What's Happening At The Hive!

November 5, 2024

Upcoming Dates

Friday, 11/8: Veteran's Day assembly
Monday, 11/11: 6:00 pm Board of Education meeting at 41 E. Elmwood Drive, Chicago Heights, IL
Tuesday, 11/12: 6:30 pm Kindergarten Concert: students arrive at 6:15 pm

Monday, 11/25: 1:00-8:30 pm NO SCHOOL Parent Teacher Conferences (Sign-ups coming this week!)
Tuesday, 11/26: 8:15 am -1:30 pm NO SCHOOL Parent Teacher Conferences (Sign-ups coming this week!)
Wednesday, 11/27 through Friday, 11/29 NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Break
Monday, 12/2: School resumes

Report Cards

The Quarter 1 report cards are available in Skyward Family Access for parents to review. This marks the first report cards reflecting our shift to standards-based instruction and grading in the following grade levels and subjects:

K-5 English Language Arts and math
6-8 English Language Arts, math, science, and social studies

Standards-based instruction and grading focuses on the essential Illinois Learning Standards for each grade level. Please view the Understanding Your Child's Report Card video and visit the SD161 Website for additional information on Standards-based grading.

How can I help my child if they are not meeting the standards?

Contact the teachers: Discuss specific areas of difficulty and get recommendations for support.
Provide extra practice: Use resources provided by the school including tutoring opportunities to supplement classroom learning.
Encourage effort and resilience: Help your child understand that improvement is possible with effort and persistence.

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Las boletas de calificaciones del primer trimestre están disponibles en Skyward Family Access para que los padres las revisen. Esto marca las primeras boletas de calificaciones que reflejan nuestro cambio hacia una instrucción y calificaciones basadas en estándares en los siguientes niveles de grado y materias:

K-5 Artes del lenguaje inglés y matemáticas
6-8 Artes del lenguaje inglés, matemáticas, ciencias y estudios sociales

La instrucción y las calificaciones basadas en estándares se centran en los Estándares de Aprendizaje de Illinois esenciales para cada nivel de grado. Revise el video Comprensión del boletín de calificaciones de su hijo y visite el Sitio web SD161 para obtener información adicional sobre la calificación basada en estándares.

¿Cómo puedo ayudar a mi hijo si no cumple con los estándares?

Comunicarse con los profesores: Analice áreas específicas de dificultad y obtenga recomendaciones de apoyo.
Proporcione práctica adicional: Utilice los recursos proporcionados por la escuela, incluidas las oportunidades de tutoría, para complementar el aprendizaje en el aula.
Fomentar el esfuerzo y la resiliencia: Ayude a su hijo a comprender que es posible mejorar con esfuerzo y perseverancia.

News and Notes

We had such a fun week at Heather Hill! Thank you to our phenomenal HH PTO for sponsoring Wednesday the annual Pumpkin Patch for all K-5th graders. We are grateful to the HH PTO and their partnership with Jewel/Osco on 183rd Street for these generous donations for all students. The weather permitted and we were able to have it outside this year. Students were so excited!

Also, on Wednesday the HH PTO sponsored its second annual Trunk or Treat in the HH Parking Lot! Families and PTO volunteers decorated trunks, passed out candy, and had a great time celebrating as a community. Thank you to the PTO and all who participated!

Thursday, students had fun dressing up for Fall Fest, participating in a parent as parents watched outside, and celebrating with parties in the classroom. Thank you SO much to our amazing PTO Room Parents and PTO Chairs for planning fun games, activities, and snacks. It was a fun and busy day!

Congratulations to our October Capturing Kids Hearts award-winners! These students demonstrated an ability to "Think, Choose, Act--Self Direct" and were great models for their peers. Way to go Hornets!

Please be on the lookout this week as Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-ups will be sent out. Conferences will be in increments of 20 minutes and will be held on Monday, 11/25 from 1:00-8:30 pm and on Tuesday, 11/26 from 8:15 am-1:30 pm. Please make sure to bring your child's report card and any questions you have to discuss with your child's teacher(s). If you have additional questions about our district's movement to Standards-Based Grading, please scroll down on The Learning and Instruction page to the section on "Standards-Based Grading and Report Cards" with many valuable resources for families. We're looking forward to meeting with parents/guardians and discussing progress!

HH PTO Sponsored the Annual Pumpkin Patch Outside!

HH PTO Sponsored 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat!

Fall Fest Parade!

HH PTO Sponsored Fall Fest Celebrations!

Congratulations to our October Capturing Kids Hearts award winners!

