February 2022 CAPE Report

CAPE Report

February 25th, 2022

Administration

Dr. Abrell

• Dr Abrell, Dr Woods, and Mr. Hernandez attended the state of the village Bolingbrook address.  Plainfield East received a donation from the village of Bolingbrook.
• There are 58 attendance days left in the school year. 
• Over 700 school districts have announced dates to make masks optional in Illinois so far.

Tom Hernandez

• Dr. Harper and Dr. Abrell have both been amazing superintendents for Plainfield.  Thank you to Dr. Abrell for all that he has done.
• We are still relying on our lawyers for guidance on masks and protocols.  The Illinois Supreme Court is able to choose what cases they hear, so we are waiting to see what they decide to do.  We hope that they take on this case, just so that we can have further clarification on the authority of different governing bodies.
• This year is the first time in history that the IHSA is hosting a state sanctioned girl wrestling tournament.  Plainfield has two students entering in this tournament.

High School Report: Principal PNHS Ross Draper

• Thank Mayor Mary Basta for creating different opportunities for our kids.  One was an opportunity for students to acquire formal dresses at a deep discount..  She also has a speaker coming to East and North to talk about distracted driving.
• Testing Illinois Science Assessment will be done this month.
• PSAT and SAT tests are coming up April 13 and 14, as well as State Standardized testing.
• We are finishing up Black History Month.  North had a Historically Black Colleges evening last Tuesday, which was open to all schools. Tomorrow a night of performances including  dance, song, poetry, and dramatic monologues will be happening at South.
• Spring Musicals this year will be Cinderella March 18-20 at East, High School Musical March 18-20 at North, Little Women March 18-20 at South, and Beauty and the Beast April 8-10 at Central.
• We still have a large number of children who are still wearing masks, roughly about fifty percent.  The students have all been really respectful of each other.
• Monday we start spring sports.
• May 21 will be graduation for seniors.

Middle School Report: Principal of JFK Amandeep Hundal

• IAR testing is coming up in March and April.
• Girls Basketball tournament will occur next week.
• March tryouts for boys volleyball and girls soccer are coming up.
• Track is a no cut sport that will be beginning soon.
• Battle of the Books is occurring now.  Next week is the district battle at Heritage Grove.
• Eighth grade students went to Washington DC recently.  Four students were able to participate in the laying of a wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• May 26 is 8th grade promotion.  High Schools are hosting the promotions outside on the football fields.
• End of the year celebrations for the 8th graders this year will be occurring at all schools this year.
• Thank you to the PTA/PTOs for all that they have done to support the schools this year.

Elementary School Report: Principal River View Tracey Markowski

• District institute day will be March 4. That day is also the end of the third quarter.
• March 18 report cards go home electronically.
• March 14 will be an early release date for a school improvement day.
• ISA is at the end of month. Grades 5, 8 and 11 students will take it.
• Spring Break will be March 28- April 4.

PPCN Representative: Tim Albores

• March 10  at 6:00 will be our next event hosted at Plainfield Central.
• Two social workers will come in to talk about Easy Button Mental Health Strategies.
• This will be in person and broadcasted on Youtube as well.

Board of Education: Barb Seiden

•  Kudos to administration and students for being kind during the mask transition.
• Curriculum group reported on in lieu of suspension programs. This allows students to figure out why they did what they did and then correct those behaviors in the future.
• CCC program has shown student discipline statistics closer to actual demographics as students and staff are looking at diversity and biases.
• Technology team is focused on blended learning throughout the district.

Dawn Bullock (APT)

• End of the quarter is coming up.  Try to keep the kids on track for the final quarter.

Community Report

Mindy Jackson-Plainfield Public Library

• All information is on the library website.
• Third grade writing program will be taking place during the month of March.  They are asked to write a story starting with the sentence “One day when I was at the library.” 
• Anime night is coming up Monday February 28.
• ACT prep test will be offered March 5.
• “It's Ok to Not Be Ok”  coming up on March 7.
• SAT free prep test is occurring March 19.
• Masks will be becoming optional next month.

Laura Yanchic Joliet Library

• Tomorrow they will be having a drop-in Escape Room from 9:30-4:30.
• All information is on the library website.

Plainfield Park District

• Representative not present.

CAPE President Report: Presented by Blair Kramer

• Beginning next month, CAPE meetings will be solely in person.  Zoom will no longer be an option.  If you can not make it, you need to have someone else come.

Old and New Business:

CAPE Scholarships

• We have added a new scholarship this year for the Academy. 
• The scholarship forms will be sent out soon.
• The scholarships will be due back to the CAPE board by April 1.
• Make sure the students fill out the entire form.  If everything is not submitted then the student will not be considered for the scholarship.
• A committee will vote on the winners.

Young Hearts 4 Life

• April 12 will be the new date for North.
• Volunteers need to reregister.
• Students do not need to reregister.
• All the information is on the school website.
• The results of the tests will not be shared with the school, so this will not affect a child’s ability to participate in sports.

Awards Timeline

• The Community Award has been closed.  Each school will receive two votes.  Votes are due by March 3.
• March 11 has many things due including five proud moments,  individual bios and digital pictures,  names of the people to be included on the memorial page, and a RSVP list of people attending the awards ceremony.. 
• JFK, Ridge, Crystal Lawn, and Eagle Point will be putting together the winner’s bags. Two volunteers will be needed from each school.
• Creekside, Grand Prairie, Ira Jones, and Thomas Jefferson  will be working the registration tables at the reception.  Two volunteers are needed from each school.
• A Youtube link will be shared for those who can not attend the ceremony.

Next meeting is March 25th, 2022 at 9:30am.