Friday Focus

• A Message from Marcie
• Introducing the Peace Path
• KidLITapalooza 2025
• Parker's Picks

• 2025-2026 Fee Payment & InfoCheck Open Soon!

• Important Safety Alert: Dangerous Social Media Trend

• Instrumental Music Information for 3rd Grade Families

• Opportunity for 5th Grade Parents

• Tech Tip Hub

• This Week in Pictures
• News from Early Learners
• Other Important Info

Check out the PTO Spotlight here:

• Dine & Donate at Culver's on May 19th
• Volunteer for Helping Hands Day on May 30th
• Donate empty cereal boxes and newspaper
• Order 2025-2026 school supplies now
• Join a 2025-2026 PTO Committee
• Volunteer to be a 2025-2026 Room Rep
• Cubs Game Fundraiser on June 1st
• End of School Bash on June 6th

Dear South Park Families,

As we wrap up Staff Appreciation Week, I want to take a moment to extend my deepest gratitude to our incredible educators—and to thank you, our parent community, for the many ways you’ve helped us celebrate them.

Our teachers do so much more than teach academics. They nurture, guide, support, and love each and every child who walks through our doors. They take time to understand what makes each student unique, meeting them with patience, empathy, and high expectations. The relationships they build are deep and lasting, and the impact they have reaches far beyond the classroom.

As both a principal and a parent, I can honestly say I would be proud and grateful to have my own three children taught by the educators at South Park. What I witness each day—the joy, the compassion, the unwavering dedication—is nothing short of remarkable. The love that is poured into our students is so special, and it is at the heart of what makes our school such a wonderful place to learn and grow.

If you haven’t already had the chance, I encourage you to take a moment to thank any of the adults here at South Park who work with your child for the difference they are making in your child’s life. A simple note, a kind word, or a quick email can mean the world.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Marcie

We’re excited to launch the Peace Path, a new strategy to help students manage emotions and resolve conflicts during recess. This step-by-step path located on the west-facing wall of our school guides children to name their feelings, try a coping strategy, and find peaceful solutions—building important skills in empathy and self-regulation. This week, students learned about the path through morning announcements as well as a student-created video. This new addition is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting students’ social-emotional learning in every part of the school day.

Does your child love to read, write, or draw? Do they want to meet some of their favorite authors and illustrators? Sign up for Kid LITapalooza 2025! This local kids book fest in Naperville is fast becoming one of the biggest kids’ literature events in the country. Your child can meet tons of book creators, get books signed, and choose a workshop where a real author or illustrator teaches you how to write or draw like they do! You might even see Mrs. Jahng there! To register visit this link. But hurry! It fills up fast!

Look for an important email to hit your inbox next week. That’s the sign that you’ll be able to log into Family Access to:

• Pay your 2025-2026 fees

• Verify your contact and other information

• Review the Student/Parent-Guardian Handbook

• Learn about new publication permission opt-out procedures

If you haven’t logged into Family Access in a while, now is a good time to make sure you can do so! If you forget your login information, you can reset your password with your login ID (not your email address) by using the “Forgot Password” button. After you click that button, enter your login ID (yourfirstname.yourlastname, unless you already logged in and changed it). You’ll receive an email to the email address the District has on file with a link to reset your password. If you still need help, call the District office at 847-945-1844 or email communications@dps109.org.

There is a concerning trend currently circulating on TikTok that encourages children to insert objects (paper clips, pencil graphite, or other conductive materials) into the ports of electronic devices like Chromebooks, or directly into electrical outlets in order to cause an electrical short circuit.

While we have not had any incidents in our schools, we have heard reports from other schools that have experienced damage to district-issued devices, personal injuries, and even small fires as a result of students engaging in this dangerous behavior.

Tampering with District-issued devices or electrical outlets not only puts the individual student at risk but also endangers everyone in the school building. Such actions violate our safety protocols and student code of conduct, and any student found engaging in this type of behavior will face disciplinary consequences in accordance with District policy.

We are asking for your partnership in helping us reinforce this message at home to ensure that our schools remain safe environments for all students and staff.

