Christian's Weekly Communication

*Wednesday, April 26 - on CAREER EXPLORATION DAY, students will not be in their normal classroom settings. They will be enjoying various presentations and assemblies in the building throughout the school day. Some of our very own Jayhawk parents and guardians will be among the local professionals sharing their career experience with students. **Therefore, if you plan to pick up your child for an Early Dismissal (for let's say a dental or doctor's appointment) on 4/26, please keep the following helpful hints in mind:

1. Discuss with your student, the night before or on the morning of, the time that you want your child to come down to meet you in the school office, so that they can be ready for their early dismissal.
2. If you are driving to the school, please be aware that parking will be extremely limited, as we will have over 50 visitors/guests participating in the Career Exploration Day. So please allow yourself extra time, at least 15-20 minutes, if you are planning to pick up your student early.
3. Be sure that you pick up your child before 2:30pm, as students will be in multiple large spaces at the end of the school day enjoying group presentations. And it will take extra time to locate them inside the auditorium, gym or the commons.

Thank you!

Future Jayhawks from Longfellow and Beye visited us last week for their student orientations and a fun assembly that introduced them to Julian staff, current 6th graders and awesome music department performances. Special thanks to the Julian Student Leadership Team for leading the building tours for the 5th graders! We look forward to seeing Mann and Irving students this week.

Ms. Brinkman hosted several Midwestern University dental students this month to talk to our students during health classes. Our Jayhawks were engaged and attentive as the dental students presented information about dental hygiene and the importance of taking care of your teeth!

District 97 partners with a company called BrightArrow to deliver important information to families through calls, emails and text messaging. Next week, the BrightArrow system is adding a new texting phone number to speed up text delivery. Please note that your family may start seeing text messages from our school coming from the short code phone number 79041, in addition to the number 87569.

As a reminder, you may opt-in to text messages from our school at any time by sending YES to the shortcode 87569 and 79041. You must have your phone number on file with the school to receive text messages. Once you opt-in, BrightArrow will send you a confirmation that your phone number is opted-in.

8th Grade families:

****Friday, April 28 - Deadline for all Great America payments

and Class of 2023 t-shirt orders*This is the last week!**

• Saturday, May 6 - 8th Grade Celebration Dance
• Monday, May 22 - Music Dept (for Choir, Band & Orchestra students) field trip
• Tuesday, June 6 - Six Flags Great America field trip
• *Wednesday, June 7 - Chromebook Collection (students turn in D97 devices and chargers)
• Friday, June 9 - rehearsal for graduation (10am) and graduation ceremony (6:30pm) @ OPRFHS

Oak Park and River Forest High School will host a National African American Parent Involvement Dinner on Tuesday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m in the OPRFHS South Cafeteria. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope. She is a Julian/OPRF Parent, a successful Director/Producer, and Author. Please take a peek at some of her work:

Kelly Richmond Pope, Director of All the Queen's Horses Documentary

Please let me know if you can help and if there are questions.

Thank you,

Ty Garland

Community Outreach Coordinator

Varsity Football/Varsity Track & Field (Throws) Coach

Oak Park and River Forest High School

tgarland@oprfhs.org | Rm: 3151

(708) 434-3008 | www.oprfhs.org

Julian Career Exploration Day

This informative and new event will take place during the school day on Wednesday, April 26. We are excited to have several of our local community members, as well as some of our Jayhawk parents & guardians, join us as presenters and panelists!

Contact Casey Leiby at cleiby@op97.org if you would like to volunteer.

Friday Night Place (FNP) will be hosted at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School on this Friday, April 28. Julian students who participate in FNP may attend the mentoring session and open gym on 4/28 at Brooks. You can email fellowshipcom@gmail.com or call (708) 386-5790 with any questions.

You are in for a treat: come out to see CAST's "Music and the Movies" spring production. Enjoy the musical stylings of artists such as Dolly Parton, Gene Kelly, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Judy Garland, and Will Rogers. Songs performed will be from classic & modern movie soundtracks! The shows are this weekend only:

• Friday, April 28 @ 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 29 @ 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 30 @ 2:30 p.m.

