Dear Families,
What a turnout at Family Picnic! Thank you to our PTO for providing this celebratory evening as we near the closing of our school year. The weather was gorgeous and the kids had such a fun time running around and enjoying the friendships they've made. It couldn't have been more perfect!
This week our kindergarten students got to take a field trip to their first-grade schools! Country Meadows, Ivy Hall, Kildeer, and Prairie welcomed our students with introductions to the administrators and staff, as well as building tours. The kids haven't stopped talking about how much fun they had and all of their principals told me how much they enjoyed having the students visit, too!
Next week we have Feild Day on Thursday! The kids always love this event. Please make sure you've reviewed the details below in repeat information if you missed it last week.
Kindly,
Jenny Smith, Principal
NEW *Calendar Reminder*
Friday, May 27th, is Half-Day dismissal.
KDG & Structured dismiss at 11:45 a.m.
AM only attends for Blended and ECSE (No PM Blended).
NEW *Library Book Reminder*
Great job returning so many library books! We are still missing over 200 books. Please check and see if you have any more at home. Please email Mrs. Martinez if you have any questions about library books at [email protected]. Thank you!
NEW *Fire Drill*
On Wednesday, May 25, Willow Grove will be conducting a Fire Drill. Students will be evacuating the building during the drill. If the weather does not cooperate, we will reschedule the drill and communicate the rescheduled drill date.
NEW *PTO UPDATES*
Thank you to all the families that joined us at the End of Year Picnic on Thursday! It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the end of a great school year!
If you will have a child attending Willow Grove next year and would be interested in volunteering on the PTO we still have one open position on the board for a VP of Fundraising. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in more information!
CLICK HERE FOR OUR PTO BLOG FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS!
REPEAT *Blast off to Summer Countdown*
REPEAT *REGISTRATION & TECHNOLOGY*
If you have not enrolled your student(s) for the 22-23 school year and are planning on doing so, we ask that you do so as soon as possible. Accurate and up-to-date registration numbers impact our staffing plan and our ability to prepare for the 22-23 school year.
Students in Kindergarten through Grade 7 will keep their iPads over the summer. If you have enrolled your student(s) for the 22-23 school year already, your student’s iPad will continue to work over the summer.
If you have not enrolled your student(s) for the 22-23 school year and your student is not in summer school or ESY, your student’s iPad(s) will be deactivated after the last day of school and will not function until registration has been completed.
Once you have registered your student for the 22-23 school year, please email [email protected] and include your student’s enrollment information. The district technology department will verify enrollment and re-activate your student’s iPad(s).
REPEAT *Ticks*
As we enter into warmer weather and springtime, there has been a rise in tick sightings. Please take the time to review this information from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The link provides you with reminders on how to prevent ticks, check for ticks, and remove ticks should you find one.
Suggestions listed on how to prevent ticks specifically from IDPH include:
- Wear light-colored clothing (long sleeve shirts and long pants) so you can easily see ticks
- Use bug repellent that contains 20% or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin
- Walk in the center of trails
- Treat clothing with products containing permethrin (Do not apply permethrin to skin)
REPEAT *Field Day - Thursday, May 26th*
We have Field Day on May 26th. Children spend a portion of their day outside. It is advised that you apply sunscreen in the morning. Children can also bring sunscreen, but we cannot apply it. Please practice having your child apply their own sunscreen. It is also advised that you dress your child knowing they'll be in the sun if you are concerned about too much sun, such as wearing a long sleeve, lightweight, light-colored shirt. Children can also wear hats and sunglasses. If the weather looks chilly, please also dress your children appropriately (layers are a great idea). Please have kids wear sneakers/gym shoes as they’ll be running a lot. No sandals, crocs, etc. No water bottles are necessary. We provide water for the kids to grab outside.
Thank you to our parent volunteers. Volunteers may not bring additional children or adults. This is also not a day for parent observers unless you are a volunteer, notified by Mrs. O'Gara. Any adult viewing the activities who are not an approved volunteer will be asked to leave, as this is a distraction to both students and staff.
REPEAT *PROOF OF RESIDENCY REMINDER - CURRENT KINDERGARTEN FAMILIES*
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
- This Proof of Residency Form (completed and signed)
Learn information for other questions. Questions? Call or email Mel Lundeen, our Willow Grove Administrative Assistant.
REPEAT *Curriculum Home Connections*
New Resource Page Designed, with Parents in Mind
In response to some parents' questions about how to best support their children with academic work at home, the district’s Instructional Coaches designed a one-stop resource that equips these families in doing just that.
The resource is a new District web page ~ the “Home to School Connections'' ~ designed for parents and filled with invaluable links to internal and external Technology and Curriculum Resources. Under the Technology Resources heading, for instance, parents will find the usual District resources used for assistance with iPads, frequently used apps, TeacherEase, SeeSaw and Schoology.
The page also features Curriculum Resources, which presents a wealth of resources ~ sorted by grade/grade levels ~ for help with literacy, math, and the other subject areas, and links to the District’s pacing guides (which indicate what a child is expected to know at each grade level).
Families will find resources to practice high-frequency words, strengthen their mastery of math-word problems or help them write more descriptively. There is also information on supporting a multilingual student at home and 10 of the best questions to ask your student to elicit more than a ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ response about what they’re learning or experiencing at school.
The resource was debuted at Thursday night’s Thought Exchange Partnership (TEP) meeting. Check it out for yourself:
REPEAT *Last Call for Library Books*
Parents if you happen to see any school library books at home please return them to school as soon as possible. With school drawing to a close for the year we need to begin cataloging and checking the inventory for the school library
REPEAT *Registration Reminder*
A big thank you to those of you who have already registered your student for the 22-23 school year. For those of you who haven’t yet, we need your help! We staff our buildings based on completed registration. We like to keep class sizes low so that students have the best possible experience and the only way we can do that is by having the most accurate information. If you have not registered yet, please take a few minutes to complete this important process. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the school office and we would be happy to help at [email protected].
REPEAT *Summer 2022 iPad Information*
All Buildings:
- Students in grades K-7 will keep their iPad and all peripherals over the summer unless they are not returning to D96 for the 22-23 school year.
- Any non-returning students will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
- Families who exit out of D96 after the last day of school will need to return all of their technology to the District Office over the summer. Any device not returned will be placed in lost mode and will not function.
- Over the summer, some apps and services will continue to work at the student’s 21-22 grade level. Apps and websites like Dreambox, Lexia, Typing Agent, (etc) will be available to use over the summer but are not guaranteed to work at all times. The technology department will only be supporting the use of these apps in ESY or Summer School.
- As we get closer to August, we will roll-up student data and new services. Apps will also become available to them relative to their 22-23 grade level.
Willow Grove Specific:
- EC iPads will be collected at the end of the year. We ask that devices and peripherals (charging cable, charging brick, and case) that are kept at home be returned to Willow Grove and made available for collection no later than Wednesday, May 25th. Note that EC students do NOT receive Logitech Crayons.
- Current Kindergarten students will keep their iPads over the summer. New grade-level content and services will be made available on their iPads sometime in August.
- Any non-returning students will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
Middle School Specific:
- 8th Grade iPad collection will happen on Wednesday, May 25th. Students will be expected to turn in their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon.
- Any non-returning students in grades 6 and 7 will need to leave their iPad (inside of the case), charging cable, charging brick, and Logitech Crayon, with the building Tech Aide for collection.
REPEAT *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]
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.