A Note from Mr. Harris
01/03/2021
Dear Willow Bend,
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break! We look forward to returning to in-person instruction on January 5th. Students who are in our virtual classrooms will remain in their virtual classrooms. We continue to look at our procedures to ensure that our school community is safe for those participating in in-person learning.
A few reminders:
- Please stay in your car during parent drop off to help the traffic flow
- Gaiter masks are not permitted in school
- Our first bell rings at 7:35 and at 7:50 school starts. Our drop off procedures begin at 7:35 am
- During pick- up please have your child's name in passenger window
- Parents must wear a mask on school grounds (drop off/pick up)
Covid 19 Update
The Board heard a COVID-19 update at its December 9 meeting.
COVID-19 community metrics have decreased since the November Board meeting, as the increase in cases post-Thanksgiving was not as large as anticipated.
Additionally, staff members testing positive for COVID-19 during the Adaptive Pause period are at the same level as when school was in session. Paired with contact tracing information, this data shows that our schools are not the source of most COVID-19 infections.
Due to this information, District 15 intends to resume in-person learning after Winter Break on Tuesday, January 5. We ask that families who travel for the holidays voluntarily quarantine for two weeks (or revised quarantine lengths based upon IDPH guidance) upon returning home. Concurrent learning will be available to in-person students needing to stay home through Friday, January 15. After that date, concurrent instruction will only be available to in-person students who are in quarantine due to illness or exposure.
Items to Bring Back to School
- Self-certification lanyard with parent signature. Please consider the questions on the back of the card and sign the front of the card each school day to certify your child and your household is in good health. Please email our school nurse if you do not have a lanyard (maxwellk@ccsd15.net) on Tuesday morning to tell us your child, along with everyone in your home, is fever and symptom free.
- Mask and an extra one in your backpack
- Fully-charged Chromebook in it's case (case's to be distributed upon return for grades 1-3)
- Art supply bag
- All school supplies and materials given at supply pick up
- Water bottle
- Backpack
- Snow boots, snow pants, gloves, hat, warm jacket
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
CAR RIDERS
-Please have your child’s lanyard on and signed. Students need to have their lanyard signed for entrance into the school.
-Please pull all the way forward to allow for a continuous flow of cars.
-Parents will need to remain in their car when their student(s) exit the vehicle.
-Children should be ready to exit the vehicle, with their backpack and lunch bag ready when you pull into the parking lot.
-Students must have their mask on when exiting the vehicle.
-All students will have their temperatures checked as they arrive on site.
-Remind students to remain an airplane arms length away from others.
BUS RIDERS
-Students riding the bus will sit in their assigned seat on the bus.
-Students must wear their mask on the bus.
-Students will have their temperatures taken prior to entering the building.
-Students will have an opportunity to sanitize their hands prior to entering the building.
-Students must wear their lanyards and staff will ensure there is a parent signature on the card inside the lanyard.
Dismissal
-Students will load buses and sit in their assigned seats.
-Car Riders will walk out into assigned lines maintaining social distancing
-Parents who are picking up their children should have a sign in the front passenger side with the children's name(s) on it.
-Once your child(ren) are safely loaded into the car, please pull away and leave the parking area.
-Please Parents - stay in your car in the pick-up line. Getting out to walk them around moving vehicles is not safe.
Palatine Public Library - SORA is here!
Free Meals to Continue
Family Resources
- Between the holidays, the end of the first half of the school year, covid and more, emotions are running high these days. While sometimes a challenge, this time also brings many wonderful opportunities to help your child practice and build their emotional regulations skills. One of the most important regulation skills that you can teach your children is how to calm their emotions with healthy coping and calm-down strategies. Here are 75 calm-down strategies that you can draw from. And remember, practicing calm-down strategies is important for all of us, not just our little ones, but our tweens, teens, and even ourselves can benefit from these helpful tips.
Respectful Ways is offering these fun family SEL activities that students can do with the whole family to foster creativity, discussion, imagination and growth. Families will get to know each other better and learn a few interesting skills along the way!
Willow Bend Elementary School
Email: harrisr@ccsd15.net
Location: 4700 Barker Avenue, Rolling Meadows, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-7300