BULLDOG BULLETIN

Dear Bulldog Families,

A huge thank you to our incredible PTO and all the parent volunteers who helped make our Valentine’s Day parties a fantastic success! Students had an amazing time enjoying the creative games and activities provided. It was wonderful to see so many smiles and so much joy throughout the day. We truly appreciate all the time and effort that went into making these celebrations so special for our students.

I would like to take a moment to address some important reminders regarding student drop-off and pick-up to ensure the safety of all our students.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Safety Reminders

The safety of our students is our top priority, and we appreciate your continued cooperation in making arrival and dismissal as smooth and safe as possible. Please keep the following safety procedures in mind:

• Students must exit the vehicle on the right side to ensure they are stepping onto the curb rather than into traffic. Please encourage your child to be prepared to exit the car independently once you come to a stop.

• Pull all the way up in the circle drive to maximize space and keep the line moving efficiently. Stopping too soon can cause unnecessary delays.

• Students should only be picked up in the designated drive and not along Old Mill Grove Road. This is a high-traffic area, and stopping there creates safety hazards for our students and families.

Your cooperation in following these procedures helps us create a safe and efficient drop-off and pick-up experience for everyone. Thank you for doing your part!

We're looking forward to sunnier days ahead, and hopefully more days of outdoor recess! I hope you enjoy the slightly warmer days that should be upon us this weekend!

Warm regards,

Dr. Colleen Conway

📌 February 21: End of Trimester 2

📌 February 27: Lego Derby

📌 March 4-6: 5th Grade ISA Testing

📌 March 4-6: Scholastic Book Fair!

📌 March 6: Open House | 5:30-6:00 Book fair only, 6:00-7:00 Book Fair and Open House

📌 March 11: PTO Meeting

📌 March 17: 3rd-5th Grade IAR Testing Window begins

📌 March 24-28: No School | Spring Break

Our Student Spotlight is a new section in our Bulldog Bulletin, where our students get to share the great things happening at Sarah Adams! I'm pleased to share many entries for this week, please see below!

This week in PE the students of Mrs Warren's class have been having loads of fun in their cup stacking unit. The activity cup stacking teaches teamwork and collaboration. Students learn to communicate, strategize, and support each other to achieve their goals. “The cup stacking unit in gym makes me feel energized because we are moving fast to stack cups up and down for points. This unit also helps me with hand eye coordination because you have to place the cups in a certain position to make a tower.” says Isla, who’s one of the students from Mrs Warren's class. “Gym makes me feel happy because the games that we do are very fun and I have a blast playing them.” Says Chase, another student from Mrs. Warren's class. Each unit that we do helps us with different things and teaches us different ways to move our body and work on mind skills. We hope you enjoyed hearing about what we have done in PE class this week!

By, Norah, Scarlet, August, Isla, and Chase

The 2024-25 Sarah Adams yearbook is now available for ordering. We have soft and hard cover options, which will be delivered to school in May.

Link to order - https://yearbookordercenter.com/job/25039

Job Number - 25039

The 2024-25 Sarah Adams yearbook ordering deadline is April 1st.

To order (or see if you've placed an order) click on the link below -

https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/?event=general.displayLanding&jobnumber=25039

Please email SAYearbookLZ95@gmail.com with any questions and don't forget to join the Sarah Adams Yearbook (that exact name) facebook group to submit your photos for inclusion in the yearbook.

Important Information and Registration Night for incoming Kindergarteners for the 2025-26 school year.

Mark your calendar for the Kindergarten Information and Registration Night on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at your child's elementary school from 6:30PM - 8:00PM. (not sure where your child will attend? Call us at (847) 438-2834.)

To Register an Incoming Kindergartener:

1. Starting February 3rd - Click here to complete online registration forms prior to attending meeting and for additional IMPORTANT information.

2. Parent/Guardian must attend Kindergarten Information and Registration Night to complete registration with required documents (or contact the school to make other arrangements).

This spring, students and staff will have access to a therapy dog (Piper) as part of our efforts to provide members of our learning community with a variety of options for meeting social-emotional needs during the school day. Piper will be visiting elementary buildings on a rotating basis on Fridays between the hours of 11 and 1PM (approximately) and will be stationed in common areas for students and staff to access/visit - should they wish. This support is completely optional for students.

