Willow Bend School News
November 20, 2020
A Note From Mr. Harris
Dear Willow Bend Families,
Happy Friday! I hope that everyone is doing well on this beautiful sunny November day. I just wanted to touch base with all of you on a few things in this newsletter. Please enjoy next week off with your family. I know that restrictions are getting tighter, but please follow what we all need to do to get our students back in school.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and think about the things you should be thankful for. I know that I am extremely thankful for being a small part of the Willow Bend family and community. The teachers and staff are truly incredible and I am thankful to work beside them every day. I am also thankful for our students, parents, and community members that make this a special place to work at and be a part of. Take some time on your own this next week and reflect on what you are thankful for. It does remind you, that even in these unsettling times, there is a lot to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mr. Harris
Adaptive Pause Extended
In light of the stay at home advisory, District 15 will implement an Adaptive Pause District-wide beginning Wednesday, November 18. According to the CCDPH, the Pause will last at least 30 days. District 15 will not resume in-person instruction until Winter Break concludes. We will reevaluate conditions during the break period and will inform everyone if we will be resuming school on Tuesday, January 5 as scheduled, or if the Adaptive Pause will need to be extended.
During the Adaptive Pause, students will all learn remotely, as we did to start the 2020-21 school year. Materials were sent home on Tuesday to prepare them for remote learning. Most staff will also be working from home during the Adaptive Pause period unless they choose to teach or work from their classroom or office spaces.
VIRTUAL STUDENTS - Material's Pick-up
The Child's name
Grade
Teacher's name
Please stay in your car and we will have one of our staff bring the materials out to your vehicle.
PTA Goodies Factory Popcorn Fundraiser
The WB PTA's annual popcorn fundraiser
is already underway! In-person learners were
sent home with flyers on Tuesday - please check
your child's backpack if you have not received
the flyer yet. Virtual learners will
receive their packet in their materials pick up bag on Monday.
This fundraiser can be easily posted to social media. WB's top seller will win a $50 gift card and if we meet our sales goal, each class will get to participate in a virtual dance party with their grade level! All products will be shipped directly to the customer. Willow Bend receives 50% of the sales, and all proceeds will help support our WB students, staff and PTA events!
The deadline for sales is Sunday, December 6th.
Upcoming Dates to Remember
November 17th-January 4th Adaptive Pause
November 23rd- Parent/Teacher Conferences (no school)
November 24th- Parent/Teacher Conferences (no school)
November 25th-27th- No School
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND VIRTUAL LEARNING
This year’s distance learning is more structured and interactive than what students experienced in the spring. Improved structure, minimum direct instruction time requirements, academic schedules, assignments, and grading all make distance learning more similar to the regular school routines.
Attendance requirements during distance learning are also similar to the requirements of regular school. Students must log in and be present at the scheduled start of each school day and attend each subject’s or class’ live teaching that day. Teachers take attendance and record students that are not present during the live teaching portions of the student’s schedule. Although students are required to attend the live teaching portions of the day, students may elect to complete independent school work or assignments during any part of the day.
If your child will be absent, the child’s parents are required to call the school’s absence line and notify the school that their child will be absent. If your student is marked absent and a parent has not reported the absence to the school, an automated attendance call and text will be generated.
Regular attendance is essential and District 15 schools are required to follow their attendance and truancy procedures. If your child is unable to participate in live teaching due to technology problems, parents should contact the school’s attendance line so that your child’s absence can be marked as an excused absence.
GOOGLE MEETS AND TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT
As we embark on the virtual side of technology, we are all troubleshooting through issues as they arise. Here are some helpful tips that might be able to solve your issue. Please also know that if your child's screen is slow, frozen or tools are not working while they are in their meetings with the teacher, the home network speed and connection could be the issue.
- Try Reducing the computing requirements on the Chromebooks themselves.
- Capturing and displaying video is actually rather processor-intensive, disabling the camera will help free the resources on the Chromebook and smooth the connection so that the students can see and hear the teachers.
- Improve the wifi connection.
- The camera will actually degrade the wireless signal on some devices (especially older ones). By disabling the camera when not needed, it will allow a stronger Wifi signal to be received.
- Going to the districts troubleshooting website is a great place to start. https://www.ccsd15.net/Page/9811
- If you are still having issues, please reach out to the school office for support.
DISTRICT 15 HELPLINE AVAILABLE
Do you need help and are not sure who to contact? Do you have concerns or worries about yourself or others? The District 15 helpline is only a call or text away Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Our student services staff are available during these stressful times. Call or text:
English: 847-460-2099
Spanish: 847-460-2129
Calls or texts received outside of these hours will be answered the following workday. You can reach out about multiple topics, including but not limited to:
Social or emotional concerns;
Resources such as food, housing and transportation; or
Ideas on how to support your child
Here is some information from the CDC of how to help your child during this challenging time.
Willow Bend Elementary School
Website: www.ccsd15.net/WB
Location: 4700 Barker Avenue, Rolling Meadows, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-7300