D114 Family Update: D114 Weekly Family Updates 2/23/26

Thanks to everyone who came to the Family Fun Fair and to our incredible PTA for organizing it!!! 💓

Calendar Updates

On Tuesday night, the Board approved:

1. The change for this year's calendar to be IN SESSION on 3/2/26--update linked here

2. Our proposed 26-27 calendar--will share ASAP

5 Essentials Survey--OPEN NOW!!!

Annually, the State of Illinois asks school districts to administer the 5Essentials Survey to gather feedback from students, parents, and staff. This feedback helps guide the district in future planning. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

Effective Leaders
Collaborative Teachers
Involved Families
Supportive Environments
Ambitious Instruction

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey for students and teachers will be conducted now through March 13, 2026. The Parent Survey Supplement will be conducted during that same timeframe.

To take the survey please visit

https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/?target_name=parent&p=1

Absences

While we ALWAYS want our students at school, please be sure to review our Illness Guidelines (linked here).

Just a reminder that--if a student is absent from school for ANY reason--they are NOT permitted to attend any after school events. If they can't come to school, they should not attend after school events.

Students should absolutely stay home if they are sick, but we want them back with us as soon as possible!

Referral GPS--Reminder!

We are committed to creating a culture of well-being of students, staff,

parents, and community. In an effort to continuously support this

commitment, the district has entered an agreement with ReferalGPS.

ReferralGPS is a web-based service focused on assisting our students,

staff, and community in finding local mental-health and substance use

related treatment. The service compliments the districts existing

systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to

connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment

options, ReferalGPS provides Care Navigation to assist families in

triage, appointment setting, and follow up care.

School families may access ReferalGPS in two ways:

1) Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists,

counselors) to seek out treatment options.

2) Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/D114 to

search for treatment resources or connect with a Care

Navigator anonymously.

ReferalGPS takes into account all types of private and public insurance

including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, Medicare, and families who are

uninsured or underinsured. The platform also filters by age, gender, zip

code, and special requests.

ReferalGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at

no cost. All information entered on the ReferalGPS tool is completely

confidential and securely stored.

If you are interested in seeking counseling-related services at this time,

please consider visiting https://referralgps.com/find-help/D114 or

reaching out to the Student Services team.

Good morning, District 114!

We had such a blast at this Saturday's Family Fun Fair! Thank you to all the families who came out and to our amazing teachers, staff, and student volunteers who made the event a success. Check out some of the photos on our Facebook Page!

Lotus's Spring Bookfair is this week! We're still seeking volunteers for several time slots. See details below:

Lotus Spring Bookfair

Dates: Saturday, 2/21 through Friday, 2/27; Set up on 2/20
Sign up for a shift here.

Monday, 8 am to 11 am: 2 spots
Monday, 11 am to 2 pm: 1 spot
Tuesday, 8 am to 11 am: 2 spots
Tuesday, 11 am to 2 pm: 2 spots
Wednesday, 10:30 am to 12 pm: 1 spot
Thursday, 8 am to 11 am: 2 spots
Thursday, 11 am to 2 pm: 1 spot

Mark your calendars for the following dates:

March PTA Meeting

Date: Monday, 3/9/26
Time: 6:00 pm to ~7:00 pm
Location: Lotus Library or Google Meet

March Eat Out to Help Out

Date: Tuesday, 3/10/26
Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Location: Culver's in Fox Lake
Make sure to say you're with District 114 when you order!

Day of Service

Date: Wednesday, 4/22/26
Our annual Day of Service fundraiser is coming soon!
Day of Service is a unique event that combines fundraising with hands-on community service, where students complete projects like cleaning community gardens and creating care packages for nursing home residents.
This year, our fundraising goal is $25,000 to sustain the PTA's annual programs:

Teacher Conference Dinners
Stanton Halloween Dance
Santa's Breakfast
Book Buddies
Holiday Dinners for Familys in Need
Family Bingo Night
Family Fun Fair
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast
Teacher Grant Money
School Assemblies
8th Grade Funds
Family Rocket Launch

Additionally, any funds raised beyond this goal will go toward a dedicated account for the future construction of a new playground at Lotus Elementary School—an investment that will benefit students and the community for years to come!
We're currently seeking sponsors for this year's Day of Service! If you have or know of a small business that is interested in supporting the PTA's work, please visit our Givebacks site or email us at pta@foxlake114.org

Help us reach our goal of 90+ members this school year! We currently have 81 members, including 40 teachers and staff, and 41 parents/guardians. Thank you, Don Olson, for being our newest member!

Here's what you need to know: