Mission Statement:

Willard School educates and inspires our multi- and monolingual students to think and act critically with empathy, kindness, and curiosity. Each member of our community: staff, students, families, and caregivers - actively contributes to a caring, safe environment through both their words and actions. Our entire school community will take the steps needed to address and end all forms of racism, bias, bigotry, and bullying at Willard School. Our collective efforts will help our students feel connected, have access to high academic standards for all, and be able to grow to their full potential.

School Work Plan Goal #3:

One of our 22/23 school goals is to build community with ALL of our school families. With an intentional focus on our Black and Latinx families. During the month of September we has so many beautiful moments where we were able to celebrate and come together as a school community.

Our Curriculum Night kicked off September's events. For the first time this school year we were able to come together as a school community in the school. Our curriculum night gave families an opportunity to come and learn about their child's daily learning life at Willard.

Our school Peace Walk was a beautiful celebration of peace. Our students showed off their Advocacy Spirits and really represented Willard well. As our Willard Owls marched around the school, they chanted , "Speak Peace, Know Peace, Make Peace, Feel Peace". It was a beautiful day that allowed us to come together as a full school in one space with a peace circle. It was truly a sight to behold.

We also had a wonderful Hispanic Heritage Month Community Celebration. Our PTA organized a beautiful FIESTA! We had delicious food, music, dancing, crafts, piñatas, and more. Our school is comprised of so many beautiful cultures, this event gave us an opportunity to learn and to celebrate our Hispanic community at Willard.

As we enter into Fall, we will continue to create opportunities to come together and celebrate as a community.

At Willard we believe in teaching Peace. Our Peace Pillars are the foundation of our school expectations, and will be taught on a weekly basis.

Week of: Sept. 5th: Speak Peace

Week of Sept. 12: Feel Peace

Week of Sept. 19th: Make Peace

Week of Sept. 26th: Know Peace

One of our school goals is Family & Community Engagement.

Please complete this survey to let us know about your experience at Willard.

Family Survey

The Window ends on October 18th.

Please take a moment to share your thoughts. We can not improve without your truth.

Thank you.

Parent- Teacher Conferences are just 1 week away.

Conferences are a time for teachers and families to talk about the child's academic goals and progress thus far. This meeting is a wonderful way to connect to your child's learning and to see and hear about their academic and social emotional learning. During conferences you will learn about:

• Your child's MAP/NWEA scores & goals (this is an assessment that we take 3 times a year to show growth & academic skill areas of needed growth over time).
• WIN Time ( What I Need): We have reading & math WIN time daily- learn what your child's WIN Time foci areas are.
• Math & Reading/ Science & Social Studies, & Writing updates
• Social Emotional Learning

Conferences will be held the week on October 17th.

Be on the look out for your child's conference sign -up document.

Composting is off to a great start. If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, we are still looking for more composting coaches ( parent volunteers).

If you don't know much about composting, no worries, we can train you.

Yes, we will. Families will have a few options:

• D65 School Aged Childcare offers before & after school care options: Please click here for details
• Right at School: is an alternative after school program option for families as well that has additional electives available throughout the school year. Scholarships are available for after school electives.

We are working on an after school bus for students who want to participate in after school activities. Details to come.

District Volunteer Requirements:

Please see our D65 Volunteer Handbook

Volunteer Form

WHEN DO I NEED TO HAVE A BACKGROUND CHECK?

NEED BACKGROUND CHECK:

Any volunteer who will have direct contact with students without the continuous supervision

of a present staff member for an extended period of time and/or on a long-term or regular
basis ( e.g. semester or school year) will be required to submit to a criminal background check,
including, where appropriate and necessary, finger printing. Examples of such volunteer roles
subject to this requirement include tutoring, assisting club or athletic activities or chaperoning
overnight trips or activities.

DO NOT NEED BACKGROUND CHECK:

Examples of volunteers who do not have unsupervised access to students and are

not subject to this background check included guest speakers or a parent or legal guardian who

assists in the classroom or accompanies his or her child’s class on a supervised day field trip where

each group of students is supervised by a staff member

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES:

• Fluency Tutors
• Composting Support
• Staff Lounge Redecorating
• More opportunities to come

Securely Home

What is Securly Home?

