Volume 15, Issue 19 | Wednesday, May 3, 2023

About the cover photos: Right: Hillcrest 2nd grader on a history of Downers Grove field trip. At left, an Indian Trail 4th grader showing off his award from the Downers Grove Public Library for his bookmark contest!  


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


Have feedback regarding Communicate 58? Click here!

District 58 calendar

Wednesday, May 3

Select 58 Awards

6:30-8 p.m. O’Neill Middle School


Thursday, May 4

Beginning Orchestra Parent Meeting

6:30 p.m. Herrick


Thursday, May 4

Beginning Band Parent Meeting

7:30 p.m. Herrick


Monday, May 8

Board of Education Reorganization Meeting,

6:30 p.m.

Board of Education Regular Meeting, 6:45 p.m.

Board of Education Workshop Meeting, 7:45 p.m.


Thursday, May 11

Beginning Band/Orchestra Fittings and Sign Up

4-8 p.m. Herrick

Saturday, May 13

Beginning Band/Orchestra Fittings and Sign Up

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. O’Neill 


Monday, May 15

Distinguished Service Awards

4 p.m. O’Neill


Wednesday, May 17

Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee

6 p.m. El Sierra


Wednesday, May 17

Cyber Safety Presentation 

6:30 p.m. O’Neill


Click here to view the 2022-23 calendar.

Click here to view the 2023-24 calendar.

Join us in saluting our staff during Staff Appreciation Week!

On behalf of District 58, we would like to thank our staff for their many contributions to student success!  Thank you for all you do to enrich the lives of our students, parents, and the community. Please join us this week and next as we celebrate Staff Appreciation Week. 



We’d also like to thank our parents and PTA for their efforts and support to make this a special week for our staff – from literally rolling out the red carpet and making us fun treats and decorating our staff lounges, you make it one of our favorites weeks of the year!

 

Want to thank a special teacher or staff member?



The Education Foundation invites community members to make a Green Apple donation to the Foundation in honor of an exceptional staff member. Every Green Apple Award recipient receives a Green Apple certificate with a personal message from the donor, and they are celebrated on the District’s social media pages.

  • Write a "thank you card" to a special staff member
  • Give a shout-out to your school nurse on School Nurse Day on May 10!
  • Give a shout-out to your principal this week for Principals Day May 1! 

Students learn about taking care of the planet

Earth Month is an opportunity that our schools and teachers take to raise awareness around issues impacting our planet and how to better take care of the earth. Here is a photo of Henry Puffer kindergarteners and 6th grade buddies cleaning up the area around the school. Students also celebrated Arbor Day by learning about trees from the Village of Downers Grove and the DG Garden Club, which invited the students to help plant a Swamp White Oak near the school. Most schools had an activity for students to complete each day of Earth Week. At Belle Aire, students played Earth Day bingo. Pierce Downer held a puzzle exchange and encouraged students to bike or walk to school and pack a waste-free lunch. Some Hillcrest students went on a nature Scavenger Hunt and played recycle bowling. The Grove Preschool students used their imaginations to recycle items for play. See more photos of Earth Day activities and learning.

Students advance to national PTA Reflections level

Congratulations to the following students who advanced to the National Level for their entries in the PTA Reflections competition. Through Reflections, District 58 students in K-8 grade are invited to submit works of art in six areas: dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. The theme for the 2022-23 program is “Show Your Voice!”


Advancing to National Level


  • El Sierra: 2nd grader Tyler Holmes (film) “You Too Can Be a Hero.”
  • Highland: 6th grader McKenna Blonn – (Dance) “Words.” 
  • Hillcrest: Kindergarten student, Teagan Holtrup’s (literature) “The Boy Hoo Toks Olot (The Boy Who Talks A Lot).”
  • Lester: 5th grader George Onken (film) “A Kid Who Showed His Voice – Ryan White.” 


Receiving State Honorable Mention


  • Whittier: 1st grader Elin Carlson (photography) “A Whisper in the Ear”
  • Highland: 5th grader Naya James (visual arts) “Blossoming Voices.”
  • Fairmount: 1st grader Jessica Fischer (literature) “The Forgetful Wedding.”
  • Hillcrest: 5th grader Keira O’Donoghue (dance choreography) “Listen.”

Congratulations to the 54 Herrick and O’Neill Middle School 8th graders who are set to be honored May 3 for their service and citizenship to the school and community. In the next edition of Communicate 58, we will share photos and video from the ceremony. Congratulations to:

  • Ingrid Baker
  • Maeve Bogaczyk
  • Zoe Bougiotopoulos
  • Max Canner
  • Josephine Carlson
  • Chase Chansey
  • Grace Cipparrone
  • Kiera Coit
  • Edie Condon
  • Jennifer Curran
  • Raymond Curran
  • Claire Cushing
  • Maggie DeAlba
  • Emmefa Dow
  • Trevor Dreyer
  • Priyanka Gupta
  • Hannah Hake
  • Libby Hatlen
  • Beatrix Hawkins
  • Evelyn Hose
  • Gabriella Hsu
  • Nathan Inboriboon
  • Vivian James
  • Sadie Johanek
  • Sajan Komanduri
  • Robert Kovacevic


  • Gianna Kropifko
  • Kendall Kuntz
  • Fiona Leion
  • Alyse Lynde
  • Sophia Magnusson
  • Addison Maxey
  • Philip Moawad
  • Gianna Modica
  • Michael Novotny
  • Luke Oestermeyer
  • Sofia Ostrowski
  • Samuel Pampalone
  • Klara Paschall
  • Ellie Penavic
  • Ana Schaefer
  • Briley Steffes
  • Joe Stock
  • Mason Suva
  • Peyton Szydlowski
  • Olivia Tan
  • Cassie Van Anne
  • Molly Van Anne
  • Liam Van De Walle
  • Katie Vlcikova
  • Lucia Walley
  • Owen Wills
  • Samuel Wootton


How does referendum affect current property tax bills?