Over the past couple weeks, your 3rd grader has had the opportunity to learn all about an exciting opportunity available to them in 4th grade - joining our band and orchestra family! They’ve met with our instrumental music staff and student ambassadors to learn about and hear each instrument available for them to try out and select this spring and will soon see performances from our band and orchestra musicians currently enrolled in the program. We encourage you to talk about this opportunity with your 3rd grader and to check out our instrumental music program website with them to learn more about each instrument and watch past performances from our programs.

All 3rd grade parents and guardians are invited to attend our in-person instrumental music open house on Monday, May 12th at 6:00 PM in the Caruso auditorium. During our open house, you will learn all about our band and orchestra program (which your child will register for this May), watch high school alumni from our program perform on each instrument, and be the first to receive the sign up link to register your child for their instrument fitting. This open house is for adults only as space is limited in the Caruso auditorium. If you are unable to attend, we will share all the information that was covered (including the instrument fitting registration link) via email the following day.

The final (and most exciting!) step of the process is for your child to try out three instruments of their choice at one of our instrument fitting sessions. These will take place after school on May 20th, 21st, and 22nd at Caruso Middle School and the sign up link will be distributed following our May 12th open house.

We hope to see you soon! Please direct any questions you may have to eim@dps109.org and one of our directors will be in touch.

Thank you!

The DPS 109 Instrumental Music Team

Incoming 6th Grade Parent Coffee: May 15th 9:00-9:40am: Please join us in person at Caruso for this ADULTS ONLY coffee. This is an opportunity to meet with the principal during the school day, take a brief tour of the school and have your general questions answered.

Please RSVP by calling the Caruso Office at 847-945-8430. Space is limited.

May is off to a great start! This week, students began our Ocean Unit. They have been listening to a combination of nonfiction and fiction stories. Students have compared different sea animals and made connections about various animal life cycles. We’re also working on several jellyfish art projects and creating a class ocean scene. In math, students are focusing on teen numbers and exploring simple graphs. The students in the four-year-old classrooms are also looking forward to their Ready, Set, Kindergarten visits next week.

This week in Grady's Group, we discussed the differences between reporting and tattling. Tattling is very common in the pre-K years as children are noticing more and more how their behaviors have an effect on others. We defined the difference between tattling and reporting and discussed different social scenarios and why one might be tattling and one might be reporting. We also listened to the book Miles McHale Tattletale by Christianne Jones. If you notice your child tattling, we encourage you to respond with the following: "Think about the problem. Are you being a tattletale or a reporter? Is someone getting hurt?"

May is off to an awesome start with lots of fun and learning! We’re excited to keep the momentum going as students dive deeper into ocean adventures and continue growing this spring.

• All visitors to South Park School MUST bring a valid driver's license or state ID card to the main office before entering into the building. Beginning this year, we will collect IDs during your visit and return it to you as you leave.
• If your child is going to be absent from school, you need to call or email us by 9:00 that morning. ** Call 847-945-5895, ext. 2103 and leave a message OR ** Email Nurse Nora Moskos.
• Please follow our morning procedures, and drop your children off at their regular grade level doors. If you choose to drive through the front circle at arrival, kindly stay in your car when you drop off to help us reduce morning congestion.
• K-5 drop-off is between 8:35-8:45 a.m. Students who arrive after 8:45 a.m. will need to enter through the front door of the school, as all other doors will be locked.
• Dismissal for all Kindy and 1st-grade walkers and car riders will take place at their grade level door.
  
• Early Learners drop-off/pick-up info can be found here.
• When parking in our Birchwood parking lot, please remember that our preschoolers are dropped off and picked up by the west end (closest to the school). Sometimes, their parents' cars can block a parked car from exiting for a few minutes. To avoid that, we suggest that you park closer to Birchwood Avenue.

Tuesday, May 20th

• VIP Day for Kindergarten, Third Grade, and Fifth Grade

• VIP Day for 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and 4th Grade

• No School

• Last Day - Dismissal at 11:40 a.m.