Dear Families,
Thank you for making Spirit Week such a success! Your creativity and enthusiasm shone through in your children's participation, making this week full of joy and school spirit. We truly appreciate your support in creating such memorable moments for our school community.
We closed the week enjoying the winter parties put together by our PTO volunteers. Thank you all for the creativity and fun you brought to our students. They had a blast!
As we head into the winter break, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for your continued partnership and support throughout the year. Together, we’ve nurtured an environment where our students can grow, learn, and thrive.
I hope this winter break brings you moments of rest, joy, and quality time with loved ones. May it be a time to reflect on the successes of the year and look forward to the opportunities ahead.
Here are some additional fun moments from our week:
Kindergarten Recess Fun!
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Parties!
Warm Fuzzies - December!
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Warm wishes,
Jenny Smith, Principal
Upcoming Dates & Helpful Resources
- December 23-Jan. 3 - NO SCHOOL: Winter Break
- January 6 - School Resumes
- January 10 - Warm & Wooly Day!
- January 14 - EARLY RELEASE DAY
- January 16 - Movie Night
- January 20 - NO SCHOOL - District Holiday
2024-25 School Year Calendar & Hours
REPEAT *Warm & Wooly Day! Friday, January 10*
Our students in Early Childhood and Kindergarten start back at Willow Grove with a math unit that incorporates a theme of sweaters, mittens, winter hats, etc. We thought it would be fun to have a day to make connections with what the whole school is wearing for a day. Friday, January 10, is "Warm & Wooly Day!" If you would like your child to participate, dress them in something warm and wooly! A sweater, sweater vest, winter hat, or just adding a scarf is perfect! If you want your child to participate specifically for their grade level (anything warm and wooly will make the connection), this is how it's broken down:
Early Childhood - Mittens and scarves
Kindergarten - Sweaters and vests
REPEAT *PTO UPDATES*
Check this week's updated PTO Blog for information about:
- 2025 Dessert Day Renewals
- Movie Night - January 16, 2025
- Pizza Bingo Donation Committee Volunteers Needed
REPEAT *Winter Weather Gear*
As we wrap up our first few days of December, you can feel that temperatures start to dip. Please ensure that you are sending your child/ren to school with appropriate outerwear including winter coats, snow pants, boots, hats, and gloves. If you need assistance with outerwear, please contact the front office.
REPEAT *Safeway Communication*
As you may know, Safeway is KSD96's transportation partner for student busing. In the case that you need to speak with someone about a transportation-related issue during non-business hours (for example, when your school front offices are closed early in the morning or late in the evening), please contact the Safeway Transportation main line at 224-434-2399.
REPEAT *Support Needed to Translate the Willow Grove Bears that Care Pledge*
Did you know that in District 96, our student body represents over 70 languages spoken, in addition to English? At Willow Grove, we are proud to celebrate the rich diversity of our community. Our teachers do this in many ways and we are working as a school to build an audio collection showcasing the many languages of our students spoken through our Willow Grove school pledge. By translating our school pledge into the native languages of our families, we foster inclusivity and respect for all. If you speak a second language, we would greatly appreciate your help in ensuring every student’s language is represented. Your support will help us continue to celebrate the wonderful diversity at Willow Grove!
Here are the steps:
- Use a smartphone that has a built-in voice memo app. Open the app and record yourself reciting the Willow Grove Pledge in your native language: “Willow Grove Bears that Care show kindness, responsibility, and respect. We are good friends!”
- Please upload the recording to this Google Drive Folder, naming the file with the spoken language. You can also record the pledge and email it to [email protected].
- Please type the pledge in your native language and upload the written pledge to the Google folder, please name the file with the language.
Recording tips:
- a quiet environment for clear audio
- acceptable audio formats (e.g., .mp3, .wav)
Please email Melody Martinez at [email protected] with any questions. We are also happy to have you make an appointment to stop by and record it directly with us if you would rather.
Thank you!
We already have the following languages:
- English
- Polish
- Russian
- Ukrainian
- Cantonese
- Mandarin
- Italian
- Urdu
- Spanish