Woodland Primary School Weekly

10/23-10/27 Red Ribbon Week (Spirit Days Information HERE)

10/25 Wildcat Wednesday!

10/26 Board of Education Meeting @7:00 (at the ESC 1105 Hunt Club Road, Gurnee)

10/27 Halloween Parade and Parties (See information included in this newsletter)

The Red Ribbon Campaign is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation, reaching millions of young people. Due to the age of our students, the Primary School teachers will focus on healthy choices instead of drug prevention. Our Red Ribbon Week is dedicated to teaching kids to respect their bodies by making healthy choices in food and activity. We will be teaching students about taking care of themselves with consistent routines and healthy choices.

We also have special spirit days to promote making healthy choices. Click HERE to see our spirit days!! These are all optional, but we encourage you to read the list with your child and pick the ones they would like to participate in next week.

On Wednesday, October 25th, we will practice our first lockdown drill in partnership with our Gurnee Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Our teachers will be preparing students for this drill with a special video as well as a lesson that gives step-by-step directions.

This year we have already done our bus evacuation drill and our fire drills. With each drill our students have done a fabulous job of being attentive and following the direction of the staff so that the drill is executed with fidelity. By working with our local police agencies, we are able to get constructive feedback so that in each drill we improve our efficiency and accuracy in detail.

Our October Wildcat Wednesday is on October 25th! Each month we have a community ROAR assembly with all of our kindergarten students. We call it, Wildcat Wednesday. The assembly features Wiley and it's a chance for us to review the ROAR expectations, celebrate the ROAR winners of the month, and build relationships as a kindergarten community.

Each month we have a special skit put on by our Woodland staff members that focuses on a ROAR expectation or theme. This Wednesday our topic is school safety. We encourage everyone to wear our school colors (green and white) or their Woodland Spirit Wear! It's a great time to show our Woodland pride, review our behavior expectations, and show school spirit. Go Woodland Wildcats!

Did you know that our teachers continue to learn and grow? Our District 50 staff has been fortunate to work with Cheryl Fondren, a representative from Solution Tree, who has more than 30 years of experience in education. She met with teacher teams this week to focus on supporting our students with strong core instruction and meaningful interventions that are based on student data.

This is a great investment in our teachers that will have a positive impact on all of our students. Growing and learning isn't just for kids!

Contest Rules

(click HERE to see the flyer and examples!)

The contest is open to all Woodland D50 students in grades K-8.

Posters must be related to the theme.

All entries must be:

On the D50 “ATTEND TODAY - ACHIEVE TOMORROW” entry form (8.5”x11” paper).

Or, you can use your own white, 8.5” x 11” piece of paper and attach it to the entry form.

Be sure to complete the information at the top of the entry form.

Entries can not be submitted by email. Hard copies must be turned in to the school office.

Posters must include the “ATTEND TODAY - ACHIEVE TOMORROW” logo.

Posters should Illustrate at least one reason attendance is important.

Artwork can be original hand drawn and colored, or original computer-generated artwork.

Posters will be judged on creativity and originality, as well as having visual clarity and appeal.

Each student may only submit one entry.

All entries must be turned in to the school principal/office by October 31, 2023

Winners will be announced on November 3, 2023

Prizes

Each grade level winner (K-8) will receive a certificate of achievement and one framed, full-color

copy of their winning poster. The winning poster will also be displayed at the school.

The school-level winners will receive a certificate of achievement, a $25 gift card, and one full-

color copy of their winning poster. The winning poster will also be displayed at the school and the district office.

The District-level winner in grades K-8 will receive a gift basket, a certificate of achievement, a $25 gift card, and one full-color copy of their winning poster. The winning poster will also be displayed

at the school and the district office.

All winners will be invited to attend the D50 November Board of Education Meeting to receive a

certificate of achievement and say the pledge of allegiance.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Warren Newport Library and Woodland! On Saturday, October 21st. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Woodland will participate with Warren Newport Library in the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration.

The event will be open to the general public, there will be fun activities, traditional music, and the display of artwork made by Woodland District 50 School artists.

Woodland Primary students are working on a special paper mural highlighting artist, Frida Kahlo. (See a sneak peek of it below!) We hope to see you at the library!

Click HERE to see all of the amazing activities they have planned for Hispanic Heritage.

Primary Halloween Plans

The Primary students and staff are celebrating Halloween on Friday, October 27, 2023. Below are the different planned activities. If Halloween isn't an event that your family celebrates, please note that all activities are optional. Reach out to your child’s teacher so that alternate activities can be arranged.

