Bourbonnais 53 District

Dear BESD Families, We are trying to wrap up our registration process so that we can finalize class lists for the start of the school year. A big thanks to those of you that have registered already. Students that have not been registered by 2:00 pm on Wednesday August 12th will be deactivated. If your student is deactivated, you will need to contact the school to be reactivated in order to register. We strongly encourage you to complete this by tomorrow's deadline. Families that are registered will be able to see your student's schedules on Friday, August 14th. We will also mail bus schedules to all registered families tomorrow. Thank You

Dear BESD #53 Family, We all recognize that returning to school this fall will be anything but normal. Even with the many safety modifications made which definitely will influence almost every aspect of the educational process, we all understand that Covid-19 will still shape this school year. For the time being the length of the school day has been modified as another safety measure to protect our students and staff, yet we all know that our schools are not immune to Covid-19. When the District receives notification that an individual whom was in our facilities has tested positive for Covid-19, we will work with the Health Department to provide all of the information we can to everyone that needs to know. We have new processes designed to assist with our ability to inform the Health Department for contact tracing purposes as well as to help us inform required individuals that have been in “close contact” as defined by the guidelines. I wish I could state that we will never have a case of Covid-19 at BESD #53, but that would be unrealistic. When we do have a case, it will most likely require some of our students to be isolated from in-person instruction for a bit of time. We have been working this summer to prepare processes that will hopefully minimize the educational disruption for these students whom require isolation from school. It is important to note that these students are only being isolated from in-person learning, not their ability to learn remotely. This is much easier said than done, but as we all go through the process I am confident that we will be able to drastically improve our organizational capabilities to remotely educate our students. Lastly, we know that Covid-19 has provided a thick layer of stress on all of us for an extended period of time. It has impacted people's lives in many different ways and it will continue to do so for the time being. I have seen many instances of people showing patience, grace, and a willingness to work together. These observed instances remind me that the only way we can all get through this crisis is if we do so together. Educationally Yours, Dr. Adam Ehrman Superintendent, Bourbonnais Elementary School District #53

Parents/Guardians, Two reminders (note: BOTH of these steps must be completed in order to be completely registered for the upcoming school year): If you have not been able to complete the election of either in-person or remote instruction for your student, here is the link to the form: https://forms.gle/GSKucJN9ZSHb8xNZ7 Also, if you have not completed online registration for your student (which must be completed for either in-person or remote instruction), please login to Skyward Family Access and complete online registration: https://besdskyward.besd53.org/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsSky/fwemnu01.w Please complete these as soon as possible. Thank you!

Tuesday July 28th will be a Regular Meeting of the Board of Education for BESD53 at 7 pm. To attend this meeting virtually, please sign up using the link below (registration is limited to 100 attendees): https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m7gSg8D6SbqDCRVkncvaLw

Hola, tendremos un traductor disponible para apoyar a las familias de habla hispana en el registro hoy entre las 12:00 p.m. y las 3:00 p.m. La inscripción es en la Escuela Intermedia Liberty en 1690 Career Center Road. ¡Gracias!

Recordings of the Virtual Board of Education meetings are now available on the District website under the Our District Menu - Board of Education - Virtual Board Meeting Recordings tab. Any future Virtual Board of Education meeting recordings will be posted here. https://www.besd53.org/o/district/page/virtual-board-meeting-recordings

WorldStrides D.C. Trip Information for incoming 8th Graders! Please view this link for information about the trip. https://tinyurl.com/y8b6flh2

Kathy Saindon providing important professional development to our EC partners at Play Palz and the Bourbonnais Park District. They provide the language foundation to future kindergarteners!

Wednesday July 8th will be a Special Session of the Board of Education for BESD53 at 6 pm. To attend this meeting virtually, please sign up using the link below (registration is limited to 100 attendees): https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BTmjB8_6TV6juAgUV5CDCQ

Tuesday June 23rd will be the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education for BESD53 at 7 pm. To attend this meeting virtually, please sign up using the link below (registration is limited to 100 attendees): https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kprE46V6S4-9VbYSFXcyDQ

Hi, we are having an issue with the previous link for the special board meeting. Please use this link to view the meeting. Thanks! Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/99454744461

Hi, you might find this children's story helpful in explaining the events of the past week to your children. It is produced by the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center. https://youtu.be/lcOhOFGcWm8

Food distribution continues at Shepard School 10 am - 12 pm, until June 30th, for all children living with the district boundaries. You may pick-up 3 days worth of meals on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and then 2 different meals on Thursday.

If you did not return your student chromebook during the scheduled turn-in times, it MUST be turned in at our Central Office-281 W. John Casey Rd. Tech will collect them from there and assess them for damage or missing pieces. If there's a issue, a charge will be put in Skyward.

The Regular Meeting of the BESD53 Board of Education will be held online on Tuesday May 26th at 7:00PM. If you would like to attend this meeting virtually, please click on the registration link below: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5pLWfvXDQQasoTz-bSpxeg

Good afternoon, In BESD 53 we are working hard to increase the access to language in the early years. Here is a talking tip for families with toddlers to increase language usage while playing outdoors. @lenatalk

Good Afternoon, here is a flyer with the current food pantry offerings from the Salvation Army.

Food Distribution: Shepard School is distributing 3 days worth of meals today (Monday) for all children ages 0-18 living within district boundaries. The hours are 10 a.m. -12 p.m. Thursday we will distribute 2 new meals.

We have been informed that families that have @hotmail.com email addresses are not always receiving emails from our district. We have determined that this is a hotmail.com issue and recommend that you verify with their support that emails from @besd53.org are going through.

Good Morning, here is a great opportunity to join a webinar about the importance of play. Register by May 20th using this link. https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7729548458408221711