Parent Review Committee

Woodlawn has a couple of spots open for parents to sit on our Parent Review Committee.  The committee meets monthly and works with our district office on our new initiatives, giving feedback and informing the community of our programs.  If you are interested in serving on the Parent Review Committee, please e-mail me at ggrana@kcsd96.org.

Thanks,

Greg Grana

August 30, 2012

Woodlawn community,

Big News!! The Woodlawn Principals’ Blog has hit 100 followers!  Chris Murphy and I would like to thank everyone who has made this dubious honor possible.  We started out with a computer and a template.  Now, 100 people react to pearls of wisdom…wait, that might be a little strong, 100 people anxiously await our insights and the thinking of two charismatic leaders…again, too much...100 people are informed about the business that goes on here at Woodlawn.  Much better.  My hope is that no one drops out at this point…that would be embarrassing.

Our 6^th graders are adapting to middle school very well, 7^th graders are doing a great job and our 8^th graders have been terrific!  I hope the beginning of your school year at home has been as positive as ours. I am looking to create more leadership opportunities for all of our students.  Looking to the future, I believe it is critical that the students take a more active role on the subject of bullying.  Mr. Murphy and I talked to the students about expectations on their first full day of school.  Our expectations of Woodlawn students is one thing, what we are shooting for is to have the students raise their expectations for each other.  I will keep you informed about this topic as the school year goes on. 

Normally in this blog, you receive a note that says check out the PTO newsletter link above.  However, today I am reminding everyone to check out the following items because our PTO numbers for special lunch and dessert day are way down.   If you haven’t registered your student for these special days, you need to do so immediately!  The deadline for sign up is Friday, August 31st.  Please click on the following links to print out the forms and get them turned in by Tuesday! DO THIS NOW SO YOU DO NOT FORGET!!!  Also, if you haven’t registered your Dominick’s fresh value card to the eScrip program, please do this as well.  We made a lot of money for the school simply by parents registering their fresh values card. 

Here are the items: Dessert Day, Special Lunch and eScrip. 

Quite often, we work with Stevenson High School and share our fundraising opportunities.  With the passing our beloved teacher, Mrs. Linda Downie, this fundraiser seems appropriate. A former student asked if I could mention Spirit Fest and put in this blurb.   

September 15th will be Stevenson High School’s annual Spirit Fest. Last year we raised over $20,000 for CASA. This year’s charity is the Lauri S. Bauer Foundation for Sudden Loss. The Lauri S. Bauer Foundation subsidizes grief counseling and other forms of support for the physical and spiritual journey of recovery for those who have suffered a loss. You can find out more about the charity on their website. Spirit Fest is for families with children of all ages. There is music, food, inflatables, the Spirit Walk, a teacher dunk tank, and we will be attempting to break the world record for longest glow-in-the-dark salsa line. We finish Spirit Fest with a firework show. It’s a lot of fun and we hope you can join us. Go here for more information and to sign up for the event. Can’t wait to see you there! (If you are unable to get the link to the Spirit Walk, please visit the Stevenson High School website.)

For those interested in poms/cheerleading at the high school level, there is a link to a camp that our P.E. teacher Mrs. Blair supports through SHS.  Please visit our district website for that link.  

Finally, all baseball season, I didn’t want to believe in my White Sox.  Now it is September and they are in first place.  I am on board.  Any Cub fan wanting to get on the bandwagon, I have the appropriate paper work to fill out.  You will need a crayon. 

Have a safe Labor Day weekend.  

p.s.  My wife is a follower to this blog, I didn't realize that fact.  She was not pleased with the number of fantasy football leagues I am in.  Sorry dear.  

Linda Downie

Dear Woodlawn Community,

It is with much sadness that I inform you that our beloved Speech Teacher, Mrs. Linda Downie, passed away after battling cancer for the past few months.  Linda has been teaching in District 96 for over 20 years.  Linda began her District 96 career at Ivy Hall School and has been in our building since we opened in September of 1999.  Linda was a positive leader in our building and an advocate for children.  Please pass this information on to any former parents and students.  Linda is survived by her husband Kevin and her two children, Megan and Philip.

A service will be held for Linda this Saturday, September 1, 2012.   The location is First Presbyterian Church, 302 North Dunton Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL 60004 beginning at 2p.m.  There will also be a reception to follow at the church.

And we're off!!!

Click here or above to see the PTO NEWSLETTER!

We are off and running in the 2012-13 school year!  It was a long week, but a very good week here at Woodlawn.  I was telling the parents at curriculum night last evening that I do not remember a start to the school year that began as smoothly as this one.  Thank you to all of our PTO volunteers and the patience shown by all to make this such a great beginning. 

