December 2022 Family Newsletter

December 2, 2022

Topic: Unassigned

FAMILY NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER 2022

 

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE

Dear CCSD21 Parents and Community Members,

Respectfully,

Dr. Michael Connolly
Superintendent of Schools

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UPCOMING EVENTS
MARK YOUR CALENDAR WITH THESE IMPORTANT DATES

Mark your calendar with these important dates:
  • Friday, December 23, 2022 – No school (Winter Break begins)
  • Monday, January 9, 2023 – Institute Day (No classes)
  • Tuesday, January 10, 2023 – Classes resume
  • Monday, January 16, 2023 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday (No classes)

    For all other school calendar dates, click here.

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BUSINESS OFFICE UPDATES

SAVE THE DATE!

You are cordially invited to commemorate the opening of the new District 21 Community Service Center and Administrative Office with a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour. Reserve your spot by emailing [email protected].

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COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

SEASON’S GREETING CARD DESIGN CHALLENGE

Congratulations to the following students whose designs were chosen for the 2022 District’s greeting card. With almost 100 entries, the decision was not an easy one to make. We appreciate the efforts that all our students took to create unique and artful designs. Thank you for your participation.

 

          PK – 2nd Grade

          First Place

         Sophia G.

          2nd Grade, Riley Elementary School

PK – 2nd Grade

Second Place

Zoe E.

2nd Grade, Twain Elementary School 

3rd – 5th Grade

First Place

Taonga T.

5th Grade, Frost Elementary School

3rd – 5th Grade

Second Place

Giuliana A.

5th Grade, Frost Elementary School

6th – 8th Grade

First Place

Julianne S.

6th Grade, London Middle School

 

          6th – 8th Grade

          Second Place

           Saie W.

          7th Grade, London Middle School

 

MEET OUR RISING STARS!

She’s got lots of hobbies and loves nature. Meet Eden M.
He’s great at sports and encouraging others. Meet Dominik D.

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WHAT’S GOING ON AT TARKINGTON?

The Tarkington Tigers student body has been busy with a variety of service projects throughout the year. Teachers Rebecca Zach, Amanda Collette and Ryann Rivers have spent their lunch hours facilitating charitable projects for the students, who call their club “Helping Paws.” Helping Paws started in 2008 and currently has 60 3rd, 4th and 5th graders volunteering their time to improve their surroundings. The group recently collected 69,685 pop tabs to support Ronald McDonald House! Wow! That’s a lot of soda!

Read entire story here.

WHAT’S GOING ON AT KILMER?

Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.

– George Dei

For Kilmer principal Annette McBride, George Dei’s quote is not just a tagline. It’s a philosophy that she and the rest of her staff embody every day. “Diversity is our greatest asset,” said McBride. “We have a variety of languages spoken at the school with a diverse student body and staff. We are teaching our students to be global citizens, and what better way to practice that then in school?”

Read entire story here.

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EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES

JOIN US AT THE INDIAN TRAILS LIBRARY

Get Yeti to Read! Winter Reading Challenge

Sign up begins December 1

Birth-Grade 8

Hey kids! Let’s get “yeti” to start reading and complete a reading challenge to earn a prize. Completion prize pickup starts on January 2. Register in person at the Youth Services Desk or the Branch, with the Beanstack app or by phone. Registration required.

 

The library has STEM, music, holiday activities, and so much more for your child to participate and engage with during the month of December. Check out the calendar of events for specific activities and times.

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LANGUAGE SERVICES

As a district we are proud to celebrate the diversity of our learning community! These are some traditions celebrated and acknowledged in our community this month. If you’d like to learn more, click on the links:

Don’t hesitate to reach out and share it with our Language Services Department to add to our resources!

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HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES

MY WHY

My Why – Mallory Rossi, Physical Therapist
District 21’s physical therapist Mallory Rossi talks fast, walks fast and moves fast. She also has a “no excuses” attitude. So when she tore her ACL as a junior basketball player at St. Viator H.S. and spent nine months in physical therapy, it slowed… her… down…which she didn’t like. But what she discovered was that she loved doing PT; she loved the people and was inspired to help others in the same way.

