109 News

District 109 is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and high-quality education for all students. We understand that recent Executive Orders have caused concern for some of our families and staff. The basis for our district work stems from the mission/vision and core values adopted by the 109 school board. At a time like this, it bears repeating those values. We:

• Prioritize social-emotional skills as the foundational building block to academic skills.

• Commit to inclusive practices that ensure equitable outcomes across educational environments for all students.

• Embrace people of all identities, races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, abilities, orientations, education levels, national origins, or any other distinguishing characteristics or traits.

• Engage our educators and all other stakeholders in respectful and professional dialogue to make decisions that are best for our students.

Just as our commitment to physical safety in our facilities is unwavering, so too is our focus on emotional well-being and nurturing every student. This has not and will not change. We thank you for your continued support for our ongoing work for each child in our district.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Simeck

Superintendent, Deerfield 109

Click here to see next year's calendar!

As winter weather approaches in the coming days, we want to remind families to bundle up and stay prepared. While we closely monitor conditions, please keep the following important reminders in mind as you await any updates from the district.

When would school not be in person?
In the Adverse Weather Procedures section of our website, you can review the process the Superintendent and district leaders use to determine if school will remain in person. Multiple factors are considered, including the timing and amount of precipitation, temperature, wind chill, and road conditions. If needed, the district will transition to an e-learning day as mentioned above.

When will we receive an initial notification?
We closely monitor weather forecasts and will send home devices the day before a potential weather event. A “heads-up” email will be sent to staff and families as early as possible the day prior, allowing teachers time to prepare and devices to be fully charged.

When is a final decision made, and how will we be notified?
A final decision will be made by 5:30 a.m. Every effort will be made to notify families and staff immediately. If the district shifts to e-learning, you will receive a text, email, and follow-up robocall.

To ensure you receive notifications, please log in to Skyward to verify that your contact information is up to date. Additionally, based on feedback from a family poll last year, we will notify everyone regardless of the decision. Even if school remains open, a text, email, and status update will be shared on dps109.org.

How will my student know what to do on an e-learning day?
Your building principal will send school-specific information via email on the day of an e-learning event. Students will meet with their teachers on Google Meet, with links provided in the principal's email, Seesaw, and/or Google Classroom.

If you have additional questions, please email communications@dps109.org or contact your building principal.

Thank you to those who came to visit the district office for our in-person registration event. It was so much fun meeting all of our incoming students and watching them sign up for success!

Each year, we as a district look at how we can improve each family's experience while registering their kindergartener. We know that for new families, this can be an intimidating experience, and we want to ensure everybody feels equipped!

If you are a newly registered kindergarten family, we would appreciate your input on "What ideas do you have to improve the Kindergarten Registration event and process?" To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called ThoughtExchange. You'll be asked to respond to four Likert scale questions and one open-ended question. Your thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate, and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to star some of the new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on.

Please click here to participate: https://tejoin.com/scroll/371031468

If you still haven't registered your kindergartener, no worries! Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is open! Families of all incoming kindergarten students, please visit our registration page to begin the process today.

You should receive your student(s) NWEA MAP Student Reports by the end of this week. Please keep an eye out in your mailbox in the coming days for your report!

As the temperatures drop and the days grow longer, it’s easy to feel rushed and impatient, especially at the end of the day. However, we kindly ask all our families to respect and follow school procedures during arrival and dismissal to ensure everyone’s safety. To help us all stay on track, we spoke with our School Resource Officer, Officer Maldonado, who shared some important reminders. Check out the video below!👇👇👇

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, was World Read Aloud Day! Similar to the books in Mr. Morris Lessmore's story, we flew around District 109 and had The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore read aloud to us!

Please give our Caruso Bluejays a round of applause for earning the title of IESA Regional Champions!🏀🏆

Early Learners spent the day dressed up as who they wanted to be when they grow up! We saw several police officers, firefighters, chefs, vets, and more!

It takes a lot of courage to perform in front of a crowd, much less a crowd of your friends and entire school! These students put on amazing performances, each showing off their unique and awesome talents!

Last Wednesday, the Shepard 8th grade basketball team took on the Deerfield Police and Fire departments in an epic game to raise money for the 100 Club of Illinois. The final score was a close 56-55, with Shepard taking home the gold.🏆

The Park District has published their Summer Camp Program Guide for you to view. In the coming weeks, you should see the Spring/Summer Program Guide that will have the before/after school club dates and fees included. After-school enrichment registration will open in July. Below are the before/after school club registration dates to keep an eye out for:

Resident: Monday, 9 a.m. April 28, 2025

Non-Resident: Wednesday, 9 a.m. April 30, 2025

Another year has flown by! Did you manage to read as much as you'd hoped? Or are you still searching for your next great read? Don’t worry—DPL has you covered! Check out this article featuring the top 10 most-checked-out titles of the year. Dive in here!

Calling all 3rd through 8th graders! Come learn a song and dance from the Deerfield High School musical! You'll also get a ticket to the musical performance, lunch, a T-shirt, and a Q&A with the director! All proceeds will support the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS).

📅 Saturday, February 15, 2025

🕓 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

📍 Deerfield High School

💵 Recommended Donation is $75.

🔗 Sign up using this link: https://forms.gle/MST6D2ng13abGWYcA

The Village of Deerfield has released its 2025 Special Events Calendar! Head to their Facebook page and check out the many family-friendly activities planned for the year. Don’t miss out—mark your calendars now!