Welcome to the District Digest for Glen Ellyn School District 41. This email will be sent to you periodically and will include district happenings and updates.

School Closings Last Week

Unfortunately, due to the cold temperatures, our schools were closed two days last week. The decision to remain open or to close is made in conjunction with the other area school district superintendents. The superintendents take a lot of factors into consideration such as information from the bus companies, driving/walking conditions, and weather reports; however, student safety is the number one priority when making the decision.

When weather is severe and schools remain open, the district understands that some families will choose to keep their children home. In these cases, parents may call the school office and report a weather related excused absence for their child.

As always with emergency school closings, the district is required to make up days missed. The Board of Education will designate the last day of school sometime in the spring. Please assume June 11 as the last day of school when planning summer activities.

Facilities Plan to Support Full-Day Kindergarten

The Board of Education has approved the district's recommendation to explore three space options to support full-day kindergarten for all District 41 school communities. The proposed options include:

Building a new K-5 school on property we already own, known as Spalding
Building an Early Learning Center on Spalding
Building additions/modifications to our existing schools.

The January 26 Board meeting will include a presentation of these three options as developed by the district and a team from FGM Architects and Frederick Quinn Corporation (FQC). The presentation will also include a plan and timeline recommendation for the removal of all remaining portables in our district (four at Churchill Elementary School and 10 at Hadley Junior High School).

Following the presentation at the Board meeting, the Board will host Community Listening Sessions to share this same information and gather community feedback. The feedback and information collected from the community will be captured and will influence the decision making process moving forward. This is a significant discussion for our school district and the community overall. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Saturday, January 31 at 10:30 a.m., Hadley Junior High, Library Media Center

Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. Hadley Junior High, Library Media Center

To sign up for these Facilities Listening Sessions CLICK HERE before January 30, 2015.

Join Us - New Classrooms Ribbon Cuttings

Four classrooms at both Abraham Lincoln and Ben Franklin were open on the first day of school after winter break. These new flexible 21st Century learning environments are being used for Level 3 STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, and Math) at both schools.

The Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce will join us in a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially celebrate these new classrooms and share them with the community. These events are open to the public. No RSVP required.

Ben Franklin School - Saturday, January 24, 9 a.m.

Abraham Lincoln School - Saturday, January 31, 9 a.m.

An article about our new classrooms was featured on the front page of the Daily Herald on Saturday, January 3, and in My Suburban Life on January 7.

Daily Herald
https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150103/news/150109675/

My Suburban Life
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2015/01/06/eight-new-classrooms-open-in-district-41-schools/arxi97e/

PBL Presentation to the Board of Education

At the Board of Education meeting on Monday, January 12, four Churchill Elementary School students (Audrey, Diego, Kacper and Jacob) presented their plans for an outdoor learning space at their school. The creation of these plans was a result of a Problem-Based Learning initiative related to their identified need for this type of space at their school. The Board asked them questions and the students responded with impressive, professional and detailed answers. Although the district cannot implement all ideas generated by students through our Problem-Based Learning initiative, our PBLs have generated significant interest within the district and throughout the community.

To learn more about Problem-Based Learning in District 41, check out the My Suburban Life column by Superintendent Gordon HERE.

Annual Music Education Foundation Musical Mayhem to Showcase D41 Talent

On February 20, from 6-9 p.m., in the Hadley Auditorium, eight bands and at least eight karaoke groups will perform, showing off our D41 talent! Students can sign up to participate by picking up an entry form from any of our school offices or go to www.musiceducationfoundationd41.org

Entry forms are due by January 20.

Questions? Contact Angel Oakley at angel@thekawas.com

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