Kindergarten Music Performace ~ Friday, May 10th ~ You are Invited!
I can't believe it's almost here! Parents, you are welcome to attend as we celebrate our kindergarten year. The doors will open ten minutes prior to the performance. Parents will enter the gymnasium doors located in the South parking lot. There are two doors that will open at the same time. Parents may line up at either marked door. As we have two back-to-back shows and gym class later in the day, parents are asked to exit out the same doors, promptly at the end of the show. We are looking forward to this memorable event!
At Willow Grove and throughout District 96, the safety of students is always our number one priority. As such, please expect to see a police officer on site while we have many visitors enjoying the performance. We regularly partner with our school resource officer for the security of our students.
Performance: Singing Into Spring!
Date: Friday, May 10th
Dress: Spring colored top (i.e. light blue, yellow, pink, etc.) with Black Bottoms (pants, skirt, shorts)
There are two shows. Find your child's teacher's name below:
Show 1: 9:30 - 10:00 AM ~ (Filippo, Buban, Chappas, May, Santucci)
Show 2: 10:30-11:00 AM ~ (Dolan, Dyer, Holzman, Wittenberg, Rabin, Derry)
We are looking forward to seeing you then!
State Representative Visit
This week, State Representative, Daniel Didech and District Director, Fabbi Vasquez, visited Willow Grove! He was pleased to learn about how we integrate play into our instructional and social-emotional learning for students. Representative Didech met with our instructional coaches and me while we provided an overview of the learning we've done as a staff over the last three years, since our implementation of full-day kindergarten. We took a tour of Willow Grove, where Representative Didech was actually a former student and saw playful learning in action. It's always a proud moment to showcase the learning of our students through the innovative, thoughtful instructional planning of our staff. I'm so proud of our students and the entire Willow Grove learning community!
PTO News
Staff Appreciation Week is coming up the week of May 6th. Our End-of-Year Family Picnic will be here before we know it! Find out about this and more in our PTO Blog!
This time of year we like to share PTO info for families of kindergarten students looking ahead to first-grade. PTO's have already begun planning for next year and have volunteer opportunities. You can also order your child's school supply kit for first-grade! Incoming EC or Kindy student? Be sure to also check out our Willow Grove PTO Blog for the same opportunities!
Country Meadows PTO INFO and Country Meadows PTO BLOG
Ivy Hall PTO INFO and Ivy Hall PTO BLOG
Kildeer PTO INFO and Kildeer PTO BLOG
Prairie PTO INFO and Prairie PTO BLOG
Warm regards,
Jenny Smith, Principal
Follow me on Twitter @JennySwanSmith
The following is repeat information from last week's blog, but still current. You can skip this if you already reviewed last week's message.
2019-20 FIRST-GRADE PARENT CLASS PLACEMENT INPUT - DUE TONIGHT at 11:59 PM, APRIL 26th
Can you believe it is already time to begin thinking about class placement for next school year? Please read the information below on how class lists are created and how to provide input. This is for first-grade only. If you have an incoming kindergarten student a survey will be emailed to you on May 1st if you have fully completed the registration process.
Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a tremendously difficult job that takes many hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, specials area teachers, specialists, and the principal. We at Willow Grove take this process very seriously. The following describes the process for creating balanced class lists.
- Classroom teachers consider the social and academic needs of each student.
- Specialist Team members (social worker, speech teacher, special education teacher, etc.), the Specials Team (Music, P.E.), and the principal provide input as well during this process.
- Parent input is considered.
- We consider placing your child with other students they are familiar with. We cannot accommodate friendship requests.
- Class lists are finalized in August as summer changes must be considered such as move-ins/outs, section size changes if any, etc.
We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students. It is a delicate balancing act which takes much consideration and thought by professionals who know and care about your children.
Because of the input and thought by teachers, specialists, and administrators, we cannot make changes once this process occurs, as moving one child can disrupt the balance of a class, impacting all students.
I welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style. I will take into consideration pertinent information received on or before FRIDAY, APRIL 26th. While we welcome your input, a specific teacher or friend requests will not be honored. Should you provide a specific teacher or friend request, this will be omitted from information being considered.
To provide your input, please make sure your thoughts are provided through this First Grade Placement Input 2019-2020 Survey. As you can imagine, we receive a lot of parent input, and verbal information and multiple emails are impossible to carefully track. Any parents that submit letters/emails will be redirected to the survey. This keeps our information organized so that no input is missed! Thank you!
Incoming 2019-20 Kindergarten Families
At the beginning of May, you will receive an opportunity to provide classroom input for your child's kindergarten experience if you have fully completed the registration process. You must complete registration with a snapcode (electronic code) that was emailed to you if you pre-registered. A survey will come to you directly in an email. In the same email, there are additional steps for you to take to prepare for our next school year.
Informational Meeting for Prospective Parents NEW to Clubhouse Before-/After School Care
The Buffalo Grove Park District is hosting a Clubhouse meeting for NEW parents on Tues., Apr. 30, at the Alcott Center, 530 Bernard Dr., Buffalo Grove, in Rooms 10 & 11 at 6 p.m. This meeting is for prospective families seeking before- and after-school care for the 2019–2020 school year. This is for all District 96 schools. MORE INFO
Current Kindergarten Students - Dental Exams Due May 15th
Parents of current kindergarten students - Dental exams are due on May 15th. If you have questions or want to double check that you have turned it in, please call to speak with our school nurse, Mrs. Petrykowski, or email her at [email protected].