Bonds from the 2022 facilities referendum will appear on property tax bills that began arriving in homes at the end of April. Please note that there was an error in the April 24 Board Briefs, which said that the referendum's impact on tax bills would not take effect until 2024. We apologize for the error and have corrected the Board Briefs on our website. Additionally, there is more background information about the referendum and property taxes in the April 10 Board Briefs. As a reminder, all public school districts in DuPage County are subject to the Property Tax Extension Law Limit (PTELL), which limits a school district’s operational increases to the CPI or 5%, whichever is less. Since 1992, when tax caps were enacted, this is the first time that the CPI was 5% or higher. District 58 continues to have the lowest tax rate of all large elementary school districts in DuPage County, To learn more about tax caps and PTELL, click here. To keep up with facility planning, click here. 

IDEA Student Services Survey


District 58 invites families to complete the Regional Office of Education's Student Services survey. This optional short survey will help District 58 better understand the scope of its needs in the following service areas: school counseling services, psychological services, social work and health.


Take the one-minute survey here. 

PHOTO GALLERY: Author Fest

Four children’s authors visited our schools for Author Fest Week, sharing their love of writing and illustration. They gave insight into their writing process, offered students lessons in illustrating and answered questions. Pictured at left is Troy Cummings at Highland.


Thank you to the DG58 PTA Council for organizing and funding and the District 58 Foundation for support. Check out more on the PTA Council’s Author Fest Facebook page, on our Twitter pages and in the Photo Gallery.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Strategic Plan Survey



If you have not done so yet, please complete the Strategic Planning survey by the end of the day today, Wednesday, May 3. The survey data will be summarized and forwarded to the Strategic Planning Committee and used to help develop goals and action plans for the next five years. Please take the survey here.

Please complete registration


New and returning families are asked to register their child at their earliest convenience for the 2023-24 school year. Returning student registration was due on April 4, but the system will remain open for any families who still need to complete registration. Learn more and register.

Keeping kids cyber safe workshop for parents



"Keeping Our Kids Cyber Safe" is the subject of a presentation sponsored by the Downers Grove PTA Council. The program will be held 6:30-8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17 at O’Neill Middle School, 635 59th St, Downers Grove. 

RSVPs are requested but aren’t required. Learn more.

Band/orchestra meetings May 4


Parents (3rd and 4th grade) are invited to an informational meeting Thursday, May 4 in the Herrick Middle School cafeteria to learn more about supporting their student if they choose to select an instrument to play next year. 


Beginning orchestra meeting (for 3rd grade parents) will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Beginning band meeting (for 4th grade parents) will begin at 7:30 p.m. 

Learn more.

Communication reminders about Gifted and Acceleration

Gifted communications

On Wednesday, May 10, we will send communication to the families of all newly eligible students for gifted programming. This will include students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade for next year's elementary program, and students in 6th and 7th grade for next year's middle school program. Students in grades 4, 5 and 7 who are currently in the program remain eligible for next year and will not receive a separate communication.  


Accelerated communications grade 2

On Wednesday, May 31, we will send communication to the families of all newly accelerated students in 2nd grade. We wait for the spring MAP scores for 2nd grade students to determine eligibility, which is why this timeline is delayed.  


Please don't hesitate to reach out to Justin Sisul at jsisul@dg58.org in the Curriculum Department with any questions.

SCHOOL BOARD 

Board of Education news

The Board of Education held a Financial and Curriculum Workshop Meeting on Monday, April 24. The meeting featured an update on the district’s five-year financial plan and status reports on three curricular committees. Read the Board Briefs.


Looking Ahead



The Board will hold its next regular Business Meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 8. It will start with a Reorganization Meeting of the Board, followed by the business meeting, then a workshop meeting to train members of the Board and administrators to facilitate Strategic Planning sessions. The Board agendas will be published on the Friday preceding each meeting on BoardDocs.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Mental Health and wellness focus of May

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! 

During the month, activities and events will be happening throughout Downers Grove to shine a light on mental health, resources and care in our community, including in District 58. Students are participating in the in-school Grit2 "Take Heart" project that emphasizes coping techniques and self-care. There will be displays of the project at all the schools. 



  • Green Ribbon Initiative - green ribbons throughout DG neighborhoods and streets
  • No Socials Sunday - a challenge to stay off social media on Sundays in May
  • D99 - Free Student Yoga during Finals at Yoga on Main / In-School "Start Chalking" event at DGS
  • Free Fishel Park Yoga and Provider Fair - May 13, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 


Learn more here.


Pictured above is a Hillcrest student showing her "Take Heart" project.

Community e-flyers

District 58 includes relevant e-flyers in the Communicate 58 newsletter and online. Learn more.


Downers Grove Grade School District 58

2300 Warrenville Road, Suite 200NE, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Community Relations Office: 630-719-5805 I fbehr@dg58.org | www.dg58.org

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