W.A. Johnson Bulletin
MARCH 2023
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5 ESSENTIALS SURVEY
Your feedback helps us improve W.A. Johnson!!!
Click here for more information about entering the raffle for completing the 5 Essentials survey!!!
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey was developed by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, and it’s called 5Essentials for good reason: it uses the handful of crucial indicators that improve test scores, student attendance, and overall student outcomes, and provides actionable reports to each school.
The 5Essentials survey window opened Tuesday, January 24, and responses from students, teachers, and parents will be collected through Friday, March 31.
Click here to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey.
NWEA MAP PARENT PRESENTATIONS
BSD2 students take NWEA MAP tests in reading and math three times a year: fall, winter and spring. Nick Joe, an NWEA Professional Learning Consultant, will explain how MAP tests work, what they measure, and how they help teachers tailor next steps in instruction. He'll show parents how to read the Family MAP Growth Report and provide resources to help you understand how MAP testing measures your child's academic growth.
Wednesday, March 22
SESSION 1: 1-2 p.m. BSD2 Educational Administration Center
SESSION 2: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Blackhawk Middle School
Click here for more details regarding the parent presentations.
PTA
- Membership Dues: Click here to pay Johnson PTA membership dues online
- The next meeting is on March 9th at 3:45pm: The 2nd Grade team has signed up to attend.
- Zoom option to share with families: PTA Meeting Zoom link. This will be the same link for ALL meetings this school year
PTA Board Members:
Victoria Myhre, President
Diana Sanchez, Vice President
Nicki Zengilani, Secretary
Christina Palacios, Treasurer
PTA email: johnsonjaguarspta@gmail.com
Google Voice phone: (773) 234-8284
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Incoming kindergarten students will be able to register for the 2023-2024 school year on Tuesday, March 7, from 3-7 p.m. at:
- Tioga School, 212 W. Memorial Road
- W.A. Johnson School, 252 Ridgewood Avenue
Students will need to register at their home school, so parents who are unsure which school their child will attend should call the Educational Administration center at 630-766-5940.
Registration requirements are as follows:
- Child must be present during registration to be assessed for kindergarten.
- Parent or guardian must present a certified copy of an original birth certificate indicating the child will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2023.
- Parent or guardian must also present the following proofs of residency at the time of registration:
- A lease or mortgage statement
- A driver's license or current photo identification
- Three additional proofs of residency.
REPORT CARDS
Thursday, March 2, is the end of the second trimester.
On Tuesday, March 14, second-trimester report cards will be sent home with elementary students, and mailed to middle school students' homes.
Standards-Based Grading
District 2 uses standards-based grading. This means you will receive scores for standards only. You will not receive an overall score for assignments/assessments.
The grading scale is:
- E- Exemplary (4): The student independently extends and applies key concepts, processes, and skills and can transfer this learning to new contexts.
- M- Meets (3): The student demonstrates a solid understanding of key concepts, processes, and skills and can consistently apply this learning.
- P- Progressing (2): The student is progressing toward an understanding of key concepts, processes, and skills with minimal assistance.
- B- Beginning (1): The student is beginning to understand key concepts, processes, and skills with assistance.
Click here for more information on Standards-Based Report Cards.
CREATE YOUR POWERSCHOOL PARENT PORTAL ACCOUNTS
District 2 has completed its transition to its new PowerSchool student information system, as families can no log in and create accounts in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
This PowerSchool Parent Portal provides parents access to their students’ schedules, attendance, assignments, and grades. Parents will also use it later this spring to register returning students for the 2023-2024 school year.
Letters providing login information for the PowerSchool Parent Portal were sent home with elementary students and mailed to middle school students' home addresses in early December. If you didn't receive the letter or have since misplaced it, please contact your school office.
Online resources and webinars to help parents create and use their accounts are available at www.bsd2.org/powerschool.
UPCOMING ASSESSMENTS
Over the next several months students will be engaged in a variety of assessments. Below is a list of some of the larger assessments with the windows when they will be given. You will receive further information in upcoming messages regarding the Illinois mandated assessments listed below.
- ISA (Illinois Science Assessment - 5th): March 1st - March 10th
- CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test - 2nd & 5th, and new 3rd & 4th): March 13th - March 24th
- IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness - 3rd, 4th, & 5th): April 3rd - April 21st
- March 6th: 1st Grade Community Field Trip
- March 7th: Kindergarten Registration @ 3-7pm
- March 9th: 1st & 3rd Grade Field Trip - Beauty And The Beast musical @ BMS
- March 9th: PTA Meeting @ 3:45pm
- March 15th: Kindergarten Shedd Aquarium Field Trip
- March 22nd: NWEA MAP Parent Sessions @ 1-2pm and 6:30-7:30pm
- March 24th: All-School Prismatic Magic Laser Show Assembly
- March 27th-March 31st: Spring Break - NO SCHOOL
- April 3rd: School Resumes
- April 7th: NO SCHOOL
- April 13th: PTA Meeting @ 3:45pm
- April 14th: Multicultural Parent Committee @ 5:30-7pm
- April 21st: Trimester 3 Midterm
- May 1st-May 5th: Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 11th: PTA Meeting @ 3:45pm
- May 18th: Jaguar JAMBOREE @ 5-7:30pm (May 25th rain date)
- May 26th: WAJ Field Day (May 30th rain date)
- May 29th: Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
- June 2nd: Last Day of School
Beauty and the Beast JR. - BMS Spring Musical
"Be Our Guest" as a cast and crew of more than 100 Blackhawk Middle School students steps inside this classic storybook fairytale and rediscovers how beauty isn’t always as it appears.
One of Disney’s most beloved animated films will come to life on stage with all the enchanted castle characters in a musical young and old will love.
Performances of Blackhawk's spring musical, Beauty and the Beast JR., are scheduled for ...
- Friday, March 10, at 7 p.m.
- Saturday, March 11, at 7 p.m.
- Sunday, March 12, at 2 p.m.
Tickets cost $6 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. They can be reserved in advance by emailing Carol Lelito, BMS Clerical Aide, at clelito@bsd2.org, and paid for and picked up at the door prior to the performance.
Come out and see an exciting show and support the hardworking students in the cast and crew!
SCHOOL CLOSING INFORMATION
The District’s mass notification system will contact all student households when a school must be closed for emergency reasons such as extreme weather. In these situations, parents/guardians will receive a phone call, email, and/or text message no later than 6 a.m. if their contact information with the school is up to date. Please make certain your proper contact information is on file with the school to ensure you are notified through this system.
E - LEARNING DAYS
District 2 now calls eLearning Days when schools must close due to extreme weather.
An eLearning Day counts as a regular school day, and does not require the District to use a built-in emergency day at the end of the school year.
Students in Grades K-8 will be sent home with their Chromebooks when weather forecasts suggest school closures are a possibility. Attendance will be taken during eLearning Days, and the hours of the school day will be the same. Instead of traveling to school, though, students will join their classes through their teachers’ virtual links, which will be posted on the District website and sent to parents via email and text message.