We will ensure that the District’s Guidelines for Using Animals in School Facilities are followed, school grounds are appropriately cleaned following the therapy dog visits, and that the dog’s handler understands all procedures for meeting the dog’s needs during visits. No student or staff member will be made responsible for meeting any of the dog’s needs (i.e., access to water, bathrooming needs) at any point during the visits.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions, as we prepare to welcome Piper!

Dear Sarah Adams Families,

In 2011 and 2013, State law provisions known as “Erin’s Law” were passed that require school districts to participate in State and local efforts to raise awareness about and prevent child sexual abuse. These efforts include school districts providing age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness education for all students in pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Each District 95 classroom will be participating in multiple lessons that will be specifically designed for your child’s individual grade level. Additionally, staff members receive training on the dynamics of child sexual abuse, how to respond to a disclosure of child sexual abuse, and related topics.

To help make our school even more safe and supportive, we are going to use the Second Step Child Protection Unit. In this unit, your child will learn the following specific skills to help him or her stay safe from dangerous or abusive situations:

• How to use the Ways to Stay Safe to recognize when something is unsafe, report anything unsafe to an adult, and refuse to participate
• How to always ask a parent or the person in charge first before going somewhere, doing something, or accepting something from someone
• How to recognize safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches, and how to use the Private Body Parts Rule to identify possible sexual abuse
• How to refuse and report unsafe or unwanted touches and how to report possible sexual abuse to an adult

If you have any questions about the Child Protection Unit or the Second Step program, please contact us below. If you object to your child participating in this child sexual abuse prevention education lesson, please send a written statement of objection to Stacy Krebill, School Social Worker (847) 540-2865, by no later than March 1, 2025.

To get more information about what your child is learning in the Child Protection Unit, go to SecondStep.org and you can sample the curriculum for your child’s grade.

Thank you for helping us make our school a safe and supportive place where everyone can learn.

Sincerely,

Colleen Conway, Principal
Ellen Wilfinger, Assistant Principal
Natalie Dobbins, Social Worker/Stacy Krebill, Social Worker
Elisabeth Smith, School Psychologist

As we continue through cold and flu season, please be reminded of the following:

• If you are calling your student out as ill for the day (or entering the absence in ParentVUE), please include information related to the type of illness so that our Health Office staff can document and provide next step information to families appropriately

• There are certain symptoms that require students to remain out of school for a designated period of time; please be reminded that if students have a fever over 100.4, are vomiting, or have diarrhea, they are required to stay out of school for at least 24 hours (until target symptoms subside without the use of any medication)

Please do not hesitate to reach out to the Health Office with any additional questions you may have.

Want to give your child an unforgettable experience with their favorite teacher and support our PTO? Now you can! Bid on unique teacher experiences, from breakfast or lunch with their teacher to principal for a day. All proceeds directly benefit our school's programs and initiatives. Visit

https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.zeffy.com%2fticketing%2fbulldog-best-ptos-silent-auction&c=E,1,4NgBU9ad0pzZmP7Gub1T2nS55zDl-HEaHelfuIdGj0jQrLjKwgsxWVUrT5CqPYy6DDru31sYQgBd1T5J55O2XSqvitGPQN5nvZpbezjEXg-pL1e0&typo=1 to browse the amazing experiences up for grabs and start bidding today!

Bidding closes on March 2 at 10 p.m.

The 2025 Illinois Radon Poster Contest will run from January 1, 2025 – March 15, 2025 with a goal to raise awareness about the dangers of radon throughout the state of Illinois. Please review more information about this educational opportunity:

2025 Illinois Poster Contest:

• The poster contest is open to students ages 9-14.

• The top three winners will receive a cash prize of $100 (3rd place), $150 (2ndplace) and $200 (1st place)

• Posters and entry forms must be received by March 15th, 2025.

• Posters must be sized 8.5x11

• More information can be found here: https://www.lung.org/il/radon-poster

Please find the official rules, details, guidelines and contest entry forms at https://www.lung.org/il/radon-poster.