Dear Families,
Thank you so much to our PTO and families for the generous donations to "stock the lounge!" Staff enjoyed all the treats provided and will continue to! It was a perfect winter pick-me-up. Thank you for thinking of us. You are so kind!
We're looking forward to our Valentine's Day celebration on Monday! Approved volunteers should make sure to see details included in this week's message below.
Enjoy your weekend!
Kindly,
Jenny Smith, Principal
NEW *Parking & Safe Driving*
There is limited parking at Willow Grove. We require the utmost patience from families when dropping off or picking up children. You may need to park further down Checker than you prefer. Please consider that this is a school and there are children walking and buses filled with children. A safe environment is our number one priority and we know it is yours, as well. There was recently a cone placed on Checker to keep cars from blocking our bus entrance. Unfortunately, a driver decided to move the cone and park there anyway, creating an unsafe situation for our buses. Please trust what we have designed to keep a safe environment. We've also witnessed dangerous driving, such as U-turns in heavy traffic. Please consider the safety of your choices. We need your cooperation.
NEW *Valentine’s Day Volunteers*
This year Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker signed Executive Order 2021-20, regarding educational employee vaccination and testing requirements. The Executive Order which applies to all “school personnel,” volunteers are included in the definition unless they are present for only a short period of time and whose movements of close physical proximity are “fleeting”.
Those who have been identified as a current or upcoming PTO volunteer will need to submit/ provide proof of vaccination. If unvaccinated you will need to provide proof of a negative Covid test within 48 hours of reporting to volunteer.
Please note the following expectations for PTO volunteers:
- Parents attending the parties may not bring additional family members, other children, etc. We need everyone to abide by this and will have to ask you to leave if you come with other attendees.
- Every PTO volunteer approved to come into our school MUST have their license or ID scanned through our security system to enter. You have to bring this with you or you will not be able to enter. There can be a long line if you wait until the day of the party to scan your ID, so please anticipate this. We highly encourage PTO room party volunteers to come to the front office sometime in December before the party to have their license scanned, which will speed up the process. The more people who come in early to be scanned, the shorter the line! Again, you may also come on the day of the winter party.
- All volunteers must have followed our procedures for verifying vaccination or have proof of a negative Covid test. Call the office with questions.
- All volunteers must wear a mask at all times and remain socially distanced.
NEW *Toys at School*
We've noticed a lot of toys and trinkets (action figures, bracelets, charms, play objects, trading cards, toy cars, etc.) at school, which can cause a distraction. Please check your child's backpack for this. Sometimes kids like to sneak them in and you may not know so we appreciate you taking a look. We ask that students do not bring toys to school as they get lost, broken, and are distracting. On the bus, they often lead to kids getting out of seats to play together, as well. Little clips or keychains with "stuffies" that go on backpacks are fine. Let your child know, however, they should not take them off of their backpack. We also have found many students trading or lending items to friends. We know they mean well, but we don't want children doing this and we can't track them down when it happens. Please speak to your children about this, letting them know that they should not give away, trade, take, or borrow toys/trinkets. Please speak with your child in general about keeping all toys and trinkets at home. We appreciate your support!
NEW *PTO UPDATES*
Thank you to everyone that contributed to our “Stock the Lounge” event for our wonderful Willow Grove staff! We also appreciate all of the families that participated in our PTO Dinner Night at Culver's. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds were donated to Willow Grove!
Valentine’s Day parties will be held on February 14th. Only PTO-approved volunteers may be in attendance.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR PTO BLOG FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS!
REPEAT *Valentine’s Day Parties*
Valentine's Day parties are just around the corner on February 14th. If you choose to include an item with your child's Valentines, please note that only non-food items are permissible. Candy, snacks, or any sort of food item will be sent back home with your child on Valentine's Day if sent to school. Non-food items are permitted, such as stickers, erasers, pencils, bubbles, etc. If you have any questions about what can be included in a Valentine, please contact your child's classroom teacher.
REPEAT *Save the Date - Kindergarten Music Performance*
We are looking far ahead at our calendars to prepare for the kindergarten music performance. This event celebrates our kindergarten students as they near the end of their school year. To allow for a larger audience, our kindergarten music performance will be outdoors. We ask that you save the dates of May 6, with May 12 as a rain date. The kindergarten music performance is during the school day and the show is about 30 minutes in length. In very short order I'll have an update that includes the specific time of your child's performance. We also share a recording of the concert with families if you aren't able to make it.
