Thank you to everyone who shared their first day photos with us, and helped the 2021-22 school year get off to a great start. You can check out the images people sent us, as well as some of the photos we took, by visiting https://d86.hinsdale86.org/Page/2253.

If you still have photos you want to share with us, you can do so via Twitter (@HinsdaleD86), Facebook (@HinsdaleD86) or email (d86-info@hinsdale86.org).

We continue to monitor the vaccination rates for our district. These rates are based on the number of people who have provided us with proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. They also assume that any individuals who have not sent us their records are not vaccinated.

Below are the student and staff vaccination rates for each of our buildings as of Aug. 27.

Employees who work in the administration building or are not assigned to a specific school - 98%

These rates, which are featured on our COVID-19 Data Dashboard, will continue to be updated on a weekly basis.

The district's human resources department will be collecting data for substitute teachers, outside coaches, student teachers, etc. The department will also be working with our outside vendors (e.g., Quest, First Student, etc.) to get the vaccination rates for their employees who are involved in the district's daily operations.

Any family that still needs to provide us with their child’s vaccination record can do so by bringing a copy of it to their child"s school or emailing it to our nurses via the addresses listed below.

If you or someone you know still wants or needs to get vaccinated, you can find the location(s) nearest you by visiting https://www.vaccines.gov/.

Last week's edition of The Hinsdalean featured three articles about Hinsdale Central.

The first one was about the dedication of the Don Watson Aquatic Center, which took place on Aug. 20. The center is named for legendary swimming coach Don Watson, who was inducted into the Hinsdale Central Foundation Hall of Fame in 2003, the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2013 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2015. You can read about and see photos from the ceremony by visiting https://bit.ly/3gvWQ5h. Photo credit to Jim Slonoff from The Hinsdalean.

The second one was a preview of the Kendall Pickering Invitational, which was the inaugural event that was held in the school's new pool on Aug. 28. The event celebrated the memory and accomplishments of Kendall Pickering, the standout member of the school's swimming and diving team who was killed in a car accident in December 2020. You can learn more about the event and the indelible mark that Pickering left on the entire Central community by visiting https://bit.ly/2USnptO.

The third one was a story about what educators from districts 86 and 181 did over the summer. One of the people featured was Chris Wilbur, who is a social studies teacher at Central. Wilbur took part in a three-day session for a program that one of his former professors from the University of Wisconsin in Madison developed to help her colleagues guide discussions in their classrooms. You can read about Wilbur's experience and how he plans to use what he learned in his classes by visiting https://bit.ly/3kwzq0V.

Edward Thomas, who is a sophomore at Hinsdale South, has been accepted into the U.S. Department of State’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. Starting in September, Edward will participate in a virtual travel abroad experience that will provide him with the opportunity to learn the basics of the Hindi language and culture.

The NSLI-Y program is part of a U.S. government initiative that seeks to foster international cooperation by ensuring that Americans have the necessary linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to effectively communicate globally.

We congratulate Edward on his acceptance into this prestigious program.

The girls golf team from Hinsdale Central won the championship at the Prep Tour High School Girls Showcase on Aug. 13. The team also had a pair of top 10 individual performances that included a first place finish by Elyssa Abdullah and an eighth place finish by Sarah Thornton.

We congratulate the team and coach Nick Latorre on their success at the tournament.

Kristin Marks Pascavage, who is the director of special education for Hinsdale South, and Heather Stomberg, who is the assistant director of special education for Hinsdale South, have been invited to present during the 2021 TASH Conference being held Dec. 1-4. Their presentation, which is titled "Culturally Responsive Practices in IEP Meetings," will provide a framework that school leaders can use to create environments for families that will enable them to engage in IEP meetings based on culturally relevant practices. You can learn more about TASH and the conference by visiting https://tash.org/.

We congratulate Kristin and Heather on this tremendous honor.

Canvas is our district’s official learning management system. It serves as an online “hub” for:

Parents/guardians who would like access to this information are encouraged to create a Canvas Parent/Observer account. If you need to create a new account or would like to add students to your existing one, please follow the instructions found on https://bit.ly/3298pZs. Please note that you must have a Home Access Center (HAC) account in order to set up a Parent/Observer account. You can access the directions for setting up a HAC account by visiting https://bit.ly/2yVBxXH.

If you already have a Parent/Observer account, there is no need to create a new one. However, if you forgot your password, you can access instructions for how to reset it by visiting https://bit.ly/338UzVV. 

Lastly, you will need a pairing code for your student in order to link your accounts. You can access directions for generating a pairing code by visiting https://bit.ly/3bzBrV2. This page also features helpful tutorials about Canvas Parent/Observer accounts.

District 86 is seeking dedicated parents/guardians and community members who are interested in helping our students down the path toward their ideal future by serving as substitute teachers for Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale South and/or the Transition Center. These positions offer flexible scheduling, competitive pay ($133 for a full day and $76 for a half day) and the opportunity to work with extraordinary young adults who are passionate about learning.

If you are interested in being a substitute teacher in District 86, you can apply online at https://bit.ly/3gkVav9. If you have questions or need additional information about subbing, please contact Cheryl Moore at cmoore@hinsdale86.org.

If you missed the edition of Board Briefs for the board of education meeting on Aug. 26, please visit https://conta.cc/3yifsMd.