Mid-October News

Hello John Stewart Families -

Here are some friendly reminders mid-way through October!  Thank you to all those who participated in Spirit Week last week and shared pictures with us. We had a fun week celebrating! 

Halloween

We will still be allowing our students to dress for Halloween this year. Our A day students will come dressed in costume on Thursday, October 29 and B day students will come dressed in costume on Friday, October 30. We will not have any parent-planned parties or volunteers. Instead, teachers will celebrate with their students in class in a way that best fits the student's ages, curriculum, and classroom needs. We will share pictures of the day on our Facebook Page. There will not be a parade outside or throughout the school.

Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Hybrid Parent-Teacher Conferences 

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, November 4th from 4:00 - 8:00 pm and Thursday, November 5th from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm.

This year, there will be two options for conferences for Hybrid Families: (1) Zoom or (2) conference call. 

Conferences will be twenty minutes long. Sign-ups have already gone out, please look for an email from your child's classroom teacher to reserve your time slot and indicate your choice of the conference.

Remote Parent-Teacher Conferences  

Conferences can be held starting at Wednesday, November 4th from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm and Thursday, November 5th from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm. This year, there will be two options for conferences for Remote Families: (1) Zoom or (2) conference call. 

EC-3rd Grade:  No live sessions will be held on Wednesday in order to provide more slots for parent/teacher conferences.  

4th and 5th Grade: No live sessions will be held on Wednesday in order to provide more slots for parent conferences.  4th and 5th-grade students will write a self-reflection on their progress that the Teacher will approve and send to Parents.  Families may use the reflection of progress in lieu of attending a scheduled conference time.  Each 4th and 5th-grade teacher will have 40 spots open for conferences.  Parents are asked to select only 1 of the 2 Teachers to conference with.  

Conferences will be twenty minutes long. Sign-ups have already gone out, please look for an email from your child's classroom teacher to reserve your time slot and indicate your choice of the conference.

Hybrid Application Day Reminders

Our expectation for students on application days (at home learning) is that they are completing 4-5 hours of learning. This will obviously look different from an in-school learning experience for a student but we wanted to help prioritize how the at-home learning time is spent and clarify what exploratory options our students have.  

 

The main priority of the learning day should be ELA and Math application assignments from the general education teachers.  Students should then look to spend some time working on any Science or Social Studies activities, these activities will likely be explorations and will not need to be brought back to school or handed in unless explicitly stated by the teacher. The next priority for learning would be to spend some time on Physical Education as this is an exploratory area that is required by the State of Illinois.  Finally, please spend time working in exploratory areas including Music, Art, Technology, and Critical Thinking.  The Exploratory teachers have worked hard to provide students access to many opportunities for learning through Canvas pages but some requirements for returning work could differ and most of the application day activities will be geared towards further standard exploration, this means teachers can review to see work is completed but feedback may not be given to students. Thank you for the help!

COVID Information - Masks

Here is some helpful information from the IDPH regarding mask care - 

Click here for the full document. 

 

How do I care for my mask?

It is a good idea to wash your mask or face covering at least daily. Place your used masks in a bag or bin away from small children or pets until they can be laundered with detergent and dried on a hot cycle. If you need to remove and reuse your mask before washing, consider putting it in a plastic or paper bag (not your backpack or purse) and be mindful not to put the mask where others can touch it or where the mask will contaminate other shared surfaces. Wash your hands immediately after putting it back on and avoid touching your face. Paper-based masks, like surgical masks, should be discarded after each use.

SELF-CERTIFYING: Please continue to self-certify your child prior to 8am on their In-Person Learning Days. Ensuring that your child is certified helps to expedite their entrance into the building.

COVID Parent Link  - www.kaneland.org/covid       Student Link - www.kaneland.org/pass

Remote Families

Thank you to all those who have sent pictures of their Remote Student(s). Please feel to email a picture of your child to Mrs. Aversa 10017@kaneland.org.

Important Dates

Wednesday, 10/21 - A Day Students Attend

Wednesday, 10/28 - B Day Students Attend

Thursday, 10/29 - Halloween Celebration for A Day Students (Student Wear Costumes)

Friday, 10/30 - Halloween Celebrations for B Day Students (Student Wear Costumes)

Tuesday, 11/3 - No School (Election Day)

Wednesday, 11/4 - Parent Teacher Conference 4-8pm

Thursday, 11/5 - No Student Attendance/Parent-Teacher Conferences 10am-8pm

Friday, 11/6 - No School

October News

Tardy Reminders

If you happen to be running late to school (after 8:50am), parents or guardians please walk your student(s) to the school to sign them in at the main office.  Thank you! 

Absence Line 

Just a reminder to call your student into the absence line, (630) 364-8170 press 4, if your student will miss any part of the school day.  This includes in person-days as well as at-home learning. If your child is sick on an at-home learning day, please still call them in. Full remote students should also be called in if they will miss any remote session. 

Cold Weather 

As the weather starts to get cooler, please remember to dress your child appropriately, (In layers, jackets, pants, etc) for recess, mask breaks, and some lessons and classes that are still being held outdoors. 

Chromebook and Canvas Navigation Tools

• Four ways to review teacher feedback given on Canvas - Canvas Quick Tip for Reviewing Student Feedback 
• Here is a video regarding Navigating Zoom on a Chromebook https://youtu.be/dNYEUsYmtnY

Hybrid and Remote - Teacher Office Help Desk Hours

We have revised our office hours for our help desk to support students in Math, Reading, and Writing during application days and times.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to these great resources!!   Revised Office Hours

Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Hybrid Parent-Teacher Conferences 

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, November 4th from 4:00 - 8:00 pm and Thursday, November 5th from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm.

