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District 58 seeks participants for community engagement workshop
All interested citizens are invited to participate in Downers Grove Grade School District 58's day-long community engagement workshop Saturday, March 19, to assist in crafting a strategic plan for the district. The workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Herrick Middle School, 4435 Middaugh Ave., Downers Grove. The purpose of the workshop is to delve more deeply into the feedback received from a recently completed community-wide survey conducted by District 58, and provide another opportunity for community input through focus groups. More than 1,400 District 58 stakeholders participated in the community-wide survey, the results of which were presented during the Jan. 10 School Board meeting. According to the respondents, the top strengths of District 58 are quality teachers, reading, math, community support of education, the neighborhood school model, and school climate, while the three most important areas for planning are student learning (curriculum, instruction and assessment), student well-being/social-emotional learning, and technology for teaching and learning. Click here for the full story. |
New regular education transportation contract results in savings for District 58
Downers Grove Grade School District 58 will save approximately $230,000 on regular education bussing costs in the 2011-12 school year under a new transportation contract approved Feb. 14.
This year District 58 was able to coordinate a formal bid for transportation services with similar formal requests by Community High School District 99 and Woodridge School District 68.
"We have wanted to coordinate transportation service bids with District 99 and District 68 for years, but the timing was never right because we all were on multi-year contracts with different expirations," said Lorie Pilster, Director of Business Services for District 58. "We are very pleased that we were able to partner with our neighboring school districts in bidding out our transportation services this year."
Click here for the full story.
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Second City performance to benefit District 58 Education Foundation
Come enjoy an evening of comedy with the Second City at the Tivoli Theatre, and support the students of District 58 at the same time!
The District 58 Education Foundation's annual Entertainment for Education fundraiser, which this year will feature the famed comedy troupe, is set for Friday, April 8, at 8 p.m. at the Tivoli, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove.
Tickets for the Second City are $100 for VIP seating, $75 for preferred seating, and $30 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased at Community Bank of Downers Grove, 1111 Warren Ave., Downers Grove. Proceeds from the event benefit the District 58 Education Foundation. For more information, call Jay Stocki at (630) 740-0060.
For more information about the District 58 Education Foundation and its programs, visit www.dg58ef.com.
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 Six District 58 schools named to Illinois Honor Roll
Six District 58 schools were recently honored with Academic Excellence awards from the state. These awards are given to schools in which at least 90 percent of students met or exceeded state standards in reading and math for three consecutive years, as measured by the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. To be named to the Illinois Honor Roll, schools also must have achieved Adequate Yearly Progress as measured by the ISAT for the past two years.
Across the state, only 459 schools earned Academic Excellence Awards for 2010. Receiving the designation this year in District 58 were Belle Aire, Highland, Hillcrest, Pierce Downer and Whittier schools, and O'Neill Middle School.
Academic Excellence is one category of award in the Illinois Honor Roll program. More information about the Illinois Honor Roll is available at www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu.
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District 58 unveils new website
As part of continuing efforts to more effectively communicate with its parents and the community, District 58 unveiled its new website in December. The new site is designed to be even easier to navigate, and to allow the district and its schools to easily provide up-to-date information to visitors.
Features of the searchable District 58 website, www.dg58.org, include latest news from the district and its schools; photo galleries; an interactive calendar; parent and curriculum resources; Board of Education information; and links to current and past district publications.
Stop by to check out the new website, and check back frequently for the latest news from District 58!
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Nominate a staff member for a 2011 Distinguished Service Award!
District 58 parents, is there a staff member in District 58 who goes above and beyond in making your child's educational experience the best it can be? Please consider nominating that individual for the District 58 Education Foundation's 2010-11 Distinguished Service Award!
Anyone who is on staff at District 58 is eligible, including teachers, principals, secretaries, custodians, instructional assistants, social workers/counselors, and employees at District 58's central office and Longfellow Center. New this year, the Foundation will be giving out two awards: one to a classroom teacher, and one to a District 58 employee working in any capacity other than classroom teacher.
For a nomination form and rules, visit www.dg58ef.com/applications.html, e-mail jwaldorf@dg58.org or call (630) 719-5805. Nominations are due to Jennie Waldorf at the Administrative Service Center, 1860 63rd St., Downers Grove, 60516, by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 9. All nominees will be honored and the winners announced at a ceremony Thursday, April 7 at Emmett's, 5200 Main St., Downers Grove, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
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 Incoming kindergarten parents invited to roundups at D58 schools
Parents of incoming District 58 kindergartners will have the opportunity to visit their school, meet the principal and staff, and get their questions answered during the upcoming annual Kindergarten Roundups. Parents whose children will be five years old on or before September 1, 2011, are encouraged to call their neighborhood elementary school prior to the kindergarten roundup for information about registration.
