• Important Dates
• Parent / Teacher Conferences
• Support Networks
• School Fall Celebrations!
• Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment
• First Trimester Progress Reports
• Student and Staff Safety
• Importance of Student Attendance
• Updating Information in Skyward
• Emergency Closings / Stay Informed
• McHenry Elementary Education Foundation
• Featured Instructional Board Meeting Presentations

November 5, 2024 - Day of Non-Attendance

November 8, 2024 - Progress Reports Available

November 25, 2024 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences 10:00am - 8:00pm
November 26, 2024 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences 8:00am - 12:00pm

November 27, 28, 29, 2024 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

 

December 20, 2024 - Early Release Day

December 23, 2024 - January 3, 2025 - Winter Recess - No School

December 23, 2024 - January 10, 2025 - LANDMARK ONLY: Winter Intersession - No School

 

 

January 6, 2025 - Classes Resume

January 13, 2025 - LANDMARK ONLY: Classes Resume

January 17, 2025 - Early Release Day

January 20, 2025 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL

Parent / Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, November 25th and Tuesday, November 26th. Parents will need to log in to Skyward Family Access to sign-up for a conference with their student's teacher(s). The sign-up window will open on Monday, November 4th, and will close on November 22nd at 12:00pm. To learn how to sign-up for conferences through Skyward, please watch the video below.

District 15 has many support networks in place for our students, staff, and families. Recently, we have partnered with Care Solace. Care Solace provides mental health and social service care to students, staff, and families, at no cost, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Care Solace will connect families with providers accepting all medical insurances, including Medicaid, Medicare, and sliding scale options for those without insurance. For more information please click here.

District 15 has also recently partnered with Daybreak which is a school-based mental health company that offers teletherapy services to students aged 5+ with qualified mental health professionals at no cost to families. For more information on Daybreak please click here.

To learn about several other resources available to you and your student(s) please visit the Student Safety and Well Being/Family Supports section of our website.

Parkland had a very successful fall athletic season. Some highlights include:

 

• Over 80 students participated in their City League volleyball program.
• The 8th grade volleyball team went 7-3 in conference play to finish second in the north division
• The boys Cross Country team qualified for the state meet as a team. Those competitors are: Justen Rivard, Tyson Rivard, Kaden Fraro, Nazar Pisklenov, Victor Rodriguez, Logan Weigelt, Jack Murray, Parker Hinga, and Hayden Peters, with two runners also qualifing as individuals: Justen Rivard and Tyson Rivard
• Kennedy Harding qualified for state for the girls Cross Country team.

Awesome job, Vikings!!!

Landmark's Pollinator Garden provides many opportunities to study biodiversity and the life cycle of plants. Recently, Landmark students were joined by some D15 alumni staff to collect seeds from the garden, which will be used for a winter germination project in January. Thank you to Smallwaters Education, Jack and Judy Speer, Patti West, Linda McMahon and Betty Chwalisz for supporting this wonderful learning experience!

Riverwood Rascals raised $10,430 in their Rascal Run fundraiser hosted by their PTO! What a great day for the kids to get moving outside!

Riverwood collaborated with a local McDonald's restaurant to host a "McTeacher Night." During this event, school staff members took on roles at the McDonald's, serving families.

Building on the success of the previous year, Riverwood hosted its 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat event. Families decorated the trunks of their vehicles and handed out candy to students, creating a festive and safe trick-or-treating experience for the entire school community.

The Edgebrook Roadrunners enjoyed a day on the high school track for the annual Edgebrook Walk-A-Thon. Over $14,000 was raised as the students walked to support Edgebrook. The school-wide goal was reached, so the administrators celebrated with inflatable shark costumes!

In October, Valley View's PTO hosted a fall family night inclusive of food, fall games, outdoor fun, a pumpkin contest, and a book fair. The event was a huge success and everyone who attended had a blast! Thank you to everyone involved in making this event such a hit!

For one week in October, during Hilltop’s SEL Time, the whole school read the books “Our Class is a Family” and “Our School is a Family.” They then completed various activities that encouraged students to view the classroom and school as a community. Below is a video montage of the different things that took place throughout the week that includes a song written by Hilltop staff member, Ina Obara.

At MMS, teachers nominate 2 students per team every month who consistently personify leadership of the Trojan Code (Respectful, Responsible, Ready, Safe, Nice). These students get a personalized certificate, a golden trojan buck to spend in our Trojan Store, and some coupons for free pizza/milkshake/ice cream to Antioch Pizza Shop.

Additionally, MMS' 7th grade white team is doing an awesome IXL skills challenge! As of October 23rd, students have mastered 712 math skills on IXL (and counting) in only 6 school days! The enrichment class that masters the most math skills each week gets to keep "Georgia," the giraffe mascot!

Duker School held a chocolate fundraiser and raised over $20,000! Students who sold 7 boxes of chocolate or more were treated to play video games in a game truck! Awesome job, Dragons!

This past spring, students in grades 3-8 took the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) for English Language Arts and Mathematics. Student(s) will receive their printed Individual Student Report (ISR) by next Friday, November 8th, which can be reviewed at home and with your student’s teacher(s) at Parent/Teacher Conferences. Students in 6th grade will also receive their ISA reports.

