Welcome to the 2020-21 School Year

Welcome to the 2020-21 School Year

It is with great excitement that the Willow Grove staff welcomes you to our school.  At Willow Grove, we take great pride in serving Kildeer Countryside School District’s youngest learners and starting them on the path of lifelong learning.  We are excited to welcome your child and family into our community.  Although this is certainly not the start of the school year we had all imagined, we will make this a positive and growth-filled experience.  Our partnership in your child’s education is of the utmost importance to us. Please never hesitate to reach out with questions. We sincerely look forward to working with you and are incredibly eager to begin our work with your children.  

This summer, my husband Steve and I had a lot of family time with our 12-year-old daughter Jocie, and Trevor, who turns 16 today!  We stayed fairly local and enjoyed lots of time exploring the Lake County Forest Preserves and even made it out to Starved Rock for some hiking.  I, personally, became one with nature and my bird friends and enjoyed my favorite hobby of photography.

Butterfly landing on a flower

Hummingbirds on flowers

This is our weekly Principal's Message, which is the place to keep up with everything going on in our school.  You'll find this to be a main channel of communication (along with your child's teacher communication), and it's delivered to your email box each Friday.  

I am looking forward to navigating this unprecedented time with all of you, and as always, placing the needs of our students above all else.  We will get through this together, and I am so appreciative of the supportive school community we live in.  If there is anything I can do for you or your child(ren), please do not hesitate to reach out! 

Fondly,

Jenny Smith, Principal


First Day of School & Revised EC & Kindergarten Calendar

Given the switch to half-day for kindergarten until phase 5, we needed to change the school calendar for student attendance, specifically related to district half-days and early release days.  It is important to us that we welcome all students on our first day of attendance, which is a District Half-Day to allow for teachers to engage in professional learning the other half of the day.  We also need to provide equitable access for AM and PM on those half-days across the school year.  Finally, early release hours needed to be addressed for a half-day format.  

If and when we resume to full-day, this will be addressed again.  Also, in the near future, I’ll provide a link to the district calendar so you can print it out and throw it on your fridge in a nicer format!  It’s currently being revised and I wanted to get this information to you as soon as possible.

Daily Student Hours: Kindergarten/Blended AM 8:30-11:00; Kindergarten/Blended PM 12:30-3:00; Structured 8:45-2:45

District Half-Days

Aug 24, First Day of School - ALL students will attend during their assigned session (both AM and PM).  Structured also attends regular hours, 8:45-2:45.

November 13 District Half-Day - NO Willow Grove students will attend, including structured.

Feb 26 District Half-Day  - AM ONLY attend 8:30-11:00.  Structured 8:45-11:00.

April 30 District Half-Day - PM ONLY attend 12:30-3:00.  Structured 8:45-11:00.

May 28 District Half-Day - AM ONLY attend 8:30-11:00.  Structured 8:45-11:00.

June 2 - Last day of school for AM attend 8:30-11:00.

June 3 - District Half-Day - Last day of school for PM.  PM ONLY attend (teachers collaborate in the AM).  Structured 8:45-11:00.  

District Early Release Day Hours (Sept 15, Oct 8, Oct 20, Dec 15, Jan 26, March 11, March 16, May 11)

AM Blended & Kindergarten - 8:30-10:00

PM Blended & Kindergarten - 12:30-2:00

Structured - 8:45-2:00


Beginning of Year Events

As an administrative team, we are working to reschedule and adjust our beginning of the year events to adhere by safety and social distance guidelines.  These events include Meet the Teacher and Curriculum Night.  Details will be forthcoming as they are determined.


Health Form Deadline Extension

The health form deadline has been extended to October 15th.  All immunizations should be completed by this date to avoid school exclusion.  Please refer to the D96 Student Health website for more information.  If you have any questions, reach out to our nurse, Stephanie Petrykowski.  Nurse Stephanie appreciates the forms as soon as possible!  Thank you!


Supporting Our D96 Community Families

The pandemic is creating challenging situations for many families in our community.

Community members who are able to 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]

 


Class Assignment Communication

Student’s classroom teacher assignments will be finalized and emailed to you at about 9:00 AM on Wednesday, August 12th.  If you do not receive a notification, please email our administrative assistant, Lourdes Albrecht, at [email protected], or give us a call in the office.


Supply Pick Up

Instructional materials will be provided by the district to facilitate remote learning.  Some items will be available during initial student materials pick-up and others will be available once the school year has begun via deliveries to neighborhoods (more information coming soon).  Materials will include math manipulatives kits, workbooks, art and music supplies, etc..  iPads will be provided for all students at this time, both early childhood and kindergarten.  Information is forthcoming related to technology workshops and sessions that will be available the week of August 17th in the evening.