Angel Tree Drive Thank You
The IB Christmas Hope organization and Illini Bluffs District 327 would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in our Angel Tree Gift Card Drive for 2020.
In this year in which the world has been turned upside down and lives have been negatively impacted in so many ways, kindness matters more than ever. Thank you for joining us in our effort to spread some
much needed kindness and joy to our students in need this holiday season.
Your generosity was overwhelming, and we were able to provide a wrapped gift, a gift card, and candy to every student on our list.
Wishing you the happiest of holidays and many blessings in the New Year!
Team Snoopy created a canned food drive tiktok. Here is the link: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJQSyweh/
Hello IB community! We are still doing our annual canned food drive! There are multiple ways to donate to our team to help with the fundraiser. You can find these options on our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/Canned-Food-Drive-Hunger-Busters-100368311892518/
Look at all this food the Team CARE has gathered for those in need! Thanks to all who have donated so far! To donate:tinyurl.com/teamibcare
2 Good 2 Lose Team has exceeded our goal! Extra food & money was donated to other teams to help them meet their goal.
It’s that time of year when IB Christmas Hope is doing their annual canned food drive. Today, Team 4 unloaded food from their recent donations
and continued writing thank you letters to businesses that have donated to our team. Please help and donate food/money to IB.
In lieu of our annual assembly, please view our Veterans Day 2020 video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfLBReiEn5c&feature=youtu.be #ibtigerpride
Here is a link to the Illini Bluffs Virtual Veterans Day Recognition: https://youtu.be/nfLBReiEn5c
Thank you for taking time this morning to pause and recognize our Veterans. Thank you to our Veterans for their sacrifice and service. #ibtigerpride
Veterans Day 2020
Illini Bluffs has a longstanding tradition to honor our veterans through an in-person ceremony and a luncheon. Unfortunately, COVID 19 has prevented us from doing that this year as we normally do. However, we still feel it is important to demonstrate our appreciation of the fine men and women that have afforded us the freedoms we enjoy. Our elementary and middle school students have created cards for our veterans. Some of those cards, upon request, were personalized and mailed to veterans from around the area. Hundreds of other cards were given to the American Legion to be distributed. The high school has been working on creating a video that further recognizes and appreciates our veterans. The video will go live tomorrow, Wednesday, November 11, at 10 am. We will publish the link to the video on our website and social media - please be on the lookout for it.
Illini Bluffs High School students are working hard to collect food for IB Christmas Hope, a local nonprofit that provides Christmas food baskets to IB families in need. If you or someone you know is in need this holiday season, visit the IB Christmas Hope website (ibchristmashope.com) by November 21st to sign up to receive a basket. If you would like to donate to the Illini Bluffs High School Canned Food Drive, contact the high school office. #ibtigerpride
Illini Bluffs High School students are working hard to collect food for IB Christmas Hope, a local nonprofit that provides Christmas food baskets to IB families in need. If you or someone you know is in need this holiday season, visit the IB Christmas Hope website by November 21st to sign up to receive a basket. If you would like to donate to the Illini Bluffs High School Canned Food Drive, contact the high school office.
IBES teacher Tracy Herrmann and IBHS sophomore Autumn Gray, are currently featured on the US Department of Education’s Back to School Success Stories website. Check it out https://oese.ed.gov/tracy-herrman/ and https://oese.ed.gov/autumn-gray/ #ibtigerpride
IBHS spent time on October 8th to focus on Good Health and Well-Being. It was a great reminder for all of us to take time for personal health and wellness. Watch this short video to see what happened: https://youtu.be/eqaCRN9_RTQ
#ibtigerpide #globalgoals
Dear Illini Bluffs Families,
I wanted to share with you some exciting news, to once again thank you for your efforts as parents, and to encourage you to remain vigilant in your efforts to keep our children safe. It has been nearly 9 weeks since we commenced school. I am not sure any of us thought it would go as well as it has. It has been a true team effort at both home and school.
Last week, I received a call from the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C. They indicated that they wanted to do a “virtual showcase” of our district in regards to our reopening/return to school plan. Essentially, they wanted to learn from our employees and students and what it took to safely reopen our schools. They plan on using lessons learned to educate other schools that are currently engaged in remote learning but plan on opening soon, for in-person instruction.
Frank Brogan, the Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education, spent time with a group of students, employees, and parents. He learned about our return to school mitigation strategies, and he conducted a question and answer session. Here is a link to a video that we shared with the Department of Education on our mitigation plan. https://youtu.be/ldKe0dmZYkA
Although we have been incredibly fortunate to have made it 9 weeks with in-person instruction with few problems, it could all turn upside down in a very short amount of time. We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent both at home and at school. Flu season is approaching, and dealing with the symptoms of the common flu, which are very similar to symptoms of COVID, are going to make things very difficult and frustrating to deal with.
We recently provided flu shots to any employee that desired to get them. I would encourage you to get flu shots for yourselves, and I would encourage you to do the same with your children. Doing so may create an opportunity for your children to remain at school by avoiding catching the flu and showing symptoms at school.
We need to continue our practices of social distancing, good hand hygiene, and wearing face coverings. None of us can predict the future, but we need to continue to do everything we can to afford us an opportunity to remain in session, in-person, as long as possible.
Thank you for your continued support!
IBHS held an official Community Hour Kickoff last Friday (9/18). Check out this video to learn more about how our students are actively engaging in building and strengthening their communities: https://youtu.be/n08De6FZbNU #ibtigerpride #globalgoals
Lunch Program Update:
Dear Illini Bluffs Families,
Previously, we communicated with you regarding a program being sponsored by the USDA in which free lunches are being provided through December 31, 2020 or whenever the money for the program runs out. Now that the program is up and running, and we have a better understanding of what meal preparation we are capable of, we have made some changes. Namely, we are now offering a hot entree to every student. Previously, the entree was a cold item. This change seems to have sparked interest by more students by making the meals more appealing.
Here are some other advantages to the program:
Why you should take advantage of the free school meals being offered....
*It extends your food budget and saves you time on meal prepping
*It's comforting and familiar to your kids to have meals at school or at home
*It's confidential and not just for low income families
*No forms to fill out
*You're helping the district's food service program
**The USDA is covering the cost of school meals through December 31st, 2020 or until the money for the program runs out. It is for all students 18 years of age and younger.
We recognize that some families might not want the free meal, and we are providing you the opportunity to opt out of the program. If you want to opt out of the program, please contact Trudy Heitzman, cafeteria manager, via email at theitzman@ib327.com or by calling 309 389-5025 ext. 7.
Today was National Voter Registration Day - what better way to teach civic engagement than to get folks registered! Thank Mrs. Coulter. #ibtigerpride #NationalVoterRegistrationDay
The district is planning to plant 20 more trees later this fall. Please consider making a donation to adopt a tree!
Remote Learning Families:
Through a program made possible by the US Department of Agriculture, we would like to offer you an opportunity to sign your children up for our FREE meal program.
-Daily grab-and-go lunch (with breakfast included for the next day)
-Must be picked up daily between 12:30pm and 1:00pm at door #1 (main elementary entrance)
-The program will continue until federal funding runs out or until December 31, 2020 – whichever comes first.
This program starts Monday, September 14th. If you would like to sign your child(ren) up to participate, please email theitzman@ib327.com or call 309.389.5025 extension 7 by the end of the day this Friday.
IB families - please review this important message from Dr. Alvey in regard to breakfast and school lunches.
