Willow Bend School News
August 31, 2020
A Note From Mr. Harris
Dear Willow Bend Families,
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and are ready for another great week!
I would like to acknowledge the tremendous effort our parents, students, and amazing staff have put forth to make the start of this school year as smooth as possible. We are all being challenged in different ways, but I have found great energy in the conversations I've had with parents and staff over the last week. Care and concern for our students is at the focus of our conversations and I continue to be so proud of the Willow Bend Family during this challenge.
There are several resources within this newsletter to support families. Please continue to reach out to me, Mrs. Thurber, or your child's classroom teacher with ways we can support you and your child.
Have a great week!
Mr. Harris
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND VIRTUAL LEARNING
This year’s distance learning is more structured and interactive than what students experienced in the spring. Improved structure, minimum direct instruction time requirements, academic schedules, assignments, and grading all make distance learning more similar to the regular school routines.
Attendance requirements during distance learning are also similar to the requirements of regular school. Students must log in and be present at the scheduled start of each school day and attend each subject’s or class’ live teaching that day. Teachers take attendance and record students that are not present during the live teaching portions of the student’s schedule. Although students are required to attend the live teaching portions of the day, students may elect to complete independent school work or assignments during any part of the day.
If your child will be absent, the child’s parents are required to call the school’s absence line and notify the school that their child will be absent. If your student is marked absent and a parent has not reported the absence to the school, an automated attendance call and text will be generated.
Regular attendance is essential and District 15 schools are required to follow their attendance and truancy procedures. If your child is unable to participate in live teaching due to technology problems, parents should contact the school’s attendance line so that your child’s absence can be marked as an excused absence.
Live Instruction Information
UPCOMING MAP ASSESSMENTS
Each year District 15 students in grades 2 through 8 take an achievement test called the MAP test. The MAP test measures a student’s reading and math levels, is taken by the student with a Chromebook, and takes between 20 to 40 minutes to complete.
This year, all students in grades 2 to 8 will take the MAP test during the distance learning portion of the school year. Teachers will be in contact with students to explain and walk them through the virtual MAP test taking process. Schools will scheudle a MAP test “dry run” in early September. Students will take the actual MAP test between September 14 and October 1. Your school will provide specific test dates and times to you prior to testing.
Linked below is our parent and student “cheat sheets. You will be provided with another copy closer to MAP testing. Parent/Caregiver Cheat Sheet, Student Cheat Sheet.
GOOGLE MEETS AND TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT
As we embark on the virtual side of technology, we are all troubleshooting through issues as they arise. Here are some helpful tips that might be able to solve your issue. Please also know that if your child's screen is slow, frozen or tools are not working while they are in their meetings with the teacher, the home network speed and connection could be the issue.
- Try Reducing the computing requirements on the Chromebooks themselves.
- Capturing and displaying video is actually rather processor-intensive, disabling the camera will help free the resources on the Chromebook and smooth the connection so that the students can see and hear the teachers.
- Improve the wifi connection.
- The camera will actually degrade the wireless signal on some devices (especially older ones). By disabling the camera when not needed, it will allow a stronger Wifi signal to be received.
- Going to the districts troubleshooting website is a great place to start. https://www.ccsd15.net/Page/9811
- If you are still having issues, please reach out to the school office for support.
UPDATE FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE
August is National Immunization Awareness Month
SPRINGFIELD (August 4, 2020) – Although school will look different this year because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), whether it’s remote learning, in the classroom, or a hybrid, kids should still receive their routine vaccinations. Vaccines help protect children from diseases like chickenpox and pertussis, which remain common in the U.S.
“Vaccines are one of the safest and most effective methods to protect children from more than a dozen vaccine-preventable diseases. Make sure your children are fully vaccinated so they can be as healthy as possible while facing the ongoing risk of COVID-19.”
The immunization requirements for the 2020-2021 school year are the same as last year. The requirements can be found on the IDPH website under immunizations.
For more information about immunizations, visit http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.
Please contact Willow Bend's school nurse, Colleen O'Brien, with any questions.
847-963-7302
DISTRICT 15 HELPLINE AVAILABLE
Do you need help and are not sure who to contact? Do you have concerns or worries about yourself or others? The District 15 helpline is only a call or text away Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Our student services staff are available during these stressful times. Call or text:
English: 847-460-2099
Spanish: 847-460-2129
Calls or texts received outside of these hours will be answered the following workday. You can reach out about multiple topics, including but not limited to:
Social or emotional concerns;
Resources such as food, housing and transportation; or
Ideas on how to support your child
Here is some information from the CDC of how to help your child during this challenging time.
Socialization and Connection During Virtual Learning
Willow Bend Elementary School
Website: www.ccsd15.net/WB
Location: 4700 Barker Avenue, Rolling Meadows, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-7300