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Happy Sunday, Willard Families! 💙

Congratulations to any Seahawks fans celebrating tonight's Super Bowl victory!

The next few weeks are packed with activities and important events. Please take a moment to read through this newsletter carefully, especially the key dates at the bottom. If you have any questions or need clarification about anything, don't hesitate to reach out—I'm here to help!

Conference Sign-Up Reminder: Please sign up for a conference time on Tuesday or Wednesday, either in-person or virtual. During conferences, we'll have Chromebooks available and district staff on hand to answer questions about school choice, registration, and enrollment processes.

Thank you all for being such wonderful families to work with. We're looking forward to connecting with you and welcoming you in this week!

Best,

AP Ernvall

The Week of February 2nd: Families should have received a letter for each of their children in D65. This letter should have detailed where each student has been assigned to go to school next year (2026-27 school year).

Families will be asked to log into PowerSchool and do one of three things by March 1st:

1. Accept their school assignment (no further action needed)
2. Request a Permissive Transfer
3. Request a Return to Home School

These steps will be explained in detail in the letter.

February 2nd: Registration Opens for Kindergarten and Rising 6th Graders!

The Week of February 9th: Willard's Parent-Teacher Conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both days will have District Staff present to answer questions and clarifications regarding paperwork, process, or next steps. Both Principal Battle and AP Ernvall will be present for support in completing selections, logging into powerschool, or answering questions.

March 1st: All permissive transfer requests MUST be submitted by 11:59 p.m. March 1, 2026, to be considered for the 2026-27 school year.

For More Information: Please see the District Website Link Specifically

Please mark you calendars if you are exploring your options, and feel free to share these dates with anyone interested in learning more about Willard! These are two school tour dates— and we also have our perspective family open house on Feb 24th!

Lincolnwood:

Wednesday, February 11, 8:00-8:45am

Friday, February 20, 8:00-8:45am

Willard:

Tuesday, February 17, 8:15-9:00am

Wednesday, February 18, 4:45-5:30pm

Orrington:

Thursday, February 12 - 8:15-8:45 a.m.

Wednesday, February 25 - 8:15-8:45 a.m.

Willard School invites families to a 60-minute African Diaspora Celebration honoring the powerful musical traditions of Gospel, Jazz, and Blues. The program will feature music led by Vernon Clark and the Second Baptist Church Choir, music from the Willard Student Choir, and Willard students sharing the history of each genre. Following the celebration, families are welcome to continue listening to this inspiring works of music by listening to various artists of gospel, blues and jazz while enjoying dinner provided by Jennifer Eason formerly of Jennifer's Edibles. We will also have crafts in the library and a quiet classroom space will also be available.

Tuesday, TUEsday, TUESDAY! We will be celebrating the 100th Day of School!

Mark your calendars! The Winter session wraps up on March 6, and our exciting Spring session runs from March 9 through May 22.

Spring Registration: Opens February 9 and closes March 22

Discovery Clubs Scholarship Update:
The district has updated the scholarship process! Here's what you need to know:

• One scholarship per club per session is available to families
• Interested families should contact Willard administration directly to inquire about eligibility
• If approved, you'll receive a coupon code to use during registration
• Scholarships are limited—once all codes are distributed, no additional scholarships will be available for that session

Questions about registration? Contact Right at School. Questions about scholarships? Reach out to our school office!

We think we may have mixed up blankets when families returned their Camp Willard materials. If you ended up with an extra blanket that doesn't belong to you and you don't need it, we'd love to get it back to the family who donated it.

Please feel free to return it to the school office when you get a chance. Thank you so much!

Registration is now open for students entering 6th grade next year. We've made the process easier with our new system through the PowerSchool parent portal. You'll need a parent portal account to register (no snapcode required).

We sent an email on Monday, January 26th with details about getting started. We'd really appreciate it if you could complete registration as soon as possible—it helps us plan for classroom assignments and seating.

Important upcoming dates:

• Lottery applications open February 2nd (with a new, simplified process)
• Permissive Transfer applications are due March 1st

Thank you for taking the time to register early—it makes a big difference for our planning!

Questions about this topic? Please contact: registrationinfo@district65.net

Hello all! My name is Fiona Cantorna, and I am the Willard Site Director for Books and Breakfast. For those of you who are not yet familiar with our program, we are a before-school program offering a nutritious breakfast, academic tutoring, and social connection in D65 elementary schools. Here is an informational flyer that should answer any questions you may have regarding our program and our partnership with various D65 PTAs.

We are looking for volunteers to fill the weekly food shopper role. Contact Neha Haque nehah@booksbreakfast.org or willardowlspta@gmail.com, if interested.

When: Feb 17 from 4:30-5:30pm on Google Meet

Who: All are welcome to attend. Together we're focusing on building a brighter, healthier, more equitable future for our children. Click here for February 17 meeting details.

Learn more about our local artist Holly Greenberg and Bird Collisions in the Anthropocene.

Washington is hosting an event with Screen Sense Evanston. It is a parent education event about how we can support our kids and make decisions about technology. Everyone is invited so please share the information broadly!

Presentation will be in English but handouts/resources will be available in both Spanish and English.

Where: Washington auditorium
When: Wed. 2/18 from 6 - 7:30pm

Event is free and registration is not required, but it is great if we can get an idea of the headcount by having folks sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4AA8AF23AAF8C61-61583356-screen

*Unfortunately we aren't able to provide childcare for this event

The 5th annual District 65 PTA One Fund Native Plant Sale is live! Select from a wide variety of native plants, shrubs and trees and order by Friday, February 21. Proceeds from this district-wide plant sale helps fund every District 65 school via the PTA Equity Project's One Fund Initiative.

Pre-order pick-up will be held on Saturday, May 23 from 10am to 1pm in the Chute Middle School courtyard (1400 Oakton St., Evanston). A limited number of plants, shrubs, and trees will also be available for sale. Late pick-up is available!

To view the items available and make a purchase, please visit https://go.rallyup.com/2026nativeplantsale/Campaign/Details.

Donations to plant wildflowers and trees on D65 school grounds are also accepted.

Don’t miss a beat with all things Willard PTA! 🦉 Check out the Weekly Newsletter for the latest happenings, membership info, and our handy directory. If you missed the latest Owl Notes, click here to catch up!

February:

• 9th: D65 Committee of the Whole meeting (5:00-7:00pm)
• 10th: 100th Day of School!
• 10th: Willard Parent-Teacher Conferences (4:00-6:00pm)
• 11th: Peace Pep Rally #2 (All School)
• 11th: Willard Parent-Teacher Conferences (4:00-7:00pm)
• 13th: Non Attendance Day
• 17th: D65 Sustainability Community Meeting (Virtual)
• 18th: Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee meeting (6:00-7:00pm)
• 20th: African Diaspora Night at Willard (6:00-7:45pm)
• 23rd: D65 Regular Board Meeting (6:00-8:00pm)
• 24th: Willard New Families Spring Open House Grades 1st-5th