Christian's Weekly Communication

We had an extraordinary time at our first ever Career Exploration Day! There were military veterans, doctors, tech executives, and more. Over 50 artists, entreprenuers and professionals participated on Wednesday! Shout out to the Julian parents and guardians that took time out of their busy schedules to be presenters and panelists! The swinging sounds of the Chicago West Community Music Center musicians really had the auditorium jumping with their lively assemblies on “James Reese Europe: The Man, The Music, The Legacy!" Gratitude to Concordia University, the Oak Park Public Library and every organization that sent representatives for the Julian Career Exploration Day.

Each volunteer, with their unique background and expertise, made the day very special and informative for our Jayhawks. And we thank you all for making the event a success!

Future Jayhawks from Mann and Irving came in for their 5th Grade student orientation last week (the week prior, Beye and Longfellow joined us). Students enjoyed a fun assembly that introduced them to Julian staff, current 6th graders and awesome music department performances. Special thanks again to the Julian Student Leadership Team for leading the building tours and answering questions thoughtfully!

8th Grade families:

• Saturday, May 6 - 8th Grade Celebration Dance
• Monday, May 22 - Music Dept field trip (for Choir, Band & Orchestra students)
• *Tuesday, May 30 - Graduation Materials Pick Up Night (a parent or guardian, 18yrs old+ must sign for the graduation tickets, class of 2023 t-shirt and/or cap & gown orders) 5:30pm - 7pm in the commons
• Tuesday, June 6 - Great America trip
• *Wednesday, June 7 - Chromebook Collection (students turn in D97 devices and chargers)
• Friday, June 9 - rehearsal for graduation (10am) and graduation ceremony (6:30pm) @ OPRFHS

Julian will host its first Night of Excellence on Wednesday, May 3. This night will highlight our students' accomplishments and provide them recognition of their EXCELLENT accolades this year. Families of award recipients received personal invitations last week. And all Julian families are welcome to attend the award ceremony. Join us for a night of celebration!

• HELP NEEDED - May 30th School Store

Our final school store of the school year is upon us and we need your help!

• Restock - Can you support our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) efforts by purchasing items from our Amazon wish list for our next school store? THANK YOU SO MUCH for your generosity!

• Volunteer - If you have 30 minutes available on Tuesday, May 30, we could use your help to set up, tear down, or work the store during a lunch period! Check out our sign-up sheet here. Any questions? Please reach out to Katie Trathen at ktrathen@op97.org. Thank you so much!
  

Here's the link to the student daily announcements.

We are excited to announce that the Julian Literacy Lab launched on 4/10. Literacy Lab is a place where students can get help from teachers with their reading and writing assignments, study for assessments, make revisions and/or proofread writing, and re-take assessments. It will be held in the library media center before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays (8-8:45am) and after school on Wednesdays (3:40-4:30pm).

Sign up here ahead of time to attend (required). If you have questions, please reach out to Ms. O'Keefe at kokeefe@op97.org.

Calculation Corner: Free math support is provided by Julian math teachers on Tuesdays & Thursdays in Room A213 (Before school 8:00-8:50 AM & after school 3:40-4:30 PM). Available to any Julian student in need of math help. Students who visit the Math Lab can receive help on their homework, prepare for upcoming assessments, get assistance with assessment revisions, and retake summative assessments.

Students are required to sign up ahead of time using this link.

8th grade families,

The Action Team for Partnerships is a group of freshman parents and OPRFHS administrators who work collaboratively to engage families and the community in ways that support student achievement and success. The Action Team for Partnerships will focus on Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan, taking a holistic, supportive, transformative approach to providing engaging, equitable learning experiences. The Action Team will engage in monthly meetings to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the identified strategic goals, craft a One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships with activities linked to the selected goals, support the implementation of parent and community involvement activities, and monitor progress. Through this process, the members of this group will intentionally support ongoing family and community involvement that impacts student achievement and success. The Application Deadline is May 8th at 8am.

Who will do this work:

A group of 20-30 incoming freshman parents (to be selected from the submitted

applications), current freshman parents, and OPRFHS administrators.

