Wilson Creek News
Manhattan School District 114
August/September 2023
We are looking forward to welcoming your child to the 2023-2024 school year at Wilson Creek! Our teachers have been working hard to prepare their classrooms and we have welcomed new staff, all very excited to get the year started with your children.
Preschool through 2nd grade is an exciting and formative time in your child's life and we are humbled by the opportunity to play a role in it. We hope that you'll find Wilson Creek to be a safe and encouraging place for your child to learn, play, and grow!
In this newsletter, we've included information to help you prepare for the coming weeks. Additional information will be shared by your child's teacher at Supply Drop Off and in the first weeks of school. Thank you in advance for making time to familiarize yourself with all of this information, completing forms, and supporting your child in a strong start to a new year!
August/September Important Dates
- 21 Teacher Meet and Greet & Supply Drop-Off 3-5 PM
- 23 First Day of School
- 25 Fall Picture Day
September
- 4 Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
- 13 School Board of Education Meeting 6:30 PM
- 20 K-2 Early Release
- 20 EC/PFA NO SCHOOL
Wilson Creek School Hours
Early Childhood and Preschool for All
- AM: 8:30 AM-11:00 AM (Drop off begins at 8:20)
- PM: 12:30 PM-3:00 PM (Drop off begins at 12:20)
- Early Release Days - NO SCHOOL
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
- 9:00 AM-3:30 PM (Drop off begins at 8:40)
- Early Release Days - 12:30 Dismissal - NO LUNCH
Meet and Greet & Supply Drop Off
If possible for your family and to help with crowds and space:
3:00-4:00 PM - last names A-L
4:00-5:00 PM - last names M-Z
If you are unable to attend, we will have plenty of adults available to help students both locate their classroom and carry their supplies on the first day of school.
Lunch at Wilson Creek
Our lunchrooms have staff supervisors and we'll have extra hands during the first week. However, when packing your child's lunch, please consider items that your child is able to open and eat independently. With up to five classrooms in the lunchroom at a time, students will not be able to rely on adults opening items in order to start their lunch.
Some helpful hints and suggestions to help with this:
- Have your child practice eating lunch at home. Everything from opening the lunch box to collecting the wrappers to throw into the garbage.
- Some parents put a small cut into prepackaged items to get it started for the child.
- For prepackaged bags, "pinch, pinch, pull" is a helpful strategy in teaching kids to pinch each side then pull it apart.
- Some students keep blunt child scissors in an inside pocket of their lunch bag.
Visitors & Volunteers
VOLUNTEERS
We greatly appreciate the time of volunteers to support our teachers and students. In order to weekly/regularly volunteer in our buildings, a background check and fingerprinting through the Regional Office of Education is required and can be taken care of any time. This is a one-time visit that does not need to be repeated annually. All district Volunteer Forms can be found in the Documents section of our District website. Any questions about volunteering can be directed to Julie Massa at jmassa@manhattan114.org.SECURITY UPDATE
In addition to the return of Raptor Technologies, our visitor management system, visitors will be welcomed by intercom upon ringing the doorbell to the school and drop-offs and pick-ups will take place in the vestibule. We appreciate your understanding and help as we maintain as safe and secure of a learning environment as possible.
K-2 Arrival & Dismissal
ARRIVAL
Doors will be opened for K-2 students to arrive at 8:40 AM. Bus riders will enter the building through the main doors. Car riders will enter one of two doors on the south end of the building. Do not drop off/pick up your student(s) until your car is adjacent to the building. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE LOT AND WALK YOUR CHILDREN ACROSS THE PICK-UP LINE. Students will report directly to their classrooms upon arrival.
DISMISSAL
Car Riders
New car rider parents, we promise this will make sense once you live it a few times! Car Rider numbers will be given to parents to be displayed in your car for easier identification. These will be sent home with students in the first few days of school. Please follow the flow of traffic and enter the newest formed line when you arrive. It is important that the line remain a length that allows for traffic out of the parking lot. Numbers will be communicated into the classrooms from the physical lines in the order of arrival. If you pull into a line that has already been checked, your child's number will not be called in the classroom. This is always extremely slow at first but will speed up in just a few days.
Walkers
Walkers should remain on sidewalks at all times. All walkers will enter school grounds by the crosswalk area at the south end of the building. They will enter the doors on the south end of the building. Crosswalk guards will be at the following 3 locations: at the striped crosswalk on Gougar Road the parking lot entrance to the south of the building, and the crosswalk/bus lane at the south end of the building. IF YOUR CHILD WILL BE A WALKER AT ANY TIME DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, PLEASE SEND A SIGNED NOTE GIVING PERMISSION FOR YOUR CHILD TO BE A WALKER AND WITH WHOM THEY HAVE PERMISSION TO WALK WITH. WE WILL KEEP THESE NOTES ON FILE IN THE MAIN OFFICE.