Costumes

Students are invited to wear costumes for Halloween. If students choose to dress up, they need to come to school dressed in their costumes. We also ask that the guidelines below be followed so that the day is enjoyable and safe for all students.

• Costume masks will not be worn inside the school. If they choose to wear a costume mask outdoors, they need to have clear vision when walking.

• All costumes need to be appropriate for this grade level. Blood, toy guns, toy weapons, or anything encouraging violence is prohibited.

• Costumes should allow students to do normal daily activities, this includes recess and PE.

• Your child should be able to use the restroom independently when in costume. Please be sure that your child knows how their costume pieces work so that they are able to do all of their daily routines and bring all of their pieces home.

Parade & Party Information

We will have a Primary parade and party for our students to celebrate Halloween. We will have an AM and a PM time for our EC/WELE students, our kindergarten students will all participate in the PM parade time. (See times below.)

The parade will be held outside and all parents/caregivers are welcome to watch the parade. Parents should park in the parking lot and stand by the edges of the bus lane. Students will come out by class and walk in the bus lane. If there is inclement weather, the parade will be canceled and held indoors for students and staff only. If the parade is canceled, the information will be communicated to parents.

Halloween Party

Students will return to their classroom following the parade for their party time. Four volunteers per classroom are allowed to help with the classroom party. Your classroom’s head parent will be reaching out to schedule volunteers. Food isn’t served during our parties, children will eat their regular snacks sent in during the party. Games and crafts will be the focus of our celebration. Please do not send in food, goody bags are allowed, but should be food-free and not contain items that are choking hazards. Thank you!

Activity Times:

Kindergarten: Room Parent Arrival Time; 12:05 PM

Parade; 12:15 PM-12:35 PM

Party; 12:45 PM- 1:45 PM

AM EC/WELE: Room Parent Arrival Time: 8:40 AM

Parade: 8:45 AM-9:15 AM

Party; 9:15 AM-10:10 AM

PM EC/WELE: Room Parent Arrival Time; 12:05 PM

Parade; 12:15 PM-12:35 PM

Party; 12:45 PM-1:45 PM

We look forward to a wonderful day together!

We had our first Primary Parent Advisory Committee meeting earlier this week. We had a productive meeting and had a great time getting to know each other as we plan to work closely together this year!

The goal of this committee is to provide parents and caregivers with a structured forum to share their opinions and perspectives, discuss important school topics, and develop recommendations in a focused, small-group setting.

It's not too late to join! This committee will meet monthly and will include staff representation from the Primary School. If you are interested in being a part of this committee, please contact me and I will put you on the list. We are meeting virtually on the second Wednesday of every month.

This is your chance to use your voice to provide constructive feedback and help us improve our systems and school community relations.

Mrs. Carruthers is our Kindergarten Family Coordinator and she is here to support our students and families. Each month she will share some tips and resources. If you have specific questions about the Primary School or resources we have to support families, reach out and she is happy to help!

Email: kcarruthers@dist50.net

Phone: (847) 984-8780

Temper Tantrums: Expressing big emotions

October Feature

Responding to a child’s temper tantrum or meltdown is one of the most challenging situations parents have to navigate. As our child’s first teacher, we can help our children learn healthy ways to express these big emotions. Learning this skill will help them be a better student and friend.

The following links provide you with tools to master this skill as a parent:

• Conscious Discipline - Dr. Becky Bailey explains how to respond to a tantrum. - 6-minute video

• How to Help Children Calm Down - Child’ Mind Institute 6:45 minute video

• Child’s Mind Institute - How to Handle Tantrums and Meltdowns: Tips for helping children learn better ways to express powerful emotions (you can listen or read the article at this link).

• Calm Breathing Techniques: STAR Breathing, Balloon Breathing, Drain Breathing, Pretzel Breathing

How to use closed captioning to translate a Youtube video into Spanish

How to use closed captioning to translate a Youtube video into another language.

For more information and videos on parenting, visit the Primary School Parent Resource Hub

Dunkfest 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament is returning on Friday 10/20! All 3rd-8th grade students are eligible to participate. REGISTER TODAY! All teams must register by 10/17. Click HERE for details and registration.

-WSRA Trunk-or-Treat, Sunday 10/22, 1-3pm. $3/participant, Registration Required

Principal

Woodland Primary School

Email: standerson@dist50.net
Website: www.dist50.net
Location: 17366 West Gages Lake Road, Gages Lake, IL, USA
Phone: 847-984-8702
Twitter: @StaceyJAnd