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“Coffee & Donuts with the Principal” - Do you want to just have a conversation with the school principal & ask questions, both big & small? Do you want to know more about our emergency response procedures for code red drills, fire drills, & shelter in place drills (tornado drills)? Do you want to know more about what to expect from parent-teacher conferences in early October? How about some good questions parents can ask at conferences? How about ways to find out from your child’s teacher if your child is reading at grade level & ways you can support them towards this goal at home. If so, you're more than welcome to start your day with me at our next "Coffee & Donuts with the Principal" parent event on Friday, September 16, from 7:20-8:20am here at Westwood! Coffee, donuts, & bananas will be provided! All you have to do is bring your kids to school at 7:10 or 7:15, they’ll head to class & then we'll meet & chat in our school library starting at 7:25am. It will be a completely informal & relaxed way for you to just chat & discuss things with me. We will have a translator present for Spanish speaking parents if needed. We look forward to seeing you there!

To help us plan for the event, if you plan on coming, please fill out this form below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScnf8gTgcucGu0vff2WK39BnI4EOfCH0kD1mgVksfThS7FvKg/viewform

As always, please call our main office at 815-337-8173 with any questions or concerns. Communication with the classroom teachers & the office is important to us. If you have any questions or want to know who to contact for certain concerns, please feel free to contact me directly at 815-206-7740.

-Ryan Hart, Principal, Westwood Elementary School

• Friday, September 16, 7:25-8:25am - Coffee & Donuts with the Principal
• Thursday, September 22 - 1/2 School Improvement Day, student dismissal at 11:00
• Wednesday, October 5, 4:00-9:00pm - Parent Teacher Conferences, student dismissal at 11:00
• Thursday, October 6, 9:00am-9:00pm - Parent Teacher Conferences, no student attendance
• Friday, October 7 - No School
• Monday, October 10 - No School

Please see this letter from Ryan Hart, our principal, regarding birthday celebrations in school.

We are now able to have classroom parent volunteers again as the COVID protocols are being relaxed. For the safety and security of all of our students and staff, we have a security sign-in system throughout District 200. Every visitor or parent needs to check in at the main office and produce a valid ID to be entered into the Raptor system. This will be required once. For all subsequent visits, a staff member will enter your name into the system and a time stamped photo ID visitor badge will be provided for you. All visitors will be asked to check out with the office so we can log you out of the building. Thank you for your cooperation as we provide a secure building for all. The safety and security of our students is the #1 priority at Westwood. I truly appreciate your cooperation and patience in helping ensure all students remain safe.

The USDA FREE MEAL PROGRAM HAS ENDED. So families interested in Free/Reduced meals must apply as soon as possible. We can help you with filling this out in our main office anytime between 7:00am-3:30pm.

Families who qualified for free or reduced-price lunches in the past must reapply each year. To get an application, you can come into our main office & fill it out here or call our main office at 815-337-8173 & we'll send the application home with your child.

Applications for Free & Reduced-Price Meals

The federal USDA program which provided free meals to all US children during the height of COVID has now ended, and the regular meal fee schedules are back in place.

• Only families who have filed current (2022-23) free and reduced-price meal applications, or who are direct-certified (and have been notified as such) are eligible for free or reduced-price meals beginning with the first day of school, with the exception noted below.
  
• Students who filed applications and qualified for the 2021-22 school year will retain their prior year free or reduced-price status as a carry-over for 30 school days (through September 30). After that, ALL students’ eligibility status will be determined by the current year (2022-23) application.
  
• Without direct certification or an approved application, families will be responsible for providing their child(ren) with a lunch, or lunch money.

Jackie McBride, Director jmcbride@wcusd200.org

Mary Hammond, Secretary 815-338-8166

woodstockschools.org/food

To read more about Food Service read the newsletter here.

https://www.smore.com/s1gv6

At Westwood, we utilize Class Dojo as our primary means to communicate & engage our families. If you are new to Westwood, after you get your teacher/class assignment letter next week, please follow this link: https://www.classdojo.com/invite/?s=5586a50f6ba9f0e42db06be7 to the Westwood Dojo page. Once you are there, you will be prompted to select your child’s homeroom teacher, then type your child’s first & last name. You will then click “request to connect”.

The Westwood PTO Facebook Group! Are you on Facebook? Do you want to join the Westwood PTO Facebook Group? It's a great place to share photos of your child on spirit days & more! Consider joining now by clicking on the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/584740175723743

While you're at it, consider clicking like on the Westwood School Facebook Page as well to get pictures, updates, & information on your newsfeed as well by clicking the link below & then clicking "Like":

https://www.facebook.com/westwoodwoodstock

Box Tops is an easy way to earn money for our school. No more clipping! Just download the free app and scan your receipt and the money will automatically go to Westwood. The money collected will be used to support students and fun events through our PTO! When families work together to collect Box Tops, the money really adds up fast. Last year our families did a great job at collecting Box Tops and we can do even better this year!

https://www.boxtops4education.com/How-To-Earn

Come Check out the PTO - We're just like you. We're parents, teachers, business people... you name it. And the one thing we all have in common is our dedication to the students at Westwood. And the more involvement we have, the bigger impact we can all make. We still do not have 2 Co-Presidents for this school year, so please consider whether this is a role you'd like to have to make an impact this school year! Our next meeting is Wednesday, October 12, at 6:30pm in the Westwood library! See you there!

Spirit Days - Every Friday is Westwood Spirit Day! Show your school spirit & wear your favorite Westwood Spirit Wear or Westwood colors!

The 2023 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is starting on September 1st. LIHEAP assists one time, per program year, with gas, electric and propane, with the benefits being based on household size and income. Our program assists the families in McHenry County, which have monthly gross incomes of up to 200% of the federal poverty level. The families that we assist are, collectively, our neighbors, friends and loved ones. There are so many families that would benefit tremendously from our program, but they do not know that we are here to help, or they are too overwhelmed. We now have a temporary water/sewer program; the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program(LIHWAP). The water/sewer program can be applied for one time, per program year. I have attached an informational document regarding our programs and flyers to display/handout. I would truly appreciate it if you would consider including this information when sending out your newsletters. Please reach out to me with any questions that you may have. I truly appreciate any assistance in sharing our program information with our local families in need.