10/4 District PBIS Spirit Day! (See information below!)

10/4 Wiley's Friday Focus Assemblies

10/11 Institute Day-No student attendance

10/14 Indigenous Peoples Day-no student attendance

10/18 Early Release & Shortened Schedule Friday

10/18 Early Childhood & WELE Special Event: Round Up!

10/25 Early Release and Shortened Schedule Friday

10/28-11/1 Red Ribbon Week

10/31 Primary Halloween Parade & Parties (See information below)

Special Friday Release Dates and Times for the 2024-2025 School Year

Just a reminder that our exclusion date is quickly approaching. We still have over 90 students that have missing or incomplete immunizations or forms completed.

Medical Form Requirements for the 2024-2025 School Year

• Required health forms and updated Allergy, Asthma, Seizure and Medication forms dated by the health care provider after June 6, 2024.

• Forms: https://www.dist50.net/page/health-services

• State of Illinois School Code REQUIRES Physical Exams with Immunizations be completed by October 10th.

• Student exclusion from school begins on October 16th for those who have not completed their physical exam and immunizations.

Please reach out to our health office if you have any questions. Letters have been sent to all families that are missing documents.

On Friday, October 18th, (early dismissal day), Woodland Primary Parents, guardians, or adult caregivers are invited to come with their students to connect with other families in our school, meet classmates, and have fun at Warren Township Park on the playground. Whether your student is in EC/WELE, Mono, or Dual Language Kindergarten, we encourage you to come out to play!

Date: Friday, October 18, 2024

Location: Warren Township Park - by WTHS & WMS

17801 W. Washington St.

Gurnee, IL 60031

Directions

We will meet to play at the “PLAYLOT” by Shelter A Map of Park

Stop by anytime from 1:15 PM - 2:30 PM

Siblings are welcome! Childcare, however, will not be provided. Children must have adult supervision at all times.

Please let us know you are coming (click the link below)

English

Spanish

If you have questions, please contact:

Lavonna Garner, EC/WELE Parent Facilitator - lgarner@dist50.net

Kristen Carruthers, Kindergarten Family Coordinator - kcarruthers@dist50.net

Our students have done a great job practicing our safety drills. This year we have held bus evacuation drills, a fire drill and a severe weather disaster drill. The last drill for us to practice is our lock down drill. We do this in partnership with the Gurnee Police Department, our School Resource Officers and the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Students are prepared ahead of time so that they understand we are only practicing our procedures.

If you don't want your child to participate in the lock down drill, please contact me in writing or your child's teacher by Wednesday, October 9th. The drill will be held on October 10th in the AM and in the PM sessions so that our preschool students participate.

Primary Halloween Plans

The Primary students and staff are celebrating Halloween on Thursday,

October 31, 2024. This information is being sent out early so that families can plan for costumes and review our guidelines.

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 are 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 on the sidewalk. 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 in an email and text message.

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 snack sent in during the party. Games and crafts will be the focus of our celebration. Please do not send in food or goody bags. Thank you!

If your family doesn’t celebrate Halloween, please reach out to your child’s teacher so that alternate activities can be arranged.

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-10:00 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!

October is here next week and that means we need your breakfast (K) or meal (Pre-k) orders. Please be sure that you are discussing with your child whether they are having breakfast or lunch at school. This helps them know what their day will look like and where to go when they arrive each day.

Kindergarten Breakfast Form Click HERE

EC/WELE Meal Form Click Here

Introducing WISE – Woodland Inclusion and Special Education Empowerment! This initiative started last year as a Special Education Resource Group for parents, and we are ready to bring you a whole new series of programs for year two. WISE will be a great place to connect with other district families, get to know Woodland staff members who can help with resources, and get answers to your questions.

Join us for the first WISE meeting of the 2024-2025 School Year:

• Date: Wednesday, Oct. 23
• Time: 5:30 - 7 p.m.
• Location: Woodland Educational Support Center (District Office)
• Register/RSVP

Topic: Managing Behaviors and Meltdowns: Strategies for Parents
Families will learn proactive strategies to de-escalate behavior and manage meltdowns. The session will also provide tips on how to help children with self-regulation.

Presenter: Stacey Cusenza, BCBA
With almost 20 years of experience in both education and behavior analysis, Stacey Cusenza has provided support to students, staff, and families in schools, clinics, and homes. She has expertise in a variety of disability areas and supports teams to put plans in place to help students be successful in the school setting.

Resources:

• Follow this page to see future meeting dates and topics.
• Contact: Vasiliki Frake, Director of Educational Services at vfrake@dist50.net.

Morgan Ghys, Miss Gurnee 2024 (and former Woodland student) needs your help! Morgan has once again partnered with Caring 4 Kids, a local organization helping children in need in the Gurnee community, to set up a Clothing Drive. She is collecting new and gently used hoodies and crewnecks to keep kids warm and comfortable as we head into fall and winter.

If you want to participate, collection boxes will be placed at each Woodland school and in the district office. We are accepting donations through Friday, Nov. 1. Morgan will be hosting an event at Gurnee Mills Mall on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and all donations brought to Woodland will be sent over for her event. If you want to show your support in person, you are welcome to stop by with your donations!

Second Tuesday Fundraiser: MOD Pizza 10/8, all day. 20% of sales will be donated to the PTA. Show this FLYER or enter code MODGIVES20 when ordering online. More DETAILS.

The annual SIGNATURE CHOCOLATE FUNDRAISER is LIVE!! All paper order forms and payments are DUE on Wed October 9th. This fundraiser is crucial to the success of the PTA and we appreciate your support!! More details.

Save the Date! - DunkFest 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament will be taking place on Friday 10/18. ALL 3rd-8th grade students are eligible to participate. More DETAILS and REGISTRATION.

October PTA Meeting, Thursday 10/17 at 7pm via ZOOM. REGISTRATION required.

Miss the Primary Book Fair? Families are still able to shop online HERE through October 7th. All online sales will count toward our totals.

Thursday 10/17, 7pm via ZOOM

Thursday 11/14, 9AM in person at ESC

TUESDAY 12/10, 7pm via ZOOM

Thursday 1/16, 9AM in person at ESC

Thursday 2/13, 7pm via ZOOM

Thursday 3/13, 9AM in person at ESC

Thursday 4/17, 7pm via ZOOM

Thursday 5/8, 9AM in person at ESC

We've added a new media forum to keep you in the know! We post on X, Snapchat and now Instagram! Find us and follow us to see lots of great pictures and happenings around Primary.