Sleepy Hollow Elementary School

Week of August 10, 2026

SHES Updates

Sleepy Hollow Elementary School Families,

Our learning spaces are set up. Our lessons are planned. The only thing we need is the most important thing... our students! We look forward to the first day of school with all of you tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11! Sleepy Hollow, learning will be in full bloom. Let's grow together!

Please see below for SHES and D300 information and announcements.

With joyful anticipation,

Kari Littlehale, Principal

Ashley Patterson, Assistant Principal

Melvin Caldwell, SSS

Meet our New Staff!

Thank you for warmly welcoming the new additions to our Sleepy Hollow Staff this school year!

Ashley Patterson, Assistant Principal
Melvin Caldwell, Student Services Specialist (SSS)
Kendall Jackson, Instructional Coach
Michelle Didzbalis, Grade 2 Teacher
Shayna Smith, Social Worker
Mayra Diaz, Media Clerk
Danielle Currie, Special Education Paraeducator
Adan Kader, Part-Time Night Custodian

Sleepy Hollow School Hours and Start Date

The first day for students attending Sleepy Hollow Elementary School will tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11. This will be a full day of school. Students attend school from 8:00 am until 2:15 pm each day. Our main office is open Monday- Friday from 7:00 AM until 3:30 PM. You can contact our main office at 224-484-4900.

Community Unit School District 300 Calendars

This link will direct you to the D300 Website Calendars. Scroll down to find the 2026-27 District Calendar that includes all district events including holidays (when District 300 buildings are closed), Late Start days, and student non-attendance days.

Link to CUSD 300 Calendars

School Supplies

Be sure your child is ready for the first day of school! You can access supply lists for all grade levels here. Please scroll down to Sleepy Hollow Elementary School and select the grade level of your student to access his or her list.

Classroom Assignments and School Bus Information

Classroom assignments are now available! Thank you for referencing the D300 Back to School Communication for directions on how to access this information on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Student schedules can only be viewed using PowerSchool. Parents/guardians must set up a PowerSchool Parent Portal account to view student schedules. Parents should have received information about how to log into PowerSchool from our school registrar. If you do not have this information, please contact our school registrar, Natalie Chapa at Natalie.Chapa@d300.org or by phone 224-484-4900.

After an account has been created, parents/guardians can access their student’s schedule for the 2026-2027 school year. For information on how to view your student’s schedule, please view the following step-by-step tutorial.

If your child is assigned to a bus, information is available in the PowerSchool SIS Parent Portal. Thank you for referencing the D300 Back to School Communication for all busing information.

First Day of School Arrival Procedures

We love sharing the excitement and memory-making opportunities that come with the first day of school in a new grade. We also know the importance of setting strong, efficient routines starting on day one. With that in mind, thank you for reading and reviewing our arrival and dismissal procedures linked and outlined below. Assure your child(ren) that staff will be outside and inside of the building to assist with locating their classrooms. Please direct them to look for an adult with a balloon for any help.

All students, regardless of transportation plan, enter our school through Door 1 (the SHES main entrance). K-2 grade students will be directed to the cafeteria and 3-5 grade students will pass through the gym to head to the Rocky Road hallway. Kindly note, only students will be allowed into the building during arrival.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

SHES drop off and pick up procedures are linked here. Thank you for taking the time to review these procedures prior to the first day of school.

Our front parking lot is reserved for buses. Students may only ride as passengers to their assigned bus routes. Students with play dates or alternative dismissal plans are not able to travel via bus on a different bus route. It is unlawful to drive past our parked buses during arrival and dismissal as they have their stop signs displayed. Thank you for your patience and understanding to prioritize safety each day.

If you choose to drive your child, please use the side parking lot. Thank you for waiting in the brief line to either use our "kiss and go" lane or park in an open spot. If you do plan to exit your vehicle and meet your child on the property, we ask that you walk to end of the parking lot first and avoid cutting through the car lanes. We want to keep everyone safe! You may park and walk your child to the door but parents/guardians are not allowed to enter the building. Students are expected to dismiss directly to their dismissal plan. We appreciate our community's support in ensuring that students refrain from playing in separation of their pick-up designee so that we can safely release students after each school day.

