Willow Grove Principal's Message ~ September 18

Willow Grove Principal's Message ~ September 18

Dear Families,

Another great week of learning!  Thank you to our kindergarten families for picking up materials this week.  The process was smooth and efficient thanks to our wonderful Willow Grove team who assembled all of the kits and organized a smooth-sailing operation!  Thank you staff and families for getting these materials in student's hands to continue to enhance learning opportunities for our remote students.  If you weren't able to come by to get your remote kindergarten child's additional materials this past Monday, please swing on by the office anytime between 8AM and 4PM!  As always, please call the office if you have any questions.

Kindly,

Jenny Smith, Principal


NEW KINDERGARTEN ONLY *MAP Testing Family Support & Updates*

The District 96 elementary and middle schools have been MAP testing prior to kindergarten.  We strategically timed our District MAP assessments this way to work out the kinks in this remote world before MAP testing our youngest learners.  We've learned a ton to be ready for the assessments on Monday and Tuesday.  If there is an adult available at the time students are signing into the MAP testing session, we have found that this has made the sign-in process more efficient.  While this is not an expectation, and we do have District 96 staff available to support the login process, we are grateful for any support adults at home can provide support during the login process prior to students beginning their MAP testing sessions.

If possible, adult support would be helpful during the kindergarten MAP login process on September 21st and September 22nd beginning at 9:15 for AM classes and 1:15 for PM classes.  Thank you!

We also want to let you know that NWEA has been having issues that have delayed the assessments for some elementary students/grade levels, which you may know if you have older students.  As of now, we are scheduled to MAP test on September 20 and 21 for our kindergarten students.  *Please know that these dates may change if NWEA issues have not been resolved.*  


New *PTO Volunteer Opportunities*

The PTO coordinates a lot of fun activities for both our Willow Grove families and amazing staff. We are looking for awesome parents to give of their time or expertise to help make these events a success. Even though this year might look different from previous years, we are working towards creating new and exciting activities throughout the year. To learn more about each event and sign up to help, visit Membership Toolkit https://wgkcpto.membershiptoolkit.com under the Volunteer Opportunities tab.


REPEAT *Fall Conference Sign-Up*

Fall conferences are rapidly approaching! Families will have an opportunity to sign-up the week of September 21st for a conference in October. Be on the lookout for more information from your child’s homeroom teacher. 

As a reminder, conferences will be held virtually on Thursday, October 8th from 5:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. and Friday, October 9th from 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 

Conferences were moved to October (prior to this year these were towards the end of November) in order to provide teachers and families the opportunity to discuss action steps for improvement before the reporting period closes.     


REPEAT-KINDERGARTEN ONLY *UPDATED MAP Testing Information*

Remote NWEA MAP Testing will take place for kindergarten students on Monday, September 21, and Tuesday, September 22.  This is a correction from last week's message, where a different date was shared.  Our teachers and instructional coaches will serve as test proctors and will work to build and encourage student engagement during the test and respond to the needs of students in real-time.  In addition, they will be watching student engagement closely to ensure that students are working through the test in a timely and typical manner.  Students who are working too slowly or too quickly are tagged by NWEA and proctors are alerted.  

If you have an older child, you are familiar with MAP testing (in-depth information provided in last week's message).  Overall, the remote test-taking experience is nearly identical to its onsite counterpart, with changes mainly in proctor communication and the log-in process. However, the item bank, interface, and test management tools remain the same. From start to finish, the process is straightforward and easy to use.  Again, our teachers and coaches will be closely bringing our first-time kindergarten students through this experience.  Remote or not, this is always a new experience for our kindergarten students and they always do a great job showing us what they know!

Parents often inquire, what can I do to support my child?  As with any school day, ensure a good night's sleep and healthy breakfast so your child is ready to go!  Other than that, this is simply a data point to guide us in how we instruct your child.  Children should just do their best to show us what they know.

Last week's message and THIS LINK provide further information for families.  


REPEAT *SCHOOL HEALTH FORMS REQUIRED*

We still have a large number of students who have not turned in their health forms for this school year.  SEE DETAILS OF REQUIREMENTS HERE.  The date of exclusion is 10/15/2020.  This means, if your required form is not in, your child will need to be excluded from attending school.  Please allow Nurse P. enough time to go through the paperwork.  Please call or email [email protected] if you have any questions.  


REPEATING *Tech Support* 

As students are home with their iPad devices to access remote learning plans, we do anticipate there may be some tech needs that arise.  If you run into any difficulty with your child’s school iPad, just send us an email explaining your problem and we can support you and your device.  Please email [email protected] with any tech-related support needed.

If we did not have your child’s iPad at Material Pick-Up, contact [email protected]. They will check the status of your child’s enrollment and work to provide your child’s iPad as quickly as possible.  Pick-up for all tech-related items will be housed through Ivy Hall School.


REPEAT *Send Me a Picture of Your Child Learning*

I love capturing photos of kids learning in my Principal's Message each week.  As currently, the very large majority are learning in your homes, I'd love it if you wouldn't mind sharing a photo or two with me to use in my Principal Message.  If you are comfortable sharing, please email me a photo or two at [email protected].  Thank you!