Western Weekly

We have wrapped up another amazing week at Western Avenue, filled with exciting activities, meaningful learning experiences, and lots of reading!

This week, we celebrated literacy in a big way with our Literacy Night and Alpha Dads Storytime! A special thank you to all the families who joined us for Literacy Night and helped make it such a memorable event. We also want to extend a huge thank you to all the dads who volunteered their time to visit classrooms and read to our students. Your involvement and support make a lasting impact on our school community!

Our 1st grade students also enjoyed a wonderful field trip to Johnson's Farm, where they had the opportunity to learn and explore outside the classroom. Meanwhile, our 1st and 2nd grade students have been working hard preparing for their upcoming concerts. We cannot wait to see them showcase their talents!

As we look ahead, we have several exciting activities and events taking place next week. Please take a moment to review the upcoming dates and reminders below so you don't miss anything.

Our October Monthly Incentive will be Extra Recess, and we are already looking forward to our Quarterly Incentive, a Glow Stick Party! We hope to see all of our students meet the expectations to participate!

🐺 Coming Up This Week at Western

We have another busy week ahead!

• October 20: 1st grade Concert 6pm - 2nd Grade Concert 7pm

Thank you, Western Avenue families, for your continued partnership and support. We are looking forward to another great week of learning, growing, and making positive choices.

Let’s continue to Lead the Pack! 🐺

Dental Examination Eye Examination

Please schedule appointments and submit all completed health forms to the School Nurse as soon as possible.

Thank you for helping us keep our students healthy, safe, and ready to learn!

Late Arrival Begins at 8:40 a.m.
Students arriving at 8:40 a.m. or later must be walked into the building and signed in by a parent or guardian.

Arrival and Dismissal

For the safety of all students and families, please do not cross through the car line during morning arrival or dismissal while vehicles are present. Please walk around the car line and use the designated crosswalks when crossing.

Additionally, during dismissal, please do not allow students to play on the playground near the Kindergarten pick-up line, as this area becomes congested during dismissal. Families are welcome to use the playground located near the 5th-grade wing.

📅 Updated Upcoming Dates

• October 20 - 1st and 2nd Grade Concerts 6pm and 7pm
• October 23 - 4th and 5th Grade Choir Practice(7:30)
• October 29 - Fall Glow Party
• October 30 - Fall Party/ Early Release
• October 30 - Quarter 1 Ends

Please review our PBIS Focus of the Month and make sure you are familiar with the criteria students must meet to participate in this month’s incentive.

Students who meet the PBIS expectations will earn the opportunity to enjoy Extra Recess during our celebration on Oct 29🎉

We will continue reviewing the expectations and incentive criteria with students at school. We ask that families also take a few minutes to review them with your children at home. Thank you for partnering with us as we encourage our students to make positive choices and meet our schoolwide expectations!

See Something, Say Something We Are a Community

At Western Avenue, we are a community, and keeping our school safe, welcoming, and respectful is everyone’s responsibility. We want our students to understand the importance of “If you see something, say something.”

If a student sees or hears unkind behavior, a situation that could potentially become physical, threats, bullying, or any behavior that could disrupt the safety of our school community, we expect them to connect with a trusted adult immediately. Students should not stand by and watch a situation escalate or encourage it. Getting an adult is not “tattling” it is making a responsible choice to help keep yourself and others safe.

Our goal is to teach students that they are an important part of our school community. When we look out for one another, speak up, and seek help when something does not feel right, we help make Western Avenue a safer and stronger place for everyone.

Attendance Results

10/13 - 10/16

Overall - 95%

Kindergarten- 92.25%

1st - 93.34%

2nd - 95.31%

3rd - 95.56%

4th - 96.38%

5th - 96.39%

PTO Board

Instructional Day

Monday - Friday:

8:30 - 8:40 - Arrival

8:40 - 3:15 - Instructional day

Attendance

If your child will not be attending live class due to sickness, appointment, family obligation, or

other issues please contact the main office. You can email Ms. Sturdivant or Ms. Donahue.

