Hunting Ridge Hawk Happenings
February 29, 2024
Getting Ready for Spring at Hunting Ridge
This has been a very busy month at school for our students and our staff. We have completed our ACCESS testing and are preparing for Illinois Assessment of Readiness Testing (IAR). Our testing window will be March 4 - 11. Parents can help prepare students by:
- Getting a good night sleep
- Arrive to school on time
- Avoid pulling students from class for appointments
- Charge Chromebooks fully each night
Our district and staff are preparing for construction to start at Hunting Ridge. There will be some temporary changes to our morning arrival, noon hour line up, and dismissal procedures during our project. We expect this plan to be in place until the end of the year. We thank you, in advance, for all of your patience and support in these three months of school.
Practice Makes Perfect:
Our temporary arrival, noon hour, and dismissal plans will go into effect on March 4. During this week, we will be working to support students, parents, and staff know of the changes, have time to practice, and possibly revise if needed. Our construction project is expected to officially begin after spring break.There is always a chance they will take advantge of good weather and start earlier than expected.
Fondly,
Mrs. Ortlund
Important Dates:
- Monday, March 4, 2024 - IAR Testing Begins
- Tuesday, March 5, 2024 - Miles of Smiles Dental Appointments at Hunting Ridge
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 PM
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 - PTA Skating Party, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 - PTA Skating Party, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 - Board of Education Meeting, WRS, 7:00 PM
Monday, March 18, 2024 - Practice Week with Arrival and Dismissal Changes
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 - Voting at Hunting Ridge Door #2
Monday, March 25 - 29, 2024 - D15 Spring Break - No School
Monday, April 1, 2024 - School Resumes
Week of April 1, 2024 - School Store (Check teacher newstetters for grade level days)
Temporary Arrival Procedures During Construction - Starting March 4
Arrival Procedures:
Students are not to arrive at school before 8:10 A.M. The staff will begin supervision outside at 8:10 A.M. Therefore, students will need to dress appropriately. Walkers should adjust their travel time accordingly. At 8:10 A.M., students will be allowed to enter the building. Once in the school, students will go directly to class and get prepared for the 8:25 A.M. start time. This door closes promptly at 8:25 A.M.
If you drive your child(ren) to school, please use the parent driving loop on Mallard Drive for drop-off. Students who arrive late (after 8:25 A.M.) must enter through the front door and check in at the office.
All students that arrive as walkers, car riders, or bike riders, will enter the building through Door #14 on the Mallard Drive side of the building.
Students in grades kindergarten - second will have line-up locations inside the building.
Students in grades third - sixth grade will move through the building, exit Door 8 and line-up with their class line outside of the building.
There will be a bike rack located on the Mallard Drive side of the building near Illinois for students to secure the bike. Remember, students must walk their bike when on school property.
Students that arrive by bus:
Kindergarten - second-grade students will exit the bus and enter the building through Door #8 and line-up with their class inside the building.
Students in grades third - sixth will line up in their class lines on the lower blacktop.
Temporary Dismissal Procedures During Construction - Starting March 4
Afternoon Dismissal Procedures:
For the safety of our children, all parents who bring their dogs at the end of the school day are asked to stay across the street away from the children and wait for their children to cross the street by the crossing guard. Illinois Avenue is not for parent parking. This is a fire lane and we ask that parents not use Illinois for parking except in the permitted areas indicated by signs.
Morning Kindergarten Dismissal:
AM KDG Bus Riders - Students will be dismissed through Door #1 which is the current plan.
AM KDG Walkers and Car Riders: At dismissal, morning kindergarten parents will park on the Harvard side of the building and meet students at Door #8 which is at the back of our school on the lower blacktop.
PM KDG - Grade 6 Dismissal:
Transitional Kindergarten: No changes to the dismissal plan.
Taking the Bus Home: All students that take the bus home at the end of the day will exit Door #8 at the lower blacktop.
