The Principal's Pawprint

Dear Isaac Fox Families,

Now that routines are in place and procedures are running smoothly, our foxes have truly settled into the groove of the new school year. With this strong foundation, students are ready to take on new challenges and work toward their goals with confidence.

For students and staff at Isaac Fox, there is a focus on goal setting and achievement. Our school improvement goals are grounded in data and designed to support academic growth, social-emotional learning, and student success. In classrooms, students are setting personal goals and working together toward our school-wide expectations: Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Responsible. Meeting these expectations not only builds pride but also contributes to class celebrations and, ultimately, a building-wide celebration that brings our whole community together.

Students also have exciting new opportunities to lead and grow this year:

• Green Team – caring for our school and environment.

• Fox Friends – fostering peer connections and leadership.

• AM Announcements Club – giving students a voice in starting our day.

These opportunities tie directly into our Portrait of a Graduate, where being goal oriented is one of the key pillars. Whether it’s meeting a classroom target, helping a peer, or taking on a leadership role, our foxes are learning the value of setting goals and seeing them through.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in supporting our students. Together, we are helping every child make their mark on the world and grow stronger each day.

In Partnership,
Mrs. Kelly Olivero
Principal, Isaac Fox Elementary

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our social-emotional learning (SEL) initiatives, we have been using the DESSA (Devereux Student Strengths Assessment) three times per year to evaluate the effectiveness of our SEL instruction and to identify areas where students may need additional support. Last school year, Spencer Loomis Elementary piloted the Panorama Social/Emotional Learning Assessment as a new SEL benchmark tool - and we are excited to announce that we will be implementing Panorama in grades K-12 for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Panorama assessment includes both a Teacher Perception Survey and a Student Self-Perception Survey for students in grades 3-12. To learn more about the topics covered in these surveys, please click HERE. For your reference, you can access the specific questions for the Student Self-Perception Survey for grades 3-5 HERE, and for grades 6-12 HERE.

The Teacher Perception Survey will not disrupt your child's school day. If your student is completing the Student Self-Perception Survey, it will take approximately 12-20 minutes. As with the DESSA, we will share the information obtained from these assessments with you. If you do not wish for your student to complete the survey, please contact either Kelly Olivero or Tina Nowicki directly by September 26th. Our first administration window will be Monday, September 29th-Friday, October 3rd.

We are excited about this opportunity and believe the implementation of the Panorama assessment will provide valuable insights into our social-emotional screening practices. We look forward to sharing more information following our Fall assessment window.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kelly Olivero & Mrs.Tina Nowicki

Hundreds of Positive Paws have already been earned at Isaac Fox—and that’s something to celebrate! If your student comes home with one, it’s a big deal! Be sure to ask them what they did to earn it! Positive Paws are given when students follow our school-wide expectations: Be Safe, Be Kind, and Be Responsible.

Students wear their paws with pride—you might see them on a water bottle, a folder, or even a backpack (hopefully not stuck inside the washing machine!). Each Positive Paw also helps their class work toward a shared goal, which then contributes to a building-wide celebration.

Our foxes are truly making their mark, and with routines and procedures in place, students are hard at work while our school community grows stronger each day. Take a minute to ask how many your student earned this week or if their class earned their goal!

• Monday, September 22nd: Shelter In Place Drill
• Monday, September 22nd: Sticky Fingers after school
• Tuesday, September 23rd: 4th Grade Orchestra before school
• Tuesday, September 23rd: Green Team Meeting after school
• Tuesday, September 23rd: Sticky Fingers after school
• Wednesday, September 24th: AM Announcement Club meets after school
• Wednesday, September 24th: Young Rembrandts after school
• Thursday, September 25th: 5th Grade Orchestra before school
• Friday, September 26th: Chorus before school
• Friday, September 26th: Piper (therapy dog) visits IF
• Friday, September 26th: Hold/Secure Drill
• Monday, September 29th: Sticky Fingers after school
• Monday, September 29th: Chess Club Begins after school
• Tuesday, September 30th: 4th Grade Orchestra before school
• Tuesday, September 30th: Green Team Meeting after school
• Tuesday, September 30th: Sticky Fingers after school
• Wednesday, October 1st: AM Announcement Club meets after school
• Wednesday, October 1st: Young Rembrandts after school
• Wednesday, October 1st: Amigos Club Begins after school
• Wednesday, October 1st: LZHS Marching Band Visits IF!
• Thursday, October 2nd: 5th Grade Orchestra before school
• Friday, October 3rd: Chorus before school
• Monday, September 29th: Room Parent Volunteer Meeting @ 6:00pm (childcare available)
• Monday, September 29th: PTO Meeting @ 6:30pm (childcare available)
• Now through September 26th: One and Done Fox Fundraiser
• Now through September 30th: Bricks of Hope Lego Drive Continues through September 30th

