411 on 67 - 11.8.23

Dear District 67 Families:

In the spirit of November and the month of gratitude, I want to extend a very special thank you to all of our District 67 parent organizations, including the Spirit of 67, the Executive APT, and our building-level APTs. Your tireless efforts not only make a significant difference within our school community but also enrich the educational experience for our children. Your selfless contributions of time, energy, and creativity have brought about a positive and lasting impact on our students, staff, and families.

Through your work, you have created an atmosphere of collaboration and our students have benefited greatly from the resources and opportunities made possible by your dedication. In the past week alone, we've had three impactful events across our District that exemplify the amazing work of our APT and Spirit of 67 Foundation.

This week, the APT organized Visiting Scientist assemblies for our elementary schools.

Thanks also to a Spirit of 67 grant, DPM also recently had a visit from Commander Rebecca Calder, the first female pilot to graduate from the U.S. Navy-Fighter Weapons School, also known as TOP GUN.

Organized annually by our Executive APT, this year's HUGS Thanksgiving Food Drive this tradition engages every school in our District and so many of our generous families come together to contribute and make a difference.

For more about these programs, I hope you'll keep scrolling!

Sincerely,

Matthew L. Montgomery, Ph.D.

Superintendent

This year's Thanksgiving Food Drive was a great success! We provided more than 600 meals to local families in need. THANK YOU to everyone that donated food and participated in the sorting/bagging/loading...it was such an awesome effort! A special thanks to our Community Service representatives who did a fantastic job:

DPM

• Ivonne Georgas
• Heidi Clifton

Sheridan

• Caroline Eimerman
• Elizabeth Schwartz

Cherokee

• Nikki Anderson
• Kim Weiss

Everett

• Kate Neer
• Katy Jaramillo
• Kateri Rapport

Also, a sincere appreciation is extended to MAI Capital Management, who is generously matching our contributions with turkeys in order to provide a complete meal for our wonderful families. Those benefitting are COOL Ministries, North Chicago Community Partners (NCCP) and Beacon Place. We are truly honored to be part of this amazing effort!

Carrie Cole + Chrissy Sieman

(Community Service Coordinators)

• November 9
  
• 9:30 am - 11:00 am D67 All District APT Meeting Guest Speaker, Andy Duran, LEAD, Chief Executive
• November 10
• D67 No Student Attendance - Institute Day
• November 11
• Veterans Day
• November 14
• 9:00 am - 11:00 am Spirit Board of Directors Meeting AND Executive Committee Meeting
• 9:30 am DPM APT Meeting
• 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm D67 Board of Education Meeting
• November 15
• 9:00 am - 10:15 am Sheridan November APT Meeting
• 9:30 am - 11:00 am Everett November APT Meeting
  
• 9:30 am - 10:30 am Cherokee November APT Meeting
  
• November 16
• 6:45 pm - 7:15 pm Family Reading Night at Cherokee
• November 17
• 7:00 am - 8:00 am Donuts with GrownUps at Cherokee
• November 22 - 26
• THANKSGIVING BREAK - NO SCHOOL

• November 14, 2023 - Regular Meeting
• December 12, 2023 - Regular Meeting
• February 27, 2024 - Regular Meeting
  
  

Agendas will be posted prior to the meeting on the District 67 Board of Education website.

• Agenda
• Recording
• Superintendent's Report
• School Spotlight: Cherokee Elementary School - Watch Below!

Thank you to all who joined us at the recent Community Coffee event at the Gorton Center. Your presence made it a success, and your engagement is key to building a stronger, more informed community. We look forward to seeing you at future gatherings!

As a partnership between the Executive APT and Spirit of 67 Committees, our three elementary schools hosted their Visiting Scientist assemblies this week. We were so happy to have Liberty Balloon Company, a hot air balloon touring company based in Rochester NY visit Cherokee, Everett, and Sheridan schools. Students' interest was ignited by the hot air balloon basket and burner demonstration outside the schools, followed by an indoor assembly where students learned about the history and science behind hot air balloons!

The assembly concluded in the gym with a hands-on opportunity for students to enter the inside of the inflated hot air balloon where they could observe the beautiful colors, and learn more about how the process works. This is sure to be a core school memory for all who participated, and we are so grateful to our generous Spirit of 67 donors, and volunteers, for making this event possible for our students!

What an awesome talk we had from Commander Rebecca Calder at the Community Service Kick-Off Assembly last Wednesday at DPM! The students were glued to their seats as she shared her story about her time at the United States Naval Academy and how she ended up in TOP GUN, making history as their first female pilot.

Big thanks to Commander Calder for her incredible story and for encouraging our students to "Serve Where You Are." It was an inspiring experience for everyone there.

As promised, we are excited to share the links to two recordings from our information sessions that we hope you will find helpful.

For K-5 Parents: Amplify CKLA K-5 Parent Information

For 6-8 Parents: Amplify ELA 6-8 Parent Information

We have so much gratitude for our partnership with you this school year and look forward to our continued learning together. We have incredible teachers at the helm, students taking risks like never before, and a very invested community to ensure our students' success!

Thank you for your time!

We're thrilled to share the fantastic news that our very own Dr. Kate Cavanaugh has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2023 June Downing Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Award! This distinguished honor, presented by TASH, celebrates those who champion inclusive education and equitable opportunities for students, especially those with significant disabilities.

Dr. Cavanaugh's remarkable contributions have made her the embodiment of this award's mission, and we couldn't be prouder of her achievement. The award will be officially presented during the Membership Luncheon and Award Ceremony at the 2023 TASH Conference on Saturday, December 2. Congrats again, Kate!

The District utilizes Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Follow us to learn more about celebrations, student achievements, and District news!

• CROYA’s Annual Poinsettia Fundraiser is almost over! All orders must be returned to CROYA by Wednesday, November 15.

A waiver is required for students to be able to participate in the after school hours and any other CROYA programs. CROYA waivers can be found at https://croya.com/

We're trying something a little different this issue and promoting our Community Events through the Green Backpack Page on our website. On that page you'll find information for upcoming Community events like:

• FAN Virtual Event: Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health
  
• November 8, 7:00 pm
  

• FAN Event: Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education

• November 13, 7:00 pm
  
• Women's Board of Northwestern Medicine Holiday Boutique Opening Night Party
  
• November 16, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
• Lake Forest Recreation Center, 400 Hastings Road, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
  
• Mothers Trust Foundation Teens Coat Drive
  
• Distribution of donations on November 18
  

• FAN Virtual Event: Normal Broken

• November 28, 2023, 7:00 pm

• TrueNorth Family Bi-Weekly Newsletter November 3, 2023
• TrueNorth Upcoming Family Events
• CROYA November Top 10