It's going to be an incredible show for movie and music lovers of all ages!

To order your tickets today, please click here. Thank you all for the support that you give to our talented students!

--

Cory Marshall

(she/her/hers)

CAST Theater Program

Percy Julian Middle School

(708) 524-7848
cmarshall@op97.org

GREAT AMERICA SUPER MEGA DEAL IS ONLY $100!

***LAST REMINDER***

We are pleased to announce that we are offering a super mega deal for the 8th Grade Celebration field trip. We will go to Six Flags Great America on Tuesday, June 6, from 9:30am - 6:30pm. For only $100, students will get admission to Great America amusement park in Gurnee, transportation to and from the park, lunch, a snack, and a refillable beverage cup...plus a personalized Class of 2023 t-shirt! Wow, this is going to be amazing!

1. ALL PAYMENTS ARE DUE BY APRIL 28 (we can NOT extend the payment deadline because Great America must be paid in full prior to the trip and we must have our final t-shirt order submitted by May 1st). Therefore, no refunds will be issued because each vendor must be paid in advance, prior to the day of field trip. So please be sure to make your payment on or before 4/28 if you want your student to participate. You must contact Ms. Jackson on or before 4/28 at ejackson@op97.org if you need financial assistance with the field trip payment.
2. If you own a season pass to Six Flags Great America for your 8th grader, the cost of the trip is $60 (for this price, your Jayhawk will receive the Class of 2023 t-shirt, transportation, lunch, snack and refillable beverage cup). **On June 6, if your student does not bring the season pass, they will need to pay full price admission at the gate or a parent/guardian will need to pick them up from the amusement park.
3. If your student will not attend the field trip, but would like to order a Class of 2023 t-shirt, the cost is $15.

• For more information, please read the Information Sheet.
• To make your online payment for the Mega Deal or the Season Pass Deal, please click here.
• And to complete the Permission Slip for Great America, please click here now.

If you have questions, contact julianinfo@op97.org or wlee@op97.org. Contact Ms. Jackson at ejackson@op97.org if you need financial assistance with the field trip payment.

Julian will host its first Night of Excellence on Wednesday, May 3. This night will highlight our students' accomplishments and provide them recognition of their EXCELLENT accolades this year. Families of award recipients will receive a personal invitation soon. And all Julian families are welcome to attend the award ceremony. Join us for a night of celebration!

Here's the link to the student daily announcements.

We are excited to announce that the Julian Literacy Lab launched on 4/10. Literacy Lab is a place where students can get help from teachers with their reading and writing assignments, study for assessments, make revisions and/or proofread writing, and re-take assessments. It will be held in the library media center before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays (8-8:45am) and after school on Wednesdays (3:40-4:30pm).

Sign up here ahead of time to attend (required). If you have questions, please reach out to Ms. O'Keefe at kokeefe@op97.org.

Calculation Corner: Free math support is provided by Julian math teachers on Tuesdays & Thursdays in Room A213 (Before school 8:00-8:50 AM & after school 3:40-4:30 PM). Available to any Julian student in need of math help. Students who visit the Math Lab can receive help on their homework, prepare for upcoming assessments, get assistance with assessment revisions, and retake summative assessments.

Students are required to sign up ahead of time using this link.

8th grade families,

The Action Team for Partnerships is a group of freshman parents and OPRFHS administrators who work collaboratively to engage families and the community in ways that support student achievement and success. The Action Team for Partnerships will focus on Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan, taking a holistic, supportive, transformative approach to providing engaging, equitable learning experiences. The Action Team will engage in monthly meetings to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the identified strategic goals, craft a One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships with activities linked to the selected goals, support the implementation of parent and community involvement activities, and monitor progress. Through this process, the members of this group will intentionally support ongoing family and community involvement that impacts student achievement and success. The Application Deadline is May 8th at 8am.

Who will do this work:

A group of 20-30 incoming freshman parents (to be selected from the submitted

applications), current freshman parents, and OPRFHS administrators.

