Christian's Weekly Communication

In order to support staff and families ahead of conferences, District 97 has also created a new resource for families entitled Getting Ready for Family-Teacher Conferences: https://www.op97.org/teach-learn/family-teacher-conferences.

We will also share a post-conference survey with families following conferences that will help determine the impact of our shifts from October to now.

2023 Winter Conferences:

• Please see Principal Christian's instructions that he shared on Friday, 1/27 about how to sign up for conferences. Remember, if your child has a 3.0 GPA or higher, we ask that you forgo conferences at this time.
• Parents/Guardians should put their zoom request in the comments section of PTC Wizard if they are requesting a Zoom conference. Please reach out to your student's teacher if you need to make a switch from in-person to zoom.
  
• Students will attend classes from 9am - noon on Thursday, February 9 and on Friday, February 10. Classes will be conducted on an abbreviated bell schedule (no lunch served and no recess on the half days).
• Be sure to sign up for conferences before the morning of 2/7. The parent website will close at 9am, as teachers need to prepare for the upcoming conference appointments.
• Students were given their MAP and MasteryConnect reports during advisory on Friday, February 3. Please be sure to review the scores prior to the conference appointments with your student's teacher(s).
• On Thursday evening, 2/9, please feel free to stop by the Conference Help Desk in the commons between 12pm - 12:30pm or anytime between 5:00pm - 8:00pm, if you have any questions about NWEA MAP and/or MasteryConnect reports. Click here for more details.

We are pleased to announce that 8th graders, Sydney Rezny and Jaida Garland, have been announced as this year's Percy Julian Middle School SCOTY (School Citizen of the Year) award recipients.

Staff and student peers both agreed that these two students have modeled the very best examples of citizenship and are wonderful additions to the school community. They will participate in a ceremony held by West 40 next month. If you see them, please give them a high five and a congratulations!

Students will be given the Illinois 5Essentials Survey again this school year. The learn more about the survey, please click on the link.

Happy Black History Month 2023

• Happy Black History Month to our Julian community! This month we are learning and celebrating in a variety of ways, including:
• Grade level assemblies on February 15, featuring musicians and speakers from Julian’s student body
  
• A display case on the first floor - be sure to check it out during conferences!
  
• An evening celebration (tbd) at 6pm
  
• Advisory mini-lessons
  
• Library lessons
  
• Weekly trivia facts, and more!
  

In honor of Black History Month, our school and district will be celebrating the remarkable lives, histories and contributions of the Black community. We'd love to hear how you and your family are celebrating, too! You can share your Black History Month stories, photos and videos by tweeting (@OakPark97, using the hashtags #MyD97 and #OakPark97) or emailing d97feedback@op97.org.

DePaul Mindfulness Groups
If you have a child who you think might benefit from the DePaul Mindfulness Group (i.e., student appears anxious, worried, overwhelmed, withdrawn, etc.), please complete the Request for Assistance Form by February 10, as our next round of groups will be starting at the end of the month!

--

Katie Trathen, LCSW

(she/her/hers) - Hear my name

Culture & Climate Coach

Percy Julian Middle School

416 Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park, IL

Julian Request for Assistance Form - SY23

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

COVID-19: Reminders & Resources

Staying home when sick is essential to keep COVID-19 and other infections out of our schools and prevent spread to others.

• If a student or staff member has tested positive for COVID-19, please complete the POSITIVE CASE NOTIFICATION FORM.

• Families must also report the absences by calling the school attendance line, and staff must enter their absences in Frontline.

To view the district’s COVID-19 Health Safety Plan, along with other COVID-19 resources and information, please visit the COVID-19 Update Center.

Thanks,

Nurse Misty

--

Misty Howe, MSN, RN, CNL

she/her/hers

Percy Julian Middle School

Health Office

mhowe@op97.org

phone: (708) 524-7648

fax: (708) 524-3035

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!