Country Meadows Principal's Message - May 6th

Country Meadows Principal's Message - May 6th

Country Meadows Families,

It was another great week at Country Meadows, and we made sure that our staff knows how appreciated they are every chance we had!  We are SO blown away by the thoughtfulness and creativity of our amazing PTO.  The unbelievable decorations, meals, gifts, and overall appreciation provided for our staff this week was unmatched.  We are so grateful to have such a strong partnership with our parent community, and we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for everything you did to make Country Meadwos such a happy place this week.  We are eagerly awaiting the nice weather next week promises to bring, and we hope everyone enjoys the weekend ahead!

Kindly,

Meghan Bird 


NEW *Kindergarten Visit to Country Meadows*

On Tuesday, May 17th at 9:30 am, Willow Grove Kindergarten students who will attend Country Meadows Elementary School in the fall will be visiting our campus.  During the visit, students will meet their new principal and assistant principal, visit our specials classes & meet specials teachers, and finish with a visit to our first-grade classrooms and do an activity, meet the first-grade teachers!  Courtesy Cub is also known to make a fun appearance as students load the buses.  If you know of any registered incoming 2022-2023 first-grade students who do not currently attend Willow Grove, please make them aware of this opportunity.  Parents can call the office at 847.353.8600 to register their child for the tour.


NEW *PTO Update*

In case you missed it: View last week's blog post with detailed information about all of our very exciting end of year activities!

Don't forget these upcoming events!

SCIENCE FAIR May 11th 5:30-7:30pm: All students and their families, regardless of grade or whether you submitted a project or not, are welcome to come!

5TH GRADE PARTY May 13th during the school day

END OF YEAR PARTY May 19th 5:30-7:30pm: A big celebration for all students and families to enjoy.  Games (including a dunk tank with some of our own school staff!), snacks, crafts, and music are all free.  Kona Ice will also be available for purchase.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!


REPEATING *Last Call for Library Books*

Parents if you happen to see any school library books at home please return them to school as soon as possible. With school drawing to a close for the year we need to begin cataloging and checking the inventory for the school library.


REPEATING *Curriculum Home Connections*

New Resource Page Designed, with Parents in Mind

In response to some parents' questions about how to best support their children with academic work at home, the district’s Instructional Coaches designed a one-stop resource that equips these families in doing just that.

The resource is a new District web page ~ the “Home to School Connections'' ~ designed for parents and filled with invaluable links to internal and external Technology and Curriculum Resources.  Under the Technology Resources heading, for instance, parents will find the usual District resources used for assistance with iPads, frequently used apps, TeacherEase, SeeSaw and Schoology.

The page also features Curriculum Resources, which presents a wealth of resources ~ sorted by grade/grade levels ~ for help with literacy, math, and the other subject areas, and links to the District’s pacing guides (which indicate what a child is expected to know at each grade level). 

Families will find resources to practice high-frequency words, strengthen their mastery of math-word problems or help them write more descriptively.  There is also information on supporting a multilingual student at home and 10 of the best questions to ask your student to elicit more than a ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ response about what they’re learning or experiencing at school.

Families will find resources to practice high-frequency words, strengthen their mastery of math-word problems or help them write more descriptively.  There is also information on supporting a multilingual student at home and 10 of the best questions to ask your student to elicit more than a ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ response about what they’re learning or experiencing at school.

The resource was debuted at Thursday night’s Thought Exchange Partnership (TEP) meeting.  Check it out for yourself:

D96 Home Page

Curriculum Connection Page

Technology Connection Page


REPEATING *Registration Reminder*

A big thank you to those of you who have already registered your student for the 22-23 school year.  For those of you who haven’t yet, we need your help!  We staff our buildings based on completed registration.  We like to keep class sizes low so that students have the best possible experience and the only way we can do that is by having the most accurate information.  If you have not registered yet, please take a few minutes to complete this important process.  If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the school office and we would be happy to help. 