This year, there will be two options for conferences for Hybrid Families: (1) Zoom or (2) conference call. 

Conferences will be twenty minutes long. Sign up begins October 13th, please look for a sign-up genius link from your classroom teacher to reserve your time slot and indicate your choice of the conference.

Remote Parent-Teacher Conferences  

Conferences can be held starting at Wednesday, November 4th from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm and Thursday, November 5th from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm. This year, there will be two options for conferences for Remote Families: (1) Zoom or (2) conference call. 

EC-3rd Grade:  No live sessions will be held on Wednesday in order to provide more slots for parent/teacher conferences.  

4th and 5th Grade: No live sessions will be held on Wednesday in order to provide more slots for parent conferences.  4th and 5th-grade students will write a self-reflection on their progress that the Teacher will approve and send to Parents.  Families may use the reflection of progress in lieu of attending a scheduled conference time.  Each 4th and 5th-grade teacher will have 40 spots open for conferences.  Parents are asked to select only 1 of the 2 Teachers to conference with.  

Conferences will be twenty minutes long. Sign up begins October 13th, please look for a sign-up genius link from your classroom teacher to reserve your time slot and indicate your choice of the conference.

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held this year in a different format.  Please be on the lookout for more information to come! Thank you for your support! 

Updated Fall Learning Calendar

Click here to view the updated Fall A/B Learning Calendar.  It has been updated to December. 

Halloween

We will still be allowing our students to dress for Halloween this year. Our A day students will come dressed in costume on Thursday, October 29 and B day students will come dressed in costume on Friday, October 30. We will not have any parent-planned parties or volunteers. Instead, teachers will celebrate with their students in class in a way that best fits the student's ages, curriculum, and classroom needs. We will share pictures of the day on our Facebook Page. There will not be a parade outside or throughout the school.

Illinois Department of Public Health Issues COVID-19 Halloween Festivities Guidance

4th/5th Library Incentive Program

We are excited to announce an upcoming reading incentive program for 4th and 5th Grade Remote and Hybrid students, but we need your help! In order to make this program successful, we need multiple copies of the same book. Please consider purchasing one of the books to donate to the library for students to check out. Once the incentive is over, these books will become available to all students. We have attached the Amazon wish list with the copies of the chosen books. Amazon will also ship it right to KST. Thank you for any support you can provide!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3584RQTLIYZ4O?ref_=wl_shares

Full Remote Families

On October 21st we will be having an asynchronous learning session.  Students will not be logging onto their regular time as a whole class.  On this day your student's teacher will communicate a schedule with small group work time and/or one on one conferences for feedback on learning.  Please note it is still a learning day, but the times for logging in may differ for your child. 

 

Kaneland Strong No Matter the Distance - Remote Students

Even though we can't see our remote students in person, we still want them to have a presence in our building. They are still a major part of our KST family!  Please email me (Samantha.Aversa@kaneland.org) a picture of your child(ren) doing their remote learning or of them waving hi. We would love to display their pictures in the hallways for our teachers and hybrid students to see!!  Thank you for their participation!

COVID - Parent Reminders 

• Decision Tree for Symptomatic Individuals in Pre-K, K-12 Schools. When a student is excluded from school, please reach out to your child's teacher for homework and other class information. 

• Face Mask Reminders Per IDPH on Sept. 9th: All persons on school grounds including students, teachers, school nurses, administrative and secretarial staff, food service personnel, custodial staff, public safety personnel, etc., must wear a face covering at all times when in school or in transit to and from school (i.e., school buses) unless a specific exemption applies. 

• Face coverings may be temporarily removed at school: • When eating • When outdoors and physical distancing of at least 6 feet can be maintained • When playing a musical instrument outdoors with at least 6 feet social distancing • If using a face shield when other methods of protection are not available or appropriate. Strict adherence to social distancing should be maintained when face coverings are removed in limited situations. 

• Students still participate in multiple mask breaks during the day.  We encourage students to advocate for a break if it is needed beyond their scheduled breaks with their class. 

• Please continue to send your student with bottled water to drink during the day as water fountains are not available to drink from, only to refill water bottles.

Fire Prevention Week

The Kaneland Fire & Safety Foundation was founded by Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District, Kaneville Fire Protection District, Maple Park & Countryside Fire Protection District, and the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District to provide fire safety education to the elementary students in our districts. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be visiting the individual schools like we normally do during Fire Prevention Week. Instead, we are providing online instruction, lesson plans, and materials for our families to utilize for Pre-K through 5th-grade to assist in educating our families on fire safety.

Fire Prevention Week - 2020

Spirit Week October 5 - 9

We are excited to share an upcoming spirit week that all four elementary buildings will be participating in! Please share this flyer with your families.

Important Dates

Monday, 10/5 - PJ Day

Tuesday, 10/6 - Camo Day

Wednesday, 10/7 -Picture Retake A Day/Remote Students (8-9am) & Flannel Day

Thursday, 10/8 - Sports Day

Friday, 10/9 - Kaneland Spirit Day

Monday, 10/12 - No School

Wednesday, 10/14 - B Day Students Attend

Wednesday, 10/21 - A Day Students Attend

Wednesday, 10/28 - B Day Students Attend

Thursday, 10/29 - Halloween Celebration for A Day Students (Student Wear Costumes)

Friday, 10/30 - Halloween Celebrations for B Day Students (Student Wear Costumes)

Tuesday, 11/3 - No School (Election Day)

Wednesday, 11/4 - Parent Teacher Conference 4-8pm

Thursday, 11/5 - No Student Attendance/Parent-Teacher Conferences 10am-8pm

Friday, 11/6 - No School