Families,
Thank you for another successful week of remote learning. We hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend and we look forward to continuing our ongoing partnership next week. Never hesitate to reach out for support.
For your reference, here is the updated FAQ document to address any remote learning questions you may have.
Thank you,
Christine Pfaff
Transition to Middle School Parent Info
Parents of current 5th graders: Learn what to expect for your middle school student in the 20-21 school year ahead. Although the Transition to Middle School program for parents of current 5th graders had to be canceled, Middle School Principals Jessica Barnes (Twin Groves) and Greg Grana (Woodlawn) have collaborated to provide THIS INFORMATION, addressing academics, extracurricular opportunities, and changes that the middle school years bring for your student. Please email your questions about Twin Groves Middle School to Principal Jessica Barnes.
NEW: Student Work Video
Please enjoy this district video from Monday’s special activities. Way to go, students!
NEW: Do Your Kids Need Some Good Books to Read?
Students with iPads have no reason not to be reading. It's important to read every day. CHECK OUT ways to find great books to read (online) and more.
NEW: 5th Grade Placement Update
Because the traditional assessments used for 5th to 6th-grade placement could not be administered due to the school closure, the Curriculum Office is currently working to revise the placement process. More information will be available in mid-May.
NEW: Tech Support for Kindergarten-5th Grade
I’m having technical issues while accessing slideshows in the Google Slides app. What can I do to get around these issues?
- DELETE the Google Slides app from your student’s device. (It can always be re-downloaded from Self-Service at a later time.)
- Open the Google Drive app on your student’s iPad and locate the shared slideshow that you are trying to view.
- Play the slideshow from within the Google Drive application, or OPEN IN SAFARI if given the option.
As students are home with their iPad devices to access remote learning plans, we do anticipate there may be some tech needs that arise. If you run into any difficulty with your child’s school iPad, just send us an email explaining your problem and we can support you and your device. Please email [email protected] with any tech-related support needed. This video will be helpful too.
REPEATING: Buffalo Grove Park District Clubhouse New Parent Webinar
The Buffalo Grove Park District has scheduled a New Parent Webinar on Apr. 30 at 5 p.m. for prospective families interested in learning about before- and after-school childcare through the Buffalo Grove Park District Clubhouse Program. SEE INFO to log in to attend the prospective Clubhouse New Parent webinar.
Repeat: Parent Input for Class Placement
Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a tremendously difficult job that takes many hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, administrators, and specialists. We take this process very seriously. The process for class list creation is as follows:
Teachers think about the social and academic needs of each of their current students while recording pertinent information to assist in the decision making process.
Grade level teachers, principals, specials area teachers, and specialists meet together to form class lists that are balanced in terms of academic, social, and emotional needs as well as considering friendships. This is no easy task and often takes several meetings. This team of educators considers each child’s personality, academic needs, friendship patterns, etc. as they make a match for each individual child.
This team of educators creates a draft set of class lists taking into consideration parent input.
Class lists are then revised in August with summer changes for students who move in or out of the district.
Class rosters are never final until they are released to families in August.
This process happens for grades 2-5. Willow Grove creates the class lists for our incoming 1st graders. Our 5th-grade team actively works with Twin Groves to provide data and input related to placement decisions at the middle school level.
We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students. It is a delicate balancing act that takes much consideration and thought by professionals who know and care about your children. Our goal is to create balanced class lists that promote the success of each child. Please know that your child is placed in a classroom for very specific reasons. The process benefits all students. Because of the input and thought given by teachers, specialists, parents, and the principal, we are very reluctant to make changes once this process occurs, as removing or moving one child can disrupt the balance of an entire class, impacting all students.
I welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style. I will take into consideration pertinent information received on or before FRIDAY, APRIL 24th. Please remember, while we welcome your input, specific teacher requests will not be honored.
I cannot express enough how important it is that your thoughts are provided through the Prairie Class Placement Input 2019-2020 Survey. As you can imagine, we receive a lot of parent input, and verbal information is impossible to track. The information you provide in the survey will remain confidential between you and me.
Additional Information
Please refer to last week’s principal message for additional information.
Last week message highlights:
Food services - Donation update in Superintendent Schmidt’s April 7th message
Library resources
Family resources to discuss COVID 19 with your child(ren)
Directions for accessing Zoom meetings