September 2019 eNewsletter
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A Cultural Exchange and Partnership
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Educators from the LEAP Science and Math Schools in South Africa spent three weeks visiting and observing our classrooms and schools and attending school events. The visit is the second part of an exchange and extraordinary partnership between LEAP, D181 and the District 181 Foundation. It is funded by the Casten Family Foundation and is an extension of a long-time cultural and educational exchange program between Hinsdale High School District 86 and LEAP Schools. The educators returned to South Africa on Sept. 25.
"District 181 is grateful to be part of this exchange and partnership," said Superintendent Dr. Hector Garcia. "It has many benefits to both of our communities. We are sharing our educational ideals, best teaching practices and Social Emotional Learning for Academic Success (SELAS) program and fostering cultural and social awareness." As a lighthouse District, we are also pleased to host visitors who want to know more about District 181 instructional practices, he said.
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Elementary School Highlights
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It's already been a great start to the 2019-20 school year. We're thrilled to have students back in our classrooms!
Have stories or photos to share? Simply reply to this email.
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Madison School was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a 2019 National Blue Ribbon School. It is the highest national award given. Madison was named a Blue Ribbon School earlier in 2009 and it’s rare to be named a second time. Madison was nominated as an
Exemplary High Performing School.
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Oak students made their mark at International Dot Day, where they
are encouraged to embrace their talents and bravely share their inspiration with others.
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Thanks to students and master gardner Anne Marie Bodrozic, Walker School donated 49 bags of vegetables and herbs from their garden to the People’s Resource Center in Westmont.
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Monroe school held their 3rd annual Garden Party that included lemonade, honey tasting from Monroe's bee hive, a scavenger hunt, and postcard writing that encouraged the protection of pollinators.
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Prospect School
Prospect’s favorite annual event, the Dash 'n Bash was held Sept. 20. Nearly all students K-5 participated. It’s not only the PTO’s largest fundraiser but an event to celebrate the entire school community.
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During September, Elm students have been learning about the engineering design process through team building activities in their Innovation or iLab. Together with a partner or small group, they develop a plan to solve a problem, build and test their designs and finally reflect on how to improve upon their initial plan. .
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Students were building a community of fitness and fun at The Lane’s Orange Ruler Fun Run. Students jogged, skipped, danced or walked around the course. There were two runs - one for K-2 graders and another for 3-5 graders. Students helped solicit donations for the Fun Run.
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CHMS is observing its 20th Anniversary this year and will be celebrating all year long! Here is a photo of the dedicated professionals who have been at CHMS since it opened. CHMS also hosted LEAP educators (pictured at right) from South Africa who met with teachers and students.
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HMS also hosted the LEAP educators, who told of the hardships of students and community and how they help students overcome this and develop persistence and grit. HMS teachers were fortunate to spend time planning and building friendships with these wonderful teachers.
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Schools Featured in Chicago Magazine
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You will recognize some of names of "the best" schools in DuPage County on
Chicago Magazine's list. The ranking is based on test scores, attendance, student achievement growth, 5Essentials climate surveys and other measures. Also, Walker fifth grade teacher Sarah Karrow was featured for founding the Eco Club, a popular student group that built a butterfly garden, held recycling drives, raised money for conservation groups and started "waste-free Wednesdays at the school.
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Financial Reporting
Community Consolidated School District 181 was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the International Association of School Business Officials (ASBO). This means that the District has met the ASBO’s program of high standards for financial reporting and accountability in preparing its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). It is the 16th year that the District has received this distinction.
Top rating
District 181 has again received an Aaa rating from Moody's Investors Service, the highest possible. The rating was given to the District’s sale of $3.1 million of general obligation refunding debt certificates.
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Online Form to Report Bullying
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A new procedure to report bullying has been developed in the District. This process allows students or parents/guardians to report an incident of bullying via an online reporting form. The reporting can be done anonymously, if desired.
Preventing bullying, intimidation and harassment are important goals in our District. We believe that bullying diminishes a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate. This new procedure allows a student victim, the parent/guardian of a student victim, or a close adult relative of a student victim, to fill out the form by accessing it on the
Parent Page
of our website.
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Three volunteer parents lead HMS interior design, branding
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These three professionals who happen to be HMS moms helped with the design of the space and the logo for the new school. They said they wanted a "happy place" that reflected the needs of 6th, 7th and 8th graders as well as the HMS staff. Here's a look into their thought and design process. A big thank you for their time and expertise!
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Chicago's National Public Radio Station WBEZ interviewed LEAP teachers and educators on the origin and benefits of the teacher exchange with School District 86.
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Educators in District 181 traveled to South Africa in July as part of the exchange. See what they learned from their visit and hope to bring to our schools.
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Community Speaker Series
The best antidote to children’s stress is to give them more control over their lives. Dr. William Stixrud, Ph.D. a clinical neuropsychologist, and Ned Johnson co-authored a book called
The Self-Driven Child
, and will present on how to set children on the real road to success by empowering them.
October 22,
2019, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
October 22
, 2019, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location: The Community House
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Social media and kids: LIKE the documentary
Do you want to learn about the impact of social media on kids? Do you have questions about your child’s social media use? The District 181 Foundation is sponsoring the showing of the documentary film “Like.” It will be shown to all middle school students during the day and will be offered to parents twice:
Thursday night, Oct. 3
, 7 p.m. at CHMS
Friday morning, Oct. 4
at 9:30 a.m. at The Community House.
Children are welcome to attend with their parents. The film is appropriate for any child that uses social media. Liz Repking from Cyber Security Consulting will be leading a follow-up discussion and Q&A for parents after the film. The events are free but registration is required at
www.d181foundation.org
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Support D181 Students at the 25th Anniversary Rotary Run
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District 181 students, families and supporters are encouraged to register for the 25th Anniversary Rotary Run Charity Classic, to be held in downtown Hinsdale the morning of Sunday, Oct. 6.
The event, which includes a variety of 3k to 10k walks and runs, is a community staple that supports local charities, including the District 181 Foundation.
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Oct. 3
– 7 p.m. LIKE the documentary, CHMS
Oct. 4
– 9:30 a.m. LIKE the documentary, The Community House
Oct. 6
– Hinsdale Rotary Run
Oct. 22
–
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Community Speaker Series, The Community House
Oct. 22
– 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Community Speaker Series, The Community House
School’s Out Trips
Drop your child off at The Community House for a fun filled day when there is no school! The
program
is for children in Kindergarten through 8
th
grade. The time is 7:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. with extended hours till 6:00 p.m.
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COMMUNITY CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT 181
115 West 55th St. Clarendon Hills, IL 60514
© District 181. All rights reserved.
PH:
630.861.4900
FAX:
630.887.1079
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