Jul 2, 2024
Topic: Updates
Dear CCSD21 Parents and Community Members,
Respectfully,
Dr. Michael Connolly
Superintendent of Schools
For all other school calendar dates, click here
Help CCSD21 celebrate 75 years of excellence!
CCSD21 will celebrate its 75th anniversary this summer, and we want you to aid us in that celebration. The district is asking former students and staff, as well as current staff members, to send a recorded video (or photos) of your experience with our district. You have all held a special chapter in our district and we are delighted to share your special memory with our community. To contribute, visit this link.
Local, state government officials meet with CCSD21 leadership to learn of district initiatives
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Almost 40 local and state government officials descended upon the CCSD21 Community Service Center and Administrative Office on Saturday, Feb. 11, to learn about district initiatives from Superintendent Michael Connolly and other members of the administration.
Read the full story here
CCSD21 receives highest financial profile designation from state for FY22, clean audit that contains surplus
CCSD21 ended its fiscal year 2022 with the highest designation from the Illinois State Board of Education for its financial management, as well as a clean audit – that contained a surplus – prepared by consulting firm Baker Tilly.
CCSD21 floating idea of ‘finishing kitchens’ in each school; new lift coming to Poe
Among the projects in consideration at CCSD21 are “finishing kitchens,” which would allow a foodservice site to receive fresh fresh food from a production kitchen so that it is able to finish the cooking process on site. A new lift is also set to come to Poe no later than the end of the current school year.
Read the full story here
CCSD21 to roll out ’21st century’ furniture after COVID delays
CCSD21 will soon officially start the rollout procedures for updated, “21st century” furniture in classrooms after the COVID-19 public health emergency shifted the ability to consider it.
Read the full story here
CCSD21 awarded $138,444 high-impact tutoring grant from ISBE
Following an announcement from the Illinois State Board of Education that certain school districts could apply for grant funds to provide students with high-impact tutoring opportunities, CCSD21 applied for and was awarded $138,444 to provide students with additional support and learning opportunities. More information about which students are eligible for tutoring will be shared prior to spring break.
Read the full story here
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Become a student representative to the board of education!
All current seventh graders are invited to apply to become student representatives to the board of education! One representative will be chosen from each middle school and, come May, will assume office for a one-year term. To be eligible, the student must have decent grades and a good behavioral record, wish to actually be part of a leadership opportunity, and obtain two letters of recommendations from staff members. Applications and more information will become available at each middle school during the month of March. |
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Kindergarten and new student registration now open! Registration for students new to CCSD21, including new incoming kindergarten students, is now open. A child whose fifth birthday falls on or before Sept. 1, 2023, is eligible to enroll in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. New registrants will need to provide the following documents: – Three proofs of residency – Birth certificate – official birth certificate issued by the county clerk in the county in which the child was born. Hospital certificates are not acceptable. Depending on the child’s grade, additional forms may need to be completed. To begin the registration process, please visit the CCSD21 Registration Portal. If you are unsure what school your child will attend, visit our School Boundary Map and enter your address. After families complete the new student online registration and upload all required documents, an email will be sent to the family confirming that the child is registered for the 2023-2024 school year. If you have a student currently enrolled in CCSD21, including a preschool student, registration for the 2023-2024 school year will begin in May. Returning student information will be sent out on a future date. If you have any questions, please email [email protected] . Ending of the federal COVID public health emergency
On Jan. 30, the Biden administration announced it would be officially ending the federal public health emergency (PHE) on May 11. The PHE has allowed for millions of Americans to get and keep health insurance during the pandemic, and provided for free COVID testing and vaccination.
Vaccines provide considerable protection against the most serious COVID symptoms. People at least two months from their initial vaccine series or booster are eligible to get a bivalent booster – which helps protect against newer strains of the COVID-19 virus. Please visit myshotcookcounty.com/locations/ for a location nearest you.
