As the days get shorter and the temperatures begin to drop, it feels as though Fall is finally upon us. Now that we are settled into our school routines, I would like to take a moment to talk about student safety. We have spent a lot of time, and money for that matter, to make sure our children are safe. We “buzz” people into our locked buildings, we have camera surveillance outside all of our schools, and we regularly practice safety drills with local police and fire personnel.
The pressing safety issue that needs to be addressed by our community, however, is vaping. Vaping is a problem of epidemic proportions affecting more and more young people each day. It has been shown to harm brain development, impact learning, and increase risk for future addiction to other drugs.
A recent alert from the Illinois Department of Public Health gave some alarming statistics, “E-cigarette use is epidemic in the US and Illinois. Among Illinois high school seniors, past 30 day e-cigarette use is significantly rising. In 2018, 8.4% of 8th grade students and 23.1% of 12th grade students reported using e-cigarettes. Using e-cigarettes puts youth at risk for addiction and other health consequences, but unfortunately, 40% of 10th and 12th graders said there is low- or no-risk of harm when using e-cigarettes.” This is indeed alarming.
In order to better inform parents about the dangers of vaping, D140 will host a parent education night entitled Vaping: What Every Parent Needs to Know. Please join us at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 9th at Grissom Middle School. Tinley Park DARE officers will be on hand to discuss vaping, as well as underage drinking and marijuana usage in our community. Parents are invited to participate in a question and answer session following the presentation.
Please join us on Wednesday, October 9th. Let’s work together to keep our children safe.
Dr. Shawn OlsonSuperintendent
Online Scheduling for Parent/Teacher Conferences Opens September 30th
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held in all KSD 140 elementary and middle schools on Monday, November 25th from 1:00 - 8:00 pm. and Tuesday, November 26th from 8:00 am. - 3:00 pm. Students are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Beginning Monday, September 30th at 8 am, you can schedule a parent/teacher conference by going to http://www.ptcfast.com/reg1 and inputting your student’s team or class entry code found on the links below.
• Bannes Elementary
• Fernway Elementary
• Keller Elementary
• McAuliffe Elementary
• Millennium Elementary
• Grissom Middle School
• Prairie View Middle School
If you do not have internet access or are unable to make an appointment on the specified dates, please feel free to contact your child’s school and our office staff will be happy to assist you.
Thank you for your support as we work together to create a cooperative home-school partnership.
D140 Celebrates Red Ribbon Week October 21st - 25th
During Red Ribbon Week, schools across the nation join together to promote a drug-free lifestyle and encourage students to make positive, healthy choices.
Beginning October 21st, KSD 140 students and staff are invited to participate in Red Ribbon activities.
Details can be found at ksd140.org