By Zion 6
Zion, IL. – Due recent EBF standings, Shiloh Park Elementary School has been able to add four new staff members to the MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) team. With the expansion of the MTSS team at Shiloh, there is a bigger allowance for more small-group work and one-on-one time with students.
The staff focuses on struggling readers and works to support their learning to meet their grade-level standards. Each student receives a 30-minute session in lieu of his or her scheduled class. With the additional support staff, Shiloh has been able to reach 80-90 students a day, rather than the previous 30 students.
The work and attention provided by MTSS staff members (Kim Greene, Stacee Remsing, Kim Simmons, Angela Segobiano, and Emily Cassity) is outstanding and incredibly valuable to the students of Shiloh Park. With the growth of the MTSS staff, Shiloh and District 6 are optimistic that students will meet their yearly NWEA goals.
West Hosts Hispanic Heritage Night
On October 25, West Elementary School held their annual Hispanic Heritage Night to celebrate the diversity and culture within the Zion Elementary School District 6 community. Students and families were able to enjoy a traditional Mexican folk dance and participate in activities such as West Family History, self-portraits, a Hispanic heritage photo booth, and learn about Hispanic heritage heroes.
The West Family History station had students and parents work together to place stickers on a map to show where their family stems from. This not only gave families a chance to “make their mark,” but also emphasized how culturally diverse and unique they are as a school/community.
The self-portrait station revolved around participants looking at themselves in the mirror and drawing what they see/how they view themselves. At West, they believe every child is unique and should view themselves in the same positive manner that staff and administrators do. With the growing Hispanic population in the Zion community, West places importance on sharing and celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture.
District 6 Food Service Tasting Event
On October 29, Zion Elementary School District 6 and Arbor Management (District 6 food service provider) held its first Food Service Tasting Event to give parents a better understanding as to what their children are eating at school.
There was a variety of samples including crispy chicken drumsticks with whole grain breading, savory Salisbury steak, nachos, whole grain breaded chicken nuggets, and double stuffed crust pizza. Breakfast items were on display including cereal bowls of name brand cereal manufacturers that create special lines of cereal with 25% reduced sugar for students to align with state nutritional guidelines.
Arbor and the District received positive feedback from the parents, as they did not realize that the school food had tasted so good and the variety that is offered to our students! Families really enjoyed the food and learning more about our food service program.
Several representatives from Arbor, the District’s food service provider, were available for questions and explanation of the menu items offered, food preparation, and processes for breakfast and lunch in our schools.
They also demonstrated the new way to view school breakfast and lunch menus online or through the Zion Elementary School District 6 mobile app. The District utilizes Nutrislice, an online program that offers families nutrition information for any product on the menu, it also gives you allergens, pictures, what food group the food belongs to, and you can rate each food listed. Not to mention, the menu can be translated to any language you want with just two clicks!
While families were sampling food and learning more about Arbor, they were able to enjoy festive artwork provided by the extremely talented artists at Beulah, East, Elmwood, and West. With all the newly learned information, parents were eager to sign up for chance to be a member of the newly forming Community Café Committee.
The District and Arbor are working to establish a collaborative committee to include parents, students, and staff to offer insight for improvements for our food service program. Those family members interested in enhancing and improving our food service program can sign-up online at https://goo.gl/forms/qzbgY4YlP55tqGdi2 or complete an interest card in the front office of your child’s school.
