The Jayhawk Weekly

Dear Julian Parents and Guardians,

We hope you all had collaborative and positive Family-Teacher Conferences last week. We are thankful to our staff who collaborated to share information to create productive sessions and share a rounded picture of your child's progress this year. These conversations and our continued partnership are vital to the success of our students.

This year, we have taken steps to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for our students. Our Administrative team is committed to the success of EVERY student. We will continue to reach out with successes and concerns and hope you will do the same. We are here to listen and support as well as guide when we can. We appreciate the kind words of support that so many of you have shared with us. We love hearing about the amazing experiences students are having at Julian and how teachers are helping your children grow and learn together! Should anything arise, please don't hesitate to reach out to partner with us. If you need to reach an Administrator, please include all 3 of us so that we can address your questions promptly and effectively.

Jayhawks together,

Nick Filipowski

Principal, Percy Julian M.S.

Congratulations to the Julian Girls 8th-grade Basketball Team on an amazing season! The girls put in a lot of hard work to finish 2nd place in their conference! Way to go Jayhawks!

Special Education Parent Support Meeting (SEPSM): This support group will be led by two licensed clinical social workers and will act as a space for parents/guardians seeking support/connection. The next meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Whittier Elementary School on October 28, 2024.

• The school picture day is on Wednesday, October 30th.
• Orders are placed online only with Van Gogh School Photographers (payments are not collected at the school) at www.ordervgil.com. The Julian School Event Code is 20032801. If you have any questions regarding picture packages, you can contact Van Gogh's customer service dept directly at 847-382-2282 ext 7 or at vangoghphoto.com.
• Students should avoid wearing green clothing, green hair accessories and/or green jewelry for the picture day.
• Students are not permitted to obsure or hide their face (no hoods, hats, masks, etc). Glasses are acceptable.

*If your child is absent on Picture Day, then please note that the student picture retake day is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3rd.

_____

Estimados familias,

El Distrito Escolar Primario 97 de Oak Park se compromete a crear entornos de aprendizaje positivos que sean equitativos, inclusivos y enfocados en el niño en su totalidad. Una parte importante de este trabajo es escuchar y aprender de nuestros estudiantes sobre cómo experimentan la cultura y el clima en nuestras escuelas.

El Distrito 97 está trabajando con Panorama Education, una plataforma de encuestas para estudiantes, para apoyarnos en la administración de encuestas sobre la cultura y el clima escolar a nuestros estudiantes en los grados K-8. El propósito de la encuesta es que los estudiantes compartan sus percepciones sobre el compromiso, el clima escolar, la seguridad escolar, el sentido de pertenencia y las relaciones entre maestros y estudiantes. Los estudiantes completarán la encuesta en línea en la escuela y les tomará alrededor de 10 minutos completarla. Las respuestas de los estudiantes son confidenciales.

Los datos de la encuesta se utilizan para ayudar al Distrito 97 y a los equipos escolares con la mejora continua, ajustando los programas y los recursos para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes y para apoyar entornos inclusivos y seguros para todos en la comunidad escolar. Los estudiantes toman esta encuesta en el otoño y en la primavera.

As Halloween approaches, we want to remind staff and families that nuts and nut products are not allowed in any District 97 schools during the 2024-25 school year, and all of our celebrations during the school day should be food free. Our schools have been nut-safe for the past two years—helping to create safer, more inclusive environments for all of our students.

Please visit https://bit.ly/3YriRs5 to access information about the district’s food allergy management program, as well as tips and options for identifying food that is safe for snacks and field trips. We appreciate your support of this important initiative!

Our goal in District 97 is to create a positive learning environment where all students, staff and families feel a sense of belonging. In that spirit, we have put together information and resources regarding culturally-sensitive Halloween costumes. We appreciate families being proactive with their children in making thoughtful costume choices. Click here for more information >>

We want to ensure that all students and staff have a positive & fun experience at the dance. If families could refrain from sending students with fully painted faces or masks that obsure their identity, then that will help our chaperones to better supervise the event. Brooks, Fenwick and OPRF high school students are not permitted to attend this school dance.

