Conferences will be October 8th and October 9th, and Orrington's FAPEL team offers time slots to meet with each of them! Our FAPEL team is Music, Drama, SEEL, Coding, Library, and P.E. If you have any questions about your child(ren)'s progress in any of the FAPEL classes, this is a great time to connect.

The sign up is HERE!

Volunteering in school and chaperoning field trips are rewarding ways to contribute to a child’s educational experience. By offering time and support, volunteers can assist teachers with classroom activities, mentor students, or help with special events, fostering a positive learning environment. Chaperoning field trips, in particular, allows adults to engage with students outside the classroom, ensuring their safety and helping them explore new experiences in museums, parks, or historical sites. These activities not only strengthen the school community but also give volunteers a deeper connection to the students and their academic journey.

In order to volunteer or chaperone, parents and guardians need to fill out the following form HERE. Limited volunteering allows parents and guardians to support in the school, while comprehensive volunteering allows parents and guardians to chaperone on field trips.

See the graphic below on the details of both types of volunteers.

Young, Black & Lit is excited to kick off our Direct to Home Lit Year program for the 2024/2025 school year. Throughout the year, students receive 15 age appropriate books with Black main characters to help build their home libraries. This program is open to all K - 3rd grade students enrolled in Evanston/Skokie District 65, but it is subject to the first 300 sign-ups. Participation is FREE.

We do our best to provide a wide variety of books and encourage you to read the books with your children and discuss the themes in the books. If there are books your child does not connect with, we encourage you to donate them to families and/or organizations that can use them. We will try to provide a mix of books that your child can read independently and those that may require some extra help reading. Please select the age level of books you believe is most appropriate for your child's reading level.

Please Note:

→ Books will be shipped directly to your home (3 mailings of 5 books) throughout the 2024-2025 school year. → We can only ship to Evanston or Skokie mailing addresses. We CANNOT ship to PO Boxes.

–> If families move during the school year or otherwise they need to update their shipping address during the school year, please email us at info@youngblackandlit.org.

If you have multiple children enrolled in D65, please complete a separate form for each child.

Sign-up closes September 30, 2024

Dear Parents and Guardians,

In today’s learning environment, students may need access to the internet at home to complete school-related tasks assigned by teachers or to engage in e-learning in the event of a school closure day. We understand that not every family may have reliable internet access at home, and we are committed to ensuring that all students can fully participate in their education.

Affordable Internet Options for Families: If your family does not currently have access to the internet at home, we encourage you to explore the following affordable internet programs:

• Access from AT&T: Offers affordable internet access for eligible families.

• Xfinity Internet Essentials: Another option for eligible families to access discounted internet services.

• Internet First from Astound: Provides affordable internet access for eligible families.

We ask that you review these options to see if one meets your family’s needs. Each of these programs offers affordable solutions specifically for families in our community.

If You Encounter Barriers: If, for any reason, you are unable to access the internet through one of these programs, please reach out to us. We are here to help and will work with you to find an option that works best for your family. In many cases, we may be able to provide a district-issued hotspot to ensure your child can stay connected and engaged in their schoolwork.

Our goal is to make sure that every student has the tools they need to succeed, both in the classroom and at home. If you have any questions or need support, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Dr. Schoeffmann & Ms. Yoo

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Community Night! It was wonderful to connect with so many of you and share in the spirit of our community.

We also wanted to let you know that the survey is now closed. While we only had one response, we truly value any feedback.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our leadership team. We’re here to help and always value your feedback.

Best wishes,

Dr. Schoeffmann & Ms. Yoo

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are writing to inform you that over the course of the year, students in all grades will be engaging in a Personal Health and Safety Unit. We will be utilizing the Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3R’s) curriculum developed by Advocates for Youth in alignment with both national and Illinois State Board of Education Standards. This unit includes content to address relevant state educational mandates such as Erin’s Law, or child abuse prevention education. This unit takes place at different times throughout the school year in different grade levels. Classroom teachers will send out individual emails ahead of their units, which will include summaries of the lessons to be taught.

The curriculum is intended to build foundational knowledge and skills for our students to develop their identities and build healthy relationships. It is also designed for students to use the knowledge gained to make well-informed and responsible decisions. The early elementary portion of this curriculum includes lessons on affirming different kinds of families, figuring out friendships, a basic understanding of bodies and how they grow and change, and safe touches. These lessons will set an important foundation for learning to come in future years. You can view an overview of the district’s entire K-8th grade scope and sequence here.

