BULLDOG BULLETIN

Dear Bulldog Families,

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! I hope your summer was filled with fun, relaxation, and special moments that brought joy and new memories to your family. Whether you traveled, enjoyed the sunshine close to home, or spent time with loved ones, I hope it left everyone feeling refreshed and recharged—ready for another exciting year of learning and growing together.

As we gear up for the start of the school year, our amazing teachers have already been hard at work. They’ve been engaging in curriculum planning, collaborating with one another, and beginning to set up their classrooms to create welcoming, organized, and joyful spaces for students. Their dedication and enthusiasm for the year ahead is truly remarkable!

We’re especially excited to begin the school year with a new English Language Arts (ELA) resource, Benchmark Advance, which will be used in all K-5 classrooms. This comprehensive program will help us build strong literacy foundations and foster a love of reading and writing in all our students.

There’s so much to look forward to—new friendships, engaging learning experiences, creative projects, and community events that bring us all together. We are confident that this will be an exciting, eventful, and memorable year for everyone at Sarah Adams.

During the first few days of school, students will take part in our Bulldog Best behavior and expectation stations. They’ll have the opportunity to visit different areas of the school—such as classrooms, the playground, cafeteria, bathrooms, and hallways—and review how to show Bulldog Best behavior by being respectful, responsible, safe, and kind in each space. We will continue our motto of Bringing our Bulldog Best throughout the year!

We can’t wait to welcome your children back to school and see all the joy and curiosity they bring to Sarah Adams!

Warm regards,

Dr. Colleen Conway

The safety of our students, staff, and community members is a top priority at Sarah Adams, and in LZ95. In order to ensure the students arrive and are dismissed in a safe way, please take few moments to review the detailed slides here, describing our arrival and dismissal procedures. Safety before and after school is everyone's responsibility, especially with so many cars in our front lot; please help keep our parking lot and drop off safe for all!

General Reminders:

• All car riders can be dropped off in the front of the building; parents/guardians must stay in the vehicle so that the line moves quickly.
• Parking in our lots are reserved for staff or students with needs. If you need to park, you can park and walk from Staples Park or near a side street.
• Car riders and walkers will line up in the front of the building (see the slides for where to line up).
• Busers and day care students will line up in the back of the building.
• Students can be dropped off no earlier than 7:55. Doors open at 8:05. School starts at 8:15. Please have your child at school by 8:10 to ensure they have time to get into the building, find their classroom, and can unpack belongings before the day begins.
• School is dismissed at 2:50; Kindergarten students will be dismissed first so that they can easily find their adult.
• Parents/guardians using the pick up lanes must stay in their vehicles at all times.
• Drivers in the pick up lane must pull ahead to help the flow of traffic.
• Busers and daycare students will be dismissed out of the back doors, where they entered.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to view our drop off and pick up procedures, so we can ensure all students, staff, and families are safe!

If your child has a different way of going home, other than their originally planned routine, we ask that you please let both the classroom teacher and the main office know as soon as possible. This thorough communication helps us ensure your child goes where they need to be at a busy time in the day. You can contact our main office 847.438.5986 or email SAAttendance@lz95.org.

📌 August 12, 12:30-1:30 Kinder Play Date at the SA Playground

📌 August 12, 1:30-3:00 Meet the Staff

📌 August 13, First Day of School!

📌 August 20, Evacuation Drill

📌 August 20, Curriculum Night: 3rd-5th Grade 5:45-6:45pm and Kinder-2nd Grade 7:00-8:00pm

📌 August 21, PTO Family Fun Night 5:00-7:00 pm

📌 September 1, Labor Day- No School

📌 September 3, Picture Day

📌 September 8, PTO Meeting

Teacher assignments will be made available on August 4th. To access your student’s schedule, login to ParentVUE and click on the CLASS SCHEDULE tab (located on the left side of your screen).

