Woodbury Weekly Update for Families
January 29, 2024
Welcome to our weekly update! We are thrilled to keep you informed about the happenings at our school, celebrations & achievements and upcoming events, ensuring you're an active part of your students educational journey. In each update, you'll find highlights of the past week and a preview of what's to come, fostering a strong sense of community and collaboration between the school and our cherished families. Most weeks will be brief, but at times there is important information or updates that help support us in your involvement in our little school. Thank you for taking the time to read it!
A Peek at Our Week...
Warmer weather is on the way!
WINTER WEATHER: Please be sure to send your students properly dressed for the inclement weather. As a reminder, we will have outdoor recess before school and during lunch as long as the "real feel" is 15 degrees or above. While at recess, only students with winter boots, snow pants and gloves can play in the snow. Snow pants, winter boots and gloves help keep our students warm and dry when they return to their classrooms and engage in learning. You are welcome to leave a pair of boots here at school, if necessary. If you are in need winter clothing, don't hesitate to contact our main office at 815-786-6316.
Safe Arrival: Please do not let you student out in the middle of the road at morning drop off. This is unsafe. Please use the drop off lane as it is intended, pulling all the way up to the furthest spot, and having your child exit the vehicle. Please do not leave your car to walk to the playground. Thank you for your help!
We are still looking for a Woodbury Parent Rep for the district handbook committee. Please see below.
A quieter upcoming week...
Wrapping up Winter Fastbridge Benchmarking
Another great visit with our friends from Fox Valley Therapy Dogs!
Humphrey has been making quite an impression! We hope we can find him a loving home! Don't forget to enter the raffle at our upcoming family reading night!
Welcome Baby Boy Kathe!
Caden Thomas Kathe arrived on Thursday, January 25th at 5:27 pm. He was 7 lbs 4 oz and 20.5 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing great! Congratulations to Mrs. Kathe and family as they welcome their new joyful bundle.
Family Reading Night
A hot dog/chip meal will be sponsored by our Woodbury PPA.
Lexia All-Stars
Woodbury PPA Updates
Looking for ways you can help out and support our Woodbury PPA? Please click the link to check out our sign up genius on upcoming events and items we could use some extra hands on. Our next meeting is Thursday, November 30th. Thank you!
Handbook Committee
Sandwich Community School District #430 will soon begin the process of reviewing the
handbooks for each of the school buildings. This is an annual series of meetings to review the
policies and procedures in the handbooks to ensure that all users of the handbook have a clear
understanding of the contents. Please consider this great opportunity to become involved with the
district. The dates and the times of the meetings will be given out at a later date. All of the
meetings would be conducted at Sandwich High School and last approximately 60-90 minutes. If
you would like to serve on this committee, please contact your building principal.
Sincerely,
Michael S. Herzog
SHS Assistant Principal
Coming Up...
FEBRUARY:
2/1: Black History Month
2/6: Woodbury Family Reading Night
2/13: Land of Smiles Dental Presentations
2/14: Valentine's Day Parties
2/15: First Grade Opera House
2/16: 11:10 Early Dismissal, School Improvement
2/19: No School, President’s Day
2/23: End of Trimester II, Therapy Dog Visit
2/26: K-2 Bowling
2/28: Third Grade Bowling
MARCH:
3/1: National Reading Month
3/4: National School Social Worker Week
3/5: Kindergarten Hoover, Tornado Drill
3/6: Spring Pictures
3/8: 11:10 Dismissal, School Improvement
3/10: Kindergarten DuPage Children's Museum
3/22: Therapy Dog Visit
3/25-3/31: Spring Break
APRIL:
4/2: World Autism Day
4/3: Paraprofessional Appreciation Day
4/4: National School Librarian Day
4/8: Woodbury Spring Concert
4/11: 2nd Grade Opera House
4/19: 11:10 Dismissal SIP Day, National Volunteer Appreciation Week
4/22: Spring Benchmarking Begins
4/24: Secretaries Day
4/26: Therapy Dogs
MAY:
5/1: Bicycle Safety Month
5/3: School Lunch Hero Day
5/6: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
5/8: School Nurse Day
5/9: Yellow Day
5/10: Kindergarten Mother's Day Tea
5/23: Track & Field Day
5/24: LAST DAY, Kindergarten Graduation, 1:10 Dismissal
Attendance
Attendance Policy
Since switching over to our new system, TeacherEase, we've been updating attendance codes, etc. needed for the state and we will soon begin sending out attendance letters again. Below you will find an abbreviated attendance policy to make things a little easier to understand, so if you receive a letter, it will hopefully make more sense. If you do have any questions, we will be happy to address them.