For the full list of dates and times of kindergarten roundups at District 58's 11 elementary schools, please click here.
If you're not sure which school your child will attend, please click here to see the boundary map for District 58 and its individual schools, or call (630) 719-5800.
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Latest e-flyer postings 
Parents and community members can view District 58's e-flyers at www.dg58.org/e-flyers. E-flyers are posted twice monthly. For families without Internet access, copies are available at the Administrative Service Center, 1860 63rd St., and at individual schools.
Flyer postings for February include:
Downers Grove Park District February and March Park AveNews
Midwest Ballet Theatre "Cinderella" (event March 5-6)
Benedictine University spring break soccer camp (March 27-April 1)
Downers Grove Swim and Racquet Club membership
Passport to Fine Dining (event Feb. 24)
Champions summer programs
Friends of the Gifted spring chess tournament (event March 5)
Helping Girls Navigate Adolescence Chick Chat (event March 12)
Indian Boundary YMCA announcements (class registration, etc.) |
District 58 schools celebrate 100th day
It was certainly a conundrum. Friday, Feb. 4, was set to be the 100th day of school for the 2010-11 year, an event which is met annually with celebrations, parades and special activities throughout District 58.
But then the blizzard hit, and two snow days pushed the actual 100th day of attendance ahead to Tuesday, Feb. 8. What to do?
Some classes and buildings kept to the original plan of celebrating on Friday, and some moved their activities ahead to Tuesday--resulting in two fun-filled days in District 58. There were guest readers in classrooms; 100th day hats, glasses and fashion shows; and projects--including crafts, reading and writing assignments--dealing with the number 100.
Click here for a photo gallery of 100th day celebrations throughout District 58!
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Belle Aire Care and Share Club delivers joy to Meals on Wheels
Recipients of Meals on Wheels deliveries in Downers Grove will be getting more than just food in upcoming deliveries, thanks to the Care and Share Club at Belle Aire. The club, which tackles a variety of service projects intended to better the community and the world, spent two weeks collecting various toiletry items such as soap and shampoo. Belle Aire families donated enough during those two weeks in mid-January that the club was able to assemble more than 200 care packages to donate to Meals on Wheels. Click here for the full story and more photos from the event. |
 Whittier sixth-graders wrap up nutrition unit with healthy breakfast extravaganza They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so what better way for students in Debbie Krygeris' sixth-grade class at Whittier School to wrap up their nutrition unit than with a hearty breakfast at school? Click here for the full story. Click here for a photo gallery from the event! |
 Indian Trail fifth-graders organize book drive with unique incentive When Indian Trail fifth-grader Emma Gannaway read Rachel Renee Russell's "Dork Diaries," she was fascinated by a storyline in which a main character ran a charity drive. And after she and her classmates participated in Junior Achievement's entrepreneurship unit, she knew she could make something similar happen at her school. Click here for the full story! |
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Communicate
58 is a periodic, subscriber-based e-newsletter published by the
Downers Grove Grade School District 58 Office of Community Relations.
It is designed to offer our district community a convenient way to stay
informed about what's happening in the
district.
Please send questions, comments and feedback to Jennifer
Waldorf, Coordinator of Communications, at jwaldorf@dg58.org.
Do you know someone who would like to receive Communicate 58? Please encourage them to visit www.dg58.org to sign up--and please pass this e-mail along to anyone who might be interested in the information.
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| Upcoming events | Friday, Feb. 25--Teacher Institute--NO SCHOOL
Monday, Feb. 28--Board of Education Curriculum Workshop, 7 p.m., Longfellow
Monday, March 7--Casimir Pulaski Day--NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, March 8--Financial Advisory Committee Meeting, 7 a.m., ASC Office
Monday, March 14--School Board meeting, 7 p.m., Longfellow
Click here for the full 2010-11 District 58 calendar, including institute days and holidays.
Click here for the 2010-11 Board of Education calendar. | | |
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View District 58 publications online
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Want to check out a past edition of Communicate 58, read our annual Back to School report, or check out one of our informational brochures? Visit our Publications page at http://www.dg58.org/publications!
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Follow us on Twitter!
Get the latest news from District 58! Go to www.twitter.com/DGDistrict58, sign up for your own account and request to follow DGDistrict58, or click on the link below.
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