**Students must show their wristbands in order to enter the dance.

Per district guidelines, all medications must have an accompanying Medication Authorization Form

• A Medication Authorization Form is required for all over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications
• A physician must complete the form for all prescriptions AND OTC medications (this includes VITAMINS / SUPPLEMENTS, COUGH DROPS, TYLENOL, MOTRIN, etc)
• All medications are to be brought to the health office by the parent / guardian in the original pharmacy prescription labeled container or an unopened / sealed as purchased OTC packaging.
• Medical Authorization Forms may be found HERE

District 97 is seeking community members to serve on its new Sustainability Task Force. Members of the task force will work closely with the district to develop its first-ever sustainability plan, which is called for by the recently adopted sustainability policy.

Interested individuals who would like to be considered for membership are asked to complete a brief form. Applications will continue to be received and reviewed on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Selected applicants will be contacted directly.

Additional information about the Sustainability Task Force and Plan can be found in Policy 4:72 - Sustainability, Climate, and Environmental Justice. If you have any questions about committees or the application process, please contact Board Secretary Lonya Boose at lboose@op97.org.

Oak Park and River Forest High School will host an in-person parent university session on Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event will be focused on supporting adolescent and teen mental health.

Hosted by the D200 Mental Wellness Collaborative, keynote speaker Dr. Devorah Heitner will explore challenges adolescents and teens face in our digital age, and offer strategies to connect with your kids, recognize how to support them, and help them figure out who they are when everyone is watching. The evening will also offer sessions on enhancing communication with your adolescents and teens, and on helping them build effective executive functioning skills, along with a resource fair to connect families with local support. Access the flyer here, the program here, and register here. *Pre-registrants who attend will be eligible to win a free copy of one of the keynote speaker’s books! Questions? Contact Kris Johnson, OPRFHS Director of Student Services.

This year, District 97 is utilizing the Standard Response Protocol language and visuals developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation, a national organization dedicated to school safety. The SRP is action-based, flexible and easy to learn.The premise is simple - there are five specific actions that can be performed during an emergency incident (e.g., inclement weather, fires, accidents, introducers or other threats). The five actions are: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

One of the most important things we do to keep our schools safe is practice a variety of drills each year to ensure that everyone is prepared should an emergency occur. As part of our ongoing preparedness training, all students K-8th grade will receive instruction on the five SRP protocols during the month of October.

All content will be delivered in developmentally-appropriate ways for the student's age. This will occur during physical education classes at the middle schools and during Second Step or assembly at the elementary schools.

If you have any questions about our emergency preparedness lessons, please contact your building principal.

Could you use an extra backpack or bookbag for your Jayhawk? Then please have your student drop by the school office. Or if you're in the neighborhood, swing by anytime between 8:00 a.m. - 4:00pm to pick up a new backpack for your child. We have a number of stylish backpacks in blue, black, gray, green and red with a small number of school supplies inside each (pens, pencils, notepads, etc). And did we mention...it's FREE??!!

Parents/Guardians:

We want all Jayhawks to be successful. And a great way to help achieve that goal is to have students come to school each day with the items they need for their classes. Several teachers have reported that students are showing up to class unprepared (uncharged chromebooks, no headphones for their chromebook, etc). Here is a basic list of supplies that Julian students will need for all their classes on a daily basis:

• school ID
• fully charged chromebook
• headphones compatible with the chromebook (not earbuds for iPhones)
• pen, paper, notebook
• water bottle
• lunch/snack (food is available for purchase in the lunchroom if your child doesn't pack their lunch)

Here is the 2024-25 grade level school supply list. It's also on the Julian website at www.op97.org/julian. Please be sure to review it with your child so that they bring the school supplies recommended for their classes. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

REMINDER:

***Visitors will need to present a government-issued ID to check in, and a badge will be provided to wear while on school property.***District 97 implemented the Raptor Visitor Management System on Monday, September 16th. This system will streamline the check-in process and enhance security at all our schools.

For more details and video tutorials on the check-in process, please visit our website. If you have any questions, please contact Principal Filipowski.

Thank you for your support in keeping our schools safe!