Additionally, your student’s transportation information can be found by logging into ParentVUE in the Student Information Section (scroll down to view Transportation Information). Please note that, while initial route information will be available for viewing on Monday, August 4th - there may be slight changes in student pick-up times as routes are run the week prior to school and are optimized; families should check for more finalized information on Monday, August 11th.

For any questions regarding your student’s transportation, please email the team at transportationshared@lz95.org or call 847.438.2834.

As we prepare to start the school year, it is important that students and families establish regular routines to maximize student attendance to school. For younger learners, sometimes this means helping students feel more comfortable about a transition away from home and caregivers. Parents can find additional resources for students struggling with thinking about the transition back to school HERE.

Please note that for students who struggle to maintain regular attendance, parents/families will receive additional communication, conference requests, and other interventions to support regular school attendance - in accordance with state law. Parents/guardians can find more information regarding attendance in the Parent-Student Handbook.

Additionally, there will be more information shared at our Curriculum Night on August 20th. We hope to see you there!

To Find more information about Free and Reduced Lunch Waivers and CUSD95 Fee Waivers, please visit our Business and Operations section of the LZ95 website: https://www.lz95.org/departments/business-operations.

There are two separate applications for 1)Free and Reduced Lunch Waivers and 2) CUSD 95 Fee Waivers. The School Board of Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 requires a separate application for a waiver of school fees (click here for board policy 4:130 on waiver of student fees) and free and reduced lunch.

Links to the forms, and information can be found under the section: Free & Reduced Lunch and Fee Waivers.

As we have done in years past, we will be collecting information from students in Grades 3 through 5 during the week of 8/18/2025 regarding social-emotional and other related needs. This information will be used to plan for any additional supports for students, as well as for parent collaboration on student needs.

This process should only take a few minutes, and will be minimally disruptive to your student’s school day. Students and families may view the items from the needs assessment HERE. If you do not wish for your student to participate in the needs assessment, please contact the building assistant principal Ellen.Wilfinger@lz95.org.

In all schools in District 95, we have a designated person who can serve as a resource for students have been victims of domestic or sexual violence. At Sarah Adams Elementary School this staff member is Stacy Krebill- who can be contacted at Stacy.Krebill@lz95.org or at 847.540.2865. Families can find more information related to supports available to students in these groups by referencing Board Policy 7:255 - Students Who are Parents, Expectant Parents, or Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence (all Board policies can be found HERE).

Additionally, our school has a number of staff members available to provide our students with social-emotional support as needed during the school day. Our social worker and psychologist information can be found below:

Beth Smith, Psychologist: Elisabeth.Smith@lz95.org | 847.540.2956

Natalie Dobbins, Social Worker: Natalie.Dobbins@lz95.org | 847.540.2912.

These staff members are also equipped to share information with families regarding community-based mental health resources and services (families interested in accessing our community referral list can do so by clicking the link HERE). Additional resources for supporting overall student emotional needs can be found HERE.

We are excited to kick off the 25-26 school year with safety and behavioral expectations learning, to occur during the week of August 18th. During this week, students will engage in learning around the following topics:

• The Standard Response Protocol (SRP), our emergency response protocol used to address safety concerns

• Safe2Help, our new anonymous reporting tool for safety concerns

• Collective responsibility for school safety (i.e., it takes all of us working together to maximize feelings of safety in the school community)

• School-wide behavioral expectations

Families who want to learn more about the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and the “I Love U Guys” Foundation may access information via the foundation’s website HERE. They can also view a previously-recorded safety forum HERE (select Safety Forum - August 2022).

District 95 has partnered with Safe2Help Illinois, a statewide school safety program. This replaced the current District 95 See Something, Say Something tool. Safe2Help Illinois features a 24/7 helpline (1-844-4-SAFEIL), free mobile app, and dedicated website. [A QR code will also be available on the back of students’ ID cards in grades 6-12 for easy access to the reporting tool.] Families who want to learn more about Safe2Help can visit the website at www.Safe2Helpil.com.

Thank you in advance for your partnership as we approach the start of the school year; it takes all of us working together to create safe school communities!