District 65 acknowledges that parents/guardians are the primary educators for their child(ren) on these topics, and we are committed to partnering with you to provide supplementary resources to support you in this role. We understand that these can be sensitive issues for people of all ages. Our hope is for active participation and maturity so that students can feel comfortable talking about these issues with you, other trusted adults, and their peers. You have the right to review the curriculum and to opt your student out of this unit, or specific lessons within the unit, if you do not feel they are right for your student. If you’d like to opt your student out of certain lessons or the unit, please let their classroom teacher know in writing (email counts).

The district will be hosting several parent/caregiver sessions in partnership with YWCA Evanston/North Shore to offer information and support. The first is a meeting to review the K-5th grade curriculum and answer your questions on Wednesday, October 16th from 6-7 P.M. This session will be virtual and can be accessed through this link.

Our partners at YWCA are also hosting two caregiver workshops on zoom this year focused on supporting parents and caregivers in having conversations about healthy sexuality and relationships at home. During these workshops, participants will explore their own experiences with sexuality education, clarify their family values, and practice responding to common questions children may ask. There are two workshop options this year:

• Thursday, November 14th at 7:00 PM, with a focus on families of K-4th graders

• Thursday, March 6th at 7:00 PM, with a focus on families with 5th-8th graders

Both events are free but require registration to attend. Parents/caregivers of students of all ages can attend either workshop and will take away meaningful information. Please stay tuned for registration information. For questions about the caregiver workshops, contact Hallie Cohen from the YWCA at hcohen@ywca-ens.org.

If you have further questions, please contact your students’ classroom teachers.

Thank you,

Dr. Schoeffmann & Ms. Yoo

Upcoming Fall Session (9/23/24-12/6/24)

Scholarship Application Opens: NOW 8/27/24 (Tuesday)

Regular Registration Opens: 09/02/24 (Monday) this is a holiday Customer Service may not be active

Scholarship Application Closes: 10/04/24 (Friday)

Regular Registration Closes: 10/04/24 (Friday)

Orrington's Registration Page

Scholarship application page: Here

UPDATED SCHOLARSHIP PROCESS:

1. Families complete scholarship application

2. Families receive a coupon code in an email

3. Families create an account on our website

4. Choose their class

5. Enter their unique coupon code when prompted

6. Check out and complete registration process

7. They should now be enrolled in their desired class

Join us for our most popular event of the year, The Orrington Fun Run! Next Friday, September 27th from 4:30-6:30PM @ Orrington School. Come cheer on students and teachers as they take the track!

RSVPs for t-shirts have now closed. Regardless of response or participation every student will receive a Fun Run T-Shirt. If you haven't already and plan to attend, please RSVP so we know how much food to order.

We have a large fundraising goal to kick off the year! Help us reach our community goal of raising $7,000 by donating on the FundHub webpage. No donation is too small, every little bit helps!

https://www.getmovinfundhub.com/community-share-webpage/66d85bd42e897

*Donations can be made at the event as well. In person options include: zelle, apple pay and venmo.

Lastly, please take a moment to look over the signup and consider donating an item or volunteering at one of the various stations. This event is all hands on deck and isn't possible without your help.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054EADAB2AA4FB6-35713787-orrington#

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support! Go Eagles!

The Events Team,

Megan Langer (langer.meganh@gmail.com), Amanda Goodwille and Sacha Krasney

Sign-up for the Orrington Directory!

Once you have signed up for the directory, you will be able to edit your information and indicate your information-sharing preferences. We also use this system to distribute our Orrington PTA E-Newsletter that contains information and updates you will not want to miss!

Follow this link to access the Orrington Elementary School Directory site: https://orringtonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Questions? Contact us at orringtonelementarydirectory@gmail.com

1) Click "Register/Login" and "Create Account"

Create your family's account and click "verify my email". Non-work emails are preferred as work based emails frequently are bounced because of employer firewalls

2) You've got mail!

Check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours.

3) Finish your registration

Parent/Family and Student Info

Directory/Publish Preferences

Volunteer during Lunch!

Want to make your kid's or kids' day? Volunteer to serve lunch with your fellow friendly Orrington parents!

What: Parent volunteers help students properly compost and recycle their lunch waste. One volunteer are scheduled per day. Bring your ID for check-in in the school front office.

When: Volunteers are needed from 11:15 AM to 1:15 PM.

IMPORTANT: Please sign up only for yourself! Sign up HERE.

Questions: Contact Orrington PTA (info@orringtonpta.org)

Want to know what's going on around the community? District 65 uses a "Digital Backpack" to share community information. Please click the button below to view upcoming community events and activities.