Principal McCoy's Owl Nest

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.

Thanks to Mrs. Hapli our 4th & 5th grade students have been given the opportunity to learn a little bit about broadcast news. Check out their first few broadcasts.

Tuesday, 11/1

Wednesday, 11/2

Thursday, 11/3

Friday, 11/4

Math Resources:

K

1

2

3

4

5

Reading:Resources:

• Story Online

• Great Literacy Websites and Apps

• Newsela kids

• Newsela
  

• BrainPOP families
  

• BrainPOP Español
  

Science At Home:

• Science at Home
• Spanish
• English
• Daily Do

Elementary Athletics

District 65 is starting elementary athletics.

Winter sports will consist of cheerleading and basketball.

You can sign up for winter sports now using Eventlink.

Please see the linked flyer and video for more details.

Basketball and cheerleading will start on Monday, December 5th, 2022 and registration will close on Monday, November 28th, 2022.

We are searching for coaches, and that it's a paid position.

Please contact Branden Lane for coaching details. (laneb@district65.net)

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: Oct. 31st: Speak Peace Lesson 3

Topic:

• Listen ( What's your intersectionality) K-5)
• Watch Intersectionality 101 (for adult education)

• I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and name some of my group identities.(IDENTITY.K-2.1 )

  I know that all my group identities are part of me—but that I am always ALL me. (ID.K-2.3 )

Week of Nov. 7th: Feel Peace Lesson 3

Topic:

• Be Joyful (K-5)

• Diversity: I know that the way groups of people are treated today, and the way they have been treated in the past, is a part of what makes them who they are.

Week of Nov 14th: Make Peace Lesson 3

Topic:

• Students make peace by being an Ally (K-2)
• Accept and Welcome Differences (Grades 3-5)

• I pay attention to how people (including myself) are treated, and I try to treat others how I like to be treated. (Action #16)
• Justice: I know when people are treated unfairly.

Week of Nov. 28th: Know Peace Lesson 3

Topic:

• Students know peace when they value connections with others (Grades: K-2)
• Growth Mindset (Grades: 3-5)
• I care about those who are treated unfairly
  
• I will join with classmates to make our classroom fair for everyone.
  
• I try to get to know people as individuals because I know it is unfair to think all people in a shared identity group are the same. (Justice #11)

• I know that life is easier for some people and harder for others based on who they are and where they were born.

On PBS, watch “30 Stories for 30 Days”(Open external link) of Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month, a collection of videos that tell Indigenous stories from past and present, including a profile of rock guitarist Link Wray, the connection between the Seneca people and the Women’s suffrage movement, how the Cherokee language got written down, and many more.(Open external link of Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month, a collection of videos that tell Indigenous stories from past and present, including a profile of rock guitarist Link Wray, the connection between the Seneca people and the Women’s suffrage movement, how the Cherokee language got written down, and many more.

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.

Winterfest

WE Day- Student Leadership Team

We are planning a Winterfest Event. Please email Ms. McCoy if you are interested in either of these events/programs

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

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.

Numbers are on the rise, please do not send your child to school if they are ill.

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.

OWL NEST:

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

WHOOT THERE IT IS:

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

Help us celebrate & appreciate our staff members during November.

Check out the upcoming School Appreciation Days:

November

7- 11- National School Psychologist Week

Let's show our school psychologist Mrs. Frost special love this week for all that she does!

November 8th:

• No School- Election Day

November 11th:

• Veteran's Day- School is in Session

November 21st-25th:

• Fall Break

November 28th:

• Registration Closes for Basketball & Cheerleading

November 30th:

• Parent University: Standards Based Grades & Report Cards
• Virtual Session

December 5th:

• Basketball & Cheerleading Begin