Fairmount Families Week END Report

What a cold but wonderful week it has been! I want to express my gratitude to all of you for your patience and cooperation in supporting our carline process. Thanks to your efforts, everything ran smoothly despite the chilly temperatures.

I’m also excited to share that this weekend marks the District 58 Science Fair. I look forward to seeing many of our Falcons showcase their creativity and hard work during this annual event, which will be held at O'Neill Middle School.

Thank you for your continued partnership in making our school community wonderful. Stay warm, and I’ll see you at the science fair!

Sincerely,

Lisa Niforatos

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

Fairmount School Attendance Form

Past Newsletters

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.

Will your child attend kindergarten at Fairmount next school year? Or do you have a friend or neighbor whose child will? Here are four steps to prepare!

1. If we don’t already know that you have an incoming kindergartner, contact the Fairmount office at 630.719.5830 or jderango@dg58.org and let us know! We will add you to any school-specific kindergarten contact lists.

2. Attend Kindergarten Roundup at Fairmount on March 5th at 6:00 pm.. Kindergarten Roundup gives parents and guardians the opportunity to visit their child’s future school, meet the principal and staff, and ask questions.

3. Visit our Kindergarten Resource webpage for kindergarten resources and helpful information.

4. Attend Kindergarten Dual Language Information Night. Learn more about the Dual Language Program below!

Incoming kindergarten families are invited to an informational meeting regarding District 58’s Dual Language Program on Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at El Sierra School, 6835 Fairmount Drive. The meeting will be in both English and Spanish. It is intended specifically for parents and guardians of incoming kindergarteners for the 2025-26 school year.

Learn about:

• Understand the benefits of dual language learning.

• Learn more about District 58’s bilingual learning model and how to participate.

• Meet some of the dual language teachers and staff. Get answers to your questions.

• Learn how to enroll.

District 58’s Dual Language Program opens up a world of opportunities for young learners. We welcome your child to join this journey! To learn more, visit our Dual Language Program webpage.

Winter parent-teacher conference signups will be open from Thursday, Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. through Friday, Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. Families can sign up using the PowerPTC system.

Conferences will take place the evenings of Tuesday, Feb. 4 and Thursday, Feb. 6.

View conference signup instructions here. (para Español: Registro para las reuniones de padres y maestros).

While we encourage all families to schedule a conference, our winter parent-teacher conferences are optional for families. Please know that you can request a conference with your child’s teacher at any time throughout the year. Additionally, your child’s teacher(s) may contact you at any time if they feel a conference would be helpful.

Does your child love reading? Does your child love baseball? We have the perfect reading program for you! Fairmount School is participating in the Kane County Cougars' Reading Club! A flyer was sent home with your child this past week with information regarding this program, including game dates/times and reading requirements. Please reach out to Mrs. Glennon with any questions that you have at aglennon@dg58.org.

Grove Children’s Preschool will hold an open house on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Henry Puffer School, 2220 Haddow Ave. Parents and guardians may tour the preschool, meet some of the staff, hear an overview of the program, and ask questions throughout the open house.

Grove Children’s Preschool tuition applications for the 2025-26 school year will open online at www.dg58.org/preschool on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 8 a.m. First priority applications are due Wednesday, March 19.

Learn here more.

Regular school attendance is crucial for your child’s academic and social development. We appreciate your partnership in helping them arrive at school on time each day.

District 58 is focused on improving student attendance, and as a part of this effort, I will be sending an attendance awareness letter home to each student’s family. This letter will be sent home on Friday, January 31, and it will include the number of days your child has been in attendance. Please reach out to me should you have any questions about your child’s attendance or this letter.

Thank you to all of the Fairmount families that supported last weekend's Harlem Wizard's games and the Education Foundation. A special shout-out to Ms. Alyssa Reinholz and Mr. Rick Zieman for representing us on the Grovetrotters team!

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.

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.

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: 2nd Grade Teacher

Years at Fairmount: 16 Years

Favorite Subject in Elementary School: Math

Least Favorite Subject in Elementary School: Writing

Favorite Grade in School: 6th Grade

A big part of why I became a Teacher... There is nothing I'd rather do than work with kids every day!

A memorable moment of my time in school was... I loved playing the piano in the 'Talent Show' every year during elementary school!

If I wasn't a teacher/didn't work in a school I would... at a public library in the children's department.

01.25: District 58 Science Fair

01.28: 3:00-3:45 p.m.Sign Language Club (for registered students); District 58 Board of Education Meeting 7:00 p.m.

01.29: 3:00-4:00 p.m. Chess Wizards (for registered students) PTA Cultural Night (See details above)

01.30: 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)

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

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.

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.

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