Walkers and Car Riders: The Harvard Drive side of the building will be closed to all car rider parents except for those specific students that dismiss from Door #2.
All other walkers or car riders will be dismissed from other parts of the building.
Students in Grades 5, 6 will exit Door #1 and walk to the Mallard Drive side of the building for parent pick-up or to get their bikes.
Students in PM kindergarten that are walkers or parent pick-up will exit Door #8.
Students in grades 1-4 that walk or are parent pick-up will exit Door #14 at dismissal. We will exit the K-2 students at 3:00 PM and the 3-4 students at 3:05 PM to alleviate congestion in this area.
Please do not use the main office as an area for student pick-up unless your student is leaving school early.
The crossing guard will remain at the corner of Illinois Avenue and Mallard Drive to ensure a safe crossing for students and families. Please be patient and kind with these dismissal adjustments.
5-Essentials Survey - Your Feedback Is So Important!
February 1 through March 29 students and teachers in District 15 and across Illinois are asked to participate in the annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent/guardian, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey gathers data related to five indicators that can be targeted to improve important student outcomes, including attendance and state test score gains. The 5Essentials Survey asks questions about:
Effective Leaders
Collaborative Teachers
Involved Families
Supportive Environments
Ambitious Instruction
All District 15 teachers and 4th through 8th grade students will be asked to take this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if at least 50 percent of the teachers and students complete the survey. We need at least 20 percent of our parents/guardians from your child’s school to complete this survey, a parent/guardian supplement will also be generated for the school and is an important source of information from our families.
Your identity and survey responses are completely confidential. The school does not have access to individual survey responses and cannot connect any survey responses to you or your child.
The parent survey is available in English and Spanish and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
To complete the parent survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/
Select Parent survey
Type County where school is located
Type in schools name
In District 15, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey for students and teachers will be conducted from February 1 to March 29. You may take the survey between these dates by visiting the 5Essentials Survey website and selecting the appropriate survey to begin.
For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, please visit the Illinois State Board of Education's website.
Get you 50/50 Raffle Ticket Today Benefitting the One-Five Foundation
Purchase a ticket for the one-five Foundation's 50/50 Raffle for your chance to win up to $30,000! Proceeds benefit the Foundation's 2024 projects which support the entire District 15 community.
Each $100 ticket sold will earn one entry into the 50/50 raffle. Only 600 tickets will be sold. Half of the money raised through the raffle (up to $30,000) will be donated to the one-five Foundation. The other half of the funds raised (up to $30,000) will be issued to the raffle winner. The cash prize will depend on the number of tickets sold. Prize money will be issued in a check and is subject to taxation. Last year’s winner won $15,750!
The live drawing will take place on March 15, 2024, at 12 pm on the one-five Foundation’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/15Foundation).
The winner must be at least 18 years old. If a child's name is drawn as the winner, a parent or guardian must claim the prize. The prize winner will be notified by phone and email. The prize winner must come forward within seven (7) days of the raffle drawing date. If the prize winner does not come forward, another name will be drawn. Raffle tickets are tax-deductible for those not selected as the prize winner.
Don’t miss your chance to purchase a 50/50 raffle ticket - buy your ticket today!
Good luck!
Sign Up For Intrumental Band and Orchestra for Next Years 5th Grade Students!
District 15's Instrumental Music Program would like to share basic information about the 5th grade Instrumental Program to current families of 4th grade students for the 2024 school year so you can choose whether or not to enroll your child for their 5th grade year. Please review this information carefully if you are a current 4th grade parent and wish to enroll your student in either the band or orchestra program.
https://www.smore.com/7y58p-ccsd15-instrumental-music-program
Math Resource To Share With Parents If Needed
Below are great resources that you can share with parents if needed.
Kindergarten | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6
These will be linked to the unit spreadsheets. Slides link to Spanish and English family letters and IM provided videos (closed captioning available in Spanish).