 

The IAR score report gives you a snapshot of how your child is progressing toward meeting grade-level expectations and mastering important skills, and shows where your student(s) excels or needs more support. Your student’s overall score (out of a possible 850) and performance level (1-5) gives a quick glimpse of whether your student(s) is meeting grade-level expectations.

 

The purpose of any assessment is to generate information for educators and parents so that we can provide the proper and necessary support to help children grow. However, no assessment can accurately convey the true abilities of your child nor can it tell the entire story of their progress. We encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher(s) with any questions you may have about their academic progress.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has recently released our annual School Report Card on www.illinoisreportcard.com. While this annual report card does not provide a complete description of the many attributes of our school district, it is a worthwhile data source on various aspects of McHenry District 15, and provides context on how each of our schools are progressing on our educational goals.

 

We are proud of the performance of all of our schools and students and look forward to diving into the data more deeply in our continual effort to better meet the needs of all of our students. To learn more about specific data available in our District report or to view the report of your child’s school, we encourage you to take a moment to explore the reports available on our district website.

Students in Kindergarten through eighth grade have completed their first STAR assessment. In December your student(s) will take the STAR assessment for a second time.

STAR assessments allow District 15 teachers to make data-based decisions and support the instructional framework of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). Moreover, Renaissance Star Assessments are highly rated and proven to be accurate, reliable, and valid.

 

You will receive additional information from your elementary and/or middle schools regarding specific STAR assessment dates. Please contact your school should you have additional questions regarding STAR assessments or click the link below to access the STAR Parent Guide.

 

STAR Assessment Family Resources

Progress reports will be available through Skyward Family Access at 4pm on Friday, November 8th. It is important to check your student's progress reports to see how they are doing throughout the school year.

 

If you are unable to access these reports online, please contact your child’s school office to inquire about a hard copy.

 

To access progress reports online, visit Skyward Family Access.

 

Log into Skyward Family Access and click on the Progress Report tab.

The safety and well-being of our students and staff is the top priority in District 15 and one that warrants our most resolute commitment. At District 15 we believe all children and adults deserve to attend safe and nurturing schools that provide them with security, services, and support which allow them to thrive and flourish.

 

District 15 takes many steps to provide the safest environment possible for our staff and students. Much of those efforts involve our commitment to ongoing training and education, collaborating with community partners and agencies, emphasizing social-emotional systems of support for students and staff, and continuously attending to building infrastructure and security.

 

Most recently, District and building administrators completed a training on the "I Love You Guys" Standard Response Protocol that was implemented at the beginning of this academic year. Below is an image to describe this process (click to enlarge).

As we begin the second trimester of school, we wanted to share a reminder to all of our students and families about the importance of daily school attendance. Research asserts that regular attendance at school benefits students in multiple ways. Students who demonstrate regular attendance at school are more likely to keep up with assignments, engage with learning, and build important relationships with their teachers and peers. It also helps students cultivate responsibility and formulate skills and values that will help them in the real world.

We understand that there are many reasons why students might miss school. Many of those reasons can be alleviated through support networks we have available at our schools. If there are supports you would like to know more about regarding how to help your child demonstrate regular attendance, please reach out to your school’s administrative or student services team.

Parents have the option and ability to update and edit certain information in Skyward under Student Info. When logged in to your Skyward Family Access account, click on "Student Info." From here, simply click on "Request Changes for [Student Name]." You can then update your email address, emergency information and family contact information. Keeping your contact information up-to-date is very important and is the only way to guarantee you receive communication that we send regarding emergency closings, district-wide information, and school specific information.

When necessary, road conditions are evaluated early each day by the Director of Transportation and a decision to close the schools because of inclement weather will be made generally before 5:30 AM. The exception to this rule is if District 15 elects to utilize an e-Learning Day in lieu of a snow/emergency day. To view District 15's e-Learning Plan please click here. The likelihood of District 15 implementing an e-Learning day is rare; however, we have the ability to implement one should we anticipate lengthy or extended days off. In the rare occasion that an e-Learning day would be utilized, District 15 will provide proper notice for families so that they can prepare for this possibility.

McHenry School District 15 is using a mass notification system to alert parents when schools are closed due to inclement weather or other emergencies. This notification system will email, text, and post to all websites and social media platforms informing parents of any potential school closings. Please download our official District 15 App to receive the most up-to-date notifications when it comes to all things McHenry District 15, including school closings.

Earlier this year, we learned about the amazing things taking place in Parkland's physical education program. We also learned about the newly renovated and upgraded weight room that they were able to receive through grant funds that every student at Parkland gets to utilize.

District 15's Board of Education was honored to learn about the student-run Dragon Brew coffee shop at Duker School. Board members learned how it was started and what's on the horizon for the future. Board members also were able to receive their own beverage from the student's during a meeting in October.

Email: info@d15.org
Website: www.d15.org
Location: 420 Front Street, McHenry, IL, USA
Phone: 779-244-1000
Facebook: facebook.com/McHenryD15