As we prepare for the end of the PHE, it is important that Medicaid beneficiaries keep their address and contact information current with the State of Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to make sure they receive notices of when they need to reapply. Medicaid members can update their addresses either by calling the HFS hotline at 877-805-5312 or by visiting this link.
The district will continue to monitor the trajectory of the virus and make any necessary changes as it sees fit, even though most preventative measures have been withdrawn.
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Join Us at The Indian Trails Library: Check out the calendar of events for specific activities and times for the month of March. Summer Learning Academy We are excited to begin preparations for the 2023 CCSD21 Summer Learning Academy. This summer’s academy will be July 10 – July 27, 9:00-12:00, Monday through Thursday at Twain Elementary School and Holmes Middle School. Students will participate in 3 one-hour long classes during the academy. We are planning to offer both enrichment and extra support classes for students, both in core areas (math and reading) and in areas of interest. Students needing additional support will be receiving invitations based on their standardized test scores. Additionally, each school will have a number of designated slots for students who would like to participate in the enrichment classes. More information will be provided in March. We are looking forward to a fantastic summer of learning! Language Services Did You Know… As a district we are proud to celebrate the diversity of our learning community! These are some traditions and holidays celebrated and acknowledged in our community this month. This month we begin by celebrating Read Across America , International Women’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day , Greece’s Independence Day , Holi , Casimir Pulaski’s Day , Beginning of Ramadan . If you’d like to learn more, click on the links above: Don’t hesitate to reach out and share it with our Language Services Department to add to our resources! Math Spotlight: Pi Day Every year on March 14, math teachers across the nation celebrate the annual math holiday, Pi Day! This nationally recognized holiday shines a spotlight on an important member of the irrational number community – pi (also known by its nickname of 3.14). This number is special and unique for many reasons. It’s the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter – regardless of the size of the circle. It’s also a special type of number called an irrational number, meaning there is no way that it can be written as a fraction instead of a decimal – the digits continue on and on infinitely, never repeating a pattern. The current Guinness World Record for the most decimal places memorized is 70,000, which took nearly 10 hours to recite! So how can we celebrate this fantastic math holiday? For little ones, take time to look for circles and other shapes that are all around us in the world. Talk about what makes circles different from other shapes. For older kids, do activities to focus on the digits of the number itself (such as making a bead bracelet where each color represents a certain digit (red for 1, blue for 2, etc.)). Or get a collection of different-sized circular objects (for example, jar lids or bottle caps) and look for the pattern that emerges when they measure around and across each circle. And for any age, make sure to enjoy some pie! |
Becoming a Substitute in District 21
We had some wonderful new sub candidates that applied to work with us this past Spring and throughout the Summer. Many of these subs are right from our community! We’re excited for these additions to our sub group but we’re not done yet. We are continuing to hire subs each month. Please let your neighbors and friends know that we are still hiring throughout the school year. Whether you want to help us out one day a week or every single day, the choice is yours. Below is the link for people to apply:
Sub Application We still have openings in our sub pool for the following positions: Secretary – $100/day Health Assistant – $100/day Teaching Assistant – $125/day Teacher – $131/day Long term teacher (more than 10 days in the same classroom) – $210/day In addition, any subs who work 100 days this year will receive a $1,000 bonus at the end of the year. Here is information from the Illinois State Board of Education about becoming a teaching assistant or teacher sub: |
Is there a staff member you’d like to nominate for “My Why?” Email Cass at [email protected] or Andy at [email protected]!
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Our Internet provider and offsite Data Center host, Net56, will be performing major upgrades to their network infrastructure over the next month during off peak times to increase overall performance and security to our Internet Services and Data Center access. On the Saturday’s shown below, please expect that internal services including PowerSchool and Skyward will be unavailable, as well as Internet connectivity within the District. Please plan around these dates/times if you are needing access to services after hours.
March 4 – 6 PM – 12 AM
March 11 – 6 PM – 12 AM
March 18 – 11 AM – 9 PM
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