Wildcat Weekly

Dates:

• September 15 - October 15th - Hispanic Heritage Month

We are honoring Hispanic Heritage month here at Whitehead! Did you know that over 54% of our population is bilingual? We have such a melting pot of diversity here at Whitehead! In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, we will be having a spirit week! Details are listed below:

• Monday, September 29th: Red, White and Green for Mexico
• Tuesday, September 30th: White and Blue for Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, Uruguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador
• Wednesday, October 1st: Red, White and Blue for Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chile, Costa Rica, Perú, Panamá, Dominican Republic
• Thursday, October 2nd: Red, Yellow, Blue and Green for Spain, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia

If you are NOT participating in our spirit week, please remember to wear your uniform!

• October 3rd - NO SCHOOL (Teacher Institute Day)
• October 9th - PTO @4:30 in the Teacher's Lounge
• October 13th - NO SCHOOL (Columbus Day)
• October 30th - Fall Picture RETAKES (Uniform Required)
• October 30th - Skate Night @5:30-7:30 at Skateland

Wear a costume (no masks or look alike weapons) and come out to skate with your administrators!

• October 31st - Students are NOT allowed to wear costumes, however our theme this year is from the movie "UP"! In honor of our theme, we are encouraging our students to dress up as Russel, the wilderness scout, on October 31st! I have included a picture of him here :)

**All Spirit Wear orders are being processed in September!**

Have you heard your kiddos talking about the Wildcat House System? Well we are pretty excited about it! All students at Whitehead elementary will be sorted into one of four houses: Isibinidi (Green), Reveur (Blue), Altruismo (Black), or Amistad (Red).

Why are we doing this??

The house system was developed by a gentleman named, Ron Clark. He developed this system to create a sense of community within his school. The house system combines students and staff across grade levels and languages allowing a school to foster a sense of community and belonging. Students get to know other students and staff they might otherwise never know. Everyone participates in various assemblies, games, and event nights all while learning about comradery and good sportsmanship.

What do I need to do?

Please reiterate the message at home, "4 Houses, 1 Family"! Though we all have spirit for our individual houses, we are all one big Wildcat Family! Also, join in the fun! Encourage your kiddo to wear their house colors on Fridays and if you'd like, visit the Ron Clark store to order merch! (Please note this site is not affiliated or ran by Whitehead elementary).

Kindergarten Families!

We will be sorting our kindergarteners into houses on Friday, August 29th at 1:15! Families are welcome to join in this celebration! If you are interested in joining us, please come in through Door D at 1:15. We will not be able to open the doors early as we do have a PE class going on prior to our ceremony.

Hi! I’m Kari Szeto, and this is my 5th year as the nurse at Whitehead Elementary. My goal is to keep all our students healthy and safe at school.

•Hearing and vision screenings are ongoing.

•If your child needs dental care, please contact the nurse. The district offers dental services for all children. Good dental care plays a big part in overall health.

•Fifth graders will have an assembly on Tuesday, September 30, featuring Sophia (Miss Illinois Teen USA) and Dr. Amy Brodsky. They will discuss sun protection and answer questions.

Just a friendly reminder:

Please make sure you are going 10 MPH or less in our parking lot and remember, you can only turn RIGHT out of the parking lot. This is for the safety of all our children, to help decrease traffic at our crosswalk, and to help with the flow of traffic. We really appreciate your attention to these details!