Contact: 708 - 647 - 7400 asturdivant@sd161.org, mdonahue@sd161.org

Birthday Treats

We love celebrating our learners on their birthdays. However, as a reminder students are only allowed to bring NON-EDIBLE birthday things to share. Some ideas that students have brought in are pencils, play-dough, stickers, crayons, glow sticks, etc.

Technology Reminder

We understand that many students bring cell phones and Smart Watches to school, which is acceptable. However, cell phones must remain in book bags during the school day. Students with smart watches may not use them to send text messages or make phone calls. If these devices are used inappropriately, it will result in a technology violation.

• Health Requirement:

• Students entering preschool, kindergarten, and students who are new to the District must provide proof of the required Illinois State physical examination and immunizations.

• All required health documentation must be submitted by October 15, 2026 to the school nurse. Students who have not met these requirements by this date will be excluded from school beginning October 15, 2026, in accordance with Illinois requirements, until the necessary documentation is received.

• Please note: A sports physical does not meet the Illinois school physical examination requirement.

• 2026-27 Student / Parent Handbook

Students wishing to partake in BREAKFAST will enter Door F (8:25) and proceed to the cafeteria/gym

Transportation Updates

Early Check-Out

If you need to check your child(ren) out early, please make arrangements no later than 2:35 p.m. This allows us time to prepare and ensures a safe and efficient process for all students.

Lunch Delivery Reminder

To help minimize disruptions to student learning, food deliveries from services such as DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, or similar delivery platforms are not permitted for students.

If you need to bring your child a lunch, we kindly ask that you deliver it before or during your child's scheduled lunch period. Delivering lunches during lunchtime helps ensure that students do not miss valuable instructional time while waiting for or eating their meal.

Thank you for your cooperation and partnership in supporting a productive learning environment for all students.

School Transportation Information (Arrival/Dismissal)

Arrival/Drop Off Procedures

Elementary: 8:30 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. arrival

All students will enter the building upon arriving at school to prepare for the day.

Upon drop-off, students will enter the building at 8:30 a.m. and head to their classroom to

unpack and prepare for the day.

Teachers will be waiting for students outside of their classrooms.

Staff will be stationed throughout the grounds to help students navigate to their entry doors

and classes. (See map for entry points and drop-off.)

Stop/drop parking is allowed ONLY on the north side of Vardon Place and the west side of

Brassie Avenue.

Parents must walk their student to the crosswalk area.

DROP-OFF General Safety:

Pull up all the way in the car line until a staff member signals you to stop.

Have children walk to the crosswalk to cross the bus lane.

If your child is being dropped off on the nearby streets, they must walk down to the

crosswalk/concession area for a safe crossing, not between the vehicles.

Do NOT get out of your car in the car line or leave a parked vehicle in the car line.

Tardy:

Students who arrive after 8:40 am will need to be dropped off at the main entrance Door A.

All students must be signed in by an adult in the office if they arrive late.

You must use the entrance on Vardon and park to drop off your student.

NO drop-off/parking is allowed in the Fire/Bus lane off Western Avenue in front of the school.

This MUST stay clear at all times for emergency vehicles.

Arrival Guidelines (Bus Riders)

Bus information will be available in Skyward. If you see any issues,

please contact Virginia Garcia at 708-546-7072.

Once the bus arrives at the building, a staff member will dismiss the bus, and students will

proceed to their entrance door (see map below).

Walker No Parent Required Guidelines

Students allowed to walk home without a parent present will exit their designated doors and

walk home.

Car Rider/Walking Parent Guidelines

Walkers will be dismissed out the doors marked on the map below.

Parents walking to pick up students must have their car tag number.

Pull up all the way in the car line until a staff member signals you to stop.

Staff will relay which vehicle Pick Up Tag numbers are in the car line and have those students

ready to load in the vehicles.

Your child will be directed to your vehicle by a staff member. Parents in the car line need to

stay in the vehicle at all times. Staff will assist with opening car doors for younger students if

needed.

Email: mford@sd161.org

Website: https://www.sd161.org/o/western-avenue

Location: 940 Western Avenue, Flossmoor, IL, USA

Phone: Phone: 708-647-7400

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/district161wa

Twitter: @western161