Woodland Elementary School
Weekly Update for Thursday, September 29
What a great week at Elementary!! As we have done in the past, I will continue to send our weekly updates on the last full day of school. Tomorrow we will have a School Improvement Day or SIP Day. One of the focuses for our staff tomorrow will be on a Restorative Practices "Refresher." In the 2018-2019 school year, all staff at Elementary (then East and West) went through Restorative Practices Training. As we all know, the pandemic threw a curve ball at all of us and this is one area that not only our school but the entire district, is committed to moving forward.
That being said, you may be asking yourself "what are Restorative Practices and how does this affect me and my child(ren)?" I have linked an interesting article from Parent Today on how you can incorporate Restorative Practices at home. According to the article "Restorative justice (Practices) is a process by which participants are asked to consider their actions and take steps to resolve issues. Rather than just punishing the offender, restorative justice focuses on righting wrongs — which can take a lot of different forms." The article also provides questions to consider when talking to your child(ren) about an offense and uses these guiding questions to help start the dialogue:
- What happened?
- What were you thinking/feeling at the time?
- What have you thought about since it happened?
- Who has been affected?
- What do you think needs to be done to make it right?
These questions are almost exactly what we ask our students when an incident occurs at school. We want to focus on the fact there are no bad kids but sometimes we make mistakes and need to work through them. As I always say, it is important that school and home partner in all our students' lives, and the more they hear the alignment, the better! Please see below for further details about Restorative Practices and how they can work for you at home.
In other news, the weather has shifted a little this past week and it is starting to get colder. Please continue to send your child to school with the appropriate attire as they will continue to go outside for recess unless it is raining in October. It is never too early to pack some gloves and hats just in case.
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Ryan Wollberg
Principal, Woodland Elementary
School Improvement Day (SIP Day)--Early Release
Friday, Sep 30, 2022, 10:45 AM
Woodland Elementary School, West Gages Lake Road, Grayslake, IL, USA
Coming Soon...First Grade Music Night
Weekend BackPack Program
Woodland Elementary school is once again partnering with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to provide support for families in need of assistance. Every other week the program will provide those students enrolled with pre-bagged, shelf-stable and nutritious food items. Items may include shelf-stable milk, pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, cereal, tuna, beans, rice, and more! These items will be sent home with students.
If the Weekend Food Program could help your family, please let us know as soon as possible by filling out this confidential form. A program coordinator will contact you with additional information prior to starting.
If you have any questions, please contact Kyle Lees at klees@dist50.net. Thank you very much!
Covid-19 Mitigation Strategies
COVID-19 Information
This year we are excited to return to closer to normal operations after a long journey navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Students can look forward to working in small groups, moving around more freely during times of play, and sitting with friends in the cafeteria. While things will look and feel more normal, we will continue to have a few safety precautions in place to help keep everyone safe, much like we would during a typical cold/flu season.
- We will continue to provide enhanced levels of surface cleaning in high traffic and high touch point areas, including school buses.
- We will have visual reminders and signage reminding everyone to wash their hands, cover their cough, and respect personal space.
- Masks and physical distancing will not be required, but masks will be provided to anyone who would like to wear one. (Masks continue to be federally required in healthcare settings and for healthcare personnel, including school nurse offices.)
- We will expect that all staff and students will stay home when sick, especially if they are experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19.
- If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they will need to isolate for five days per the guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
- While we are no longer required to identify individual close contacts, Woodland will continue to monitor cases among our school population to understand the prevalence of the virus in our district. Parents will be notified of positive cases at the school through the COVID-19 Dashboard on the district website.
As we have learned over the past few years, guidance from our local, state, and federal partners can change at any time. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released new guidance for schools this week acknowledging that COVID-19 is here to stay, but reflects a shift toward returning to normalcy. Woodland will be evaluating the new guidance and we will communicate any changes to our procedures with families as needed.
SHIELD Testing
Woodland will once again offer weekly SHIELD testing for any staff members and students who wish to participate, beginning the week of Aug. 29. Students are automatically enrolled in the program, but this testing is OPTIONAL. We have added an option to Opt-Out via Family Access. If you log in to Family Access parents can make that designation. If easier, you may also contact the school office for assistance or please see your welcome back packet with a letter from me for more details. If you have previously opted out of SHIELD testing, your child will remain on the opt-out list. If you wish to re-enroll in the program you are welcome to do so at any time. Learn More about SHIELD Testing.
