Monday, October 8th - NO SCHOOL - Columbus Day Holiday
Picture Day
Parents, you outdid yourselves on picture day! Your children looked just precious! Did your child miss picture day or, when you get them, are you unsatisfied with the results? Retakes available on Tuesday, November 13th. Just a tip from yours truly...not so perfect smiles, missing teeth, bumps on the head, timid looks, those are some of the best pictures to look back on! Consider that in your choice to do retakes. Of course, you absolutely can if you'd prefer. If there is anything with the quality of the pictures you have concerns about, please call the picture company directly. Thank you!
I am tempted to end this section with one of my own really interesting school pictures. Maybe I'll get up the courage on Twitter, but I'll need some of you to respond with YOUR less than perfect school pictures! You may have to nudge me to do this. If enough of you do, I'll do it. We'll see who's reading this! ;)
Family Educator Conferences
Conferences will take place on November 19 from 5-7pm and November 20 from 2-7pm. There will be a link to Sign-Up Genius in next Friday's blog where you can sign-up for a 15-minute conference with District 96 educators. We encourage all families to sign-up for conferences. Conferences offer a great opportunity for cooperative conversations between educators and families to best support the development of the whole child and foster each students' social-emotional and academic growth based upon their current needs. More information will be communicated in my October 12th blog.
A Friendly Reminder - Don't Park in our Front Circle Drive
Please, if you are dropping off at Clubhouse or our main office or coming into Willow for any reason, you may not park in the circle drive. Our circle drive is for buses and emergency vehicles only. Police do ticket regularly for this. We must keep this clear at all times. Park in a legal spot (not in front of the fire hydrant or crosswalk...also highly ticketed areas) and come on in! You'll thank me later for the steps. Walking is good!
On a related note...NEVER leave siblings in the car when you are dropping off. Leaving babies, toddlers, etc. in the car is not safe.
Book Drive! Out with the old, in with the new! October 15-26th
We are collecting gently used books for two great causes during our Scholastic Book Fair (see PTO blog for details)! Classroom teachers take a peek at donated books as they are often just perfect for classroom libraries. Remaining books, of which there are always MANY, go to BERNIE'S BOOKS! Bernie's Book Bank collects and donates books to at-risk children. It is a fantastic program. If you'd like to learn more, click here. The book fair will be running within this time, so this is a great time to clean out those bookshelves and make room for some new finds from our book fair! You may send books in with your child to donate between October 15th-18th or bring them into our office yourself. We'll also be collecting your donations at our Ice Cream Social where the Scholastic Book Fair will also be taking place.
ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS: Heroes in the Classroom, sponsored by Symetra and presented locally by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Parents, here's an opportunity for you and your student to nominate for recognition the current or former teacher who has made–or ismaking–a real difference in your child's life.
This Hero in the Classroom is the teacher who goes beyond what's expected and is focused on helping his or her students build life skills.
If selected, the Classroom Hero will be honored with Chicago Bears football regular season game tickets, in-game video recognition, a monetary donation to the classroom, and more.
READ MORE and NOMINATE (online) your family's choice for Hero in the classroom. Please be sure to submit any nominations before mid-November.
Halloween
Can you believe Halloween is getting so close? Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I especially love watching your children in all of their excitement!
9:35 AM - Parade - Parents may stand on the front sidewalk to view our parade! If there is rain, we will need to cancel the outdoor parade. We cannot allow parents in the school to view the indoor parade, for obvious security reasons. Let's cross our fingers for a beautiful fall day!
10:05-10:50 - Party - Only approved PTO parent volunteers may enter the building for the classroom parties. Our room parents put together a fun celebration in each classroom! Please note: parents attending the parties may not bring additional family members, other children, etc. We need everyone to abide by this and will have to ask you to leave if you come with other attendees. For your sake and ours, please do not put us in this situation. We have many individuals entering our building for the party and cannot accommodate additional individuals. Every PTO volunteer approved to come into our school MUST have their license or ID scanned through our security system to enter. You have to bring this with you or you will not be able to enter. This takes a little bit to do with such a large crowd. We highly encourage PTO room party volunteers to swing by Willow sometime in the month of October before October 31st to have your license scanned, which will speed up the process.
Blended Program - Blended will have 2 parties (one for AM and one for PM). Details will come from teachers. Blended p.m. parents may bring their child in just for the parade if they'd like, and the students' PM party will be at the end of their regular day. Parents must provide transportation to and from the school parade if they are doing that. Students must leave after the parade and come back when their typical program starts.
Costumes - As you are choosing or creating a costume for your child, please keep them school appropriate. No blood or gore and no bare tummies in school. Children may not wear masks. Weapons, real or pretend, are NEVER allowed on school grounds. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Halloween Candy for Heroes - Wondering what to do with all that candy being collected in a couple weeks? Willow Grove does an annual candy donation drive! The candy goes to Deployed Troops and First Responders.
Willow Walk
Don't miss these additional pictures from last week's Willow Walk!
Celebrate Math! Night–Oct. 15
Parents, bring your elementary students (Grades KDG–5) on Mon., Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. to Ivy Hall Elementary School, 1072 Ivy Hall Ln., Buffalo Grove, for the District's Celebrate Math! Night.
Math coaches will give a brief presentation, then parents will be able to see what learning math in KCSD96 is like from their children's perspective.
This district-wide program–held in the gym at Ivy Hall–is for families whose students attend Willow Grove, Country Meadows, Ivy Hall, Kildeer, or Prairie. Questions? Call 847.459.4260, ext. 8022, or send email to the District 96 public info coordinator.
PTO News
Our Ice Cream Social and Scholastic book fair is quickly approaching on October 18th, which is a fun evening event for the whole family! We hope to see you there.
Check out "Cards for a Cause" fundraiser!
Don't miss our PTO Blog for all of these details and more!
Warm regards,
Jenny Smith, Principal
Follow me on Twitter @JennySwanSmith