What will the group do:

● Engage in one-hour monthly meetings

● Identify a specific area(s) of focus from Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan

● Assess the strengths and areas for improvement of the identified area of focus

● Craft a One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships with activities linked to the

selected goal(s)

● Support the implementation of the parent and community involvement activities

● Monitor progress of goal implementation

Why are we doing this:

● Partner with families and the community to enhance students' academic

experiences

● Foster ongoing family and community involvement around Priority 2

● Impact student achievement and success

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click here to sign up. Any questions can be directed to Dr. Laurie Fiorenza, assistant superintendent for student learning, at lfiorenza@oprfhs.org.

201 North Scoville Avenue | Oak Park, IL 60302

708.383.0700

www.oprfhs.org

Concordia University Chicago will host a summer program open to teens. It will be held for boys from July 10 - 13. Click here for more info.

2023-24 District 97 Blended Preschool Program
District 97 is accepting applications for the early childhood blended classrooms at Whittier Elementary School for the 2023-24 school year. There will be a limited number of spaces available. Click here to view the 2023-24 D97 Blended Preschool flyer >>

District 97 is seeking students who:

• are non-IEP students who will be between the ages of 3 and 4 years by Sept. 1, 2023;

• demonstrate age-appropriate language and social skills;

• are Oak Park residents;

• are not enrolled in a preschool program.

The registration window will be open April 10, 2023 through May 19, 2023. For more information about the Early Childhood Blended Program or to apply, please visit https://www.op97.org/teach-learn/ecblended.

Be Safe and Healthy Reminders

In District 97, we understand and appreciate that it will take all of us—families, staff, community members—working together to have a safe and healthy winter. As we continue through the winter months, we want to remind you of a few preventative measures our school community can take to reduce the spread of illness in our schools:

• Wash hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are the most common ways for germs to enter the body.
• Cover your mouth and nose with your arm when you cough or sneeze.
• Get plenty of sleep!
• Eat whole, unprocessed foods and include fruits and vegetables at each meal.
• Stay up to date on your vaccinations

Should students get sick, they should not come to school. Please do not send your child to school with any of the following symptoms:

• Constant coughing
• Constant “runny” nose, especially with yellow or green mucus
• A temperature of 100 or higher
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Rashes or any scratching for unknown reasons, with or without fever
• Watery, itching eyes that have drainage or are crusted shut upon waking

If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please report the illness by completing District 97’s Positive Case Notification form. Thank you for sharing this responsibility with us to Be Safe and Healthy by looking out for the collective care of the community this winter!

Process for Reporting Positive COVID-19 Cases to D97 Schools

If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must complete the following steps:

1) In order to notify the school nurse and receive a return-to-school date, families/staff must complete the confidential COVID-19 Positive Case Notification Form as soon as possible following the positive test. Information provided will also be shared with the Oak Park Department of Public Health.

2) Families must continue to report student absences via the school attendance line, and staff must enter their absences in Frontline.

To see the rules for isolation and quarantine, click here. Additional resources are linked below.

• Summary of District 97's COVID-19 Mitigations

• 2022-23 COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan

District 97 partners with a company called BrightArrow to deliver important information to families through calls, emails and text messaging. Next week, the BrightArrow system is adding a new texting phone number to speed up text delivery. Please note that your family may start seeing text messages from our school coming from the short code phone number 79041, in addition to the number 87569.

As a reminder, you may opt-in to text messages from our school at any time by sending YES to the shortcode 87569 and 79041. You must have your phone number on file with the school to receive text messages. Once you opt-in, BrightArrow will send you a confirmation that your phone number is opted-in.

In 2020, Principal Christian implemented the theme of "over-communicate" amid the flexibility of the COVID19 virus and how information might change at a moment's notice. Last year, our theme was "growing together". And now in 2022-23, we'd like to continue with our new theme of "Stronger, Together". Here are the ways in which Principal Christian and the Jayhawk staff communicates:

• Our Official Percy Julian Facebook Page (click here)
• Christian's Weekly Communication (every week)
• PowerSchool Daily Bulletin Alerts
• Text Messages (Jayhawk Text Messages District 97 uses the notification system BrightArrow to communicate with families via email and phone calls. This year, we have started using periodic text messages to send reminders directly to parents' cell phones. In order to receive text messages, parents must opt-in by texting YES to 87569. Once you have subscribed, you will receive a text confirmation.)

416 S. Ridgeland Ave.

Oak Park, IL 60302

708-524-3040

www.op97.org/julian

We give our best, and then some!