Dear Families,
There has been a noticeable shift this week, and that is a sense of "normalcy". We've successfully brought back our in-person learners and we've demonstrated that our routines and protocols are in place. We will continue to focus on quality instruction and making sure all of our learners feel supported.
There's a lot of snow on the ground and I'm sure we've all seen the forecast for frigid temperatures. Stay warm and safe out there Willow Grove families!
Fondly,
Jenny Smith, Principal
Upcoming Calendar
FEBRUARY
15 – NO SCHOOL - Presidents Day
24 – Asynchronous Wednesday - PM Asynchronous for all (remote & in-person). PM students do not attend in-person or remote classes. They will have asynchronous learning opportunities that will come from teachers. PM students may access their AM specials as they typically do. Willow Grove Structured attends 8:45-11:00 AM.
26 – HALF DAY: NO SCHOOL for PM KDG/ PM EC Blended. Willow Grove Structured attends 8:45–11:00 AM
NEW *Dual Language Parent Night for 21–22 Kindergarten Parents*
District 96 Director of Language and Early Literacy Kathryn Sheridan will present a live virtual program for parents interested in the Spanish/English Dual Language program opportunity for their incoming 2021–22 kindergartners.
REGISTER HERE to receive the link to attend the live virtual informational program for parents of incoming kindergartners Wed., Mar. 3, at 6:30 PM.
See the District website to LEARN MORE about the District's optional Spanish/English Dual Language program.
NEW *Together, WE are Willow Grove! Virtual Cultural Fair Coming in February!*
Our evening together is almost here!
On the evening of Thursday, February 18th, at 6:00 PM, we’ll be hosting a virtual family event, showcasing the many families and cultures represented in our school community. We hope to encourage our students to learn about other cultures, to celebrate what makes us all unique and to recognize cultural traits that we share.
Our evening will include a full school zoom gathering to kick-off the evening, followed by a choose-your-own-adventure path exploring staff and family submissions to celebrate our school community.
NEW DETAILS:
During the day on February 18th, all families will receive an email that will include the zoom link for our evening and some additional details.
Typically when we've celebrated this evening in-person we've had many families wear traditional cultural clothing and we've even enjoyed cuisine from around the world prepared by our families. Even though we're gathering remotely, please don't let that stop you! Make a special night of it at home for the whole family!
Finally, we know our students get very excited to see Buddy the Bear. Buddy will be making an appearance during our night together!
NEW *Show your Willow Grove LOVE!*
We are continuing monthly activities to bring kids to our Willow Grove home. We love this for our remote learners to feel connected to our school, but they are for ALL! In January we made a mitten tree and loved seeing all of the student work. We are celebrating February by asking for students to decorate hearts and bring them to Willow Grove! The hearts can be just something they have fun decorating or they can practice their writing skills and write or draw something they love about Willow Grove! We are going to collect the hearts and display them so they can be seen from outside of Willow Grove for both remote and in-person students. In-person students may bring their heart into their teacher who will deliver it to the office. We will have a collection box outside of Willow Grove at the main entrance for remote families to drop them off. The collection box will be outside beginning on Monday, February 8th, so come on by! We'll be collecting them throughout February.
NEW *PTO News*
Yearbook: "Snow' pictures
We had an unprecedented level of snowfall in the past week, so why not share the fun we had for our Yearbook!
Send us pictures of how your early learner or Kindergarteners are spending their snow days. Pictures of them building Snowmen, forts, shoveling or snow volcanoes or just having fun outside.
Note: If you have still not submitted your child's baby photos, you can still do so.
BOX TOP$ Collection is here!
Box Top Collection going on now until February 12th! Download the app BOXTOPS by going to HERE and scan your store receipts.
Don't know what a Box Top is? Just look for the logo! You can still find them on the boxes of some of your favorite items.
If you are shopping online, you can still earn your box tops by submitting email receipts to [email protected]. Forward your emails using the same email that's associated with your BTFE (Box Tops for Education) account.
Money earned from Box Tops goes directly back to the Willow Grove PTO!
REPEAT *Valentine's Day*
Students may not pass out Valentine's Day cards or treats or trinkets to their classmates. Anything sent in will be sent back home with your child. Thank you to our PTO for providing a DJ dance party video for classrooms to celebrate the day on Friday, February 12. Kids will have fun groovin' along in a safe, socially-distanced dance party (remote and in-person, of course)!
REPEAT *News from the Library*
Willow Grove is pleased to announce the purchase of over 1,500 e-books for our students to check out directly from home onto their iPads. Most of the classrooms have been introduced to a new app, called Sora by Overdrive. Children are allowed to check out one book at a time. They can also place one book on hold at a time.
