Fairmount Families Week END Report

What an incredible winter week it has been here at Fairmount! We were thrilled to host a special assembly featuring a Harlem Wizards player, who not only showcased some amazing basketball skills but got our students and staff dancing, moving and demonstrating their own basketball skills.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to see many of you at the Educational Foundation’s Harlem Wizards games this Sunday. It promises to be a fantastic event filled with fun and community spirit. Don’t forget to grab your tickets if you haven’t already—you won’t want to miss both Ms. Reinholz and Mr. Zieman representing Fairmount on the court!

As a reminder, there will be no school on Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Please also see important information below regarding Winter weather reminders.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Lisa Niforatos

Be sure to follow me on X/Twitter @Fairmount58.

Fairmount School Attendance Form

Past Newsletters

The forecast for Monday and Tuesday morning calls for very cold temperatures. While the air temperature and wind chill will be low, the current forecast for Tuesday does not meet District 58’s threshold for a cold day requiring a pivot to e-learning. For a cold day to be called, the following criteria are considered:

Air temperature: How cold is it? What is the wind chill? Can children safely walk to school? There are times when schools may need to be closed due to dangerously cold temperatures. In these situations, wind chill is also taken into account, as well as the extent to which the temperatures are sustained throughout the school day. District 58 has collaborated with District 99 and the elementary districts that feed into District 99 to develop consistent standards. We will likely close school based on extremely cold conditions when an extreme cold warning is issued by the National Weather Service during the times students are traveling to or from school. An extreme cold warning is typically issued when apparent, or "real-feel" temperatures are around -30 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.

As always, District 58 will consult with local superintendents, the bus company, and the Board President regarding the weather. While it will be cold on Tuesday, we anticipate we will be in school. If the weather forecast changes and District 58 cannot be in school on Tuesday, District 58 will use an e-learning day. In this case, we will promptly email and call all District 58 families. We will also post the update on our website (www.dg58.org) and on our social media pages. If school IS in session as usual, we will not post an update. Please see our Winter Weather Procedures webpage for more information.

Please help us spread the word to any families and neighbors who have a child preparing to enter Kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year. Children who will be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2025 may attend kindergarten during the 2025-26 school year. Parents and guardians (who reside in Fairmount’s attendance area) are encouraged to call or email the Fairmount office team prior to Kindergarten Roundup to be added to any school-specific kindergarten contact lists.

Families may visit www.dg58.org/kindergarten to access the District 58 Kindergarten Resource Guide. This guide includes school boundary maps, kindergarten registration information, immunization requirements, kindergarten curriculum information, the two-way Dual Language Program for kindergarteners, and much more. District 58 will continue to update this page throughout the winter and spring.

The District 58 Education Foundation invites families to buy tickets for the Harlem Wizards fundraiser event on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. at Downers Grove South. This event brings together the District 58 community, as District 58 teachers and staff compete against the Harlem Wizards in a fun and high-energy basketball game!

Ms. Alyssa Reinholz and Mr. Rick Zieman from Fairmount will be part of the Downers Grovetrotters, the District 58 staff team that will be playing the Harlem Wizards! Come cheer on your Fairmount teachers and staff!

Event proceeds will benefit the Education Foundation. The Harlem Wizards are no stranger to Downers Grove; this is their sixth District 58 fundraiser event!

Click here to learn more.

Click here to buy tickets.

The District 58 Science Fair has a new location: O'Neill Middle School. The Science Fair will still take place on Saturday, Jan. 25, as scheduled. Due to construction, parking will be tight. We will send Science Fair participants instructions on parking and other Science Fair details when the event gets closer.

During the month of January and part of February, Mrs. Laama will be out of the office. To ensure all communications are received during this time, please email Jill DeRango at jderango@dg58.org. Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this month as we will have substitute coverage assisting Mrs. DeRango in the office.

NWEA MAP Make-Ups/completion testing will continue next week as needed. Please note that following the Winter Benchmarking period, individual MAP reports will be emailed to parents.

Monday, January 27th is a Professional Learning Monday. All students are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. according to their regular dismissal plan. Please be sure you have made arrangements for your child to be picked up from Fairmount at 2:00 p.m. each Monday.

As part of our new Student Library Card Program, District 58 invited families to sign up their child to receive a free library card during school registration last year. The Downers Grove Public Library recently finished preparing the library cards and delivered them to District 58 schools. Kindergarten through 3rd grade students have or will be receiving their cards from their classroom teachers within the week. 4th-6th grade students will be receiving their cards during an upcoming library class.

