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Pictured above: Left: Students districtwide celebrated National Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss's birthday) on March 2. Right: In Social Studies, Fairmount fourth graders recently collaborated, researched, created a poster, and presented their work on saving Southeast wildlife. Great work!
Throughout this publication, you will see the following color-coded dots beside each article. The dots represent which strategic goal the article addresses:
• Focusing on Learning • Connecting the Community • Securing the Future
• Building for Success • Cultivating Talent
Have feedback regarding Communicate 58? Click here!
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Wednesday, March 5
3:45 p.m.: Board Legislative Committee Meeting at the Downers Grove Civic Center
6-7 p.m.: Kindergarten Roundup at Fairmount
Thursday, March 6
6-7 p.m.: Kindergarten Roundup at Belle Aire
Friday, March 7
Deadline to submit Select 58 applications (eighth graders)
7 a.m.: Board Financial Advisory Committee Meeting at the Downers Grove Civic Center
Sunday, March 9
Daylight savings time starts
Monday, March 10
7 p.m.: Board of Education Regular Meeting at the Downers Grove Civic Center
Tuesday, March 11
6-7 p.m.: HIllcrest Kindergarten Roundup
Wednesday, March 12
6-7 p.m.: Pierce Downer Kindergarten Roundup
6-7 p.m.: Whittier Kindergarten Roundup
6:30-7:30 p.m.: El Sierra Kindergarten Roundup
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Thursday, March 13
6-7 p.m.: Lester Kindergarten Roundup
6-8 p.m.: District 58 Bilingual In-Person Registration Support Event at El Sierra
7 p.m.: O'Neill Musical
Friday, March 14
Deadline to complete District 58's School Environment Survey
7 p.m.: O'Neill Musical
Tuesday, March 18
Illinois Assessment of Readiness testing window opens; principals will communicate exact testing schedule
6-7 p.m.: Indian Trail Kindergarten Roundup
Thursday, March 20
6-7 p.m.: Henry Puffer Kindergarten Roundup
6-7 p.m.: Highland Kindergarten Roundup
6-7 p.m.: Kingsley Kindergarten Roundup
Friday, March 21
Deadline to submit Distinguished Service Award nominations
Click here to view the 2024-25 calendar.
Click here to view the 2025-26 calendar.
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District will hold in-person bilingual registration support event March 13 ••
Please complete 2025-26 student registration by March 31
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District 58 will host an in-person bilingual registration support event on Thursday, March 13 from 6-8 p.m. at the El Sierra School gym. District 58 will offer in-person help with registration in English and Spanish. No appointment is required. Please bring all necessary registration documents. To learn more about what registration materials you will need, please visit our Registration webpage or call your school. Thank you! Learn more.
Reminder: District 58 asks all families to please complete 2025-26 school year registration for their child(ren) by Monday, March 31 on the PowerSchool Enrollment platform. Please visit our Registration webpage and click the relevant menu (i.e. New Student, Returning Student, etc.) for detailed registration directions. By completing your child's registration on time, District 58 can more effectively and accurately plan for the upcoming school year. Thank you for your attention.
Do you have a child entering kindergarten? District 58 is hosting Kindergarten Roundups this month in all elementary schools for children entering kindergarten in the 2025-26 school year. Please view the Kindergarten Roundup schedule. Please visit our Kindergarten Resources page for additional helpful information and tips.
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District shares IAR and ISA testing information for families • | |
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This March, students in grades 3-8 will complete the state-mandated Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). Additionally, this spring, students in grades 5 and 8 will take the mandated Illinois Science Assessment (ISA).
Building principals will share detailed school testing schedules in their weekly newsletters. District 58 approaches state assessments by supporting students and encouraging them to do their best, and we appreciate the partnership from our families in that encouragement. State assessment results will be available next fall.
Please click here to read a message from Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Liz Ehrhart about District 58's approach to these assessments.
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Trimester 2 report cards will be posted Friday • | |
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District 58 will post second trimester student report cards on the PowerSchool Parent Portal on Friday, March 7. Printed report cards will no longer be sent home. At this time, you cannot view report cards using the mobile app; you must use a web browser and sign into PowerSchool. Report Cards can be found in the “Student Reports” section of PowerSchool.
Please use these instructions to learn how to find and view report cards.
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Acceleration eligibility process is starting, notifications coming in May •• | |
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District 58 is beginning the process of reviewing student eligibility for math acceleration and gifted programming in the 2025-26 school year. Criteria for both math acceleration and the Gifted Program are found on our website. Families of students who are newly eligible for these programs will be notified by the second week of May. If you have questions about the process or procedures, please contact Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Liz Ehrhart at eehrhart@dg58.org or 630-719-5869. Student-specific questions will be best answered after the initial communications are shared.
