Woods Creek Chronicle
October 2019
October dates
4 School spirit day
4 K-2 students may visit Cubs Cart
4 Parent Teacher Conference module will open via ParentVue
10 OLSAT test for grades 3-5
11 Picture retake day
11 Grades 3-5 may visit Cubs Cart
14 Columbus Day-no school
17 PTO meeting 7:00 p.m.
21 Board of Education meeting 7:00 p.m., CORE
23 Early release day 2:00 p.m. student dismissal
24 Skate night, 6:00-8:00 p.m.at Xtreme Wheels
31 Halloween parade 1:55 p.m. outside of the building
31 Halloween classroom parties 2:30 p.m.
Parent Teacher Conferences
On October 4, our parent teacher conference sign up for November conferences will open via ParentVue. The District will email conference information on September 30. Parent teacher conferences will be hosted on Wed., November 20, 5:00-8:00 p.m.; Monday, November 25, 12:00-8:00 p.m. and Tuesday, November 26, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
If you will not be able to attend a conference on any of these days, teachers can set up a phone conference with you after Thanksgiving break. Conferences cannot be hosted prior to November 20.
OLSAT Testing, October 10
On October 10, third and fifth grade students at Woods Creek will be taking the Otis-Lennon Ability Test (OLSAT). The OLSAT is a widely used measure of abstract thinking and reasoning ability. Verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal skills are tested. The test will be administered in a group setting, and will take approximately sixty minutes. Teachers use the test results to help assess students’ learning strengths, predict success in school, and assist in the identification process of academically talented students. Please make sure your child is on time to school on this day and has had a good breakfast.
School Picture Retake Day
Picture retake day is October 11, in the morning. Any student who did not have his or her picture taken on August 29 will be photographed on October 11. Per Color Portraits, Inc., retakes will be available to those students with eye closures, glasses glare, bad expression or photographic error. The entire picture package must be returned to the photographer at Woods Creek on retake day. Please contact Color Portraits, Inc. with questions: www.colorportraits.com or 815-382-7505.
MAP Testing Results
In September, District 47 students took the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test, which measures students' academic growth in the areas of reading and math. Fall MAP results will be sent home with students on Friday, October 18. For more information about MAP, visit https://www.d47.org/map. If you have questions, please contact your child's teacher.
Halloween at Woods Creek
Our Woods Creek Halloween parade and classroom parties will be held on October 31 during the school day. Students should not wear costumes to school. They may bring a costume to put on later in the day for the festivities, but they should be able to put the costume on over their clothing. Costume accessories, especially weapons, are best left at home and used later during trick-or-treating. Masks may be worn during the parade if they are not too scary and students can see well enough with them on. Also, we request that students refrain from wearing face paint.
The parade will begin at approximately 1:55 p.m. Parents may stand anywhere along the front sidewalk to watch. Students will briefly parade outside in their costumes. The parade is for Woods Creek students only and is a “good weather” event. Therefore, if it rains, the parade will be cancelled. If the parking spaces are full in our lot, park on a side street. Please do not block cars in our parking lot.
Students will go to their classroom parties after the parade. Classroom parties will be held from 2:30-3:15 p.m. Halloween party volunteers may check in at the office at 2:15 p.m. to set up for classroom parties. If you are volunteering and have not had your driver’s license scanned into the Raptor visitor system this year, please do so before October 31 to alleviate congestion in the office on party day.
Fastbridge Testing
During the month of September, students took the FastBridge assessments. The District provides FastBridge assessments to help determine students’ instructional levels. FastBridge is also used to measure annual growth in reading and mathematics. Over time, a student’s progress can be tracked from grade level to grade level. Parents will receive reports showing their child’s results three times a year.
Students in 1st through 8th grades took the FastBridge assessments in the fall, and will take them in the winter and spring. Students in kindergarten will participate in winter and spring testing only.
Students will bring home individual Fastbridge result reports sometime in October. For more information about FastBridge, including resources for parents, visit https://www.fastbridge.org/reporting-studentfamilies/.
Woods Creek Elementary School
Website: www.d47.org/wds
Location: 1100 Alexandra Boulevard, Crystal Lake, IL, USA
Phone: 815-444-4800
Twitter: @WoodsCreekD47