We Miss You!

Dear John Stewart Families~ 

I hope this message finds you all physically and emotionally well and fully stocked on essentials.
I’ve been thinking of our school families and of wanting to stay in touch with everyone through
these unprecedented times. While the majority of formal communication will come through
our Superintendent's office, I will plan to reach out with school-specific information throughout
our closure. The staff and I are working on a little treat to boost everyone's spirits. We hope to be
ready to send out a link to our little surprise on Friday morning. Stay tuned...

At-Home Learning
I hope that you and your child(ren) are transitioning to an at-home learning environment the best you can. I know that this is not the ideal way for our students to learn, but rest assured that good growth can still be made at home with the resources the district has provided, as well as some additional experiences that are being offered online. Please know that the district is not asking you to sign up for subscriptions or pay for extra tools. If there is a link that is not working or you are having difficulty signing in, please just move on to another activity. If you are trying to log onto a website but it is blocked, this may be an at-home filter issue. Please consider moving on to another activity. While the YouTube videos that are sent have all been vetted, we understand the home choice for filtering.

I have received multiple requests from Stewart teachers asking for permission to reach out to families and share additional information and resources. Mostly, they just want you to know they are thinking of their students and wishing they could be together. At this time, the district has requested that teachers refrain from sharing additional resources, as not all have been fully vetted through the curriculum department. We are finding out the hard way that some companies advertising "free at-home learning resources" are requesting private information from families and some are even requesting credit card numbers. To protect our students, our families and our staff, we have shared an expectation with our teachers that they not to provide resources beyond what is being sent from the Curriculum Department. Please do not misinterpret this as a lack of willing and wanting to do so on the part of our teachers.

Let me know if something is not working right and we will update the needed links for future learning.

Here are some tips to support your efforts:

• Create a schedule that works for everyone! Work with your children and listen to their thoughts on their learning. They will help make it a successful and less stressful experience for everyone.
• Mix up activities and take breaks. We have built-in movement and calming breaks throughout the day at school, build these into your schedule at home too!
• Set goals and reward your children for hard work. Work with your children to set goals for learning and celebrate their success. Ask them about rewards they would like to work for, they could be as simple as watching a quick show, playing a game with you, or playing on their own with a favorite toy. Set a timer for the reward and it will make transitioning back to work much easier on everyone.
• Most importantly try to avoid reaching a high level of frustration for anyone involved in the learning. We like to teach our students to persevere and work hard through tough questions but don't want that to turn into a negative learning environment. If you or your children are starting to get frustrated, that's a great time to take a break.

From Kaneland's Curriculum Department
Over the course of the next few weeks, at home learning content will be sent home each Sunday night. The content is vetted and the learning activities are aligned to our Common Core State Standards, NGSS Standards, and the most recent Social Science Standards. The activities are meant to connect to grade-level content, provide practice experiences and engage students in learning. Although this content is not directly related to the point in time they left the classroom, it does connect to the grade span content they are learning. Each of the links or activities shared has been reviewed by our Department of Educational Services and provides at-home learning opportunities.

Each week we will be sharing links that students can access to provide at-home learning that can help them stay mentally engaged. We are continuing to research more and more links in order to be prepared for the various lengths of the closure. We know many vendors are offering free trials, but we are hesitant to send any of those links since we want content that we have vetted and used in our classrooms. At this time we can guarantee the validity and rigor of the content being sent and strive to continue to review all links prior to sending to our students. Please know that these activities are not formally graded, but intended for formative learning to provide students mental engagement during this time of school closure. Taking time to complete the activities and explore the at-home learning links will provide continuous learning rigor and allow for students to come back to school ready to learn and engage. We encourage all students to engage in these activities during this time. It is recommended that students complete an average of 2 to 4 hours of learning during this time off. 

Take time during the at-home learning to also take brain breaks and engage in physical activity. At-home learning may also include: independent reading time, taking walks or jog around your neighborhood, and family games. Please see the grade span recommended links and learning activities below to get started. Please note that some of the activities have been modified since the printed packet went home. Please open the links below for the most recent versions.

If videos or websites are blocked this may be at home filters and that is always up to family discretion.

 Kindergarten

 First Grade

 Second Grade

 Third Grade

 Fourth Grade

 Fifth Grade

I-Ready Log-In HelpFrom their Chromebook, please have them go to the KAL Apps menu where they should see the link for iReady and once there, they can just log in.

If that is not working, here is the direct link https://adfs.kaneland.org/adfs/ls/idpinitiatedsignon.aspx?loginToRp=https://sso.i-ready.com

From there, it is their Kaneland ID as the Username and then their school password (the one used to log onto their Chromebook).

PTN Updates

I have been in email contact with our PTN President. She is working hard on your behalf to determine the ability to run remaining events for the 2019-20 school year. At this point, we are scheduled to return to school on April 6th. We will not be officially canceling school-related activities after that date at this time. However, as you know information is changing rapidly and we will make decisions on a day to day basis.

A special thank you to Butter Braid hero, Jamie Schambach for her efforts to ensure delivery of all pre-ordered Butter Braids. At this time, it is the simple pleasures, such as a hot Cherry Butter Braid straight out of the oven, that comfort the soul. 

Coronavirus Updates
Kaneland continually updates the district website as more information is provided about the Coronavirus. Please see the link to read more about this topic: Coronavirus Information

School Lunch Information

Should your child require lunch during the school closings, please come to any of the locations below on school days beginning March 17 through Friday, March 27, 2020 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.. We will provide you with a daily lunch and a snack. Note: Students do not need to be present. Any family member may pick up the lunch on behalf of the students.

March 17 - March 27, 2020 (School days only)
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Come to the main entrance or Door #1

Kaneland John Stewart Elementary School, 817 Prairie Valley Street, Elburn, IL 60119

Kaneland Harter Middle School, 1601 Esker Drive, Sugar Grove, IL 60554

Kaneland McDole Elementary School, 2901 Foxmoor Drive, Montgomery, IL 60538

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Julie-Ann Fuchs at 10161@kaneland.org.

Registration Information

Registration for the next school year is now open and can be completed through this link:
Student Registration

Registering a future kindergartener, check out extended day:
Click here to learn about our Extended Day Kindergarten Extention Program

Yearbooks
Since we can't congratulate her in person, I wanted to send a virtual congrats to Greta F. on winning the Yearbook cover design contest. It was such a hard decision, with many quality art pieces submitted, 24 in all! After a very close teacher vote, our new design was chosen. If you would like to order a Yearbook, you can do so here:  Yearbook Order Site  Orders are due April 19, 2020.

That is all for now.... I will update as more information becomes available. Stay well!!

Laura Garland
Principal
Kaneland John Stewart Elementary