Let the good times begin! All of the summer work, building preparation, scheduling and coordination are worth it when we get to meet and talk with our students. The 6th graders are immediately getting comfortable and I am always amazed at how much our 7th & 8th graders have grown and matured. The energy, happiness and excitement that comes when the students see each other is amazing. Also, the smiles on the faces of our parents at locker set up night let me know that they were ready for the start of school. Congratulations parents, you made it!
PICTURE DAY - DATE CHANGE - Official date is Wednesday, August 21st.
Full disclosure, I made a mistake. I looked at the wrong calendar for picture day and published the wrong date last week. Before there is mass chaos and rioting in the halls of Woodlawn, the official date for picture day is WEDNESDAY, August 21st. Pictures will be taken during our P.E. classes and I promise that the official date will be well known throughout the school. In my world, I am not sure that my sons knew when picture day was, which could be seen by the quality of t-shirt worn that day. Whereas my daughters had the look going. They would not have been pleased with this type of communication breakdown. I do not need half of the middle school population angry with me. Real bad.
The Woodlawn Musical
Fiddler on the Roof will be this year's school musical! We are looking for dancers, actors, singers, and anyone interested in participating in a musical production! Audition dates are Tuesday, August 20th and Thursday, August 22nd from 2:30-5pm. All interested students should read and turn in the completed last page of the Fall Musical Audition Packet. All audition forms need to be turned in no later than Tuesday, August 20th by 7:45am. No late forms will be accepted!
PTO Blog
Please visit the PTO blog-This is a new PTO blog which will have information past locker set up!!! Check out the blog to see information on upcoming special lunch/dessert day deadlines and other PTO happenings.
PTO Special Thanks
I want to thank the PTO and all of our volunteers for the amazing job they did at locker set up. I cannot believe how smoothly things ran and how great it was to have the community back in the building. As usual, the PTO rocked it!
Approved Snacks: What Parents Need to Know
The District has revised the APPROVED SNACK LIST, adding more items to this list to give families more choices. The items the list includes are free of the Top 8 allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.
This list includes the foods that are approved for students' Daily Snacks. It also includes (for children in Grades 1–5) foods approved for Special Events such as birthday treats for a class or for PTO Halloween, Winter, or Valentine's Day parties.
IMPORTANT: All items for Daily Snacks–with the exception of fruits and vegetables–MUST be prepackaged to allow staff to easily check that snacks meet the approved requirements.
Director of Educational Services Amy Gluck also has provided responses to FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) about foods approved for daily snacks/special events.
For your convenience, find links to the District 96 Approved Snack List and Approved Snack List FAQs on the homepage of the District 96 website and the homepage of each school.
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.
Woodlawn Clubs, Activities and Sports
Woodlawn offers a variety of after school opportunities for our students. Click on the links below to see descriptions and times when these opportunities are offered.
Club descriptions
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Job6pA36Zqi5xKdLxBUSBrxTkWvfS6l4
Activities Schedule
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xNe0cEnsk7O-6qftcK8ZALsOoAzMqEv9
Study Halls
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wSXECpYGD9S5gqceppTZlbOP2eouzJtc
WGN Kids of the Week
This is a really great story. As many of you know, former Woodlawn student, Ray Zhou was severely injured in a high jump training accident. Two of his friends, Iyad Hamid and Joey Shepin, also former Woodlawn students, helped create an assistive device for their friend. This is definitely worth 8 minutes of your weekend.
https://wgnradio.com/2019/08/13/cochrans-kids-of-the-week-iyad-h-joey-s/
Click here for the Daily Announcements
Click here for the Band & Orchestra Boosters
Finally, I am glad to be back and writing this blog. For those of you new to the Principal’s Blog, it comes out around 4:15p.m. every Friday. Why 4:15p.m.? That is so I can get out of the building before the blog goes public. I also write this blog on the Friday that it comes out. That way, my writing in most current. I am usually up against the deadline, so it is write the blog and get it posted. There are times when there is no proof reading done. There you go, real excuses for current imaginationary problems. I hope that you enjoy it.
Finally 2, I am in a terrible slump. I know what you are saying, “Greg, is it your golf game?” Yes, my golf game is bad, but that is an ongoing slump. I am talking about:
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Standing in line at a concession stand
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Being in traffic
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Visiting the grocery store (and don’t even get me started about waiting for the deli- my wife uses me as a living, breathing, number holding fool while she completes the rest of her shopping)
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Trying to enter a ballgame
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Pretty much anywhere more than one line is being formed
I have chosen the wrong line, time after time. When I am in my car, I will go to switch lanes and the previously free moving lane comes to a screeching halt, while the frozen lane that I was in now is moving rapidly. I am not sure if there is a name for this but it has been the story of my life. At the ballpark, I am behind the guy who is being told that his hunting knife is not allowed inside and he proceeds to argue about this for the next 10 minutes. Just once I want to be the guy that they open up a lane for a Mariano’s. Just once. Until that time, I am going to remain patient and hope for the best. I hope that you have a great weekend!