Having trouble with your locker? We have your back! Please fill out the Locker Challenges Form. We will be checking this form and taking care of any issues to ensure they are fixed. There is a poster with this link at the end of every locker bay so that students may use their Chromebooks to go to bit.ly/jmslockerchallenges or use the QR code with their phone (before or after the school day) to complete the form as well. Our custodians are fixing any lockers that have issues and checking that all are securely able to close.

Is something missing from your locker? Be sure to complete the locker challenge form if you believe it does not close securely. If something has been taken, please alert your advisory teacher immediately so that an investigation can take place.

Here are the game day expectations:

• All Julian students are required to wear their school ID in order to gain entry to games.
• Children under 18 years of age and teens that are not Julian students must be accompanied by an adult. All OPRFHS, Fenwick and Brooks students must be with a parent or guardian over the age of 18.
• Please do not bring food or drink into the gym. Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Water or water bottles are permitted. But we ask that you refrain from bring snacks and beverages into the school on game days.

Thank you for reminding your child of the game day expectations.

Parents and Guardians,

This is a friendly reminder about the Middle School Cell Phone policy. We are "Away for the Day" which means students should not use their cell phones from 9:00am - 3:30pm. If there is an emergency, students can call home from a teacher's classroom phone or the school office. If a student is feeling unwell, they can get a pass from their classroom teacher, and call home from the school nurse's office.

If a student is caught using their cell phone/electronic device during instruction time or caught using their device while school is in session for unrelated curriculum activities, then the following occurs:

• 1ST OFFENSE: The device is sent down to the school office by a staff member and the student must retrieve the device at the end of the school day.
• 2ND OFFENSE: The device is sent down to the school office by a staff member and parents/guardians are notified. The student will be able to retrieve the device at the end of the school day.

• 3RD OFFENSE: The device is sent down to the school office by a staff member and parents/guardians are notified. A parent/guardian/caregiver must then come to the school to pick up the device, it will not be released to the student. The parent/guardian/caregiver must also meet with an administrator or student success coach to decide one of two options:

OR

2) The student will leave the device at home and no longer bring the cell phone to school for the remainder of the trimester.

Thank you for your efforts to help us all make school a place of academics and social emotional learning.

The D97 Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) will be meeting every other month. The meeting is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Beye Elementary School. This is an opportunity for families to learn together and act as an advisory committee to the D97 Core Instruction team.

Parents are also invited to the Special Education Parent Support Meetings (SEPSM) which will meet every other month. The support group will be led by two licensed clinical social workers and will act as a space for parents seeking support/connection. The meetings are held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Whittier Elementary School.

Special Education Meeting Schedule for 2024-25

October 28, 2024: SEPSM (Whittier)

November 25, 2024: SEPAC (Beye)

December 16, 2024: SEPSM (Whittier)

January 27, 2025: SEPAC (Beye)

February 24, 2025: SEPSM (Whittier)

March 17, 2025: SEPAC (Beye)

April 28, 2025: SEPSM (Whittier)

May 19, 2025: SEPAC (Beye)

Fees may be paid online at https://oakpark.revtrak.net/Middle-Schools/BMS/BMS-School-Fees/#/list

You may also pay fees in-person (with check, money order or cash only) at the Julian School Office during the week between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

• School Pictures: Wednesday, October 30th
• Halloween Dance: Friday, November 1st
• Safety Drill: Monday, November 4th
• No School: Tuesday, November 5th
• End of Trimester 1: Friday, November 15th
• School Picture ReTakes: Tuesday, December 3rd

Come help Julian be an even more awesome place...all that's missing is YOU! Julian PTO (Parent-Teacher Organization) meetings will be held every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the Library Media Center:

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

If you can't make it in person, log onto to Zoom for the PTO meetings:

Every month on the Second Wed, until May 14, 2025, 9 occurrence(s)
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZIqd-2grzwqH9xbM57ma8Z4koONenHwAstO/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGuqTsuEtWSsByPRpwAB4igLPzzmGZfgvpFnjKwVC1SOjmiPe1tHLdxOM_x&meetingMasterEventId=8BZCj1FGQtmhEqFKmR7G4w

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86704817058?pwd=sQ8438MQAlKe75JZ21eRBMFkOpJDza.1

Meeting ID: 867 0481 7058
Passcode: 325017

Oak Park, IL 60302

708-524-3040

www.op97.org/julian