Buses
The front, east driveway/parking lot will be the bus drop off/pick up area. If your car is in the east lot in front of the building at busing times you will not be allowed to move your vehicle. PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE AROUND A PARKED BUS, WITH ITS STOP ARM OUT.
Bike Riders
Due to the young age of the children attending Wilson Creek, they are not allowed to ride bikes to school. There is no bike storage on campus and for safety, bikes are not permitted on school grounds at any time.
Changes in End of Day Transportation
If your child is going to have a change of transportation at the end of the day (i.e. getting picked up instead of riding the bus) please communicate in writing to your child’s teacher. We will not be able to take your child’s word for a change. If this change happens after your child leaves for school please call our school office at (815) 478-4527 ext. 0. If you need to call school to make the change, please do so before 2:30 p.m.
Please see the image below for traffic flow of the car rider line.
School Day Reminders
Attendance
All parents are required to call the school if their child will be absent. The call should be made between 6:00 - 8:30 a.m. Absences must be reported by a parent or legal guardian. When calling, please state: parent name, student name, homeroom and the reason for absence. In the In the event you do not contact us, we will make an attempt to contact you at home or work. Failure to report absences can constitute absence without a valid cause.
Transportation
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked through this year’s bus routes and each child’s schedule for arrival and dismissal. Thank you to Mrs. DeBoer for managing our district’s transportation routes and arranging student schedules. Mrs. DeBoer is always available for any transportation questions or needs. LW210 Transportation can be reached at (815)717-3310.
Snack & Water
K-2 students will be having snack DAILY. Each child may bring ONE pre-packaged or easily opened baggie snack. Children should be able to open their bag independently. The bag should be disposable. No dips or utensils, please!
Snack ideas that are less messy and more sustainable for a long morning or afternoon:
- raw vegetable - fruit - crackers - pretzels - dry cereal - goldfish - cheez-its - breakfast bar - granola bar - popcorn
Water bottles (reusable or disposable) should be LABELED and sent to school with students. Water bottles should be able to fully seal/close to avoid leaks and spills as much as possible.
Snack and water bottles are not provided by the school. If you need assistance with providing snack for your child, please contact Mrs. Worth or Mrs. Maher.
Smartwatches & Phones
As tools for communication continue to evolve and become more available to our students, it is important that our students are still developing skills to express their needs and communicate with adults at school. If your child is wearing or bringing a device to school, please help us by talking with them about the appropriate use of the device during school hours and on the bus. While students are here at school, adults at school and home should be involved in any communication. K-2 students are not permitted to use smart devices for non-emergent purposes during school hours.
Wilson Creek Family System
Family shirts can be purchased for $12 through our JemHedz Online Store. The store will be open until August 30th! If you are not yet sure what family your child is in, you can see the list of classes below.
Payton: Wilson Creek's Therapy Dog
We are happy to announce that our Wilson Creek therapy dog, Payton, will be back at school this year. Therapy dogs can benefit our staff and students in many ways including physical and mental health, and even helping students learn to read! Payton is a labradoodle. He is hypoallergenic and a certified therapy dog through Therapy Dogs International. Payton was introduced to our school last year after previous experience in LaGrange School District 102 and the Manhattan-Elwood Library along with his handler, Mrs. Tatar. Mrs. Tatar is one of our school social workers.
At Wilson Creek, we understand that animals are not for everyone. If you do not want your child to have direct interactions with Payton, please your child’s teacher know. Also, if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
You can follow him on instagram @paytonthetherapydoodle, too!
Student Accident Insurance Available
For information/application of optional Student Accident Insurance go to http://markel.sevencorners.com/. There is also a link on our school district website. Student Accident insurance is becoming more and more important to families due to lack of other insurance for their children or having major medical plans with ever- increasing deductibles & co-insurance requirements.
Parents can enroll online by the use of a dedicated secure enrollment website or by calling (877)444-5014. The website address is http://markel.sevencorners.com/.
On this website, you will be able to:
- View all of the coverage and premium options
- Review a Frequently Asked Questions section
- Purchase the insurance using a credit/debit card and receive an instant and printable confirmation of what they purchased
Stay Connected with MSD114
Go to www.manhattan114.org, the Manhattan 114 website for up-to-date information about all of our schools. Don’t forget to visit the Virtual Backpack on our website to learn about all kinds of exciting things for your children to join and do in the community.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if we can help clarify anything, provide direction, or do our best to answer questions that you have. We are here for you.
Sincerely,
Kim Maher, Principal
Megan Conlin, Assistant Principal
Wilson Creek Elementary School
Email: kmaher@manhattan114.org
Website: www.manhattan114.org
Location: 25440 South Gougar Road, Manhattan, IL, USA
Phone: (815)478-4527
Facebook: facebook.com/manhattanschooldistrict114
Twitter: @manhattansd114