Students who signed up and already have a library card will receive an envelope with information about the program. In addition, participating students who live in Woodridge should have received their library card by mail last month. Library cards may not yet be ready for students who transferred to District 58 mid-school year. If you did not sign up your child for a library card but would like one, please contact the school office. We will partner with the library for a second issuance of library cards later this year.

Learn more about the Student Library Card Program.

Fairmount School is focused on a handful of school improvement goals this year that involve our ELA curriculum implementation, a supportive focus on the Zones of Regulation as well as targeted goals centered around ELA/Literacy for K-2 and 3-6. Each month we will provide information in our "Home Connection to Learning" section of the newsletter focused on one of these goal areas.

As students continue to learn about the Zones of Regulation in their classrooms, there are many visuals/displays hung up around the school, throughout the hallways and in classrooms to support their learning. Ask your students about the various displays around the school. Through the Zones of Regulation students are continuing to learn how to identify their feelings and pick/use tools when needed to help their regulation throughout the school day.

If you are looking for any information from our amazing Fairmount PTA, please visit their website:

Fairmount PTA

Information regarding upcoming events, spiritwear, membership and more can be found throughout the site.

Congratulations to Jessica F. (Grade 3) for her theme " A New You-niverse" as she is one of five students that will be advancing to National level for this year's Reflections.

The next Fun Lunch will be Friday, January 31st. Orders are due by Sunday, January 26th at https://fairmount.h1.hotlunchonline.net/ ! A large number of families ordered in September for all the lunches up to Winter Break, but did not order for January and beyond, so please check your account to verify you do have orders in if you wish for your child(ren) to receive a Fun Lunch going forward. For a list of all upcoming lunches, or answers to frequently asked questions about Fun Lunch, visit https://www.fairmountpta.com/events/fun-lunch . If you have any additional questions or have any trouble ordering, contact Tiffany Melnyk at funlunchorders@fairmountpta.com .

If you are not already using the Box Tops app to scan/download your shopping receipts to earn money for our school, now would be a great time to start! Just use the QR code within the flyer below to download the app. Be sure to choose Fairmount School and use the referral code: MYJ35RDS

Send a screenshot with proof of your app to angie.mitchell23@gmail.com and your child can get a Box Tops Spirit Stick for their backpack!!

The Box Tops app features monthly challenges to join, info on all products which are eligible for Box Tops earnings, and information on current Bonus Offers, which are detailed in the flyer. There are also ongoing bonus offers at Jewel (earn $5.50 when you buy any 5 eligible products) and Target (earn $4 when you buy any 4 eligible products), now through 2/8! It would be wonderful to have additional families supporting our school through the Box Tops program, thank you for your consideration!

Link

When: Wednesday, January 29 6:00-7:30 pm in the Fairmount gym!

What: Food, Games, entertainment! We will have both catered food and family dishes brought in. We will also have dancers from different cultures, games to play, and a passport to fill in as our children learn and visit different countries and cultures.

Cost: FREE

Please sign up to attend as space is limited!

Attend Cultural Night:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A45ACAA2AA5FFC25-54091439-attend#/

Please consider signing up to bring a dish or a cultural artifact or item of your choice.

Share at Cultural Night: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A45ACAA2AA5FFC25-54075377-share#/

All are welcome. Looking forward to celebrating the beautiful cultural fabric of Fairmount!

**If you have any connections with cultural dancers or henna please reach out!

Feel free to reach out with any questions: londonlibby@hotmail.com -Libby

From Birthdays (or half-birthdays), Lost Teeth, Positive Behaviors and More... we love celebrating our Falcons!

We are so glad you are part of our school community! Whether this is your child's first or seventh year at Fairmount, we wanted to provide a fun way to get to know the many members of our teaching and school staff. We started this section two years ago and look forward to continuing it during the 2024-2025 school year. This year we have added a "school twist" for our staff.

Role at Fairmount: 5th Grade Teacher

Years at Fairmount: 12 Years

Favorite Subject in Elementary School: Math

Least Favorite Subject in Elementary School: Social Studies

Favorite Grade in School: 4th Grade

A big part of why I became a Teacher...My mom taught for 39 years, and I loved going into her classroom every summer to help her put up her bulletin boards and organize her desk drawers. I was amazed at her collection of highlighters, paperclips, and colored pens. I also was lucky to observe in her classroom while I was in high school and college and saw how much fun she had every day; I knew I would love teaching too!