Thank you for also being mindful and careful of community members when driving students to and from school. It is critical that the speed limit is maintained to keep pedestrians safe as many travel on foot on the edge of our streets surrounding our school. In order to assure student health and safety, animals are not allowed on school property, except in the case of a service animal accompanying an individual with a documented disability. Thank you for your help in ensuring student safety and well being with this expectation, especially during our arrival and dismissal times.

Please let your child(ren) and the classroom teacher know how your child(ren) will be getting home from school prior to the start of the first day. Throughout the school year should there be a change in your child(ren)'s dismissal plan, we ask that you contact our main office and the classroom teacher.

PushCoin Accounts

PushCoin is used to pay student fees and meal purchases. Make sure that you set up a PushCoin account if your child would like to purchase meals beginning the first day of school. You can set up an account and manage your child’s balance by clicking the icon at https://www.d300.org/parents.

Free and Reduced Lunch Applications

Free and reduced lunch applications are available on the district website at https://www.d300.org/parents. Remember, you must reapply every year!

Heath Requirements Deadline

Deadline to provide required health documents or proof of upcoming appointments to your student’s school nurse or via email to health.forms@d300.org. Please submit the completed forms as soon as possible, so staff can verify they are complete and meet state requirements.

New families and incoming kindergarten families, please make sure your health forms are submitted! Kindergarten students are required to have a current physical examination completed on the approved Illinois Department of Public Health Form. Your child can have medication administered by the school nurse once an Authorization for the Administration of Medication at School is completed by a physician. A child cannot bring any medication to school, including over the counter medication, without the form on file. Click here for additional information on School Health Requirements and the required forms.

Open House- August 26

Save the Date! Our Open House (parents/guardians only) will be on the evening of Wednesday, August 26. Thank you for understanding our reasoning for a date change to ensure our families with middle school siblings will be able to attend their Open House at DMS which was scheduled concurrently with ours. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Mileage Club

Dear Parent / Guardian:

The CDC recommends that children ages 6-17 engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day. In CUSD300, students in elementary school only have PE twice per week for 30 minutes each. To help our students get closer to meeting the 60-minute daily activity goal, at Sleepy Hollow, we provide our students with as many opportunities as possible to be active. We have monthly all-school fun runs when weather permits or in-class workouts when it does not, weekly before school (7:45 a.m.) morning warm-ups in the gym for grades 3-5, and a daily lunch-recess walking / jogging / running program called Mileage Club. This program ensures that all of our students get at least some exercise during one of their daily recesses. By participating in MVPA, students also work to improve their endurance & heart health, increase focus & attention, boost their energy, reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and learn that exercising while socializing with friends can be fun.

Our Mileage Club is a fun, noncompetitive program that provides the opportunity for all students to walk, jog, or run for fitness. We ask that every student participate in one Mileage Club lap (1/6 of a mile) at lunch-recess each day to help them get warmed up before more strenuous activity and to improve fitness. If students run their lap, it takes about one minute. Those who choose to walk take closer to three or four minutes. When students finish their lap, they may choose to complete more Mileage Club laps or engage in a different activity on the playground. Students do not need any special equipment to participate in this program; however, it would be appropriate for them to wear athletic shoes.

As in PE, if a student is sick or injured, they will not be required to participate in Mileage Club. If you send a note for your child to miss (or take it easy) in PE, they should do the same for Mileage Club and recess. Students should inform the lunch supervisor if they have a note for PE, in case I am unable to contact them before lunch recess.

Rewards are given to celebrate student accomplishments. For every 5 miles completed (30 laps around our course), students receive a Toe Token to put on a 24” chain that is provided for them. At the completion of miles 26.2, 50, 75, and 100, students can earn special number tokens. Be on the lookout for students with chains full of Toe Tokens!

This program not only provides SHES students with tangible rewards, but they will also experience the physical, mental, emotional, and academic benefits of exercising regularly. Our hope is that this will also instill lifelong healthy exercise habits in our students. If you have questions, please call me at school or send an e-mail to Rebecca.meyer@d300.org.

In Health,

Coach Meyer

PTC

Volunteers Needed for Our Culver's Restaurant Night!
Culver's will donate a percentage of the evening's sales back to our school. To help make this event a success, we're looking for volunteers to help run food during the event. Kids are welcome to volunteer as long as they are accompanied by an adult.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AAAA928A5F4C07-65018986-culvers