Dear Families,
It was a great first full week back at school. We hope everyone had a restful spring break. Students did a great job getting back into the swing of things. Please take a few moments to review all the new and repeating information below.
Kindly,
Jenny Smith, Principal
NEW *2022-23 KINDERGARTEN KICK-OFF EVENT - MAY 3, 2022*
Kindergarten Kick-Off is an opportunity for all FULLY REGISTERED incoming kindergarten students and families to tour Willow Grove and for incoming kindergarteners to experience an activity in a classroom. Families must be fully registered by Monday, April 18, to receive the invitation link for the event. Kindergarten Kick-Off sign-up closes on Tuesday, April 19. During the time children are in classrooms (30 minutes), parents will meet with Willow Grove Principal, Jenny Smith, for Kindy 101 to learn about Willow Grove and common questions families have.
YOU MUST BE FULLY REGISTERED AND SIGN UP TO ATTEND. View information on registering your incoming kindergartener. If you are fully registered and do not believe you've received the link to sign up for Kindergarten Kick-Off, call the Willow Grove office for support or email [email protected].
NEW *D96 Humanitarian Relief Support*
District 96 is collaborating with other Lake County School Districts to collect emergency items for refugees from Ukraine. These items will be collected during school days, from March 30 to April 14: Only the requested items are to be dropped off in the lobby of each District 96 school.
Financial donations are also being accepted.
Please mail checks directly to:
Lake County Schools Relief Effort
C/O First Bank of Highland Park
1835 First Street
Highland Park, IL 60035
OR
Make a contribution to: Rotary International District 6440
NEW *Current Kindergarten Families - First Grade Volunteer Opportunities*
As kindergarten families look ahead to first grade, consider getting involved in your child’s elementary school PTO. Board positions are open in many schools and there are always volunteer opportunities. Following are the PTO links to learn further information and contact emails if you’d like to reach out and see how you can get involved.
Country Meadows PTO Information - [email protected]
Ivy Hall PTO Information - [email protected]
Kildeer PTO Information - [email protected]
Prairie PTO Information - [email protected]
NEW *PTO UPDATES*
Please join us for PTO Dinner Night at Lou Malnati’s in Buffalo Grove on Tuesday, April 5th. 20% of the proceeds will be donated to Willow Grove.
District 96 will be hosting a Volunteer Fair on Tuesday, April 12th at Mariano’s (450 W. Half Day Rd., Buffalo Grove). Join us to learn more about board and volunteer opportunities for Willow Grove and other D96 elementary schools.
Head over to our PTO blog to learn more about these events, school supplies kits, and our upcoming Pizza Bingo Night on April 28th!
CLICK HERE FOR OUR PTO BLOG FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS!
REPEAT *Messages for Ukraine*
We are collecting student handmade cards and messages to send to Ukraine. If your child would like to participate, here are some messages to include in English and Ukrainian.
We are with you in our hearts! Ми з вами в наших серцях!
Ukraine is in our hearts! Україна в наших серцях!
We are thinking about you! Ми думаємо про вас!
We love you! Ми любимо вас!
The sunflower is the Ukrainian national flower and the Ukrainian flag is also an idea for a picture, which would be simple for our age students to include. Students can bring them to school after spring break. We look forward to sending these to show our support. Thank you!
REPEAT *Dual Language Opportunity for 22-23 Kindergarteners*
Do you have an entering kindergartener or know a D96 resident that does? Are you interested in your child having a bilingual school experience?
See the District website to learn more about the District's optional Spanish/English Dual Language program.
The Dual Language Program was designed several years ago to implement instruction across the curriculum that provides an opportunity for students to develop a deep academic proficiency in two languages. In the district’s Dual Language program, 50 percent of the academic day curriculum is delivered in Spanish and 50 percent of the academic day is delivered in English.
Parents interested in enrolling their entering kindergarten student(s) in the Dual Language Program are asked to fill out the Lottery Form at by 3:00 PM April 15.
REPEAT *Talking to Students about Events in Ukraine*
As indicated in Mrs. Schmidt’s Superintendent’s message, staff has received resources regarding how to support conversations with students who express personal and more global concerns and fears. We will continue to provide the most up-to-date resources to them. Below you will find resources for parents on how to support your student at home.
Many of our students need the guidance and safety of adults in their homes to navigate their own emotions and trauma in a healthy, safe, and productive way. A few reminders when speaking with your student:
- News like this can be scary to children if not handled in the right way. Support and conversations will look and sound different with different age groups.
