Dear Math Dolphin Families,  

Welcome to Math Intervention! 

 I am honored to have the opportunity to support your child with math this year!  This is my 23rd year working at Congress Park and my fourth year teaching math intervention.  I will be supporting 3rd - 6th grade classes and will be using a math intervention program called Delta Math. This program is designed to help students master previous year math concepts without missing core math concepts in the classroom. 

I know that communication between us is a very important ingredient for a successful school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach me best by email: cahanal@dist102.k12.il.us.. I’ll be teaching Math Intervention in the afternoons. 

I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from former teaching years.  And if you are new to CP, it won’t be long before you feel like family, even in our small group learning environment.  I look forward to getting to know all of CP’s students this year. I am thrilled to be sharing this time with your student and helping them reach their math goals for this upcoming educational journey.  This will be a terrific year!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Cahan 

We’ve had a great start to the school year in the Art room!

Students are getting excited to start sharing their artwork with family and friends again using Artsonia. We have used Artsonia the past years for kids to create electronic art portfolios that will continue with them through their years (K-6th) at Congress Park. Students love to look back and see how their artistic skills have grown. 

All parents, new and returning to Congress Park, will soon be receiving an email from Artsonia asking for parent permission. 

*** If you choose to purchase any of the items on Artsonia of your child’s/children’s artwork, please know that the money generated through Artsonia will help purchase art supplies for the Art room.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Holdman

Mrs. Holdman

Art Teacher

holdmanmi@dist102.k12.il.us

(708)215-6047

Student Climate Survey Administration - Fall 2023

In D102, we know that a strong school climate has positive impacts on student achievement, attendance rates, and school safety, as well as creating conditions for developing healthy social and emotional skills.  We also feel it is critical to hear the voices of our students. To help facilitate that communication we provide a Student Climate Survey twice annually, once in September/October and again in March.

D102 will gather student perceptions of their school climate, as well as their own social-emotional well-being, in the following ways:

• K-2nd grade students will orally provide their input during a classroom meeting conversation with their teacher.

• 3rd-8th grade students will individually complete an online survey in Google Forms. 

Results of the 3rd-8th grade survey are anonymous and will not be used to identify individual students.  Rather, the data will be used to gather an overarching sense of students’ perceptions.  Each building’s leadership team will use the survey results to inform school-wide planning while grade level teachers will use the data to help plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.  

While the K-2nd grade classroom conversation is not anonymous, no student information will be collected or shared.  Rather, themes identified during the K-2nd grade classroom conversations will be collected by the teacher and used to plan proactive classroom-based morning circles.

For more information see:

• Student Climate Class Meeting - grades K-2

• Student Survey questions - grades 3-5

• Student Survey questions - grades 6-8 

• Survey FAQ

Families that wish to opt out of the survey should either contact their elementary child’s classroom teacher or their junior high child’s advisory teacher. 

We still have rocks available in the main entrance for CP families to paint for our CP Rock Garden. Choose your rock and have fun! To withstand the elements, acrylic paints work best. There is a separate container for completed rocks located at the main entrance as well. Please add your name to the rocks. We can't wait to see all of your amazing ideas!

If your child will be absent from school, please contact cpattendance@dist102.k12.il.us. This is a quick and easy way to communicate with the health office about your child's absence.

Congress Park activities can be found on the District website, or parents can subscribe to our Parent Google Calendar.  Follow the link to subscribe.  Congress Park Parent Google Calendar

Dear Congress Park Families,

About two weeks into the school year, and the Congress Park PTO is off to the races.

Over the past few weeks we have completed the new family welcome, the first day of school meet & greet, the back-to-school bash, and our first PTO meeting of the year!

Thank you to all the volunteers and chairs who made these events a success and all the families and friends that joined us in participation of these events. We will continue to encourage all to come out to our PTO meetings. These meeting are held every other month in the school Library and are limited to one hour. We know how busy everyone is, but the more participation, the more collaboration, the better we are together!

We held our bike rodeo for 3rd and 4th graders during the school day today. We are so grateful for the partnership with the Brookfield Police Department and Cycle Brookfield for their support in this event. In the upcoming weeks we are also in the works for a possible fall sporting event and will push info as soon as we solidify this event.

As always, continue to monitor our social media for important school and PTO updates. Late next week, keep an eye out for a poll with options for a parents-only social activity in October. We’ll go with the highest-voted option, so be sure to get your vote in. Please also look at our newly revamped website for all the latest and greatest info and how/where to volunteer!

