Dear families,
We had such an exciting week around here! Tuesday night, believe it or not, we were already welcoming the kindy class of 23-24 to our annual Kindergarten Kick-Off evening event. It reminded us of how little our kindergarten students were at the start of this school year and how much they've grown! We also remembered meeting your little ones, many for the first time, as they walked through our doors last year around this time. The closer we near the end of this school year, we're starting to get a little weepy to say goodbye to our kindergarten students and families. We feel truly lucky to have been with your kids! Tuesday evening also got us so excited to see the students we've had in early childhood at this event as they are ready to pop on up to the "big kid" part of our school! What a year ahead we have!
Wednesday night was our PTO Family Picnic! What a turnout! Thank you so much for attending. I look so forward to this event each year, seeing kids and families engaging and having so much fun together. I can also see all the friendships that have been made between kids and families, many meeting through school events, and remember those formative friendship days of my own when my now 15 and 18-year-old were just in kindergarten. Some of those connections have turned into friendships for a lifetime, and I hope you're all making a similar network of support. As we always hear, it takes a village!
As this is the last big event this year from our PTO, I want to thank our wonderful PTO for the constant support and for creating evenings like Tuesday that brought us together as a school community this year. You've set up classroom parties, Movie Night, Bingo, Book Fairs, and more. There have been countless hours for special dessert days, student assemblies, the yearbook, and appreciation staff treats and meals. You've provided playful learning and recess resources that have been enjoyed by all. All this and I'm only hitting a small selection of what you've done. You've been a dedicated and hard-working group and I know all of your efforts are appreciated by all! THANK YOU!
Thank you,
Jenny Smith, Principal
May & June Dates to Know
May
23 – EARLY RELEASE DAY: Kindergarten, Structured, PM Blended, and PM ECSE dismisses at 2:05 p.m. Blended AM & ECSE AM dismisses at 10:00 a.m.
24 - Field Day for all students - Volunteer opportunity in REPEAT information this week!
26 – HALF DAY for Kindergarten, Structured, and Blended PM and ECSE PM. Blended PM and ECSE PM attend 8:30-11:00 AM. No school for Blended AM or ECSE AM. Structured Learning Classroom hours are 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM. Kindergarten hours are 8:40 AM - 11:45 AM.
29 – NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day
June
1 - PM Blended & PM ECSE ONLY Last Day
2 - HALF DAY for Kindergarten, Structured, and Blended AM and ECSE AM. Blended AM and ECSE AM attend 8:30-11:00 AM. No school for Blended PM or ECSE PM. Structured Learning Classroom hours are 8:30 AM - 11:45 AM. Kindergarten hours are 8:40 AM - 11:45 AM. This is also the last day of school for Kindergarten, Structured, and Blended/ECSE AM.
NEW *Kindergarten Music Show Videos*
As promised, we share a video for family members to view if they were unable to attend our kindergarten music show. Of course, it's a full-scale view, not of individual children. I know parents in the past have played the performance while their little ones put on their own show on the family room floor. This is actually fun to do, even if you already saw the spectacular show! Enjoy!
- Hibbs, Preskill, Derry, Wisneski
- Schmidt, Melamed, Filippo, Casas-Maya, Mason
- Rabin, Chappas, Santucci, Dolan
NEW *Summer Reading*
This summer, we want students to experience the pure joy of reading. Since the purpose of summer reading is to help foster a love of reading, we strongly feel that students should read a book that is of high interest to them and close to the difficulty level of text they would encounter during the school year.
To support our elementary students in continuing to read over the summer, each grade level has a recommended reading list, as well as optional reading lessons that can be completed independently by students. Both the lists and the summer reading lessons can be found on our district website.
NEW *Library Books*
The end of the school year is just around the corner. This is a reminder to please start to look under beds, in closets, in cars, and in backpacks for our loved library books. If you have any books at your house, we would really appreciate them being returned as soon as possible. All books were due by May 19th so that we can begin our annual book inventory. If you have any, please send in right away. Thank you!
NEW *PTO News*
GIFTCROWD
Last week flyers went home with information on end of year giving through gift crowd Gifts will be distributed May 31st! More information is available on our social media pages
YEARBOOKS
Yearbooks are in and we have a few extra available! Please email [email protected] if you haven’t ordered one and would like to. Yearbooks will be sent home the last week of school. If your child is not in school for any reason to receive their yearbook, you may pick it up in the Willow Grove office, anytime in June. The office is open from 7:30 AM-4:00 PM. It's always a good idea to call first in June, as fewer staff are staffing the office.
ATTENTION EARLY CHILDHOOD FAMILIES!
Is your student continuing on at Willow Grove next year? Do you love making new connections with other Willow Grove families? Please consider serving on the Willow Grove PTO Executive Board next year! Two co-president positions and the VP of Fundraising role are up for grabs! It has been really rewarding to be involved this year and there is a ton of support available from PTOs across our amazing District. For more info, please email us at:
REMINDER: SCHOOL SUPPLY KITS
For your convenience, school supply kits are now available for purchase (see QR code and school codes below). The kits contain everything on the school supply list for each school and grade level. NOTE: Especially for Early Learners through Early Elementary, most if not all school supplies are shared/pooled. Kindergarten families, please make a note of your child's school next year when you place your order.
REMINDER: CONNECT WITH THE PTO
Remember to check the Willow Grove PTO online at the links below for the latest PTO news and events.
Willow Grove PTO Facebook Page
Willow Grove PTO Membership Toolkit
REPEAT *Let the Countdown Begin! Blast Off to Summer Starts Friday, May 19!*
REPEAT *Cross-Cultural Expert Speaks May 23*
An expert in the raising of children cross-culturally will share her wisdom with District 96 families at the end of next month. Author Ruth E. Van Reken speaks virtually on “Raising Children Cross-Culturally: Maximizing the Benefits, Minimizing the Challenges'' on May 23, 2023 (7-8:30 p.m.). She is the author of “Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds (3rd edition).”
Here’s what she will discuss:
“There is no question that there are many gifts for those who grow up interacting with different cultural communities. Learning to ‘code-switch’ positively in certain situations can be a great asset in today’s globalizing world. Being a cultural bridge is another gift that can come with such a childhood. But the realities of juggling the differing expectations between different cultural contexts can also introduce certain challenges. Questions related to identity, attachment, and belonging are often common during this process. This session will not only help to normalize why these challenges frequently arise, but also share practical strategies for how parents and other caregivers can help children maximize the gifts and grow from the challenges as well.”
To pre-register, please visit HERE.
For questions, please contact Lubna Andrabi, Community Parent Liaison, at [email protected].
REPEAT *Technology Update*
Aside from a few exceptions (defined below) all students will KEEP their District 96 technology (iPad, iPad Case, Charging Cable, Charging Brick, and Logitech Crayon) over the summer and will be expected to return with it at the beginning of the 23-24 school year. It will be the student’s responsibility to come to school next year with all of their technology items. Should parents have technology-related questions over the summer, they can get a hold of us at [email protected].
Exceptions:
- All EC student iPads at Willow Grove will be collected at the end of the school year. We will redeploy class sets at the start of the 23-24 school year.
- All 8th-grade student iPads will be collected on the morning of Wednesday, May 24th at both middle schools.
- Any student who is confirmed not returning to District 96 for the 23-24 school year will need to turn in their technology items on the last day of school.
- Any student who unenrolls from District 96 (during the school year or during the summer) is required to turn in their technology items as soon as possible after they confirm unenrollment, even if families indicate they are planning to return at a later date, District 96 technology items should be collected.