The first Principal’s Blog of the year is here! I can almost feel the sense of relief that is rippling through the homes of Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Kildeer, Lake Zurich and Vernon Hills.
Parents, children and the world will once again know exactly what is happening at Woodlawn Middle School. I can not only sense it, I can visualize the conversations. “Thank goodness I will receive a weekly update, often times seeing information over and over so I know what is happening in the life of my middle school child.” Plus, “That Mr. Grana will add things to his blog that keep me on my toes as I read this amazingly informative piece of literature.” Wow! Your words are too kind. In all seriousness, I hope that you enjoy reading the blog and feel free to interact with me via my email, [email protected].
6th Grade Parents
Remember, we must have your physical and immunization forms before we mail out class assignments for the 2019-20 school year. Get them in a.s.a.p. If you haven’t already done so!! Our amazing Nurse Kaufmann will be in the building on Monday, August 5th if you would like to drop off the forms.
Favor Please
As I asked for last year, please tell your child that school starts in 13 days. Maybe start them out with, “Hey, guess what lucky 13 is today?” Follow that up with “The number of days until you start school!” I love messing with the middle schoolers. Good times.
Visit the PTO BLOG!!
FROM THE PTO
MARK YOUR CALENDARS – Locker Set Up Day is August 14 th from 4-7pm
IT IS NOW TIME TO ORDER YOUR BACK TO SCHOOL ITEMS!
Log in to Membership Toolkit to order the following for your student:
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Gym clothes and locks (required for all Woodlawn students)
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Locker shelving (a student and parent favorite!)
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Spirit wear
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Dessert day and special lunch
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And more!
You can also sign up to volunteer for PTO committees as well as dessert day and special lunch.
Join us in the gym on Locker Set Up Day – August 14 th – to pick up your ordered items.
PRE-ORDER by AUGUST 13 TH AT NOON to receive pre-order incentives on gym clothes and
locker shelving. Pre-order now in the comfort of your home! If you do not pre-order before
Locker Set Up Day, please be prepared to wait in long lines that day to place your order.
Check out the PTO Blog for additional details. Contact Laura LaCroix or Jinny Baw with questions.
Schedules
Schedules will be live this coming August 8th at 4p.m. You will receive an e-mail with all of the information on how to access the schedule for your child. All you will have to do is log in on School Insight. As an FYI, our schedule is limited because of our numbers of students and class availability. I do not take special requests for scheduling. If you have not completed the registration process, you will not be receiving your student's schedule, locker information, or bus information.
Curriculum Nights
Come and meet all of the teachers your child will have this year. 6th grade will be , Monday August 26th while 7th & 8th grade will be on Wednesday, August 28th. Each night begins in the gym at 7p.m., followed by a walk of your child’s schedule. It will last until roughly 8:30p.m.
Picture Day
Picture Day is August 22nd during our P.E. classes.
First Day of School - HALF DAY
Our first day of school is Thursday, August 15th. Please note that school ends at 11:10a.m.
An Invitation to Newcomers to Our District 96 Community
Has your family recently moved to District 96?
On Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m., parents of registered students in Kindergarten–Grade 8 are invited to Twin Groves Middle School, 2600 N. Buffalo Grove Rd., Buffalo Grove, for a program to welcome you to our community and introduce you to District 96.
Learn about and understand our home-school connection, classroom dynamics, patterns of communication to expect from our teachers and administrators, and more. Ask questions and help us understand how we can best support you in acclimating to the culture of a new school district, neighborhood, and community.
While all interested parents are welcome, please note that the focus of this evening is not specifically curricular which will be shared with all District 96 parents on their students’ designated grade-level Curriculum Nights. Rather, this is an informational opportunity for parents who wish to learn about logistics, procedures, and the first few weeks of school.
Questions? Need an interpreter? Please contact Director of Language and Early Literacy, Katie Sheridan at [email protected]
Sad News
Our retired school nurse, Rosie Crawford, passed away a couple of weeks ago. Rosie was an inspiration to all of us at Woodlawn as she was the nicest, most kind hearted soul you would ever meet.
Finally, I am a firm believer that you should know what you are getting when you are a Woodlawn parent. For our “new” Woodlawn parents, I am Greg Grana and I am entering my 14th year as the principal of this amazing school. I was also the principal of Kildeer elementary for 3 years and the A.P. at Woodlawn for 2 years before that. I have seen a lot, but I will NEVER say that I have seen it all because I have dedicated the vast majority of professional career to understanding the middle school mind. I am sure that you are seeing this at home, but middle school students are not always the most rational people. I am usually a calm, understanding individual, but there are times when I have to get my point across in other ways. This is where my experience comes into play. If your child does something silly one time, most likely, I am going to try to understand what they were thinking. Or weren’t thinking. When it comes to parents, I go out of my way to make time to meet or talk with you. Please know that consider myself to be the luckiest principal in the world to be at this school. I love the community, staff, students and the district. In my 16 years as an administrator at Woodlawn, I can count on one hand the negative relationships I have had with a parent. I am far from perfect, but together we will team up to make this a great experience for your child.
Similarly, Woodlawn represents excellence. I am exceptionally proud of the staff that we have and how we approach student learning. Our staff, including every person that works with your child is committed to making their middle school experience positive and rewarding. We know the middle school mind and how to best instruct and get students to partner in their learning. We have an expectation within our staff that communication is at the forefront of what we do and making sure that parents can reach out with questions. If you email a teacher, expect to hear back from them within 24 hours.
Woodlawn is a very diverse school where 54 different languages were spoken at home. That number blows me away! We are going to challenge the thinking of your child and have them collaborate with every child in their classrooms. I truly believe that our diversity is a strength and it will serve our students well throughout their education and their lives.
Enjoy what time is left in your summer and know that Mr. G- is excited about getting your students and the energy back into the building! See you soon.