Pierce Downer This Week

Pierce Downer Families,

We are OFFICIALLY in May. It is hard to believe how quickly the end of the year is approaching, especially with so many fun things coming up on the calendar and lessons to learn in the classroom. With the nicer weather becoming more consistent, it is not uncommon to have students forget some of the common expectations we go over throughout the year. Please continue to reinforce the importance of keeping the PD Promise to be respectful, responsible, and safe.

During our PD Promise today, we reminded students the difference between a FIXED mindset and a GROWTH mindset. I encourage you to talk with your student(s) about the difference between the two. We are working on having a growth mindset at Pierce Downer School and focusing on the positive.

Example:

Fixed mindset: "I don't want to ask for help because it will make me look weak."

NWEA MAP Testing

With MAP testing underway, I am so proud of our Panthers' commitment to learning. As we continue testing next week, ensure your student gets a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast.

With that being said, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at LWagner@DG58.org or call the Pierce Downer Main Office at 630-719-5860.

As always, WE are PD!

Dr. Leland (Lucky) Wagner

Grab a friend and come on down to the “Moose” for a fun evening of laughter, prizes and the spirit of giving back! The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 is holding Bougie Bingo, a fundraiser to benefit District 58. Join us at the first annual Bougie event to raise money to enhance educational opportunities for the students of District 58.

Date: Friday, May 3

Venue: Loyal Order of Moose, 1030 Warren Avenue, Downers Grove

Time: 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased here.

It is amazing how far technology has come over the last decade and continues to advance. I recognize the value technology has not just in education, but our world. However, I am hoping we can work together to remind students that during the school day, personal electronic devices should be turned off or silenced and out of sight. This includes wearable devices if they become distracting to the learning environment. Students should not be using phones, Apple Watches, or other devices to send or receive text messages or phone calls during the school day.

Construction begins at many District 58 schools over spring break. To keep parents apprised of construction progress, updates will be provided on our website here, including progress dashboards of our middle schools.

• Herrick Dashboard

• O'Neill Dashboard

If you’d like to learn more about spring break work in the District, click here.

Congratulations to Mrs. Sanders on being the latest PD Cup recipient! Mrs. Sanders is a fourth-grade teacher at Pierce Downer School. She is a member of the Orange Frog Team, a group committed to spreading positivity throughout the building and sharing the benefits of the happiness advantage. She brings this same mentality into her classroom. She cares about her students, wants them to have an amazing personal experience in her classroom and holds high expectations for learning.

Thank you Mrs. Sanders for ALL that you do!

District 58 strives to create a culture of well-being for students, parents, staff and community. To further support this endeavor, the District has invested in an additional support service through ReferralGPS.

ReferralGPS is a service providing assistance to our community in finding local mental health and substance use-related treatment resources. The service compliments the District’s existing systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment options, ReferralGPS assists families in triage and appointment setting.

School district staff and families may access ReferralGPS in two ways:

1. Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists, counselors) to seek out treatment options

2. Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/DG58 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously

   
   

The platform has the ability to filter by mental health concern, clinician gender/specialty, location, and insurance acceptance. The service is available for all types of private and public insurance options including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, and families that are uninsured or underinsured.

ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored.

May 1-May 20

Spring NWEA MAP Testing

May 24

Field Day

May 27

NO SCHOOL: Memorial Day

May 29

Last Day of School (HALF DAY)

District 58 has partnered with Safe2Help to give students a safe and confidential way to report potential threats or crises. Safe2Help was launched by the State of Illinois in December 2020 and aims to help prevent suicide, bullying, school violence and other threats to school safety.

With Safe2Help, students can connect with a trained crisis professional during their own crisis, or to report a potential threat. Students can submit a Safe2Help alert via the following ways:

• Website: https://app.safe22helpil.com
• Text: SAFE2 (72332)
• Phone: 844-4-SAFEIL (844-472-3345)
• App: "Safe2Help Illinois" app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
• Email: HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com

All alerts are responded to by a trained Safe2Help crisis professional. Safe2Help is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

District 58 staff are not the initial responders to the alert and will receive each alert after the Safe2Help professional provides support. District 58 staff will review alerts sent by Safe2Help during regular school hours, unless the nature of the alert necessitates immediate school action.

District 58 is pleased to continue using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff. Community High School District 99 currently utilizes the same platform on its campuses.

Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present photo identification, such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.

The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district.