Website: Congress Park PTO or https://www.congressparkpto.net/

Instagram: @congressparkpto

Facebook: Congress Park PTO

Thank you,

Dani & Liz

PTO Co-Presidents

Room parents help make the classroom a special place by supporting a classroom teacher and working with the PTO to coordinate class parties and teacher appreciation activities. Room parents can be moms, dads, grandparents, or caregivers. Remember, volunteering at CP is a family affair, so little ones or other community helpers are welcome to join in! Coordinating is something that can be done remotely, too – a class parent does not have to participate in every in-person activity themselves! In fact, many classrooms have more than one room parent to share the responsibilities. In either case, room parents have the support of the Room Parent Committee, Lani Larkin (lani.a.larkin@gmail.com) and Akeya Holt (akeyaholt@gmail.com), in carrying out their activities.

Sign up to be a room parent here:

Look out for more info. about the Room Parent Orientation that will take place on the evening of Tuesday, September 12th! 

Have questions? Need more info.? Email lani.a.larkin@gmail.com

We are excited to announce that the Congress Park 2023-2024 online student directory is now available! Existing users should be able to access their account using the same login and password as before. New users can download the Directory Spot app for free from the App Store (iPhone users) or Google Play (Android users), or you can also access the data from the web (www.directoryspot.net). Your username is the email address you provided to the school when registering your student.  

For New Smartphone Users: 

1.    Download the DirectorySpot app by going to your app store and searching "DirectorySpot" or by clicking on the appropriate link here: iPhone - http://goo.gl/5U2Tzq or Android - http://goo.gl/iBK9lY 

2.    Launch DirectorySpot, enter your email address as your Username, and click on "Reset Password." 

3.    Click on the link in your email to set your password, relaunch the DirectorySpot app, and login with your username and password. 

For New Tablet, Mac, or PC Users:

1.    Go to directoryspot.net and click on "Login" in the upper right hand corner. 

2.    Enter your email address as your Username, and click on "Reset Password." An email will be sent to you with a link to set your password. 

3.    Click on the link in your email to set your password and login. 

Make sure to check out all the features, such as the auto dial when you click on a phone number, or the auto launching of maps when you click on an address. If you hold down the cell phone number, you will get an option to send a text or call the number (iPhone only). DirectorySpot will even create an email if you click on someone's email address.    

If you see an error with your family information, you should have the option to edit your own family record from a desktop computer. If you have any questions, please contact Akeya Holt (Akeya_stewart@yahoo.com). 

This upcoming school year will look and feel different, and volunteer support will be valuable in helping our students have fun and learn in creative ways! Sign up for room parents, yearbook committee, 6th grade committee and more in this first round, with more opportunities offered in the months ahead.  

Parents who are interested in volunteering are encouraged to sign up early as all slots are on a first come, first serve basis and many volunteer opportunities fill up quickly.

Remember, volunteering is a family affair.  All opportunities are open to doing with kids and some opportunities include babysitting (just make a note in the comments if you need care). Click on the link below to see the fall openings:

https://www.congressparkpto.net/volunteer

What is CPCFRO?

CPCFRO is an athletics program within District 102 that introduces volleyball and basketball to 5th and 6th graders. The program's goal is to introduce the basic skills of each sport, get the children excited about playing, and allow for the inclusion of all kids in our district. All the teams within CPCFRO (Congress Park, Cossitt, Forest Road, and Ogden) are coached by parent volunteers, and the games are refereed by IHSA referees. While we keep score during the game, we do not keep track of wins/losses, the focus is strictly instructional and for the kids to HAVE FUN!!  Each team will play 7-8 games and players receive a team shirt. The cost to participate is $40/player.  Needs based scholarships are available for those that qualify.

Volunteer coaches are also needed!  No experience required!

Practice dates will be determined by volunteer coaches.  Games are played at Park Junior High, Ogden, and Congress Park.  Games are generally played Monday through Friday, with game times starting at 6pm, 7pm, or 8pm. The game schedules will be released soon after the season starts.

Fall Session

Approximate dates:  9/11/23 thru 11/17/23

5th and 6th grade girls basketball

5th and 6th grade boys volleyball.  

Winter Session  

Winter registration information will be sent out later in December. 

Approximate dates: 1/15/24 thru 3/2/24

5th and 6th grade girls volleyball

5th and 6th grade boys basketball

Registration will be available September 1st-15th for Fall session only.

https://www.cpcfroathletics.com/registration 

Questions?

5th Grade Rep.: Barry Hanen - Bhanen37@att.net

6th Grade Rep.: Tam Chavez - tamtran876@gmail.com

Fall Monthly Gatherings

Buddy's Place offers a monthly family support group that meets on the second Monday of every month from 6:15-7:30 p.m. and is offered at no cost to participants.

The dates for the upcoming Monthly Gatherings are:

• Monday, September 11 (Western Springs)

• Monday, October 9 (Western Springs)

• Monday, November 13 (Riverside)

Please visit our webpage for more information on the program and to access the registration form -https://pillarscommunityhealth.org/services/behavioral-health-and-support-services/buddys-place-grief-support/