As we approach the start of the school year, we want to remind all of our students and families of bus behavior expectations. Please take some time to review the information below with your student(s) before the start of school:

• Drink water only while on the bus; other food or drinks should be kept put away

• Use a voice level of 0 (voices off), 1 (whisper) or 2 (conversational volume, such as talking to someone next to you) at all times while on the bus

• Keep the aisle clear when students are loading or unloading

• Keep all body parts within the bus during the entire route

• Remain seated during the entire route

• Report to and stay in your assigned seat during the entire route

• Follow loading/unloading/crossing directions provided

• Exit through the designated doors only

• Take all trash and personal items with you when exiting the bus

• Keep all personal items with you during the route

• Use your assigned bus stop

Families can find additional information regarding bus expectations in Chapter 4 of the Parent-Student Handbook; students will also receive additional instruction on this topic during the first few weeks of school. We look forward to your partnership in these efforts, and to a successful start to the school year on transportation!

Please see the following for brief reminders regarding snacks. Students in grades K-5 will have a designated snack time daily, and families should plan to send a snack daily with their student to school.

For families who do not have the resources to send a daily snack, we do have a supply at school for students in need. Additionally, if your student occasionally forgets their snack, they may access school-based snacks.

Students should only visit the main office for snacks if they do not have them available to bring from home or if they forgot their snack for the day (students should NOT visit the main office for a snack if they simply do not like what they have packed for the day).

Thank you for your partnership in reviewing these expectations with your student before we start the school year!

Welcome to the 2025–26 School Year!
We’re excited to kick off another fantastic musical season at Sarah Adams Elementary School!

🎭 Calling All 4th and 5th Graders!
Audition sign-ups are almost open for this year’s musical! We have 40 spots available on a first come, first served basis for interested 4th and 5th grade students. All students that get a slot through the sign-up link will need to attend the audition workshop (see below). If space allows, we may open auditions to 3rd graders at a later time (not guaranteed).

Be on the lookout for more information coming from the PTO (Facebook page/email), which will include a SignUpGenius link to reserve your audition slot.

Important Dates:

• Audition Workshop: Tuesday, August 19 | 3:00–4:30 PM
  (Mandatory for all students auditioning)
  
  

• Auditions: Monday, August 25 | Slots available between 3:00-5:30 PM
  
  

We can't wait to see our talented students shine on stage! Questions? Email sarahadamsmusical@gmail.com.

IMPORTANT NOTE IF AUDITIONING:

Family Commitment
By signing your child up for an audition, you are committing to ensuring their attendance at the following:

• Audition Workshop
  
  

• Auditions
  
  

• All Scheduled Rehearsals
  
  

• Tech Week (December)
  
  

In addition, every family is required to volunteer for at least one opportunity—either during the rehearsal process or at the live performances.

Putting on a school musical is truly a team effort, and we deeply appreciate your support in making this a successful and memorable experience for all involved!

Do you know an amazing Lake Zurich High School alumni who has made great contributions and achievements in the world? If so, submit a nomination for the LZHS Distinguished Alumni Recognition award!

Nomination Criteria: To be nominated, alumni must have graduated from Lake Zurich High School at least 10 years ago and made significant contributions in their chosen field of work or through service to community, country, or world. NOMINATIONS DUE BY FRIDAY, AUGUST 22nd (at midnight)!!

Selection Criteria:

• Graduated a minimum of 10 years prior

• Models high standards of excellence in personal and/or professional life

• Outstanding contribution to volunteer service or their community, country, or world

• Post-secondary experiences reflect the values supporting our district mission: Academic Excellence, Accountability, Collaboration, Equity, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect

Click here to nominate a candidate meeting these criteria!

Inductees will be honored at the Homecoming football game and will have their pictures added to our Distinguished Alumni Wall at LZHS!

Join the fun at Paulus Park on August 10th from 11 am - 3 pm. Pack a picnic and join us for a day to unplug and connect with our community! For more information go to: www.unpluggedfest.com