHT Weekly Update

Our 4th Annual Talent Show was a resounding success! It was an absolute joy to witness and celebrate the incredible talents of our students. A heartfelt thank you to all the families, district staff, and board members who joined us to make this event special. Special thanks to the D158 Communication Department for capturing the magic of the show on video. Click the image to the right to watch the recording!

The beginning of each semester provides an opportunity to make adjustments to student schedules for various reasons. With our students starting at the Vine Street location for employment services after MLK weekend, other schedule changes will occur as well. Case managers have or will be reaching out to any parents/students to inform them of schedule changes and the reasoning behind the need to change.

Prior to Winter Break, you received an email inviting you to this upcoming event! Hope to see you there!

Address UPDATE: 10321 Vine Street, Huntley, IL 60142

As part of our ongoing learning series for parents/guardians on planning for their student’s future, our Special Education Talk for January will feature a presentation focused on the area of independent living and employment. Our presenter will be Mark McCabe, Director of AT Services at Illinois Assistive Technology Program. IATP’s Assistive Technology Specialists (ATS) provide services and support to customers at their workplace, home, or school.

Mark will discuss how a Home or Vocational Services Counselor from schools and/or DHS can refer individuals for an evaluation by an Assistive Technology Service representative from ITAP. DHS counselors then use this information to determine what services may be purchased through DHS. Mark will also discuss programs such as SMART Home, TECH Kitchen and various AT services that support independence in employment or independent living.

See event details below:

Event: Special Education Talk: Transitioning to Adult Services

Topic: Illinois Assistive Technology Program

Date: Wednesday, January, 22 2025

Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

Location: District Office, 650 Dr. John Burkey Dr. Algonquin, IL 60102 and virtual

Google Meet link here

Registration is not required, but is strongly encouraged. Please use this link to register.

This event will be recorded for future access and for those unable to attend. If you require any special accommodations or require a translator for this event, please contact Kelly LaTour at klatour@district158.org.

Thank you for partnering to prepare our students for their future. We look forward to expanding our understanding of these topics together.

This fair is a great way to discover all the various resources in our community to support mental health and wellness!! Click on the attachment to see the flyer for more details!

The McHenry County Regional Office of Education (ROE) is hosting a free virtual class for parents to help them understand, manage and monitor their child’s use of technology. The class, taught by Rich Wistocki with Be Sure Consulting (BSC), will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Parents will learn about how to have technology talks with their child as well as parental responsibility, trending crimes, reporting incidents, collecting evidence, software, red flags, sexting and social networking issues. For more information, click the links for flyers in English and Spanish.

Click the link to join the meeting via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84204641245

The H158 Foundation asked for schools to share the flyer!

Do you like to bowl? What to hang out with friends? Then, check out the pictures below about this local bowling club! If interested, one of the pictures includes a contact email to register! You can enlarge the pictures below by using the enlarge icon in the upper right corner of each image after you put your cursor over them.

All district offices are closed on MLK Day.

Please call 847-659-4928 to report a student's full day absence or late arrival/early dismissal from our program. Please leave a message that includes the name of the student, the date of the absence, and the reason for the absence to help our administrative assistant accurately choose the correct attendance code for documentation purposes. After reporting the absence to the attendance line, continue to alert the teachers and transportation of the student's absence.

As we launch the second half of the school year, we’d like to thank our families for partnering with us to help improve student attendance which, in turn, improves student learning. Some positive trends have emerged districtwide and we'd like to share these with you! This chart shows an overall increase districtwide in the number of students with no absences and a decrease in chronic absenteeism. This trend is worth noting and celebrating and we have you to thank for that! We invite you to follow our school’s attendance updates on our attendance dashboard. You’ll find this on our website under the Students & Families tab.

The Huntley 158 Virtual Bulletin Board (VBB) is a way to connect Huntley 158 families with enrichment and educational events and programs in the community. We encourage you to click the link and visit our new VBB page to learn about what’s happening for students and families in the community!

To submit a program or event for inclusion on the Huntley 158 VBB, organizations must be not-for-profit or a taxing body based in Huntley 158 boundaries or a surrounding community. Please email your event flyer in PNG or PDF format to kimoore@district158.org and include "VBB" in the subject line. To ensure accessibility for all, flyers must be accompanied by a brief description of your event that includes the name of your event, date, time, location, call to action/website link (if applicable) as well as contact information. Thank you!