My Why – Meagan Novara, Restorative Practice Coach
As an Italian woman who loves to cook, one of Meagan Novara’s favorite things to do is have a big, crowded house with lots of people eating good food. Large gatherings are not a problem for Meagan as she is a Restorative Practice Coach for District 21 and trained on strengthening relationships and building positive cultures. She truly enjoys the work, but it wasn’t always on her career path. In fact, after graduating from Michigan State University, she started her career working at a prominent ad agency in Chicago doing media buys – a job in which she didn’t have a strong passion.

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BECOMING A SUSBTITUTE IN DISTRICT 21

We had some wonderful new sub candidates that applied to work with us this past fall. Many of these subs are right from our community! We’re excited for these additions to our sub group but we’re not done yet. We are continuing to hire subs each month. Please let your neighbors and friends know that we are still hiring throughout the school year.

Whether you want to help us out one day a week or every single day, the choice is yours.

Below is the link for people to apply:

We still have openings in our sub pool for the following positions:

  • Secretary – $100/day
  • Health Assistant – $100/day
  • Teaching Assistant – $125/day
  • Teacher – $131/day
  • Long term teacher (more than 10 days in the same classroom) – $210/day

In addition, any subs who work 100 days this year will receive a $1,000 bonus at the end of the year.

Here is information from the Illinois State Board of Education about becoming a teaching assistant or teacher sub:

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INFORMATION SERVICES UPDATES

Computer Science Education Week is December 5-11!

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Recent studies show that children who study computer science perform better in other subjects, excel at problem-solving, and are 17% more likely to enroll in college. To celebrate CSEdWeek, consider encouraging your child to join Hour of Code, which offers many coding activities for children in preschool through high school. Children can participate with a computer, tablet, smartphone, or even without technology!

Click HERE to learn how to do Hour of Code with your child. Click HERE to find coding activities filtered by grade level, topic, available technology, and time.

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SUPPORT SERVICES & SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATES

VACCINE APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE

CCSD21 has formed a partnership with Jewel Osco in providing vaccines onsite and have asked us to share the following vaccination opportunities at Jewel Osco locations. If it has been two months since the previous COVID vaccine or this is your student’s primary series completion or their COVID booster, all are welcome.

As a reminder, for our students the following will be available:

  • Pfizer COVID Bivalent 5-11 years only
  • Flu 3+

 

Appointments are available via the links below.

Address Date Time Kordinator Link
8730 W Dempster, Niles Thursday 12/1/2022 3p-7p https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1668090035684
2940 N. Ashland, Chicago Saturday 12/3/2022 10a-2p https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1668090959566
5667 W Touhy Ave., Niles Saturday 12/3/2022 10a-2p https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1668090756816
1860 S. Arlington Hts Rd., Arlington Heights Tuesday 12/6/2022 3p-7p https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1668090509175
2940 N. Ashland, Chicago Thursday 12/15/2022 3p-7p https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1668090959566

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MEDICAID INFORMATION

This is informational for any students or families that are Medicaid Recipients

Have you moved in the past three years? Has your address or contact info changed? Medicaid customers will have to renew their coverage for the first time since the pandemic started. HFS will send renewal paperwork to the address on file.

Make sure your health coverage moves with you. Don’t risk losing your health insurance. Updating your address is easy, fast, and free. Medicaid customers can update their addresses either by calling the HFS hotline at 877-805-5312 or, completing the address change web form, online at Report Medicaid Change of Address.

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BOARD of education

Last Month’s Board Meeting

The livestream video of the November 10 Board of Education meeting can be viewed here.

Next Board Meeting

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting of Community Consolidated School District 21, Wheeling, Cook County, IL, will be held on December 15, 2022, 7:00 p.m. at the CCSD21 Gill Administration Center, 999 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL 60090.

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COMMUNITY CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT 21
999 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL 60090
(847) 537-8270
www.ccsd21.org