Our new Raptor system is now installed and available in our vesituble for visitor check in and check out. You will need to bring your license or ID in with you each time you enter the school for use with the new system. Please have patience while all visitors learn how to use this new system! The office staff is available to help if needed. Thank you for doing your part to help keep our school and safe and inviting environment for all!

We strongly discourage students from being dismissed between 2:30-2:50 pm due to the dismissal lines and buses at that time. If you need to pick your child up early, please arrange for a time prior to 2:30pm.

Understand that no changes in student transportation will be made without a written or verbal request from a parent or guardian.

Once we have established your designated travel, you must notify your child’s teacher and the office in writing or via phone call each time a change is made from that routine. If a change in transportation is necessary please adhere to the following guidelines: Notify the office of the dismissal change via note or phone call prior to 2pm.

If you'd like to volunteer this year at any time as Isaac Fox you must do the following:

1. Complete a volunteer form and return a paper copy with signature to the front office.
2. Watch the volunteer video.
3. Complete this form that serves as your verification that you've complete steps 1 & 2.
4. Look for opportunities throughout the year to volunteer at Isaac Fox and sign up!

We've got ONE week left to make our goal!

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/isaacfoxpto

Don't forget to sign up for PTBoard! This is the "one stop shop" for all Isaac Fox PTO information. It helps you stay connected and ensures that you receive all of the information pushed out from our PTO.

The following options are still available:

Chess Scholars meets on Mondays from 3-4pm starting on September 29th.

Amigos Club meets on Wednesday from 3-4pm starting October 1st.

As students travel to and from school, we want to remind everyone about the importance of safety. Please take a moment to review these tips with your child:

• Always wear a properly fitted helmet when riding scooters or bicycles.
  
  

• Stop, look, and listen before crossing streets or train tracks.
  
  

• Use crosswalks and follow all traffic signals.
  
  

• Stay alert — avoid headphones and phone use while riding or walking.
  
  

• Be cautious around buses, cars, and busy intersections

We also previously shared resources from the Village of Lake Zurich on E-Scooters, E-Bikes, and E-Dirt Bikes, which can be found [here]. Additional safety resources may be found on the District 95 Safety & Security Website.

Thank you for reinforcing these important safety practices with your student.

As was shared at the start of the year, District 95 is currently engaging in work to review school day structures at the middle and high school levels (primarily). An update was shared during the September 11th Teaching & Learning Committee meeting; for families who are interested, they can find further information from the presentation HERE.

Our goal is to have every parent/guardian share their child's main plan for dismissal with us this school year using a form. If you've yet to do so, please complete this form for each of your children. You will only need to fill this form out once. Other changes to your student's dismissal process throughout the year can be made by emailing your student's teacher directly or notifying the front office via phone before 2pm if it's a same day change. Thank you to all who have already shared this information in this format.

The D95 Educational Foundation is excited to launch “Birthday Boxes” - a new initiative that brings together students from across all D95 schools to make a community-wide impact. K–12 students are giving back by donating celebration essentials for local community members in need. Each box helps ensure someone feels seen, valued, and celebrated on their special day.

If you can’t donate an item, you can always make a contribution toward the cause by visiting this link: https://igfn.us/form/KM40og . Together, we can spread joy and make birthdays brighter for everyone!

To find more information about Free and Reduced Lunch Waivers and CUSD95 Fee Waivers, please visit our Business and Operations section of the LZ95 website: https://www.lz95.org/departments/business-operations.

There are two separate applications for 1)Free and Reduced Lunch Waivers and 2) CUSD 95 Fee Waivers. The School Board of Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 requires a separate application for a waiver of school fees (click here for board policy 4:130 on waiver of student fees) and free and reduced lunch.

Links to the forms, and information can be found under the section: Free & Reduced Lunch and Fee Waivers.