Woodland COVID-19 Dashboard Updated Daily
Woodland created a COVID-19 Dashboard to help stakeholders understand the impact of the virus-specific to Woodland. Please check the dashboard daily to see case counts for students and staff. This is a live document and the data will be updated throughout the day as new cases are confirmed. COVID Data Tracking is currently paused while school is not in session, but we will resume tracking the data on this dashboard the week of August 22nd.
Health Reminders for the 2022-2023 School Year
Medication Drop Off
All medications, prescription and over-the-counter, require both a physician and parent signature.
The Medication Authorization Form on light blue paper will be used for all medications.
The Asthma Action Form and Food Allergy Action Plan are also used. Copies of the forms are available in our school office and on our website https://www.dist50.net/STUDENTFORMS/pages/default.aspx
Physicals with up-to-date immunizations are required for all new to the district students. The exclusion date is October 15, 2022. We will accept documented physician appointments from out-of-state transfers only to extend the due date.
Allergy Awareness Policy. Woodland continues to be allergy-aware. All classrooms will be safe for all students. In order to ensure food safety during snack, please make sure you check with your child’s teacher or the health office and follow all food guidelines or restrictions.
Please also consider sending in an extra set of clothing in case of accidents.
School Hours
- Bus Drop Off/Breakfast - 7:20 a.m. - 7:40 a.m.
- Class Begins - 7:45 (students are marked tardy at 7:45 a.m. and must be signed in at our Main Office)
- Dismissal Begins - 2:05 (last bus leaves by 2:15)
Please also note that new for this upcoming school year Parent Pick Up location and times have been slightly modified based on previous years to allow for better traffic flow. All students who ride the bus will be dismissed first and students who are being picked up by parents will be dismissed from classes last. If you need to pick up your child early from school please plan on doing so by 1:35 otherwise in order to avoid congestion in the parking lot, we ask that you pick your child up from the parent pick-up lane.
As in years past, we request that all changes to your child's pick-up be made prior to 12:00 p.m. by contacting your child's teacher or our front office.
School Breakfast and Lunch
Student Drop Off/Pick Up
Please review specifics regarding parent drop off and parent pick up
Student drop-off will be at the Northeast side of the building between 7:20 a.m. - 7:40 a.m.
If you arrive after 7:40 a.m.., we ask you to park your vehicle in a legal parking space in our lower lot, to avoid receiving a ticket from the Lake County Sheriff, and walk your child into the office. Students will be marked tardy if they arrive after 7:45.
Parent pick-up will again take place at approximately 2:25 p.m. at the Northeast side of the building. We want to make sure everyone is safe, and ask that you have your Curbsmart tag ready. We will open the doors at approximately 2:25 p.m.
Additional information, including maps, will be sent electronically as we get closer to the beginning of the school year.
Parent Pick Up/Curbsmart Pick-Up Tags
Last year, we had a higher than normal volume of families that dropped off and picked up their children from school. Although we encourage all our students to take the bus, we also understand that some families prefer to use this method to get their children to and from school. Therefore in order to avoid congestion on Gages Lake Road in the morning and afternoon we are now going to have drop-off and pick-up at the Northeast side of the building. Additional information will be sent out as we get closer to school but we hope by moving the location we will avoid some of the traffic issues we experienced last year.
Curbsmart Placards will also aid during our after-school pick-up line and cut down on the time spent checking IDs and the intent is to make the process more efficient. We look forward to continuing to ensure the safety of our students and staff.
Additional Information Regarding Busing
PTA NEWS
The PTA is very excited to bring back our most popular fundraiser of the year, the fall Signature Chocolate sale! Order forms are due by Wed 10/12, online ordering is also available. For more info, click HERE.
Join us for DUNKFEST, our 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Friday 10/21, 4-9pm at Woodland Middle School. This event is open to all 3rd-8th graders. REGISTRATION deadline is Tues 10/18. For more info, click HERE.
If you missed book fairs at curriculum night, online shopping is still available. 25% of your purchases come back to the schools.
Shop the Primary Book Fair through 10/2, click HERE.
Signature Chocolate Fundraiser is coming soon!! Back by popular demand, the PTA will be running this fundraiser from September 29th through October 12th. Brochures will be sent home with students next week. Online ordering is also available!
Get the latest news from Woodland and Elementary
Woodland has a variety of social media channels to help families stay up-to-date on the latest news and updates:
Woodland Elementary School
Gages Lake, Illinois 60030
Phone: 847-984-8800
Fax: 847-549-9806