Week two back at Willow Grove was a success! Many staff have been in the building cleaning their rooms from our exit in March and gathering supplies for the kick-off of remote learning ahead. You can feel the energy from our dedicated teachers and staff for the school year ahead. We are all eager to meet our students, your wonderful children!
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. We have all sorts of things to share with you so be sure to keep up with this communication. You will notice that each heading starts with "NEW" or "REPEAT." This is to key you into weekly items new communication or items that are carried over from a prior week, but still relevant. You'll also receive weekly district communication, eNews, that provides any district-wide information.
By now you’ve received your child’s classroom teacher placement for the year. As a district, we’ve been working very hard to plan an event at the school to welcome our students and families. Be sure to check out the details below.
NEW *Greet Your Teacher & Student Materials Pick-Up*
In District 96, we deeply value the importance of building connections with students and families. In an effort to bring some normalcy to the beginning of the school year, please join us on Thursday, August 20th for iPad and Materials Pick Up and an opportunity to Greet your Teacher. Between the hours of 12:00-2:00, families and students are invited to Willow Grove to pick up your iPads and materials from your classroom teacher.
This event will take place outdoors and is WEATHER PERMITTING. A school messenger will be sent by 10:00am to notify you if the event format changes as a result of the weather. If the weather looks great and it's a go, you will not receive a notification. Just come on over to Willow!
ALL participants (children, parents, staff) MUST wear a mask and remain 6 ft from others at all times. I want to emphasize that family units should stay together. We should not have playing and inter-mingling of kids and families on our grounds less than 6 feet. I'm sorry that this has to be the case, but it is our reality at this time to keep everyone safe. Please be watchful of your children to follow closely and stay in our designated lines to greet their teacher. Thank you!
Find your child’s homeroom teacher table, greet your teacher, and take your school-issued materials and iPad! Thanks for helping us to keep the process safe, smooth, and efficient to allow all students the opportunity to greet his or her teacher.
Please note that we may have classroom teachers who are unable to attend for personal reasons. We will ensure there is someone to hand out your child’s materials. If your child’s teacher is unable to attend in person, we will have a QR code for you to scan and Zoom with your child’s teacher from the hours of 12:00-2:00.
To accommodate all families as safe as possible, please attend during the time slot listed below. We appreciate your help with this matter.
Willow Grove Schedule:
12:00-12:30 - Last Names M-R
12:30-1:00 - Last Names - S-Z
1:00-1:30 - Last Names A-F
1:30-2:00 - Last Names G-L
Locations:
Early childhood (Blended and Structured): You will park in the small lot behind our school, on the north side of Willow Grove. Follow the north drive to the rear of our building and park. Your child's teacher will be located in that area. If there is not enough parking, please find another spot (Checker Dr. or our big lot) and walk back to that area. If you need any help, just look for individuals with staff badges and we'll be happy to support you!
Kindergarten: You will park in our large main parking lot just past our building (South of our building) or on Checker Dr. and kindergarten teachers will be spread out amongst our grounds. We'll have plenty of staff to help you find them. Just look for our badges to identify a staff member and we'll be happy to help you out! Please do not park in our small backlot, as this is reserved for early childhood.
If you are unable to attend the Material Pick-Up and Greet the Teacher on Thursday, August 20th, we will have an additional opportunity for a drive-thru Supply Pick Up on Friday, August 21st from 8-11 a.m. Please have a sign with your child’s last name, first name, grade, and homeroom teacher displayed in your window. A staff member will bring out the supplies and place them in your trunk.
We are looking forward to welcoming our families!
NEW *Remember to Meet Health Form Requirements*
Health form requirements vary by grade level and for new/returning students. New to District 96 (all grade levels)? See MORE INFO regarding grade-level specific health form requirements.
All students entering Kindergarten must have their CERTIFICATE OF CHILD HEALTH EXAMINATION/IMMUNIZATION FORM (signed by the physician) on file in the school office by October 15, 2020.
All students entering Kindergarten must have their VISION EXAMINATION FORM by October 15, 2020.
All students entering Kindergarten must have a DENTAL EXAMINATION FORM on file at their school office by May 15, 2021.
NEW *Family Tech Class Info August 20th*
iPad 101 + Zoom: Our live session will cover the basics of using an iPad for educational purposes and troubleshooting tips your D96 student will need to access for Enhanced Remote Learning. Topics include:
- How students will access Zoom sessions (through Clever)
- Zoom basics (gallery view, speaker view, mute, video, renaming)
- Accessing apps from Self-Service
- Accessing/Searching the Google Drive for teacher’s remote learning daily slideshows
SeeSaw: Join us to learn about accessing the Seesaw Family app and how you can gain a window into your students’ learning! We will also explore the student perspective of the Seesaw Class App. (Suggested for EC-3)
I highly recommend you attend these courses to be ready to start school on Monday, August 24th. All of these courses will take place on Thursday, August 20th and Friday, August 21st. Please click THIS LINK with the schedule and links to the zoom sessions. There will be recorded sessions to share with those who can't attend and for your future reference.
NEW See the Revised Quicklist 20–21 Calendar
Please see the Revised Quicklist 2020–21 CALENDAR ready to throw on your fridge, including school hours information and dates for Early Release Days, Half Days, holidays, and winter/spring breaks. This includes the realignment needed for our half-day schedule that I reviewed last week. Please be sure to review this carefully and keep it handy!
REPEAT *First Day of School*
Our first half-day of remote learning will be Monday, August 24th. 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.
REPEAT *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]