A memorable moment of my time in school was... when my fifth grade teacher acted out a breaking wave and accidentally tripped in front of the class. She got up and laughed it off (even though we knew she was embarrassed) and taught us a valuable lesson about poking some fun at yourself. Her lesson has come in handy for me as I trip quite often myself!

If I wasn't a teacher/didn't work in a school I would... work as an architect.

01.20: No School/District Closed - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

01.21: 3:00-3:45 p.m.Sign Language Club (for registered students)

01.22: 3:00-4:00 p.m. Student Council; Chess Wizards (for registered students)

01.23: 3:00-4:00 p.m. Young Rembrandts (for registered students); 3:00-3:45 p.m. 2nd/3rd Grade Spanish Club (for registered students)

01.24: Falcon Friday! Wear School colors or Spiritwear; PTA Fun Lunch

01.25: District 58 Science Fair

02.17.25: No School, District Closed

02.28.2025: No School; Teacher Institute Day

2024-2025 DG58 School Calendar (PDF)

Important Calendar Highlights:

• Spring Break: March 31-April 4, 2025

• Last Day of School: Friday, May 23, 2025 (if no emergency days are used)

Please note that information BELOW this point is repeated information that has been shared in a previous newsletter(s), but is still made available here for your reference.

As of Monday, January 6th, District 58's elementary schools joined the National School Lunch Program and partner with a new elementary food service provider, Open Kitchens.

To help with the transition, District 58 will automatically provide meals to all students who currently receive boxed lunches during the week of Jan. 6. Families do not need to pre-order meals for this week.

Starting with the week of Jan. 13, all families who would like their child to receive a boxed lunch will be required to pre-order it online through the MyMealOrder system. Lunch orders for the week of Jan. 13 are due on Monday, Jan. 6 at the end of the day.

Click here to learn more information about ordering elementary boxed lunches.

District 58 will start residency verification after winter break...

If your family has moved in the past year, or if your student’s address information has changed in any way, please contact Jill DeRango (jderango@dg58.org) or call 630-719-5830 and provide your updated information prior to winter break. In addition, if you rent a property, please make sure that your school has a copy of your most recent lease. You may email a copy of your lease to the building secretaries (email above) or drop off a copy at our school office.

District 58 will open 2025-26 student registration in February 2025. As part of the student registration process, District 58 works with a third-party vendor to verify that all students live within the District’s boundaries. After winter break, District 58 will begin the student address verification process. By starting this process earlier, we hope student registration will go more smoothly and more efficiently.

If our third-party vendor, Thomson Reuters CLEAR, cannot confirm that a student lives at their registered address, they will flag that student. District 58 will contact the student’s family and request additional documentation to confirm their address. A family will not be able to register their student for the 2025-26 school year until their residency is confirmed.

Keeping your child’s address information up-to-date will help make the registration process go more smoothly and ensure your child’s registration is completed without delay. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter! District 58 will share more information about 2025-26 student registration after winter break.

Students will go outside, weather and conditions permitting, each day. In the event of inclement weather or the combined temperature and wind chill is below 0 degrees and/or if the conditions outside do not support safe play (e.g. extreme ice) students will take part in indoor recess.

It is important that students come prepared for outdoor weather each day. We certainly know that the weather can vary significantly at this time of year, so students are encouraged to have a “gear bag” that includes hats, gloves, snow pants, and snow/winter boots. Thank you, in advance, for writing your child’s name on all of their gear to support finding lost items.

In the event of snowfall/accumulated snow on the ground, students MUST have both snow pants and snow boots to play in the snow. This includes being on the field/grass area. While students do not need snow pants to play on the playground equipment, they do need to have snow boots in order to access the playground area.

If your family faces hardship in purchasing/securing winter gear, please contact Jen Mejdrech (jmejdrech@dg58.org) or Lisa Niforatos (lniforatos@dg58.org) for assistance.

If your child's dismissal plan will be different (e.g. not taking the bus), please communicate this to both the school secretaries and classroom teacher as promptly as possible. This is especially important for our younger students, so we can support their dismissal process. In the event of a last-minute change (anytime after 11:30 a.m.), we ask that you please call the school office (630.719.5830) as staff members may not check their emails prior to daily dismissal.

Lisa Niforatos, Principal lniforatos@dg58.org

Jillian DeRango, Secretary jderango@dg58.org

Andrea Laama, Secretary alaama@dg58.org

Website: www.dg58.org/fa/

Location: 6036 Blodgett Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: 630.719.5830
Twitter/X: @Fairmount58