Dear Parents and Guardians:

Curious about next school year's dates? D97 just approved the new calendar. The first day of school in District 97 will be Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. Teacher Institute Days will be held Monday, Aug. 23, and Tuesday, Aug. 24. Winter break will officially begin Dec. 20, and school will resume on January 4. The last day of school (without any emergency days) will be June 7, 2022. See the calendar here. 

WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!
Thank you to the new parents who have stepped up to offer time to the PTO next year. You can give a little or a lot but know that more hands make light work! Do you read this newsletter? Have your kids attended a PTO skate event or enjoyed the blankets and gift cards the PTO helped facilitate delivery of in February? Do you want teachers to have teacher appreciation day meals? Know a family touched by Jayhawk Support? Then help make this possible next year by taking an active role in the PTO. Every single activity is led by volunteers and won't happen if we don't have more volunteers take an active role next year. There are opportunities for all time commitments & skillsets.  Sign up here. Have questions? Email ptojulian@gmail.com.

The New Bell Schedule



Help Build Herd Immunity by Vaccinating Your 12-15 Year Olds
On May 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for all children age 12 and older. Click here for information about the vaccine and nearby clinics, including the Cook County Community Vaccination Program. Find an appointment here: To find an appointment, click here. 

Contact Information for School Nurse
If you have received any information about your child's exposure to a positive Covid case and a resulting quarantine, please feel free to directly contact the school nurse, Lauren Giorgano, at lgiorango@op97.org. 

Registration Open for District 97 Virtual Summer Step Up Program, July 26-August 6
District 97 is holding a Virtual Step Up Summer Program for students in Grades 1-8 (students who are in kindergarten through seventh grade during the 2020-21 school year). The program will run July 26 through Aug. 5, 2021 (8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. OR 12 pm. - 2:30 p.m.). CLICK HERE to access more details and the registration link.

Avoid Summer Slide - Encourage Your Child to Read This Summer!
The Julian Library encourages Julian students to read over the summer! To support this, Ms. Winchell, Julian's librarian, created a slideshow of new books that most Julian students have had (or will have) a chance to preview to start their own summer reading list. Here’s the list from winter 2020. Research shows that reading 4-5 books over the summer can prevent or reduce the “summer slide.” Information about the Oak Park Public Library's summer reading programming is included in the first slide deck. Please reach out to Jamie Winchell with questions or requests for reading recommendations: jwinchell@op97.org

Don’t want to keep your copy of the Stamped book? Send it to Julian! 
In partnership with the Oak Park Public Library, District 97 purchased a copy of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You for every middle school student to do an all-school read through the Language and Literature Department this school year. Getting this book into every 6th-8th graders’ hands was an important part of the antiracism work District 97 is undertaking. 
  
The L&L Department intends to continue teaching Stamped in future years. To that end, we are asking families who don’t care to keep their copy of the book to send it to Julian. These books will be reused. The L&L Department and the Library thank you!
 
Julian students can drop their copy of Stamped in these locations:

News You Can Use (See Below)

Don't stop thanking our teachers! They need it!
We've heard from several teachers about how the outreach from parents has helped me get through this incredibly challenging year. Keep sending thanks! These small gestures go a long way and will help the year end with a bang not a fizzle!  Just a little note here and there from you and/or your student about what you/they appreciate. 

Do you know someone who needs to be added to our newsletter email list? Go to the PTO website and sign up on the homepage. Have questions? Email us at ptojulian@gmail.com. Use this new email address to easily contact the school: julianinfo@op97.org.