*Students are excused for 7 days per year regardless of why they miss. (This will not count if a student is marked truant from the previous year.) You will receive a letter at 5 excused and 7 excused, just as an update or reminder of your student’s attendance.
*Anything after 7 days needs a doctor note to be excused.
*Any time a doctor note is supplied, it is counted as an excused absence.
*After 3 unexcused absences, a letter will be sent home reminding the parents/guardians about the amount of unexcused absences.
*After 5 unexcused absences, school is required to notify truancy and truancy will usually set up a meeting to discuss needs and/or further actions.
*Parents/guardians must call the office to let school know their student will be absent that day.
Policy Found in Our Handbook
"Students shall be permitted no more than seven (7) excused absences, including vacations, per school year based upon parental/legal guardian confirmation for the reasons of the absence. After the student has been excused seven times in one school year, additional excused absences for illnesses may only be verified through a written medical statement from a physician.
After seven (7) excused absences, the school office will notify the parents/legal guardians by mail. Other excused absences will be limited to death in the family, a family emergency requiring the absence of the student (this must be approved by the administrator at the building level), religious reasons that prohibit attendance for a given time and/or other reasons determined by the administration. The parent/legal guardian must verify the reasons for such absences. If a student is sent home due to illness documented by school personnel or if a student’s absence is verified by a doctor’s excuse before the student has reached the limit of seven days (or classes) of excused absences, that absence will not count towards the seven days permitted by this section. If the student was sent home from school with fever, vomiting, diarrhea or at the nurse/administrator discretion, they will not be penalized with an unexcused absence and will not count toward the seven parent/guardian excused absences. The following day may also be included in instances of fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. All doctor notes must be turned in to the office in a timely manner or the administration has the discretion not to accept the doctor’s note. For extended absences, the administration may ask for updated documentation of the absence.
When a student reaches three (3) unexcused absences, a letter will be sent to the parent/legal guardian warning of future consequences related to attendance. At five (5) unexcused absences, the student will be referred to the DeKalb County Truant Office for intervention.
When counting unexcused absences, the district will count back 180 school days (i.e. unexcused attendance days from the previous year will be counted towards the student’s current school year attendance records). When requested, the student will be required to provide a doctor’s note. Notes and letters will be placed in the student’s temporary file."
Update from the Nurse
Dental Reminder
Completed Dental Exam forms are required for current Kindergarten and second grade students by May 15th. If you are unable to obtain the required dental exam, please complete the Dental Exam Waiver.
District Reminders
Negative Lunch Card Balances
Lunch balances can add up quickly. Please check your student's account balance onTeacherEase to make sure your student has a positive balance. If you need assistance logging into TeacherEase, or adding funds to your student's account, please call our main office at 815-786-6316 for assistance.
Registration Fees
If you have not yet fulfilled payment for registration fees you have/will receive a note home from school with your remaining balance. If you have any questions regarding these fees, please reach out to our main office at 815-786-6316.
Free/Reduced Application Information
Are you struggling to pay for fees, lunches, field trips, and/or extra fees? Please be aware that there are opportunities to get help with school fees, field trips, lunches, and other fees.
We currently utilize the free and reduced waiver program through the USDA. If you qualify, this waiver may cover lunches, registration fees, sports fees, field trips, etc. If you would like to know more about this program, what the qualifications are, or how to apply, please call Mrs. Kruswicki at 815-786-2187.
Please remember, this program must be renewed every year. Since we utilize the guidelines of the USDA program, we must use their forms.
For those who would like to apply for free/reduced lunch, please do so using the following link: Online Application. Families who qualify for free/reduced lunch will have their registration fees waived or reduced (if process is complete prior to fees being assessed)
Woodbury Staff Shoutout
Would you like to leave a shoutout for one of our Woodbury Staff? Please use this form to help celebrate and recognize our staff. Your words of praise, recognition, and support lift us up. Thank you for helping us support all those who contribute to our awesome learning community! We love hearing from you!