Weekly Update

October 2, 2024

NO SCHOOL: Monday, October 14 (Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day)

The safety and security of our students, staff, and community is the highest priority for Indian Prairie School District 204. The November 2024 bond referendum includes approximately $50 million of funding for high priority safety and security improvements at all district facilities. The District continually evaluates the safety needs of all buildings and recently invested in several safety initiatives, such as adding modern security cameras in all facilities, improving phones and first alert systems, and ensuring access to first aid supplies in all classrooms. Referendum funding is necessary to fund additional investments in safety and security priorities, and ensure the district can continue to improve the safety of all district facilities. The following brief video provides additional details on specific initiatives the bond referendum would fund. Improvements would begin starting in the Summer of 2025.

Town Hall Meetings

Indian Prairie School District 204 is holding a series of town hall meetings related to a no tax increase referendum being placed on the November 2024 ballot. Attendees will gain a better understanding of the district’s facility infrastructure needs, critical safety and security upgrades, and how a referendum would support these needs. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and tours of the building.

Wednesday, October 16 | 7 – 8:30 PM
Gregory Middle School (Cafeteria)
2621 Springdale Circle
Naperville, IL 60564

Tuesday, October 29 | 7 – 8:30 PM

Waubonsie Valley High School (LMC)
2590 Ogden Avenue
Aurora, IL 60504

Learn more at www.ipsd.org/SaferStronger204.

Student Attendance

Dear Indian Prairie Families,

We recognize that consistent student attendance is crucial for success. The learning opportunities and experiences provided at school are invaluable.

Starting on October 15, you will notice some changes when reporting your child's absence in ParentVUE. The dropdown menu and screen will now appear as follows (web version and app version):

You select a reason for the absence from the drop down menu. In the notes section you will provide additional details - when you select sick, please include the symptoms.

In accordance with Section 26-2a of the School Code, valid causes for absence include:

A. Illness, including mental or behavioral health issues;
B. Observance of a religious holiday;
C. Death in the immediate family or a family emergency;
D. Other situations beyond the control of the student, as determined by the Board of Education or nonpublic school administration;
E. Any circumstances that reasonably concern the parent regarding the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of the student.

Parents are responsible for the daily attendance of their children; however, Illinois School Code does not grant parents the authority to excuse their children from attending classes without valid cause. Every absence is recorded as part of the student’s attendance record and counts toward chronic absenteeism.

"Chronic absence" means absences that total 10% or more of school days of the most recent academic school year, including absences with and without valid cause …”– 105 ILCS 5/26-18. Chronic absences are tracked by the state and are a part of the summative designation on our Illinois School Report Card. Several of our schools earned a reduced rating last year due to the chronic absenteeism data for their school.

Please note vacations, practices/competitions, birthday celebrations, and similar leisure activities are not considered valid causes for absences, and we discourage these types of activities during school hours.

We appreciate your commitment to ensuring that your child(ren) attends school on time every day. If your child must be absent, please continue to report that absence in ParentVue or by calling the attendance line for your school.

Sincerely,

Adrian B. Talley, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Health Services Reminder

State of Illinois Certificate of Child Health Examination and Immunization Form

IPSD Health Services

Per State law, if requirements are not met for the 2024-25 school year, students will be excluded from school starting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your school's health office.

Volunteer Recognition

District 204 extends our appreciation to GreenState Credit Union for sponsoring our Volunteer Program. We’d like to thank all those who signed up to volunteer and those who have been volunteering in our schools over the past few months. It has been a great start to the school year with volunteers providing support to the Boosters, Fine Arts, LMC, PTA, and IPPC.

Districtwide, volunteers have committed 3,216 hours of time just in the month of September with 1,373 new volunteer applications approved!

We’d also like to recognize the following individuals and schools for their volunteer efforts during the month of September:

Naoko White volunteered 57:25 hours at Brookdale Elementary School
Mary Daddio volunteered 46.09 hours at Kendall Elementary School
Tracy Chowdhury volunteered 40:39 hours at Graham Elementary School
Gregory Middle School had 57 approved volunteer applications
Neuqua Valley High School had 58 approved volunteer applications

If you’d like to learn more about volunteering in District 204, please visit the Volunteer Program webpage. If you have questions about the program, please contact Jeannie Dina, Assistant Director of Community Relations at jeannie_dina@ipsd.org.