Securly Home is a web-filtering application service and an extension of Securly, a platform currently utilized by District 65 to protect students online. Securly works to filter and block keywords and sites that are inappropriate in nature, including those that promote content related to pornography, lewd images, or mature content such as violence, bullying, and self-harm. Securly Home provides parents/guardians with a window into what their student’s online activity looks like. This includes monitoring and oversight for parents/guardians including limited control over which sites students are able to access.

Please note that Securly Home only allows for monitoring of student activity on district-issued devices. Use of Securly Home by parents/guardians is optional, and district oversight, as well as student technology protections, remain in place on all district devices.

Please see the attached link for more information.

Please take a moment to thoroughly read our District 65 Covid-19 Health Guidance. Below are a few highlights.

• Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must continue to isolate for 5 days. If your child tests positive, please notify the school.

• Contract tracing is no longer recommended for COVID-19. Families will be notified if there is a positive case in their child’s class, bus or activity. However, close contact notices will no longer be communicated.

• Keeping children home when sick is essential to maintaining a healthy school environment. Staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines is the best protection against serious illness.

• Quarantine is no longer recommended for people who are exposed to COVID-19 in the school setting. Individuals are encouraged to monitor symptoms and test five days after exposure.

• Masking guidance will be based on local Cook County transmission levels. Masks will be optional when transmission levels are low/medium. Masks will be recommended indoors when transmission levels are high. See full guidance which includes when masks are required and special considerations.

• CDC no longer recommends social distancing and cohorting.

• CDC no longer recommends routine screening testing in K-12 schools. PCR testing will still be available once/week at the District office for students and staff. Home tests may be provided on an as needed basis.

Every school year we conduct several safety drills with our staff and students. These drills are used to practice safety protocols in emergency situations. Practice helps to reduce panic in a real situation, and also prepares individuals for unfortunate scenarios.

Over the course of this school year we will have:

- 3 Fire Drills ( 1 with the Fire Department & 2 without the Fire Department)

- 1 Bus Evacuation Drill

- 1 Tornado - Shelter In Place Drill

- 1 Law Enforcement Drill

The Law Enforcement Drill ( Lock Down Drill) can be very impactful for students. Please see the attached letter from Mr Johnson with details on this drill.

Law Enforcement Lock Down Drill

• November 2nd
• Opt-Out DUE Tuesday, November 1st

OWL NEST:

Newsletter- An intensive newsletter will be released on the FIRST Friday of every month.

WHOOT THERE IT IS:

Quick update- week at a glance. 2nd through fourth/fifth Fridays.

COFFEE CHAT:

OCTOBER 26th

- 9:00 am - 10:00 am ( on the playground - weather permitting) /Alternate location: TBD in the building

- 6:00 - 7:00 pm ( VIA ZOOM)

Help us celebrate & appreciate our staff members during October.

Check out the upcoming School Appreciation Days:

October

*School Principal Month

2- School Custodian Day

6- National Instructional Coaches Day

16- Bosses day

27- World Occupational Therapist Day

October 5th:

• No School Yom Kippur

October 10th:

• SCHOOL IS IN SESSION
• Indigenous People's Day

October 12th:

• School Improvement Day
• NO STUDENT ATTENDANCE

October 17-21st:

• National School Bus Safety Week
• We will hold Bus Evacuation Drill on October 20th

October 18th & 19th:

• Parent Teacher Conferences
• Virtual, Phone, & In-Person Options
• Interpreters available
• 18th ( 4-7pm)
• 19th (4-6pm)
• Teachers can accommodate alternate times as needed.

October 21st:

• Student Non-Attendance Day
• No School

October 25th:

• PTA Town Hall
• 6-7 pm (ZOOM)

October 26th:

• Coffee Chat
• 9-10 am: In -person at Willard
• 6-7 pm: Virtual via Zoom

Law Enforcement Lock Down Drill

• November 2nd
• Opt-Out DUE Tuesday, November 1st