Panther Post

March 22, 2024

Quick Links

Therapy Dog Information

We are so excited to welcome Ember to Sullivan! Ember will be visiting once weekly in April to work with our students in the library setting under the supervision of Mrs. Schlomann. Please click on the presentation link for more information about therapy dogs and how Ember will work with students at Sullivan. Do not hesitate to contact Ms. Meziere at [email protected] with questions. If you prefer that your child not interact with Ember, please complete the opt out form.

The 5Essentials Survey closes on March 29th. If you have not done so, please take a few minutes to complete the survey by clicking the link below.

State Assessments

We have finished our science and ELA testing, and Math testing is scheduled for April 9-11. Please make sure your child's iPad is fully charged, and support them in getting plenty of sleep and eating a healthy breakfast on the mornings of testing.

The Sullivan Musical was a sold out hit! Students and families enjoyed both matinee and evening performances of Beauty and the Beast. Aside from the wonderful acting and singing performances, our students were involved in every aspect of the play, from designing and creating sets, to running sound and lights, to stage crew. Thank you to Mrs. Luehr, Ms. Wessel, Ms. Slowik, Ms. Zavacki, and Mr. Anderson for helping our students bring this production to life!

Mr. Anderson and our Sullivan Band students put on a great show last week at the evening concert! A few of our students were excited to perform at the Board meeting as well to celebrate Music in Our Schools Month!

AJ and Andreas represented Sullivan at Mac's St. Baldrick's event last week. We are so proud of our students for raising money to fight childhood cancer!

Last week's Art Show at the Prospect Heights Public Library was an amazing display of our students' talent and creativity! Thank you to Mrs. Matthews for guiding our students in their art journey and fostering a love of art in our kids, and for organizing such a wonderful display of art from students across the district. Their projects were amazing, from the clay frogs, to paintings and drawings, to scrapbook art.

Our 4th and 5th graders enjoyed some math fun last week. Mr. Panitch's class enjoyed a special lesson from his "sub", Mr. Potscratch, and Ms. Donohue and Mrs. Veldman planned a special fractions lesson for Pi Day!

Pawsitive Panthers and Panther Paw Winners

On April 8, a total eclipse will be visible in the Chicagoland area. We are planning on capitalizing on this educational opportunity, within safe guidelines. We are grateful for the support of the D23PTO who provided the necessary funding to purchase the safety glasses required for viewing the eclipse.

The following is the timeline for the total solar eclipse in the Chicagoland area:

12:51 pm Eclipse Begins

2:08 pm Max Point of the Total Eclipse

3:22 pm Eclipse Ends

Because it can be damaging to our eyes to stare directly into the sun during a total eclipse, we wanted to reach out to you to let you know our plan for that day to ensure the safety of our students and staff:

• No recess or Physical Education during the timeframe of the total eclipse (unless the weather and cloud coverage permit)
• We have developed a schedule that allows teachers to take their classes outside to experience the total eclipse.
• We will supply each student with the proper protective eyewear should their class decide to go outside during the total eclipse timeframe.
• Students MUST wear the protective eyewear in order to go outside during the total eclipse timeframe.
• You will have an opportunity to opt your child out of that experience. Should you decide to opt your child out of that experience, they will be provided with an alternate activity.
• We will ask all students to wear their protective glasses during dismissal and while riding the school bus home.

Opt-Out

Please email your child’s homeroom (elementary) or advisory (MacArthur) teacher should you want your child to not participate in this experience. You may also choose to arrange an early pick-up or keep your child home if you are uncomfortable with them traveling home wearing the protective glasses. 

Your Help

We will speak to the students about how to responsibly experience the total eclipse and about the necessary safety precautions when going outside during a total eclipse. Talking with your child about the responsibilities of observing a solar eclipse and reinforcing wearing the protective glasses during dismissal would be helpful to further ensure the safety of our students.

The following are some resources should you want to learn more about the Total Solar Eclipse | 2024:

National Science Teaching Association

Parent Handout

Please feel free to reach out to your school office with any questions.

OMG...it's EDP

The 2024-25 EDP Registration will be conducted separately from the D23 School Registration. Included is a link to express interest in EDP for the 2024-2025 school year. If you are interested in using the Extended Day Program next year, please click on and complete this 2024-25 Extended Day Program Interest Form link. Additional information will be shared with interested families later this Spring!

Updates to 2023-24 Calendar

At the November Board of Education Meeting, the following necessary changes to the current 2023-24 School Year calendar were made:

Tuesday, March 19 will now be a Day of Non-attendance for Teacher Institute Day.

Tuesday, April 2 will now be a day of attendance.

CLICK HERE to view the revised "At-A-Glance" Calendar

Thank you to our amazing PTO for organizing another wonderful Family Fun Night last Friday. There was something for everyone to enjoy, and I am looking forward to having lunch with raffle winners in the upcoming weeks!

Spring Break: March 25-April 1

April 2: Classes Resume

April 9-11: IAR Math Testing

April 9-11: IAR Math Testin11: Board of Education Meeting 7PM

April 22-25: iReady Testing

April 25: PTO Meeting 7PM

May 1: Orchestra Concert 7PM

May 9: Board of Education Meeting 7PM

May 10: No School (School Improvement Day)

May 13: Band Concert 7PM

May 14: Chorus Concert 7PM