Safety Information

Indian Prairie School District 204 has created Threat Assessment Teams (TAT) which engage in Threat Assessment Protocol (TAP) in their work to prevent targeted school violence and help resolve conflicts. Each school in District 204 has a threat assessment team and utilizes the TAP guidance to identify and respond to any threats made against a student, staff member, or school in a consistent and thorough manner. To learn more about the district’s Threat Assessment Procedure and the model we use (Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines), please visit ipsd.org/ThreatAssessment.

Next Board of Education Meeting: October 21, 2024

The next regular Board of Education meeting is at 7 PM on Monday, October 21, 2024 at the Crouse Education Center, 780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora. Meeting agendas and documents will be available online prior to the meeting. Video of the regular meeting can be streamed live or viewed the following day at the District’s YouTube channel.

View the October 7, 2024 Board Salutes Here

Help your school win cash prizes!

Donate by Monday, October 14, and help the Team IPEF Charity Running Team from your school finish in the top five fundraising schools! The Indian Prairie Educational Foundation (IPEF) thanks our Charity Heroes for raising funds for our district-wide student support programs and for our schools! Half of all funds raised by our runners goes directly back into their schools. See the Team IPEF members that are representing your school and support them by donating here.

Resources for Parents

Sabado Para Padres (Parent Saturday)

2024 IAGC (Illinois Association for Gifted Children) Conference
Saturday, November 2 | 8:30 AM - 12:15 PM | NIU Naperville

Details:

Topics for Parents include the following:

Defining Giftedness and Advanced Learning Programs
Identification and Assessment
Enrichment and Supporting Executive Functioning

Afternoon: Choice of attending pm (English) sessions or conclude program
Relevant sessions for teachers and parents of multilingual learners:

Creative Assessments & Instruction: Higher Learning Opportunities for Multilingual Learners
Identifying and Serving our Gifted Learners: Taking an Inclusive Approach
Improving Equity in Gifted Education
World Language Learning: Your Path to Global Connection
Bridges and Access to Gifted Programming for Greater Equity
and more!

Space is limited. If your school / PTA would like to register a small group of parents, please reach out to office@iagcgifted.com.

LEARN MORE | REGISTER HERE

Thursday, October 10 | 7 - 8:30 PM

Lissete Ochoa and Lizette Ramirez
BPAC: Planificar el éxito en el instituto y más allá: El proceso de solicitud de ingreso en la Universidad / Planning for Success in High School and Beyond: The College Application Process
Lissete Ochoa and Lizette Ramirez Event Details

Thursday, October 17 | Noon and 7 PM
Dr. John Duffy

HYBRID EVENT -- Rescuing Our Teens: 8 Solutions to Our Crisis of Disaffected Youth

HYBRID Event - On Zoom at noon and in person at Glen Ellyn Public Library and online and at 7 PM

Dr. John Duffy Event Details | Noon Zoom Link | 7 PM Zoom Link

Tuesday, October 22 | Noon and 7 PM

Dr. Laura Koehler
HYBRID EVENT -- Teen Anxiety and School Anxiety: Dealing with Resistance and Refusal
HYBRID Event - On Zoom at noon and in person at Naperville's Nicols Public Library and on Zoom at 7 PM

Dr. Laura Koehler Event Details | Noon Zoom Link | 7 PM Zoom Link

High School: October Snowball Unwritten registration Now Open

Hey D204 high school students! Looking for something fun to do this fall? Join the Youth Advisory Committee at their next meeting on Tuesday, October 15 at 360 Youth Services, 1323 Bond Street #119, Naperville. Participate in a pumpkin decorating contest, and create substance use prevention materials. Before attending, email sindlecoffer@360youthservices.org.

Third-Party Educational Programs

The following companies have rented space in our schools to offer an after-school educational program for students. The distribution of this material is in no way an endorsement of programs, services, activities, or products by District 204. For more information, visit programs.

Yong-In Aurora Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do Class at Longwood Elementary

Chess Club at Springbrook

Chess Club at May Watts

Chess Club at Fry

Chess Club at White Eagle

Chess Club at Patterson

Yong-In Aurora Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do Class at Nancy Young Elementary

Yong-In Aurora Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do Class at Brooks Elementary

Yong-In Aurora Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do Class at White Eagle Elementary

This Week's e-Folder

This week's e-Folder has been updated with information on community programs. For more information about the programs listed below, visit the 204 e-Folder.

The Olmec Legacy: Art, Culture, And Influence

Young Naperville Singers

Halloween Spooktacular & Resource Fair

What Happened After Once Upon A Time - Neuqua Show

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

Naperville Community Advocate Response Team

Team Tutors 204

Our STEM Era

1st - 2nd Grade Co-Ed Basketball League