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Preparedness in District 58: What are the District's evacuation/fire procedures? • | |
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In the Sept. 11 issue of Communicate 58, we shared links to our full four-part Emergency Preparedness series. Throughout the school year, we will also highlight parts of this series within this newsletter. Today, we highlight the next part of Topic 4, which is: What are District 58's evacuation/fire procedures?
Evacuation/fire procedures are initiated when a hazard inside the building requires relocating outside the building. Depending on the situation, students may evacuate and wait outdoors, outside the school, or they may be relocated to the school's alternative site. All District 58 schools have designated secondary (and tertiary) locations that can accommodate students during a crisis.
Examples include: Fire, gas leak or other in-school hazard.
The school will email and possibly call/text families and staff as soon as information can be coordinated and confirmed with the Fire Department and any other emergency responders.
Click here to view District 58's full four-part emergency preparedness series.
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Parents and guardians: Please take the School Environment Survey and the 5Essentials Survey ••••• | |
PowerSchool sends breach notification emails to affected users • | |
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Families should have received an email regarding the PowerSchool breach from Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Learning Dr. James Eichmiller on Feb. 26.
Dr. Eichmiller shared that in January, PowerSchool notified District 58 of a data breach within the PowerSchool Student Information System (PowerSchool SIS). This breach affected most of PowerSchool’s worldwide customers, including District 58.
Please reference this document for general information and to review our previous communications. You can also visit the PowerSchool website here for information regarding the breach. PowerSchool has begun sending information to impacted users regarding credit monitoring. It has been shared that the emails have come from the email address "Ps-sis-incident@mail1.csid.com" with a subject line of "PowerSchool Cybersecurity Incident". The email will share that due to the data breach, PowerSchool is offering free credit monitoring to impacted individuals. Families are encouraged to read through the email.
If you have any questions about this email or the data breach, please contact Dr. Eichmiller at jeichmiller@dg58.org or 630-719-2768.
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Summer School registration is now open! • | |
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District 58 opened registration for its math/reading and art Summer School classes last week. All art classes and the second grade math/reading class have been filled. There currently are still spaces in the math/reading classes for other grade levels. Please click here to register.
District 58 will also offer its Leap Into Kindergarten summer class for incoming kindergarteners. Leap Into Kindergarten registration will open Tuesday, April 8 at 9 a.m.
Please visit our Summer Learning webpage to learn more about District 58's summer programming.
Registration is currently open for its summer Extended School Year program for students eligible through their IEP. Students eligible for this program will receive an email from their IEP team with more information.
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Grove Children's Preschool applications are due March 10 • | |
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Grove Children's Preschool is accepting 2025-26 school year applications, now through Monday, March 10. Apply here.
Grove Children's Preschool serves children ages 3-5 who reside within District 58's boundaries. The preschool program consistently earns the State's highest preschool rating (gold) for demonstrating the highest quality scores on 15 preschool standards, including curriculum, instructional quality, family and community engagement, and much more.
Explore Grove Children's Preschool's webpages to learn more about their program!
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O'Neill invites community to Disney's Frozen Jr. •• | |
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Disney’s Frozen Jr. is playing at O’Neill Middle School on Thursday, March 13 and Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. The spectacular 60-minute musical, designed for middle school-aged performers, is based on the 2013 Disney film and the 2018 Broadway adaptation. The O’Neill Middle School cast and crew includes 60 students led by Janet Hecht and Stephanie Potter.
Do you want to build a snowman? You’ll love this fanciful and heartwarming stage adaptation of the top-grossing animated film of all time! Join Anna, Elsa, and all of your favorite characters as they embark on an epic, ice-filled journey of self-discovery, camaraderie, and the real meaning of true love. Adapted for young performers, this musical includes favorite Frozen songs such as “Love Is an Open Door,” “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” and “Let It Go,” as well as wonderful new songs from the Broadway production. With its empowering message of love and understanding, Frozen JR. is sure to melt your heart!
Tickets can be purchased at the door: $10 for adults; $5 for seniors/children.
Disney’s Frozen JR. is presented through special arrangement with and all materials are provided by Music Theatre International. O'Neill thanks Zach Frazier Orthodontics, BAM Theatre, and Lighthouse Exhibits Inc., for sponsoring the show.
Pictured: O'Neill's musical students prepared for the Frozen Jr., by attending Frozen at the Paramount Theater in December 2024.
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Middle school winter sports update •• | |
District 58's middle schools joined the Southeast DuPage Elementary Athletic Association this school year, giving them more athletic opportunities than before. Here is an update on some of our winter sports teams. We will share a Girls Cheerleading update and a final Girls Volleyball recap in the next issue! | |
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Boys Wrestling
Herrick and O’Neill recently completed their first-ever Boys Wrestling season! Both teams did very well, with Herrick finishing in fourth place and O’Neill in sixth place. Several wrestlers from Herrick and O’Neill competed in the regional tournament, and Herrick wrestler Jackson L. took first place in his grouping and advanced to the sectional tournament. He placed fourth at sectionals and is heading to state! Great job in your first season!
