Woodlawn! It is so nice to sit down and write a blog for the community! For those of you who do not know me, I am Greg Grana, the principal of this most amazing school. In a world where the average shelf life for a principal is 3-5 years, I am entering my 15th year as principal of Woodlawn. This is the job I love and, honestly, I never even thought about moving to another position because my focus is making the middle school experience the best it can be for every child. D96 is a place where we continue to grow and, more importantly, change for the better. I laugh with the students, we have fun and try to keep the awkwardness of adolescence in perspective, while challenging students academically at the highest levels. Not to toot my own horn…(but here we go) my greatest accomplishment is the staff that has been assembled. Each of these teachers embody what I would want my own children to experience on a daily basis. I have had multiple former teachers go on to administrative roles, coaching or leadership positions. With the support of the District and School Board, we continue to bring in the best people who have the welfare and success of our students at the top of our priority list. I love this community and the support they give to the school. If you ever have a question, email, call or if I am available, pop into my office. For some of the dads, it will be like old times in the principal’s office. Read the whole blog and look for my quips, because I like to add a little bit of humor to this reading.
2020-21 School Year
My expectations for the students have been the same throughout the years, treat each other with respect and grow academically. This is a unique situation that none of us has experienced in our lifetimes. My youngest is going to be a senior in high school and thrives on being social. This experience has been very challenging for her because she needs that social reassurance, both giving it to and receiving it from her friends. Heading into this school year, I have had multiple conversations with families about their students and their emotional needs. Here is what I am asking of the community: We need to be united in setting up our students to have success. Myself, the district and especially our teachers want to get back to school as we know it, as soon as possible. We are in the field of education because we have a deep care for students and their success. I have spoken with numerous staff and they are committed, dedicated and ready to meet the needs of our students. Communication is going to be key, along with giving the students multiple opportunities to meet with staff and get extra support. I am putting those pieces in place. As has been the case for the last 15 years, I am asking the community to support Woodlawn. All vantage points aside, this is where we are and until we are back in the building, I ask for a positive approach that will rub off on your child. I promise that the school will do their part to ensure success for students, I ask that you avoid the noise of negativity and come to me directly if you have any questions, concerns or need clarification on something you have heard. Our success as a school comes from the open communication we have had over my tenure and that is going to be the case until we have all students back in the building and beyond. Feel free to email me at any time. Greg ggrana@kcsd96org
District Technology
On August 12th, our technology department will begin syncing student data across our systems in preparation for the start of the 20-21 school year. When this sync begins, your student(s) may lose access to some services or applications that are currently on their iPads. This is by design as we prepare to make all of the 20-21 resources available to students for the start of the school year. Please know that if you request a replacement iPad, Crayon, or accessory while picking up your resources, we will need a broken iPad, Crayon, or accessory from you in order to begin processing replacements. Any requests will also need to be fully documented before a replacement can be processed.
Check Out the Superintendent Message from 7/30
Great information is in this document for you to peruse. (Peruse is one of my favorite words to say, using it in a sentence feels like more of a risk)
PTO
During these exceptional circumstances, Woodlawn PTO is committed to community and connectedness. Please take a moment to login and update your information on Membership Toolkit, get current information on the PTO BLOG and join us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter
From Greg- Always check out that PTO Blog!
Food Pantry
Supporting Our District 96 Community Families
The pandemic is creating challenging situations for many families in our community.
Community members who are able are invited to donate these items: macaroni & cheese (cups or boxes), canned foods (veggies/fruits/tuna/chicken/beans), granola bars, tortillas, cheese (shredded/sliced), eggs, deli meats, frozen ground beef/chicken.
Please deliver to collection boxes outside the Exceptional Learners Collaborative (ELC) front entrance, 990 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills, from 8 AM–3 PM. Please observe social distancing when delivering donations and ring the doorbell when delivering perishable foods and/or gift cards.
If you'd like to deliver your donation to your student's school on the designated Materials Pick-Up Day, please place it in the donation box (non perishable/non-refrigerated items only, please) in front of the school entrance.
Questions? Contact [email protected]
Embracing the Dad/Parent Joke
Looking for your middle school child to roll their eyes at you? Try this one:
Where do you take someone who has been injured in a peek-a-boo accident?
The I-C-U.
Student Schedules for the 2020-21 School Year
Schedules will be available electronically for the 2020-21 school year on Wednesday, August 12th at 9a.m.
The First Day of School
School will begin on Monday, August 24th. It will be a HALF DAY for students going from 7:45a.m. - 11:10a.m.
The first full day of school will be on Tuesday, August 25th, from 7:45a.m. - 2:30p.m.
New Resource Officer
District 96 is pleased to welcome Michael Essig! Officer Essig will be our new resource officer.
Please read the message below from Officer Essig.
For the majority of my life I resided in Rolling Meadows. I graduated from William Fremd High School and later graduated from Western Illinois University. Currently, I reside in Arlington Heights with my fiancée and soon to be wife (Covid postponement) Claire.
I have been a Police Officer for seven years and have been with the Buffalo Grove Police Department for two years. In addition to my patrol duties, I am a member of our department’s Peer Support, Bike Patrol, and Honor Guard team.
My hobbies include being an avid book reader, running/biking, recently gardening, and a diehard Chicago Cubs fan.
What I look forward to most in my new role as a School Resource Officer, is becoming an active member in a school district where the safety of our students, facility, and all employees comes first. I look to maintain the already great relationship between school and local law enforcement. I hope to become a positive role model for students as I teach various lessons of life skills and good citizenship.
I set high standards for myself as a School Resource Officer. I want to bridge the gap between the school district and local law enforcement. I believe if our students, faculty, parents and police officers work together we can not only make the school a safe environment but the community as a whole.
Locker Set Up/Meet the Teacher
We will not be having a locker set up day. Look in the blog next Friday for meet the teacher day information. This is new to the middle school. We have never done this before but looking forward to the opportunity.
Finally, in this part of my blog, I invite you into my inner thoughts. You might get a story related to my life, something I've observed or possibly something that doesn’t make sense to me. It could be a school story, truly, the possibilities are endless. Today, you get my summer observations of life. I am the grass cutter in my house. I could have any of my four children do it, but they stink at it. I cut it differently each time, going one direction one week and another direction the following week. Edge, weed whack, the whole show. The only problem I have is there is a tree in my backyard that whacks me in the face or head each time I cut it. Seems like a problem I should be able to figure out, but I feel like the tree is winning. I don’t want to cut the branch off because then I run the risk of having to talk to my neighbor. Summer observation #2, my dentist is a huge White Sox fan, as am I. Being a former high school baseball coach myself, he loves talking to me during my visit. I don’t know how he does it but he understands every word I say. My question is this, is mumble listening part of their training? It has to be. Lastly, I am a big fan of the vacuum. Gives me a real sense of accomplishment as I create patterns throughout the room and back myself out to make sure there are no footprints. My only issue is this, why am I happy to hear crumbs being picked up but I am terrified if I ever catch a dime? I feel like I just broke the thing. Anyways, welcome to or back to this blog.
Have a great week!