The Wilmot Word: 10-08-21
Hello Wilmot
Hello Wilmot Families,
We would like to ask for your support in delaying your child's arrival to school until 8:35 a.m. We do not have supervision for students until 8:35. Please remain with your child if you arrive early to school.
Today we had a last minute White Sox/Baseball day. It is always fun to support our Chicago sports teams.
As a reminder, there is no school on Monday in recognition of Columbus Day.
Enjoy your weekend.
Eileen
Author, Bob Shea, Visited K-2nd Grade Students Today
Picture Day (2nd posting)
Volunteers and Visitors
A quick reminder, that all volunteers or individuals spending prolonged time in one of our buildings are required to be vaccinated or provide proof of a negative COVID test.
If you are coming to our building to volunteer, please remember these things:
- Wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status
- Bring a photo ID to check in at the front office
- Bring your proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test (not self-administered) from within the last week
- Complete a Covid self-certification prior to coming to school
Reminder about Choosing a Well-Fitting Mask Covering!
We notice that some children are coming to school with an ill-fitting mask that continually drops below students' noses. Please check that your child's mask fits snuggly to their face. If you notice the mask is slipping below your child's nose after talking for a few minutes, we recommend that you consider another style that fits more securely.
We would also like to remind families that when masks are too large or too small, they don't do their job. An effective mask should fit securely over the nose and below the chin, adhering closely to the face without any gaps.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Student Health Requirements 21-22 (final posting)
We recognize and are mindful of the fact that many families may have had difficulty getting children in for physical, dental, and eye exams as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to routine medical care; however, at this time, all child-health related requirements for school attendance, remain in effect for children in public, private, or parochial schools, as per 105 ILCS 5/27-8.1.
Health-related examinations and immunization requirements are due no later than October 15. Please click here to be directed to our website for detailed information regarding specific requirements by grade level.
You will soon be receiving communication from our building nurse if your child is missing any of the required documentation. Students not in compliance with the health examination and immunization requirements will be excluded from school beginning Friday, October 15, 2021. Please reach out with any questions regarding these requirements as we want to partner with you to ensure compliance with these requirements. Thank you.
Halloween
This year, we will be celebrating Halloween at Wilmot on Friday, October 29. Below is important information to help make this a fun and safe day for everyone.
Costumes:
- Nothing is to be worn on the face (e.g. costume masks, make-up, etc.) as this could impact the effectiveness and comfort of the required face covering.
- Toy weapons are strictly prohibited.
- Students should wear costumes to school as we cannot safely assist students in changing into costumes during the school day.
- Students should not wear group costumes as they promote the exclusion of other students.
- Please send a bag for your child's costume should they choose to take it off during the day.
- If you need assistance in providing your child with a Halloween costume, please let me know
Families who are not comfortable sending their child in costume, please reach out to your child's teacher so that we can be sensitive to you or your child's feelings about dressing up for Halloween. We want everyone at Wilmot to feel comfortable.
Additional details will be shared in the coming weeks regarding the Halloween parade. I anticipate holding the parade in the morning allowing students to remove costumes prior to lunch is they are uncomfortable.
3rd-5th Grade Social Emotional Survey (final posting)
Building students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is important at Wilmot. As a part of the learning process, we will be asking our 3d-5th grade students to reflect on their own SEL mindsets via an online survey. The survey will be administered the week of October 11 and should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. It asks students to self-reflect on their own grit, growth mindset, self-efficacy, self-management, social awareness, and emotional regulation.
Individual student responses can provide the school and family with insight into what skills the child self-identifies as strengths and others they would like to develop. The overall data helps us (the educators) identify priorities and provide targeted learning opportunities to address the SEL needs in our classrooms.
Per policy, if you would like your child to opt-out of taking the survey, please contact me no later than October 1st.
SHIELD Testing-ongoing posting
Shield testing will continue each week on Thursday. If there is no school on a Thursday, we will test on Friday Testing is not mandatory. However, by consenting to the testing, your child’s name is put on a roster and the expectation is that they will be testing weekly unless a parent/guardian notifies us otherwise. As parents provide consent we will continue to add names to the roster as consent is provided. Please note that it can take up to 2 weeks for names to be placed on the testing roster.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO FILL OUT THE SHIELD CONSENT FORM please
log in to Skyward/Family Access and it should appear as a green box next to your child’s name. Contact Kristen Neu (kneu@dps109.org) with any Family Access questions.
IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO OPT OUT OF A WEEK OF TESTING…
- Click here to fill out the required Google Form by 8:00 am each Wednesday (the day prior to testing):
What is Test To Stay?
This year, fewer students are needing to be quarantined if they are a close contact to a COVID-19 case, thanks to the Lake County Health Department's "Test To Stay" protocol. Click here to read more from the district about it.
The Latest COVID Information-ongoing posting
The district has a landing page with constantly updated COVID protocol information. Be sure to visit www.dps109.org/fall2021 to check out the latest updates on:
What do I do if my child wakes up sick? (and what happens to siblings)
Our COVID case dashboard - updated in real time
Required Daily Certification-Ongoing posting
All families must complete the daily certification form by 7:45 am. A different form is required for each student. Please enter your child's first and last name as it appears in Family Access (not a nickname). I suggest that you bookmark the link below. I will also send a daily reminder with the link.
**The certification form asks if your child is riding the bus. This is only for contact tracing purposes and is not shared with teachers. If your child is not riding the bus home on a given day please let your child's teacher know.
PTO Corner
Wilmot’s First Annual Gift Wrap Sale is starting next week! Magical Holiday Catalogs (pictured above) will be sent home with your child on Tuesday. They have great gifts, home items, kitchen gadgets as well as quality gift wrap.
Place orders online starting October 11th at www.ShopFund.com or return your paper order form by Monday, October 25th!
Please direct all questions to Jodi Kier at jodi.kier@gmail.com.
Save the Date
Monday, October 11 - No School - Columbus Day
Tuesday, October 19 - School Picture Day