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Coed Chess
This year was also the first year that Herrick and O’Neill participated in Chess. Both teams enjoyed a memorable season, filled with thrilling matches between players! The teams fostered a welcoming environment, ensuring no one was left out—whether by engaging in friendly games or offering valuable advice for the next match. As the season came to a close, O'Neill came in fourth place (pictured), and Herrick in sixth place, at the SDEAA Chess Conference Tournament.
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Girls Volleyball
The Girls Volleyball regular season will be winding down in the next week, and the regional tournament will take place on March 17. We will do a volleyball recap after the season ends. Best of luck, girls, as you finish your seasons!
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Boys Basketball
We wanted to share an update to our boys' basketball report from last month's Communicate 58.
As we previously shared, the Herrick seventh grade boys basketball team won regionals and sectionals, and qualified for the state basketball tournament. In the opening round, they played and lost to Springfield-Lincoln, the team that ultimately won the state championship. In addition, O'Neill's eighth grade team won their regional and made it to the final round of sectionals, when they lost to Herrick. Both O'Neill and Herrick's eighth grade teams lost during the regional tournament, after completing strong regular seasons.
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Nicole Bernard appointed to open Board position ••••• | |
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The Board of Education appointed Nicole Bernard to fill a Board member vacancy now through April 2025. Ms. Bernard also is running uncontested for the District 58 Board of Education in the April 2025 election. It is expected that Ms. Bernard will seamlessly transition from completing this Board member vacancy role to a full four-year Board member term this spring.
“We are happy to welcome Ms. Bernard to the District 58 Board of Education,” said Board President Darren Hughes. “With her years of experience on the Financial Advisory Committee and her active involvement as a District parent, she has a history of being a strong supporter of our schools. I am confident she will be a tremendous asset to the District in her new role as a member of the Board of Education.”
Congratulations and welcome to the Board, Ms. Bernard! Learn more here.
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Board Briefs for the Feb. 24 Curriculum Workshop, Special Meeting ••••• | |
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The Board of Education held a Curriculum Workshop and Special Meeting on Monday, Feb. 24 that covered a Board member appointment, ELA curriculum presentation, curriculum committee updates, and an update to last month's Financial Workshop. Read the Board Briefs to learn more.
Pictured: English Learner Teachers Ms. Ortega and Ms. Inglot presented on the new ELA resources for multilingual students. During the meeting, Board and audience members participated in four rotations, during which teachers gave hands-on demonstrations and presentations of different ELA curriculum materials.
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The Board of Education will hold a Regular Business Meeting on Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Downers Grove Civic Center, 850 Curtiss St. The meeting agenda will be posted on BoardDocs this Friday.
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Nominate a District 58 staff member for a Distinguished Service Award •• | |
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The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 invites the community to recognize an exceptional staff member with a Distinguished Service Award nomination. This is a free program; simply complete a short form and submit an essay describing how the staff member contributes to the betterment of District 58. Nominations are due Friday, March 21. The DSA ceremony is Tuesday, May 6.
Click here to view more information, frequently asked questions, and the nomination form (in English and Spanish). Thank you!
Pictured above: Left: The 2024 DSA winner in the Teacher category was Grove Children's Preschool Teacher Toni Belken (holding flowers). Right: The 2024 DSA winners in the Staff category were the Hillcrest nursing staff (l-r): Addie Pampalone, Erin Blank and Ann Brinkman.
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Eighth graders invited to apply for Select 58 Award •• | |
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Reminder: Select 58 Award applications are due on Friday, March 7!
Select 58 annually recognizes eighth graders who exhibit outstanding service and citizenship to their school and community. All eighth grade students are eligible to apply for the honor, as long as they are passing their classes.
To apply for this award, eighth graders must complete two steps:
1. Complete the Select 58 Award Application by Friday, March 7, 2025.
2. Ask someone (not a relative) to write and email a letter of recommendation to Community Relations Coordinator Megan Hewitt at mhewitt@dg58.org by Friday, March 7.
Please visit the Select 58 webpage to learn more. Good luck, eighth graders!
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The annual Reading Games is a success! •• | |
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The annual Reading Games competition took place on Saturday, Feb. 22 at O'Neill and was a big success! Hundreds of students gathered at the school and participated in a friendly and fun reading competition. District 58 thanks the incredible PTA Council Reading Games Committee for their leadership, and the Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 for sponsoring this event. We also thank this year's question writers, event volunteers, student participants, and their families.
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District 58 includes relevant e-flyers in the Communicate 58 newsletter and online. Learn more.
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Downers Grove Grade School District 58
850 Curtiss Street, Suite 200, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Community Relations Office: 630-719-5805 I mhewitt@dg58.org | www.dg58.org
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