What will the group do:

● Engage in one-hour monthly meetings

● Identify a specific area(s) of focus from Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan

● Assess the strengths and areas for improvement of the identified area of focus

● Craft a One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships with activities linked to the

selected goal(s)

● Support the implementation of the parent and community involvement activities

● Monitor progress of goal implementation

Why are we doing this:

● Partner with families and the community to enhance students' academic

experiences

● Foster ongoing family and community involvement around Priority 2

● Impact student achievement and success

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click here to sign up. Any questions can be directed to Dr. Laurie Fiorenza, assistant superintendent for student learning, at lfiorenza@oprfhs.org.

201 North Scoville Avenue | Oak Park, IL 60302

708.383.0700

www.oprfhs.org

Concordia University Chicago will host a summer program open to teens. It will be held for boys from July 10 - 13. Click here for more info.

2023-24 District 97 Blended Preschool Program
District 97 is accepting applications for the early childhood blended classrooms at Whittier Elementary School for the 2023-24 school year. There will be a limited number of spaces available. Click here to view the 2023-24 D97 Blended Preschool flyer >>

District 97 is seeking students who:

• are non-IEP students who will be between the ages of 3 and 4 years by Sept. 1, 2023;

• demonstrate age-appropriate language and social skills;

• are Oak Park residents;

• are not enrolled in a preschool program.

The registration window will be open April 10, 2023 through May 19, 2023. For more information about the Early Childhood Blended Program or to apply, please visit https://www.op97.org/teach-learn/ecblended.

Be Safe and Healthy Reminders

In District 97, we understand and appreciate that it will take all of us—families, staff, community members—working together to have a safe and healthy winter. As we continue through the winter months, we want to remind you of a few preventative measures our school community can take to reduce the spread of illness in our schools:

• Wash hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are the most common ways for germs to enter the body.
• Cover your mouth and nose with your arm when you cough or sneeze.
• Get plenty of sleep!
• Eat whole, unprocessed foods and include fruits and vegetables at each meal.
• Stay up to date on your vaccinations

Should students get sick, they should not come to school. Please do not send your child to school with any of the following symptoms:

• Constant coughing
• Constant “runny” nose, especially with yellow or green mucus
• A temperature of 100 or higher
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Rashes or any scratching for unknown reasons, with or without fever
• Watery, itching eyes that have drainage or are crusted shut upon waking

If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please report the illness by completing District 97’s Positive Case Notification form. Thank you for sharing this responsibility with us to Be Safe and Healthy by looking out for the collective care of the community this winter!

Process for Reporting Positive COVID-19 Cases to D97 Schools

If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must complete the following steps:

1) In order to notify the school nurse and receive a return-to-school date, families/staff must complete the confidential COVID-19 Positive Case Notification Form as soon as possible following the positive test. Information provided will also be shared with the Oak Park Department of Public Health.

2) Families must continue to report student absences via the school attendance line, and staff must enter their absences in Frontline.

To see the rules for isolation and quarantine, click here. Additional resources are linked below.

• Summary of District 97's COVID-19 Mitigations

• 2022-23 COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan

In 2020, Principal Christian implemented the theme of "over-communicate" amid the flexibility of the COVID19 virus and how information might change at a moment's notice. Last year, our theme was "growing together". And now in 2022-23, we'd like to continue with our new theme of "Stronger, Together". Here are the ways in which Principal Christian and the Jayhawk staff communicates:

• Our Official Percy Julian Facebook Page (click here)
• Christian's Weekly Communication (every week)
• PowerSchool Daily Bulletin Alerts
• Text Messages (Jayhawk Text Messages District 97 uses the notification system BrightArrow to communicate with families via email and phone calls. This year, we have started using periodic text messages to send reminders directly to parents' cell phones. In order to receive text messages, parents must opt-in by texting YES to 87569. Once you have subscribed, you will receive a text confirmation.)

416 S. Ridgeland Ave.

Oak Park, IL 60302

708-524-3040

www.op97.org/julian

We give our best, and then some!