- Remain calm
- Affirm that it is okay to feel upset
- Stick to facts from vetted sources
- Keep explanations developmentally appropriate
- Model coping strategies
- Keep open lines of communication between school and home
- Each of the attached resources provides tips for families and educators, and some include what we can do as adults and how you can respond to students.
Resources:
How to Talk to Kids About Violence Crime and War: Common Sense Media gathers tips and conversation starters to help you talk to kids of different ages about the toughest topics.
Talking to Your Kids About War: VeryWell Family explores ways families can speak with young people about war, including tips on sharing information and restricting media coverage.
Resilience in a time of war: Tips for parents and teachers of elementary school children: This article from the American Psychological Association can help adults guide their young children beyond fear and to resilience.
The following resources are from the National Association of School Psychologists:
War and Terrorism: Tips for Supporting Children at Home and School
Helping Children Cope with Terrorism: Tips for Families and Educators: Tips and reminders in an easy to read chart
Helping Children Cope with Terrorism: Tips for Families and Educators: Fifteen tips for adults in supporting children
REPEAT *Kindergarten Families Only: FIRST-GRADE Parent Input for Class Placement (2022-2023)*
We are collecting first-grade parent input for placement at this time through Friday, April 29, 2022. Entering kindergarten families for the 2022/23 school year will be able to provide input through a link being emailed to families. Families must be fully registered to receive the link. This information is only for First-Grade families for the 2022/23 school year.
Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a tremendously difficult job that takes many hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, administrators, and specialists. At Willow Grove, we take this process very seriously. The process for class list creation is as follows:
- Teachers reflect on the social and academic needs of each of their current students while recording pertinent information to assist in the decision-making process.
- Grade level teachers, the principal, specials area teachers, and specialists meet together to form class lists that are balanced in terms of academic, social, and emotional needs as well as considering student relationships. This is no easy task and often takes several collaborative discussions. Our dedicated team of educators considers each child’s personality, academic needs, friendship patterns, etc. as they make a recommendation for each individual child. A draft of class lists is created while considering parent input.
- Class lists are then revised in August and changes are made to include students who move in or out of the district over the summer.
Willow Grove staff creates the class lists for incoming 1st graders to all District 96 elementary schools.
We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students. It is a delicate balancing act that takes much consideration and thought by professionals who know and care about your children. Our goal is to create balanced class lists that promote the success of each child. Please know that your child is placed in a classroom for very specific reasons. The process benefits all students. Because of the input and thought given by teachers, specialists, parents, and the principal, we are very reluctant to make changes once this process occurs, as removing or moving one child can disrupt the balance of an entire class, impacting all students.
I welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style. I will take into consideration pertinent information received on or before FRIDAY, APRIL 29th. Please remember, while we welcome your input, specific teacher requests and friendship requests will not be considered due to the complexity of this process.
I cannot express enough how important it is that your thoughts are provided through this 2022-23 First Grade Parent Class Placement Input Survey. As you can imagine, we receive a lot of parent input, and verbal information and multiple emails are impossible to track. The information you provide in the survey will remain confidential.
REPEAT *Reproving Residency for Kindergartners and 5th graders*
In KCSD 96, each year, parents of current Kindergartners and 5th graders are required to reprove their district residency.
To re-prove residency, parents are asked to provide three items to the Administrative Assistants at their child’s current school:
- Current monthly mortgage OR lease statement OR property tax bill OR Warranty Deed AND
- Current utility bill (e.g., water OR electric OR waste collection) AND
- Proof of Residency Form (completed and signed)
No later than Friday, May 13, 2022. This deadline is important!
Your current kindergartner’s or current 5th grader’s teacher assignment/schedule will not be provided for the 2022–23 school year until you do so.
View residency information or email [email protected].
REPEAT *2022-23 REGISTRATION OPENED THIS WEEK!*
Registration now open for the 2022-23 school year
Registration is now open for the 2022-23 school year. This week, parents and guardians of returning students and pre-registered Kindergartners were emailed notification with a SnapCode to complete their registration process.
Register today to avoid the $20 late fee (per child) to be charged on registrations completed after April 15.
If you have questions about the 2022-23 Registration Notification email, please email [email protected] or call 847-459-4260, ext. 8022.
View information on registering a new student.
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 - TIMES
Each kindergarten student will take part in one of the two performances. Each performance lasts about 30 minutes.
AM show (10:15 AM): Schmidt, Longman, Filippo, Casas-Maya, Hibbs, Preskill, Rabin
PM show (1:15 PM): Wittenberg, Chappas, Santucci, Dolan, Derry, Holzman
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.