Barkley Blast

Our PAC met on Tuesday and we would like to thank all of those that contributed food and drinks for parent teacher conferences on Thursday and next week Tuesday!

Kaylee Macedo (parent from Mrs. Holtz class) sent and email to all families asking for contributions to our PAC fund. The funds that are contributed will be used for:

• Staff appreciation days (including teacher appreciation week)
• Extra decor for different events like Holiday Sing, Kindness Fair, etc.
• Dinner for staff during spring conferences

How to contribute:

• Cash can be dropped off to Teresa in the main office at Jefferson
• Venmo @kgamble513
• Paypal or Zelle (kaylee.gamble@gmail.com)
• Cash app ($KayleeM513).

If interested, please send or drop off by November 22nd.

We are currently seeking new or used donations of decorations for our Holiday Sing. Our theme this year is snowmen. Donations can be dropped off at our main office. We are also seeking volunteers to assist with decorating for the Holiday Sing. Decorating will take place on December 13th @ 3:00 PM. If you are interested in volunteering please complete the Google Form below.

If you have a child that is receiving special education services, I highly recommend that you attend this upcoming Parent University. The information provided will focus on future programming for students with special needs and the services that District 64 will be offering in the near future.

District 64 staff---administrators, teachers, and support personnel--are currently reviewing the middle school structure, schedule, and programming. In order to make better informed decisions, we are asking for feedback from parents or caregivers. Please think about your child's current or future middle school experience and offer insight into the topics within the questions. Please keep the mission and vision statement in mind as you complete this survey.

Vision Statement:

• District 64 middle schools will provide a safe and nurturing environment where everyone is inspired to learn, collaborate, grow, and care.

Mission Statement:

• The middle school community of District 64 will foster a safe, supportive and inclusive school environment. The community will value diversity, student growth, social emotional learning, and respect for self and others. Staff, families, and community members will work collaboratively to empower middle school students through exploration, choice, and strong relationships while providing rigorous and differentiated curriculum that includes real-world learning experiences and extracurricular opportunities.

You can find the link here. This survey will close on Sunday, November 24th. We thank you for your time!

To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called ThoughtExchange. All of our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued. You'll be asked to respond to survey questions. In addition, you'll be asked to answer one open-ended question, consider and assign stars to some of the ideas shared by others (20 to 30 is ideal), and learn what's important to the group.

Your responses, 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.

If you need technical help, please call ThoughtExchange at 1-800-361-9027 ext. 4 or email help@thoughtexchange.com.

Join D64 and Dr. Devorah Heitner for a discussion on shifting the conversation from just “internet safety” to helping our kids understand who they are. Dr. Heitner is a global speaker on topics such as digital well-being, parenting, screen time, digital citizenship, mindful technology use, and raising empathetic children in a connected world.

The event is for parents/guardians and will be on Tuesday, December 3rd at 6 pm inside the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center (8200 W Greendale Ave, Niles).

Click here to RSVP or scan the above QR code.