District 204, in collaboration with five neighboring school districts, will hold the 3rd Annual Mental Health and Wellness Symposium on Saturday, March 8, 2025 at Metea Valley High School from 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM.

The keynote will be presented by Doug Bolton, author, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, and Director of School Consultation for Formative Psychological Services. The symposium will include breakout sessions for students and adults, a community resource fair, a book fair, and childcare for ages 3-10. Adult attendees will receive a free copy of Doug Bolton's book - Untethered: Creating Connected Families, Schools, and Communities to Raise a Resilient Generation. The first 500 adult attendees will receive a welcome bag and the first 200 student attendees will receive a free t-shirt. New this year - experience sessions for adults and students and a complimentary boxed lunch for all attendees.

For more information, visit ipsd.org/symposium or register here.

Students in grades 4-12 across Illinois have the opportunity to participate beginning February 18, 2025 in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey implemented by the Illinois State Board of Education. This statewide survey is based on 20 years of research at the University of Chicago. It asks students about their experiences in school, giving school leaders critical student input to help develop school improvement plans.

Student participants will be required to log-in using their student ID and birth date in order to complete the survey. Students’ identities will be completely confidential. Teachers or administrators will never see individual responses to survey questions and will only receive aggregated information, such as the total percentage of students who agree homework assignments help them learn course material.

Please be aware that under the Protection of Pupil Rights Act. 20 U.S.C. Section 1232(c) (1) (A), you have the right to review a copy of the questions asked of your child. The questions are the same as previous years and can be found on the Illinois 5Essentials website.

If you do not want your son or daughter to participate, please contact your child’s school by February 18, 2025.

Parent/teacher conferences for early childhood, elementary, middle and high school will take place on Thursday, February 27, 2025 from 1:00 - 8:00 PM.

Families with early childhood and/or elementary students will receive communication from their building principal about the process. Conferences will be scheduled through their classroom teachers and communicated after February 10, 2025.

Middle and high school parents can begin scheduling conferences through ParentVUE on February 19 starting at 6:00 am. To schedule your conference for middle and high school students, log in to ParentVUE and select "Conference" from the menu on the left side to see the times available. Once you have scheduled your conference, you will receive a pop-up window with a confirmation message when selecting a timeslot. Please note: Parents will receive a pop-up window when changing time slots that confirms a new time slot was selected and the old one was removed. Parents will no longer receive a confirmation email when selecting a timeslot. Parents can request an email with their full itinerary of all their students.

There are only a few days left to enter District 204's Safety Contest! The top six finalists at each level will be notified by Friday, February 21, and invited to the February 24 Board of Education meeting, where winners will be announced. Winning students will receive prizes, with first-place winners at each level earning a $500 Amazon gift card! Winning entries will also be featured on the district’s website and social media to help spread awareness of this important issue.

Learn more about the safety contest at ipsd.org/safetycontest or view the “Safe Schools Start with Us” Flyer.

A special thank you to Rival5 for their generous sponsorship of our safety contest.

District 204 follows a plan whenever there is consideration of holding an e-Learning day or canceling school due to weather conditions. The information will be announced by 6 AM on www.ipsd.org only if the district holds an e-Learning day or cancels school completely. The district will also make a 204 Connect phone call by 6 AM to alert parents and guardians to any changes to the regular schedule due to weather. Parents and students can also check the Emergency Closing Center for school closings. For more information, visit the district’s e-Learning webpage.

To improve our communication with district families, IPSD 204 is conducting a communications survey to better understand how district stakeholders currently receive information from their child’s school and the district, and to understand their preferences on receiving information going forward. Please take a moment to share your perspective on communications you receive from your child's school and the district by completing this survey. The survey will be open through Friday, February 28.

District 204 recently held Parent University: Helping My Child Get Organized, Thriving Through Chaos to help attendees explore strategies for modeling desired behaviors for their children and engaging in open, honest conversations about personal challenges. The discussion included techniques for validating children's emotions and distinguishing between feelings and reactions. Attendees gained insights into how fostering problem-solving skills can build stress tolerance and the importance of balancing downtime with academic responsibilities. Additionally, the session addressed the significance of avoiding over-scheduling to support children's natural development and self-regulation.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

The next regular Board of Education meeting is at 7 PM on Monday, February 24, 2025 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 February 3, 2025 Board Salutes here.

Only two days left to buy discounted early-bird tickets for the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation’s (IPEF’s) Inspire: Explore IPEF Breakfast Fundraiser, taking place on Tuesday, March 18, at the beautiful White Eagle Golf Club. Guests will enjoy a vibrant morning of coffee and networking, followed by a full breakfast and an engaging presentation highlighting various impactful District 204 programs supported by the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation. Sponsorships and seats are on sale now! See our Inspire Breakfast Event Page for more information. If you have questions, please contact Trudie Ranson at trudie_ranson@ipsd.org.

Thursday, February 13, 2025 | Noon and 7 PM

Amy Blankson

Digital Thriving: Technology and the Future of Happiness in a Hyperconnected World
Details

Tuesday, February 18 | Noon and 7 PM

Dr. Amishi Jha, Glenbard South graduate, with Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl

Peak Mind: Enhance Your Attention, Focus, and Performance to Become Your Best Self

Details

Tuesday, February 25 | 7 PM

Duncan Kirkwood

HYBRID EVENT -- LIVE LIFE WELL WEEK -- The Critical Skills to Unleash Perseverance, Passion and Purpose

Details

See all upcoming speakers here.

Operation Snowball 3-Day Retreat

Registration is now open for the Spring Snowball retreat, March 21-23 at Camp Henry Horner! This teen-led/adult-guided retreat offers the opportunity to discover something about yourself, make friends, have fun, and learn ways you can impact your peers. Spend a weekend focusing on self-care, connecting with others and creating a community that you can count on! Register Here.

Now is the time to Make Kindness Count! KidsMatter and the Collaborative Youth Team of Illinois are building belonging and community through kindness, and we’re aiming to collect 1,000 experiences of kindness before the end of March — each one emphasizing how YOU put kindness into action. We’re seeking personal stories of kindness with all the wonderful details. How did you show kindness? How did your kindness positively affect another person? What did it mean to you? How did you feel? Tell us the story by filling out the story submission form at https://bit.ly/3Wz8nWm. Join in on social media by using the following hashtags: #MakeKindnessCount, #KindnessCounts, #RandomActsOfKindness, #KidsMatter or #SpreadLove, and look for our banners throughout downtown Naperville. For details, visit kidsmatter2us.org/kindnesscounts/.