

W.A. Johnson Bulletin
January 2023

TRANSLATING: DID YOU KNOW?
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Learning & Growing Together
PTA
- Membership Dues: Click here to pay Johnson PTA membership dues online
- The next meeting is on January 19th at 3:45pm: The Specials team has signed up to attend.
- Zoom option to share with families: PTA Meeting Zoom link. This will be the same link for ALL meetings this school year
PTA Board Members:
Victoria Myhre, President
Diana Sanchez, Vice President
Nicki Zengilani, Secretary
Christina Palacios, Treasurer
PTA email: johnsonjaguarspta@gmail.com
Google Voice phone: (773) 234-8284
POWERSCHOOL FOR FAMILIES
District 2 has completed its transition to its new PowerSchool student information system.
Now it is offering three in-person tutorials to help families use the PowerSchool Parent Portal. This system provides parents access to their students’ schedules, attendance, assignments and grades. If you need in-person assistance in setting up your account, please attend one of these sessions.
- Tuesday, January 17: Blackhawk Middle School, 2-3 p.m.
- Wednesday, January 18: Tioga School, 9-10 a.m.
- Thursday, January 19: W.A. Johnson School, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Otherwise, additional online resources and webinars to help parents create and use their accounts are available at www.bsd2.org/powerschool.
Letters providing login information for the PowerSchool Parent Portal were sent home with elementary students and mailed to middle school students' home addresses in early December. If you didn't receive it, please contact your school office.
PARENT CONNECTIONS MEETING
The January Parent Connections meeting for the families of students with special education services is scheduled for Wednesday, January 18th, 6:30-8:00 PM, at Peacock Middle School. We will have Sue Zikuda (NDSEC) and Dustin Berman (BSD2) presenting on "Understanding IEP's and Your Rights as a Parent," as well as a presentation from Karen Petelle on the parent's perspective.
UPCOMING ASSESSMENTS
Over the next several months students will be engaged in a variety of assessments. Below is a list of some of the larger assessments with the windows when they will be given. You will receive further information in upcoming messages regarding the Illinois mandated assessments listed below.
- NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress - Kindergarten - 5th): January 17 - 27
- ACCESS English Proficiency: January 17 - February 28
- CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test - 2nd & 5th, and some 3rd & 4th): February 6 - 10
- ISA (Illinois Science Assessment - 5th): March 6 - 10
- IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness - 3rd, 4th, & 5th): April 3 - 21
January 9th: School Resumes
January 16th: NO SCHOOL
January 19th: PTA Meeting @ 3:45pm in the Innovation Lab & via Zoom
January 19th: PowerSchool For Families session @ 6:30pm at W.A. Johnson
January 27th: Wheel of Wisdom - Student Assembly @ during school day
SEL: JANUARY NEWSLETTER
Below you will find a link to the SEL January newsletter.
COLD WEATHER: RECESS AND ACCESSORIES
As the seasons continue to change, the weather will be getting cooler! Please be sure to send your child to school with a coat and necessary accessories for the forecasted weather. Elementary students will go outside for recess for 20 minutes every day when the temperature, including wind chill, is 15 or above. In those instances where the temperature is below 15 degrees, students will remain indoors for recess in their classrooms.
If you are in need of cold weather accessories (e.g., coats, gloves, scarves, etc.) please reach out to one of our SEL staff members.
SCHOOL CLOSING INFORMATION
The District’s mass notification system will contact all student households when a school must be closed for emergency reasons such as extreme weather. In these situations, parents/guardians will receive a phone call, email, and/or text message no later than 6 a.m. if their contact information with the school is up to date. Please make certain your proper contact information is on file with the school to ensure you are notified through this system.
E - LEARNING DAYS
District 2 now calls eLearning Days when schools must close due to extreme weather.
An eLearning Day counts as a regular school day, and does not require the District to use a built-in emergency day at the end of the school year.
Students in Grades K-8 will be sent home with their Chromebooks when weather forecasts suggest school closures are a possibility. Attendance will be taken during eLearning Days, and the hours of the school day will be the same. Instead of traveling to school, though, students will join their classes through their teachers’ virtual links, which will be posted on the District website and sent to parents via email and text message.
NEED INTERNET AT HOME?
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Michelle Shabaker, Assistant Principal
Twitter: @michelle_shaba