REPEATING *Summer 2022 iPad Information*

All Buildings:

  • Students in grades K-7 will keep their iPad and all peripherals over the summer unless they are not returning to D96 for the 22-23 school year. 
  • Any non-returning students will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
  • Families who exit out of D96 after the last day of school will need to return all of their technology to the District Office over the summer. Any device not returned will be placed in lost mode and will not function.
  • Over the summer, some apps and services will continue to work at the student’s 21-22 grade level. Apps and websites like Dreambox, Lexia, Typing Agent, (etc) will be available to use over the summer but are not guaranteed to work at all times. The technology department will only be supporting the use of these apps in ESY or Summer School. 
  • As we get closer to August, we will roll-up student data and new services. Apps will also become available to them relative to their 22-23 grade level.

Willow Grove Specific:

  • EC iPads will be collected at the end of the year. We ask that devices and peripherals (charging cable, charging brick, and case) that are kept at home be returned to Willow Grove and made available for collection no later than Wednesday, May 25th. Note that EC students do NOT receive Logitech Crayons.
  • Current Kindergarten students will keep their iPads over the summer. New grade-level content and services will be made available on their iPads sometime in August.
  • Any non-returning students will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.

Middle School Specific:

  • 8th Grade iPad collection will happen on Wednesday, May 25th. Students will be expected to turn in their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon.
  • Any non-returning students in grades 6 and 7 will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.

REPEATING *5th Grade: 4 Chord Concert*

Our Country Meadows 5th graders have been learning about music through playing ukulele and singing various styles of music. We have found that there are so many songs that have been written using only 4 chords. We wanted to showcase our hard work by having a concert to celebrate the 5th grade and all they have learned in music at Country Meadows on Monday, May 16th at 5:30 in the cafeteria. More details will follow when it gets closer to the concert so stay tuned but if you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will do my best to answer!

Thank you!

Sarah Murray


REPEATING *Proof of Dental Exam (K/2nd/6th)*

Dear Parents/Guardians of District 96 Kindergarteners, 2nd, and 6th Grade Students:

Please note that your child’s completed dental examination is now due, per Illinois school law. The deadline for the dental examination is due no later than May 15 of the current school year.  Proof of this required dental examination must have been completed within eighteen months prior to the May 15 deadline.

If you haven’t already done so, please make an appointment with your child’s dentist for a dental examination, have him and/or her complete the required form and return it to your child’s school nurse. 

State of Illinois Proof of Dental Examination Form

In the event that you are unable to fulfill this requirement, the state of Illinois does permit a waiver of the examination.

State of Illinois Dental Waiver Form

Dental examination forms, as well as dental waiver forms, can be downloaded from the District’s web site.   Thank you for your prompt cooperation. 


REPEATING *Reproving Residency (K & 5th)*

In KCSD 96, each year, parents of current Kindergartners and 5th graders are required to reprove their district residency.

To re-prove residency, parents are asked to provide three items to the Administrative Assistants at their child’s current school:

  • a current monthly mortgage OR lease statement OR property tax bill OR Warranty Deed AND
  • a current utility bill (e.g., water OR electric OR waste collection) AND

This Proof of Residency Form (completed and signed)

For the email address for your school’s Administrative Assistant, and to learn information for other questions, please visit https://www.kcsd96.org/about/registration/the-requirement-to-re-prove-residency.


REPEATING *2022-23 REGISTRATION IS OPEN*

Registration now open for the 2022-23 school year!

Registration is now open for the 2022-23 school year.  This week, parents and guardians of returning students and pre-registered Kindergartners were emailed Notification letters with a SnapCode to start their registration process.

Register today to avoid the $20 late fee (per child) to be charged on registrations completed after April 15.

If you have questions about the 2022-23 Registration Notification email, please email [email protected] or call 847-459-4260, ext. 8022.

For information on registering a new student, visit https://kcsd96.org/registration.


REPEATING *Covid Metrics*

To stay up-to-date this school year on local metrics, please visit the COVID DASHBOARD for District 96. Our priority remains to keep our students safe and follow guidance from the CDC. If your student is identified as a "close contact", you will be notified individually through the contact tracing process.