Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe that next week is already March. As we approach the anniversary of our schools deviating from what we knew then to be normal, I would like to thank the entire community for your partnership and all the sacrifices that have been made due to the pandemic. I know the early days of school are huge moments for kids and families and this is certainly not what any of you or us pictured for your child. During these times, I couldn't be prouder of the work of our teachers and staff. They have routinely demonstrated incredible effort, drive, and passion to give everything to this wonderful group of students. I promise you we will continue to deliver engaging learning in any format, virtual or in-person, placing the needs of our students above all else. It is and will always be our goal at Willow Grove to instill a love of school and learning and help every child grow to their maximum potential. We greatly appreciate your partnership.
Last week someone surprised us with the "Stay Strong" message written on the snowy brick face of Willow Grove that you'll see in our feature photo! This was so appreciated and was touching to see as we all came into school that snowy morning. We send this same message back to all of you. THANK YOU!
Warmly,
Jenny Smith, Principal
Upcoming Calendar
March
1 - Report period ends
11 - Early Release Day - Family Educator Conferences 5:00-8:30 PM
12 - No School for Family Educator Conferences 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM
16 - Early Release Day
19 - Last day of school before spring break - school closed Mar. 22-26
29 - School resumes
NEW *Calendar Updates*
With our half-day, 5-day a week structure at Willow Grove, district calendar updates can use some additional explanation. Recently, communication has come out that provides in-person days on Wednesdays for elementary and middle school students. At Willow Grove, our 5-day per week schedule is in place and student assignments for Wednesdays do not apply to us. Previously, I communicated asynchronous dates (remaining March 17 and April 21). These dates have been revised, based on the new elementary/middle school structure. I’ve outlined Willow Grove specific calendar updates for your convenience below:
March 17 & April 21 - NO LONGER asynchronous learning days. These have been moved. Please take off of your calendar.
April 1:
- AM KDG/AM EC Blended students will be asynchronous.
- PM KDG/PM EC Blended students will be in session.
- Structured students will be in session 8:45–11 AM.
April 30:
- All students will have a half-day of asynchronous work to do at home.
- No Willow Grove students attend in-person
May 28:
- Willow Grove AM KDG/EC Blended AM meets 8:30–11 AM
- Willow Grove Structured meets 8:45–11 AM
- NO SCHOOL for WG PM Kindergarten and PM EC Blended ONLY
June 2:
- Last day for AM KDG/AM EC Blended
June 3:
- If NO ADDITIONAL Emergency Days are used, June 3 is the last day (Half Day) of required attendance for Willow Grove PM Kindergarten/PM EC Blended (meet 12:30–3 PM) and Willow Grove Structured (meets 8:45–11 AM)
- Willow Grove AM Kindergarten/AM EC Blended are not in attendance.
Thank you for your patience as we navigate through this tricky school year. We’ve updated the CALENDAR QUICKLIST with these changes for your future reference.
NEW *Regarding the District 96 Online Family Directory*
We have been informed that an outside organization has accessed our District 96 online Family Directory and has used email addresses contained in that directory for solicitation purposes.
This is a reminder that doing so is prohibited, as clearly stated in the District’s online student registration form.
There is no general public access to the online Directory. To access the online Family Directory, District 96 families must have agreed to include their District 96 student’s information in the Directory.
As a reminder, no parent may distribute copies of the Directory to outside interests, including business or charity organizations. In addition, the information contained in the Family Directory is not to be used for solicitation or commercial use.
NEW *PTO Updates*
We have so much happening and look forward to your support! Please be sure to check out our full blog this week!
Order your St. Patrick's Day Cookie decorating Kits through Membership Toolkit now and get a chance to enter a contest!
Capture your memories, order your yearbook now! You can check your emails for a receipt from "PowerSchool Registration Support" to verify whether you pre purchased a Yearbook when registering your student for the current school year.
Submit your Kids talent photos for our Yearbook. Please remember to upload only appropriate and limited photos for review and consideration.
More details on all of this in our PTO Blog!
REPEATING *Help Needed - Willow Grove Pledge*
District 96 has 62 languages represented amongst our student body. This is something we celebrate and are proud of! One way we'd like to celebrate this with our students is by creating our Willow Grove pledge in multiple languages. Our vision is to develop multiple images of our pledge where our 3 key characteristics are in languages that represent languages spoken by our students and families. Each poster will also have a flag of the country/countries where the language is spoken. We need your help! If you speak a language other than English, please complete THIS SURVEY to support us in making this possible. Thank you!
REPEATING *Illinois 5Essentials Survey*
Share your thoughts about how your child’s school is doing on the 5Essentials for school success. On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. District 96 will participate in the statewide 2020–21 5Essentials Survey to meet state legislation and the Board’s mandate. District 96 parents may voluntarily participate to complete the survey. Please select the Parent Survey and begin.
Beginning in February and through Apr. 2, students and teachers will complete their surveys to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. In District 96, students in grades 4–8 will complete their surveys on Mar. 19.
This survey is designed to help school and district leaders better understand the parent/school relationship. All responses are anonymous. Parents are asked to complete a survey for each student attending a Kildeer Countryside District 96 school. The survey will be open through Apr. 2, 2021. Questions? See Frequently Asked Questions and/or contact 5Essentials Client Services 866.440.1874.
REPEATING *Spring Parent/Educator Conferences*
Spring Parent/Educator Conferences are right around the corner! The conference will take place on Thursday, March 11th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, March 12th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM. These conferences will be 15 minutes in length and held remotely over Zoom. We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences.
Please know that the sign-up link will be sent out in a separate communication on Friday, February 19th at 7:00 PM.
Meet The Teacher does not require that multiple conferences be made, but it does default to every teacher a student works with being checked. These individuals include classroom teachers, specials teachers, related service staff, and interventionists that students work with. At Willow Grove, this includes specials teachers, which not all kindergarten students work with as they are optional. We prioritize conferences for families of students who are attending the specials, as they do not have enough slots to meet with every family. If you have questions about how to access specials for your child, you may reach out to your child's teacher, who can direct you to instructions for joining or to the specials teacher you'd like to connect with.
Please see the picture below for directions on how to uncheck a teacher/interventionist if you do not need to meet with during conferences or for a specials teacher your child does not see.
Repeating *Kindergarten and 2nd Grade Parents Dental Screening Reminder*
The Illinois School Code requires all children in kindergarten, second and sixth grades to have a dental examination by May 15th of each year in compliance with the rules adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health. If you have not already done so, please submit your 2nd-grade child’s dental exam form to our building nurse. To see a complete list of the health forms required for students, please visit our Student Health Section of our Web page.
REPEATING *PTO Highlights*
So much happening! Please be sure to check out our full blog this week!
- St. Patrick's Day Cookie decorating Kits for sale through Membership Toolkit and even a contest!
- Capture your memories, order your yearbook now!
- Submit Pet Parade Yearbook Photos! Note: If you have still not submitted your child's baby, snow or mask photos, you can still do so. Please remember to upload only appropriate and limited photos for review and consideration.
- Box Top Collection Happening now, too!
More details on all of this in our PTO Blog!
REPEATING *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.
REPEATING *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. LINK HERE
REPEATING *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]
REPEATING *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.
REPEATING *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.