Many of our books have a limited number of checkouts before they disappear forever. Because of this, we strongly encourage children to read a sample of the book before borrowing it. This way they can decide whether the book is a good fit and it will help our books last longer. In addition, we are asking students to return books as soon as possible so others may check them out.
Finally, If you have a public library card, students can add their public library and have thousands of more books to choose from. All you need is a library card. See THIS VIDEO for instructions on how to add a public library to the Sora app.
REPEAT *Exploration Lab Request*
Please save any empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes for our remote kindergarten special, Exploration Lab. We will be using them for some upcoming projects. Thank you!
REPEAT *IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PARENTS OF IN-PERSON LEARNERS*
Parents who have children coming in must do their daily self-certification. It significantly slows down our arrival procedures when students don't have this.
Likewise, parents whose students do not bring their saliva samples will be called to come to the school and bring their student’s sample collection vial, barcode label, and plastic baggie and assist their student in collecting the sample.
Please remember that completing the daily self-certification and providing the weekly saliva sample is a commitment you made for your child to attend in-person. If there are repeat incidences for the daily self-certification and/or saliva collection, the student may need to go back to remote learning. Please set alarm reminders for yourself. I do not want anyone to have to move back to remote learning for this reason.
The schedule for saliva sample collection at Willow Grove is as follows:
Tuesday: Willow Grove PM Students
Wednesday: Willow Grove AM Students
See MORE INFO regarding saliva samples and collecting them.
To access the required Daily Self-Certification Form, you need to log into TeacherEase each day your student will attend in person to submit self-certification.
This VIDEO gives instructions, including how to access the daily self-certification form using your cell phone (iOS or android).
If you will be using your home computer to send daily self-certification, we suggest that you bookmark the TeacherEase website. The link is: https://www.teacherease.com/common/login.aspx
REPEAT *ERIN’S LAW*
An Illinois law known as Erin’s Law requires schools to implement an age-appropriate sexual assault and abuse awareness/prevention curriculum for Early Childhood through Grade 12.
Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 researched and observed best practices and programs for delivering this instruction, selecting Victor Pacini to present Be Seen & Heard ©.
The focus of this developmentally appropriate and interactive program is to teach children skills to keep them safe from danger or abuse. Concepts discussed will include distinguishing safe from unsafe touches, safety rules at home and school, saying NO, safe/unsafe secrets, and telling a trusted adult, as well as reinforcing that an adult’s touching him or her is not the child’s fault. For more information about this presentation please CLICK HERE.
The presentation to students will be during the school day on February 25.
Early Childhood Blended & Structured Learning Note: Students in the Blended and Structured early childhood program do not attend the Victor Pacini presentation. Our school social workers push into those settings to provide a presentation for our youngest children. If you would like further information about the content, please contact Beatrice Chen at [email protected] for blended or Ashley Lewis at [email protected] for structured.
If you prefer that your child does not attend this prevention education session (Early Childhood or Kindergarten), please submit your written request or your questions to me at [email protected].
REPEAT *FREE MEALS DISTRIBUTION/QUANTITY SCHEDULE*
Families who want to pick up free meals for their students will receive two meals when picking up on Mon., Feb. 1.
On Wed., Feb. 3, they will receive meal supplies for five meals.
Beginning the following week (the week of Feb. 8), there will no longer be meal pick-up on Mondays. Instead, meal supplies for five meals will be distributed on Wednesdays.
Pick-up hours/location 11 AM–2 PM at Twin Groves or Woodlawn Middle Schools parking lots will remain the same.
Please direct questions to the public info coordinator at [email protected]
REPEAT *Commitment to Partnership for In-Person Learners*
We know that some surrounding districts or schools that began their in-person learning plan have had to revert to full remote for a period of time. In many situations, this has been due to positive cases about which families were not truthful with the school or with the health department regarding symptoms and the diagnosis or with those conducting the contact tracing process.
We are confident that the District 96 community will rise to the occasion and partner with us to ensure safety and success. Please think carefully about your commitment to our partnership before sending your kids to school.
REPEAT *Pre Register for 2021–22 Kindergarten Beginning Jan. 11*
Preregister incoming 2021–22 kindergartners beginning January 11 and no later than January 31 to receive a free T-shirt for your incoming student. SEE MORE INFO.
REPEAT *Tech Hub*
The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools related to Enhanced Remote Learning. On this site you can find links to the recordings and the corresponding Slides decks for the parent/family informational sessions from last week. You can also find tutorials on how to use ZOOM, Schoology, Seesaw, Clever, Notability, and other iPad essential tools for student learning. Additionally there is a link to email the technology support desk. Please save or bookmark this site. It will be updated with tools, resources, and tutorials through remote learning to better support your family.
Please email [email protected] with any tech-related support needed.