**UPDATE: I anticipate having the music performance times next week - 2/18***
REPEAT *Masking Reminder*
As a reminder, all individuals present on school grounds must continue to wear a face-covering consistent with Board of Education policy 4:182 until further notice. Any individual's refusal to wear a face-covering shall constitute a violation of the District's applicable rules of conduct and may subject the individual to disciplinary action or prevent the individual from entering or remaining on school district property. We are hopeful that, in the not too distant future, conditions will be conducive to reducing our mitigation measures. Thank you for your continued cooperation as we begin to see a decline in our positive cases!
REPEAT *Spring Parent/Educator Conferences*
Spring Parent/Educator Conferences are around the corner! The conferences will take place on Monday, March 14th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and Tuesday, March 15th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.
Spring conferences will be in a collaborative format with students leading the conferences. Collaborative conferences are focused on reflection and growth. Students must be present at the conferences. These conferences will be 15 minutes in length.
We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign up for conferences. A sign up link will be shared by the district with parents via email on Thursday, February 24th at 6:00 PM. The default option for conferences will be virtual, but parents and guardians will be able to schedule an in-person conference if they wish. Along with the classroom teacher, specials teachers and any related service providers that work with your child will also be available.
REPEATING *Vaccination Cards for 5-11 yr olds*
You can provide vaccination verification after your child has received his/her full vaccination. Click HERE to complete the upload.
REPEATING *IDPH/ISBE COVID-19 INFORMATION*
On January 11, 2022 the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released new COVID-19 information related to school exclusion and test-to-stay protocols. Please find all updated information on our website.
REPEATING *Zoom Resource & Tech Trouble*
This information will be repeated weekly for families to access as needed. It is relevant for children who are approved for remote learning due to Covid-related quarantine or in the event of a remote severe weather day for all children.
ZOOM Resource - Remote Learning & Possible Emergency Weather Day
Please review this Zoom Tutorial Video Link with your child to prepare for remote learning. This is for students who have been approved for remote learning or in the event of an emergency weather day for all children.
Tech Trouble
If you are experiencing technical trouble on the iPad, here are a few tips that can help resolve the error you are receiving.
The first step is to completely remove Zoom through the iPad settings. Deleting Zoom from the Home Screen is NOT thorough enough to resolve this issue.
- Go to Settings
- Scroll down to General
- Go to the right column and Select iPad Storage
- Scroll down to Zoom
- Delete the Zoom App
- Open the Self Service App and reinstall Zoom
If the issue persists after this we would recommend following the next few steps.
Reset Network Settings:
- Go to Settings
- General
- Go to the right column and scroll down to Reset
- Reset network settings: The device will restart and you will have to reconnect to your home wi-fi afterward.
Next:
- Go to settings
- Scroll down to Safari
- Scroll down to Clear History and Website Data
If you're still seeing that error after all of these steps then you may need to troubleshoot your network next. Unplugging your modem and router from power for 60 seconds and plugging it back in can sometimes be enough.
Please email [email protected] for further tech issues or additional support. Please also let us know at the school by calling our office, so we can inform your child's teacher. Call our office at any time with any questions. We completely understand any difficulties you are having and appreciate your patience as we troubleshoot your issue.
As a reminder, remote learning via Zoom will begin on the second full day of absence and is only available for students who meet one of the following requirements.
- Student is asymptomatic (no symptoms) after receiving a positive Covid test result
- Student is unvaccinated, asymptomatic, and under mandatory quarantine after being identified as a close contact to a confirmed positive Covid case.
- Student is unvaccinated, has traveled internationally and is under mandatory quarantine upon returning home.
REPEATING *PCR Results*
If you do not receive your child’s PCR results, we apologize for the inconvenience.
For missing PCR test results, please send an email ~ with your children's first and last names and date of birth ~ to [email protected], indicating that you are looking for missing lab work for them.
REPEATING *Covid Metrics*
To stay up-to-date this school year on local metrics, please visit the COVID DASHBOARD for District 96. Our priority remains to keep our students safe and follow guidance from the CDC. If your student is identified as a "close contact", you will be notified individually through the contact tracing process.