3/15/19
In This Issue


Maximizing the academic, social, and emotional potential of each student.

Dear Friend of CCSD93,
CCSD93 Students Receive Engaging Handwriting Lessons  
Community members sometimes ask me if CCSD93 students are still taught handwriting. While the proliferation of technology has caused most of us all to use our handwriting a little less frequently, we do continue to teach handwriting as a valuable life skill. It's also a great way for young children to develop fine motor skills.

Our teachers have access to an engaging and effective suite of handwriting teaching tools called Handwriting Without Tears, which uses songs, videos, tablet apps, and traditional worksheets to impart handwriting lessons to our students.
Click the image below to view a video that highlights the terrific job kindergarten teachers at Carol Stream School are doing teaching their students handwriting using Handwriting Without Tears. I've never seen so many students celebrating their achievements during a handwriting lesson!    
 
 
CCSD93 Handwriting Without Tears
Check Out the Innovative, Relevant Learning Opportunities this Week in CCSD93's Classrooms 
Educators at all of our schools use Twitter to highlight daily activities and give parents and community members glimpses into their classrooms. Each week we compile all of the tweets from throughout the district in our CCSD93 Week in Review. To see many of the innovative, engaging, and relevant educational opportunities our students had this week, click the image above for the March 8-15, 2019 CCSD93 Week in Review! You don't need a Twitter account to view it! 
CCSD93 Innovation Summer Camp  
(Formerly STEM Camp) Registration Opens 4/1! 
This summer, CCSD93 will offer Innovation Summer Camp for incoming 2nd-8th graders the week of June 17-21, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Save the date!

The camp, formerly known as STEM Summer Camp, will offer students terrific hands-on opportunities to create, innovate, invent, code, and work with robotics and within the field of visual arts. It'll be just $45 and includes a t-shirt. Registration will open on April 1 at 10 a.m.! In the meantime, find out more about the courses here, and feel free to bookmark the page for when registration goes live! 
8th Graders Invited to Purchase MacBook Laptop!
CCSD93's Board of Education has once again approved the sale of District-owned MacBook Air laptop computers to graduating 8th grade students for $200. An order form was sent to all parents of 8th graders on Monday. You can find it at www.ccsd93.com/mac. 

If you have an 8th grade student and would like to purchase one, please complete the order form and return them with payment to your child's middle school or the CCSD93 District Office. If needed, you can obtain a new copy of the form at your child's school. Please pay close attention to the order form for due date(s)!

This offer is only available to graduating 8th grade students.
3/14 Board of Education Meeting Recap  
The most recent CCSD93 Board of Education meeting was held at Roy DeShane School on Thursday, March 14. The following occurred at the meeting!
  • There was a Board Salute for Buildings and Grounds workers who came in during the extreme weather conditions that shut down our schools earlier this winter.
  • Roy DeShane students from several grade levels presented to the Board about various learning opportunities, including a project that combined robotics coding with storytelling that 5th graders took on. Here's a photo of the Board with all of the students who presented and Roy DeShane educators.
  • Architects from ARCON Associates discussed the Jay Stream STEM Wing project. They reviewed plans and answered questions, and the Board voted to proceed with the project.
  • The Board reviewed the number of registrants at each elementary school from Kindergarten Registration.
  • The Board voted to approve the 2019 Apple lease agreement.
  • The Board voted to approve a contract extension for First Student, the district's bus provider, for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
  • The Board voted to approve two employee conference expense reports.
3/21 Board of Education Meeting Preview 
Gavel
The next CCSD93 Board of Education meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 at CCSD93's District Office, 230 Covington Drive in Bloomingdale. All community members are invited to attend. The following are among the agenda items.
  • CCSD93 Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning & Innovation Dr. Marie Hoffmann will present about related arts courses in CCSD93.
  • Dr. Hoffmann and Director of Curriculum Jonathan Zimmermann will present about CCSD93's middle school math curriculum.
  • The Board will conduct a self evaluation using its new evaluation tool.
  • Associate Superintendent Dr. David Hill and Director of Community Relations Ryan McPherrin will present about the plans for CCSD93's 2019 Summer Lunch Program.
  • The Board will vote on whether to approve the renewal of the Employee Benefit Interest Free Loan programs for the 2019-20 school year.
  • The Board will review employee work year calendars.
  • The Board will vote on the approval of an extension to CCSD93's landscaping contract.
  • There will be a public hearing regarding CCSD93's reduction in workforce.
No School for Spring Break 3/25-3/29 
There will be no school the week after next, March 25-29, for spring break.

Have a terrific weekend!

Sincerely, 

Bill Shields, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
CCSD93






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