Friday, November 20, 2015

  • Posted November 20, 2015
Amazing week here at Woodlawn!  Today I had the privilege to escort an expert from a highly respected educational company around our school.  This individual has worked with numerous schools from around the country and is highly respected as a trainer of teachers in the practice of collaborative learning for students.  After visiting almost every classroom in the building, she and I sat down at the end of the day to discuss what she witnessed.  In discussing how our students are being serviced, and learning collaborative techniques, her quote to me was exactly this, “This is the best middle school I have seen”.  I say it time and time again, this staff is amazing and the want to keep improving their practice. Congrats to the Woodlawn community on this one!  It says a lot about the things that happen here on a daily basis...On another note, the report card in coming out today.  We have been working feverishly to get the report card up an running on line.  Everything looks like it is good to go, but there may be a few glitches that we will probably be working through up until they go live at 3p.m. 

Important Information Regarding TeacherEase
Today, Friday, November 20, at 3:00p.m., KCSD96 students’ report cards will be made available for parent review online, BUT only the parents who created their passwords and logged into the District’s new online student information system-TeacherEase-will be able to view report cards.
Creating your password and logging in to TeacherEase is a required-and quick-process.  We urge you to do it as soon as possible. 
First, search your e-mail account for the email already sent to you by the TeacherEase student information system. (Be sure you’re searching the right email account-the account for the email address you provided when registering your student.*)  The TeacherEase system has sent this same email repeatedly to ALL parent/guardian email addresses that are stored in our student information system.  The email(Subject line: Welcome to KCSD96’s TeacherEase) includes instructions and a link to click on to set up your account. 
Once you locate that email, CLICK HERE and follow the simple step-by-step instructions to create a password and log in to TeacherEase. 
Please create your password and log in promptly, so you’ll be able to view your student’s report card when it’s posted online November 20th. 
If you provided more than one parent/guardian email address when registering your student online, you may create a different TeacherEase password for that second address and log in, if you choose. 

Flag
For those of you who have been asking, we have a new one hanging from our flag pole.  Personally, I like the weathered look of an proudly flown flag, even though I learned in Social Studies that it needs to be replaced when the colors fade.  Our Woodlawn flag flies proudly through high winds, rain, snow, sleet, blazing hot summers and freezing winters because there is always a light shining upon it.  FYI, I take our retired flags to American Legion Post 208 in Arlington Heights ( I played baseball for Post 208 when the earth was cooling), where I go in and talk to the gentleman and thank them on behalf of Woodlawn for their service.  Always a highlight for me. 

Parent/Teacher Conferences
Sign ups for Parent/Teacher conferences.  Parents are asked to call the Woodlawn main office (847-353-8500) and set up one 15 minute conference with a teacher on the team of your child.  Conferences are an important time and I hope that everyone is able to come during the scheduled conference times which are Monday, November 23rd from 5-7p.m. and Tuesday, November 24th from 2-7p.m.  Over the years, many families have taken the opportunity to go out of town for a family vacation over the Thanksgiving Break.  Because so many families do this, we cannot offer a face to face meeting with a teacher after the conference times.  Per our district handbook, “Should you be unable to schedule a conference during the conference times identified on the school calendar, a parent may request a brief phone conference with the student’s teacher and individual team members when appropriate.  It is not the expectation of the District that teams re-create the conference experience outside the dates/times identified on the calendar.”  Thank you for your understanding.

Band & Orchestra
Last week the band was amazing, while this week, our orchestra blew me away with their fantastic performance.  Congratulations to all of our 6th, 7th and 8th grade students who performed.  I was amazed at your skill level  Way to go Ms. Mathey & Mr. Craw. 

Morning Drop Off
I hate having to be the one who lectures on the safety in the parking lot, but here we go… Parents, before school and after school, you have to be safe in the parking lot.  Keep one lane of traffic so that our students do not have to walk between cars, be aware of students and SLOW DOWN.  I am going to ask Mr. Kuhlman to put cones out front in order to keep our students safe.  I apologize in advance if this means you are going to be a minute longer in your morning travels.  Our children need to be safe. 

Cuba Road
It is simply a mess.  It is getting better and is almost done.  On December 30th, we will go back to regular bus routes and times.   Woo Hoo. 

8th Grade Parents-TeacherEase
As you know from my blog, 8th graders will continue to receive a letter grade this year.  The letter grade is an average of the final academic target scores (no work habits).  To ensure that academics and work habits remain separate for each class, we have separated the two on TeacherEase. You will now see 8G Science Work Habits.  There could be a change in the grades since the work habits are now separated.  Having work habits in a separate course will now allow you to use the overall class score to calculate a letter grade. 

ATTENTION Parents of 8th Grade Students- A Message from D96
You are receiving this email from KCSD96 with information that applies specifically to you-the parent of an 8th grader. 
This brief explanation will help you find AND interpret academic info online in the parent portal of the District’s new student information system: CLICK HERE.  Reminder: Report cards for District 96 studetns in grades KDG-8 will be issued online at 3p.m. on Friday, November 20, 2015.

Standards' Based Report Cards
Soon you'll be receiving your child's progress report.  For those of you who are new to our reporting tools, or are just curious why we do things the way we do, we thought this would be a good time to share the "why" behind standard's based report cards.  District 96 embraces this format of reporting, as it provides parents with very detailed information about how their child is doing, and specifically what skills are strengths, and what are continued areas for growth.  We feel this is a critical way in which we partner as educators and parents to best support your child. 
Report cards of the past left parents with many questions, wondering how they could best support their child.  Sometimes an individual teacher may have elaborated in comments, but often, this was left up to interpretation and could vary across teachers. 
​O​ur current report cards break down exactly what your child's academics has focused on and lets you know where they stand, at this given point and time. 
​​As a result, you may find that less comments are provided, as this information is already outlined within each individual target reported on.
Teachers work diligently to report to you in multiple skill areas under each broad category, providing you with in depth knowledge of strengths and growth areas.  This allows for more consistency from teacher to teacher, and refines our practices to be more clear for all of our learners. 
Of course, we are always looking forward to answering questions and speaking more in depth with you about your child's progress at their individual conferences, and we look forward to seeing you there!

PLEASE VISIT THE PTO BLOG!!!!

TeacherEase Video
Please take a look at this LINK for a quick, 3 minute video that explains how students login and check their grades on TeacherEase.  This video will be shared with students during school next week.  Once they are logged in to TeacherEase, the steps and directions can also be used for parents.

Daily Announcements
Click here to see our daily announcements.  Please make this link a homepage for yourself as we will no longer be sending a daily e-mail reminder home.

Finally, in about a week, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving.  With all sincerity, I am so thankful for the Woodlawn community.  Of course we have our moments where things happen that I wish could have turned out better.  My source of pride for this building comes from an overall feeling of “whatever it takes, let’s get it done”.  I am not kidding and forgive me for stealing a line from our Technology Coach, Howard Frishman, when I say “This is where the magic happens”.  This community expects a lot and rightfully so.  The staff and students work hard and try to balance that work with a little fun.  As the leader of this school, I wish every school could feel the parent support that I do, watch the students really come into their own as learners and see the positive faces of the adults that are entrusted with the responsibility of working with our children.  I am exceptionally proud of this school and yes, I am thankful every day....Oh yeah, I am also thankful that my daughter came home from college last night and that my son will be here Tuesday.  I promise you that I will appreciate them more this Thanksgiving.