The students have been outstanding and I am thrilled with the way they are working together to make Woodlawn an even better place to be.  We had a fun assembly to kick things off on Wednesday, and went right to work.  I had the privilege of getting into some classrooms and actually feeling the excitement in those rooms. 

We have been doing some things for so long that I have take it for granted that everyone just knows how the systems work.  A question came up recently surrounding the activity busses and how they work.  At the end of the school day (2:30p.m.), the students go home on any one of 15 busses.  At 3:15p.m. there are 4 late busses to take students home.  The drivers of the late busses are veteran drivers who ask students where they live and have the ability to get the students home as quickly as possible.  The route is longer and could take up to 45 minutes to get home.  If anyone has questions surrounding any Woodlawn procedure, please do not hesitate to ask me and quite possibly, it could wind up in the blog. 

Picture Day is this Tuesday, August 28^th.  Your student should have brought home a picture form for you to fill out. 

On Monday, we will be sending home the letter which includes the parent ID and password and the students ID and password for parent access to PowerSchool. This is slightly different this year because parents need to create their own parent account. The first time you log in, you will be asked to create your parent account.  (You cannot miss it on the webpage.)  If anyone has trouble signing in, please call the Woodlawn office. 

Have a great week!  

Mr. G- 

p.s.  I have my first of 4 fantasy football drafts this Saturday...Don't tell my wife that I am in 4 leagues.

We are back and ready to roll!

Woodlawn Families,

I know middle school students and I am sure that they are excited to be back.  Parents, after this brutally hot summer, I bet you are even more excited to be sending them back!  Congratulations on surviving the summer.

We are going to kick of the 2012-13 school year with our regular Woodlawn activities.

Monday, August 20th---------6th Grade Curriculum Night-------7-8:30p.m.
This evening is for parents only.  Please bring a copy of your 6th graders schedule and meet me in the main gym to kick off the evening.

Tuesday, August 21st--------Locker Set Up----------4-7p.m.  
Students can put all of their supplies in their lockers, walk to hallways to find their classroom and socialize with everyone they have missed over the summer.  Parents, remember that the PTO will have a bunch of tables set up, including PE uniforms, sign up sheets, and loads of important information for you to see.  Make sure your student brings their locker number and combination!

Wednesday, August 22nd--------The First Day of School!  (1/2 Day)
Classes run from 7:45a.m.-11:10a.m.

Thursday, August 23rd--------7/8th Grade Curriculum Night 7-8:30p.m.
Once again, this evening is for parents only.  Please bring a copy of your 7th or 8th graders schedule and meet me in the main gym to kick off the evening.

POWERSCHOOL PARENT ACCESS

This year, parents are able to set up their own account with a user name and password that you select. To do so, please log into the parent PowerSchool portal and click "Create Account". You'll create your own user name and password. You will then type in each of your children's names, and for each student, enter the user ID into the "Access ID" field,  and password into the "Access Password" field. The user ID and password were mailed with each child's schedule. You can link all your children to your account, so please follow the prompts. If you need any assistance, please call the Twin Groves office. We are always happy to assist. Student user names and passwords will be be distributed at school, so your only job is to set up your parent account.  (We will discuss this at the curriculum evenings.  This is important new information.) 

Plan ahead to DO THE DASH on Sept. 23

Join District 96 families, teachers, and staff for the 2nd annual District 96 Dash. The 5k walk/run will step off from Twin Groves Middle School, 2600 N. Buffalo Grove Rd., at 8:30 a.m. on Sun., Sept. 23. resgister online (each registered runner and walker will receive a T-shirt) and mark your calendar for this fun family activity that all ages will enjoy. All the PTOs in District 96 are working together to sponsor this event and will donate the proceeds to the District 96 Kids in Need Fund. If you are unable to run, please consider making a DONATION. 

I am very excited to see everyone and ready for a great school year!  

Greg Grana

P.S.  If you are not a follower of this blog, 84 current followers know that they have access to instant Woodlawn information.  

Has anyone seen my summer?

Holy cow, that was fast!  I hope you're all as excited as I am to get the year rolling.

Here are just a few reminders about next week at Woodlawn...

Monday, 8/20
       - 6g Parent Curriculum Night, 7pm
       - Individualized Learning Community (ILC) Open House, 6:30-7:30pm

Tuesday, 8/21
       - Locker Set-up, Open House, 4-7pm
       - Board of Education Meeting, Ivy Hall, 7pm

Wednesday, 8/22
       - First 1/2 day of school, Early Dismissal @ 11:10am

Thursday, 8/23
       - First Full day of school
       - 7/8g Parent Curriculum Night, 7pm

Friday, 8/24
       - It's Friday!

For regularly updated District 96 calendars for Willow Grove Kindergarten Center, Elementary Schools, and Middle Schools, bookmark the following link:

http://www.kcsd96.org/family/calendar.htm

See y'all soon!
Chris