Butler SD 53 News
Butler School District 53 is pleased to release our 2020 Summer School course offerings for students entering grades 3-8. During the summer, our students are offered an opportunity to implement digital technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a traditional classroom while furthering their learning.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our school community to the newly adopted vision and mission statements for Butler School District 53. I'm grateful to the students, parents, faculty, and staff that contributed to the development of these guiding principles. These statements embody the direction and goals for our school district.
I would like to take this opportunity in my final Friday, 2019-2020 school year letter to wish you a safe, relaxing, and memorable summer. If you have learned anything from my weekly correspondence during our time quarantined, I hope that you take with you the important fact that you are not alone. The students of Butler D53 are our salient responsibility.
Four Butler School District 53 students were awarded the Oak Brook Education Association Citizenship (OBEA) Award.
With an unconventional summer nearing, we wanted to provide resources that could help you to keep children and families engaged and busy during the next few months. After all of the stress and uncertainty we’ve experienced these past few months, it might be tempting to go into summer with no plan.
This spring Butler Junior High 8th graders were celebrated in a different way than past graduations. Click the link inside this story for the Graduation Video Stream.
I want to wish staff, students, and the Butler D53 community a safe, and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is a way to honor those in the armed forces who have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. Traditions have changed over the years. It is also the official-unofficial day that signifies that summer has arrived.
Below is a list of fun websites that give students an opportunity to virtually check out field trips and destinations they may want to visit. This list includes museums, aquariums, zoos, national parks, Broadway, and even the planet Mars! Besides destinations, there are also some enriching educational activities included too.
As I compose this note on a dreary morning, I think about what is to come after the storm; sunshine, new growth, greener grass, calmer waters, and perhaps a rainbow. The Butler D53 family of students, guardians, and staff have been navigating a sort of storm for the past 9 weeks. No one could have ever predicted the duration or severity.
Last week was Brook Forest’s “Week of Kindness” and we hope students and families had fun engaging in each day’s theme. Being kind to self and others is something we can always strive to do more of. Not only does this help others to feel good, we feel good about ourselves when we are kind and help others.
As the weather is becoming more stable, the cadence within our family and home is also stabilizing. School end-of-year activities are beginning to take shape. You see it within our district and on news reports from across the country. These events and rites of passage are different than what we could ever have imagined.
Research shows that movement provides physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral benefits to our bodies. Movement helps us to reset and recharge when our bodies have been sitting and focusing for too long. It not only helps children get the “wiggles out” but energizes them and increases their ability to focus for the next activity.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, My topic of this week's communication is our appreciation for “you”. You wear many hats as you balance your new routine, your job, parenting, as a caregiver, and teacher. As we all navigate and adjust, remember to take care of “you”.
While we all may have suspected it was coming, the recent extension of the stay-at-home order can make it challenging to maintain a positive mindset for the coming weeks. In addition, not having an end in sight for when we can “return to normal” can make us feel overwhelmed and uncertain about the future.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, As we are still digesting last week's order of suspending in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic school year, yesterday there was a new gubernatorial direction extending the stay-at-home order through May 30.
As we all try to adjust to this new normal, week to week, it is so important to remember to live in the key of BALANCE. This school year has not ended, although we must adjust our daily expectations. No, we do not get to go to school and see our teachers and friends, but it is not a lost school year. We have much to learn and discover during this time.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, As you’ve likely seen in the news, today Governor Pritzker has ordered all public and private K-12 schools to remain closed for the remainder of this academic year. The Governor’s decision is in the best interest of our students, families, and staff. My heart aches for students and staff who will not be together to finish out the school year.
One of the most helpful things you can do to support your child at home during this uncertain time is to Establish Healthy Routines. While so much in our lives is unpredictable at this time, we can try to make some things predictable for our children. Setting up a daily schedule that outlines predictable routines can help to reduce stress and conflict at home.
The Butler School District 53 Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the proposal for an e-Learning program recommended in lieu of emergency days, for implementation district-wide commencing school year 2020-2021.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, I hope that as parents/guardians and students, you were able to use this last week as a much needed “family break”. Our teachers were grateful, able to recharge while devoting time to their families, and are now ready to take the remainder of the year full-steam ahead.
In light of the unprecedented closing of schools across Illinois and the move to digital learning as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Butler District 53 Board of Education reviewed and approved a plan for e-Learning at its March 16 meeting. e-Learning for District 53 students officially began March 17, 2020 and will continue over the next two weeks. Spring break is scheduled the third week, March 30-April 3.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, As Spring Break is here and we come to a close on our second week of e-Learning, I want to express how proud I am of our students and families. Along with keeping a continuity of learning traditional subjects, our students are learning a vital life skill: Resilience.
The Board approved the 2020-21 school calendar at its meeting on March 16. The first day of student attendance during the next school year will be Aug. 24, 2020 and the last day will be June 4, 2021. Emergency days are scheduled from June 8-14, 2021.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, As Governor JB Pritzker announced today, the state of Illinois is on a mandated “Stay-At-Home” order commencing Saturday, March 20, at 5:00PM. Furthermore, the statewide closure of schools has been extended to April 8th.
Dear Butler School District 53 families and staff, The recent decision to close schools, first across the county and then across the state is an unprecedented measure. With the absence of confirmed COVID-19 cases in DuPage County, we have been responding to this crisis as if our community already has a substantial outbreak.