Bourbonnais 53 District

Parents/Guardians, If you need to know your student's login information, it is available to you in Skyward Family Access in the Online Forms section. If you need additional assistance, please contact your child's school. Thank you!

COVID-19 UPDATE - Sunday, March 15th Please check the News section on the district website for the full update. Thank you!

COVID-19 UPDATE 4:25 PM March 13, 2020 Hi, Governor Pritzker has just ordered that all schools close starting Tuesday March 17th and tentatively reopen on Monday, March 30th. Instead of using Emergency Days, we will put our remote learning plan in place so that students remain engaged and have the support of our staff during regular school hours. Starting Tuesday, you will see a link at www.besd53.org that will take you to grade and subject specific activities to be completed each day. I will send more information regarding this on Monday. If your child has medications at school, we ask that you pick them up on Monday the 16th between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm. We want to make sure you have them available while they are out of school. We will continue to have breakfast and lunch available on school closure days for any student who qualifies for a free or reduced lunch. This will be available at Alan Shepard School only. Please use the back doors to the MPR which are off of the parking lot near the playground. This will be grab and go to limit large groups gathering to eat. Thank you very much for your patience during this most unusual and challenging time. I hope that everyone is well and remains so. Please do not hesitate to call me should you have any questions. This is new for everyone. -- James Duggan Ed. D. Assistant Superintendent Supplemental Interim Superintendent Bourbonnais School District 53

Hi, I wanted to inform you that we plan to have a regular school day on Monday. I am meeting with the area superintendents at 9:00 am Monday morning to assess the situation but no decisions have been made at this time. I would suggest you take a look at day care options in the event that we decide to close the schools. In the event that we close, we are getting prepared to provide remote learning for all the students. Many of the students were sent home with instructional materials today just in case as well as their Chromebooks. We also have a website ready to go that will be your guide for daily activities. Plans are also being made for increasing access to technology for those that do not have it. On a separate note, all after school activities as well as our parent information meetings for accelerated programming are canceled. We will reschedule those meetings for later in the Spring. Thank you very much for your patience and support! -- James Duggan Ed. D. Assistant Superintendent Supplemental Interim Superintendent Bourbonnais School District 53

Dear BESD Families,  We are hosting informational sessions to share our plans for modifying and expanding our current academic acceleration program (SAIL).  These sessions will be at the Central Office on: Monday, March 16th. 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm Wednesday, March 18th. 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm Monday, March 30th. 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm Thanks!

Dear BESD 53 Students, Staff and Families, It is important to note that there are no identified cases of the Corona Virus (COVID-19) in our community. However, the health and safety of our students is our top priority, so we want to share with you information that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has published for schools throughout the state. The good news at this time is that the health risk to the general public from coronavirus remains low. Currently, the IDPH recommends schools hold classes and events as usual, and follow routine cleaning and disinfecting procedures; no special measures are necessary. The IDPH also recommends the best way to protect against coronavirus is by taking the same everyday precautions against getting sick in general. These include: *Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. *Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. *Avoiding close contact with people who are sick. Staying home when you are sick. *Covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. *Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces. To see the complete recommendations to schools from IDPH, please click here. We will continue to closely monitor recommendations regarding COVID-19 and will update you as soon as there are any significant changes in recommendations for schools. Thank you for your support in helping to keep our school community healthy. Thank You

This is a reminder that tomorrow, February 26th, is a scheduled early dismissal day. We will be following the Schedule A dismissal times. Upper Grade and Liberty will dismiss at 10:45 a.m.. Shepard, Shabbona, and LeVasseur will dismiss at 11:30 a.m..

Thanks to the PTA for organizing the guest reader program. I enjoyed reading "Love and roast chicken" by Knutson to 4th graders at Shabbona.

This is a reminder that tomorrow, February 14th, is a scheduled early dismissal day. We will be following the Schedule B dismissal times. Upper Grade and Liberty will dismiss at 1:15 p.m.. Shepard, Shabbona, and LeVasseur will dismiss at 2:00 p.m..

Hello, After school R. T. I. and math team have been cancelled for Thursday February 13th. Thank you

Hi, all schools are open today, Thursday February 13th. Thanks.

Dear Parents and Guardians, we want to alert you that the students from bus #10 will be arriving about 15 minutes late due to shortage of drivers. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Hi. All schools are open today, February 6th. Thanks

Hi, please support the student's DC Fieldtrip Fundraiser event at Brickstone on Feb 12th!

Hi, here is a tip for reading to your very young children from the University of Chicago's Thirty Million Word Project. Reading to a young child can be frustrating for all sorts of reasons. Try Book Sharing instead: open a book and have a conversation. Describe the pictures; count the pages; talk about what your child is interested in. Watch how this parent does it: https://t.co/iWRtp6rRnR (https://twitter.com/TMW3Ts/status/1224754495395188739?s=03)

Dear Parents and Guardians, I wanted to send a quick reminder to please remind your children that they should not approach any vehicle or individual that they do not know. This would be going to and from school but also any other times they are out in the neighborhood. Should they see anything that does not seem right, they should report it to you and the school as soon as possible. Thank you very much.

Dear Parents and Guardians, there will be a Special Meeting of the Board of Education of Bourbonnais Elementary School District No. 53 on Monday, February 3, 2020 at 6:00 PM at the Administrative Offices, 281 W John Casey Road, Bourbonnais. This will be a Parent Informational Meeting for Feedback on start times for the 2020-2021 school year. The proposed start times are as follows. Full Day Schedule Liberty 7:45-2:45 Shabbona/BUGC 8:15 - 3:15 LeVasseur/Shepard 8:45-3:45 PreK AM 8:45-11:30 PreKPM 1:00 - 3:45

This is a reminder that tomorrow, January 17th, is a scheduled early dismissal day. We will be following the Schedule B dismissal times. Upper Grade and Liberty will dismiss at 1:15 p.m.. Shepard, Shabbona, and LeVasseur will dismiss at 2:00 p.m..

Hi, Project Sun Kankakee is offering a free informational "Parent Cafe" on the topic of recognizing signs of children's behavioral health concerns. This will be held on Thursday, Jan 30th from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm at 202 N. Schuyler Ave in Kankakee. See the attached flyer for more information. Thanks!

Hi, this message was previously sent in English. Estimados padres y tutores: En la primavera de 2019, la Junta de Educación de BESD 53 aprobó un plan para aprender en casa en los días de emergencia climática. Sin embargo, la Junta de Educación del Estado de Illinois ha establecido nuevos requisitos en estos planes y aún no hemos cumplido con estos nuevos requisitos. Estamos trabajando con el Superintendente regional para garantizar que nuestro plan cumpla con los nuevos requisitos, pero en este momento no tenemos un plan aprobado. Hasta nuevo aviso, si tenemos un día de emergencia climática, se recuperará al final del año escolar. Les informaremos si esto cambia. ¡Gracias y feliz año nuevo!