Board Briefs: NEW Update: 11.1.24

Tax Levy Update

The Board of Education heard from Ms. Fran LaBella, Associate Superintendent, on the tax levy options that will provide funding for fiscal year 2026. District 161 is eligible for the Property Tax Relief Grant, so we will once again be able to provide some positive relief to taxpayers, while still being able to offer high quality programs and services for our community. The Board of Education will discuss the tax levy again on Monday, November 11, 2024, before voting on the actual levy on Monday, December 2, 2024. This report covers a general overview of the available decisions and this presentation contains projection models and other information that you may find useful.

Construction Timeline

The District 161 Long Range Plan is in full swing and we are preparing for a lot of construction during the Summer of 2025. Because of the amount of work, we will need to push the start of the school year back approximately 2 weeks. While this will help the construction timeline, it may negatively impact families who have siblings attending a local high school or Parker students who take classes at HF High School. We are working closely with the HF administration to make sure that our students do not miss out on any important instruction next August. The plan is to present a draft of the calendar to the Board of Education in December for review.

Fall Data Presentation

Ms. Amabel Crawford, Director of Learning and Instruction, and Ms. Jackie Janicke, Director of Special Education, were excited to share the Fall Data Presentation with the Board of Education this week. This presentation shares school and district information about our Fall NWEA MAP and Aimsweb testing data. In addition, it contains behavior, attendance, and grade data that we use to identify and work with students who need additional support.

School Improvement Plan Updates

On a rotating basis, building leaders will update the Board of Education on the progress of their School Improvement Plans. As a school district, we are focused on maintaining clear alignment from the Board of Education all of the way to the classroom level. By frequently reviewing and discussing the work that is happening in our schools, the Board of Education and the community have an opportunity to hear about our improvement plans and to offer suggestions as needed. This month, Flossmoor Hills, Heather Hill, and Serena Hills reviewed their plans and the presentation can be found at this link.

Summer Academy Update

Every summer, we welcome students to continue their learning during our Summer Academy program. At our recent meeting, we discussed a presentation by Ms. LaTanya Bennett and Ms. Tamika Britten on the Summer 2024 experience. We are already preparing for next summer’s program and we are looking forward to being able to provide more focused student instruction using information and feedback from our standards-based grading process. We will be able to focus our efforts on the areas that our students need to develop the most to accelerate their learning.

Studer / Standards of Excellence

In order for us to increase the effectiveness of our school organization, we are partnering with Studer Education to refine our processes, gather meaningful feedback from our students, staff, and parents, and to assist with the development of a district scorecard that the Board of Education can use to track our overall progress. We are going to begin with the development of our Standards of Excellence [SOE]. The standards will guide how we work internally and how we serve the Flossmoor District 161 Community. This link will provide you with additional information, examples of some Standards of Excellence, and our next steps overall.

Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship is an essential skill for everyone. K-5 students will receive monthly badges after completing the digital citizenship lessons with Neptune Navigate. This month’s theme is Cyberbullying. Check out the flyer here and click on ‘Continue the Conversation’ for additional resources.

Student Spotlight

Do you have a student accomplishment you'd like to celebrate with the Heather Hill community? Please email Principal Carol Humm at chumm@sd161.org and include a description and picture of only your student. We love to celebrate students' accomplishments!

Birthday Treats

In order to ensure the safety of all students, families may only bring non-edible birthday treats to school to share with classmates. We cannot accept any food items to distribute to students as many students have serious food allergies. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Crossing Guard

We are looking for a crossing guard for at least the next few months! Crossing guards would need to be available from 7:30-8:15 am and from 2:45-3:15 pm each day. If interested, please visit the Job Opportunities website with the Village of Flossmoor. Thank you!

Flossmoor Public Library

The Flossmoor Public Library has incredible events and programs coming up for children of all ages! View the calendar and sign up for the library newsletter at https://www.flossmoorlibrary.org.

Attendance Matters!

We are continuing to work towards our goals of increasing student attendance to increase learning goals! Check out our attendance percentages from the Week of 10/7. We are working towards a goal of at least 93% attendance each week. Of course we encourage parents to keep children home if they are sick. Students should stay home for at least 24 hours after a fever subsides. Please consult a medical professional as needed for other symptoms including cough, vomiting, etc.

SD161 Student Handbook

Please view the SD161 Student Handbook for important information.

#Above and Beyond

Want to show your appreciation for outstanding work from a staff member? Nominate them for #AboveAndBeyond! Use this form to nominate a staff member today!