Principal's Update 04-26-2013, 05-03-2013, and 05-10-2013

It has been a busy last month of school! Needless to say, I have a lot to share from those weeks!

Willow Creek School was highlighted at the Board of Education Meeting on Monday, April 22nd. As a result, staff and students presented to the Board on how we are implementing the District #68 Academic Transformation Plan. Specifically, they shared examples that demonstrate how each component of F.O.C.U.S. are being utilized in the classrooms with students. Our students blew the board and audience away, as they did an excellent job sharing all of their learning!



Our Academic Open House this year was well attended! Thank you to all of our parents who volunteered to assist with the Book Fair or the Ice Cream Social! The funds raised will benefit our students next year! A special "Thank You" goes out to Dina Grace Bielawski and Mrs. Thygesen for coordinating the Book Fair! Also, a big "Thank You" to our Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts who served the ice cream!!



On Tuesday, April 30th, our Literacy Enrichment students performed their version of the Shakespeare play Antigone. The students first started by reading and interpreting the text to understand it in order to be able to accurately act it out. The students worked hard to memorize their lines for the performance and they demonstrated excellent stage presence!



The 6th Graders had their D.A.R.E. graduation on May 1st. Junior High Assistant Principal, Justin Warnke, was the guest speaker at the graduation. His message to students was about making good choices and thinking before acting in order to ensure that they make smart choices and understand that by using good decision making strategies they can ensure a positive future for themselves, especially at JJH next year. Several students were chosen to read their final DARE essays to the entire group by Officer Bean, as they had great messages to share based on what they had learned throughout the program! 



Friday, May 10th was our annual Field Day! A huge "Kudos" goes out to Mrs. Bailey who planned an awesome day for our students. Also, a big "thank you" goes out to all of our parents and community members who volunteered their time in order to help set-up or run a game. Without their help, this event would not have been nearly as successful as it was! Our students really enjoyed participating in all of the fun activities that were available to them! 



Also, a big "Thank You" goes out to Stacey Bretwisch and the Willow Creek PTO for making our teachers and staff feel so special during Teacher Appreciation Week! Our teachers truly loved receiving all of the little gifts form students each day, special treats from the PTO, and they enjoyed the staff luncheon on Thursday! Our students were so thoughtful with all of their kind words and thoughtful gestures throughout the week. Thank you to all of our parents who assisted and encouraged their children to recognize our staff!

An additional blog post will be coming out shortly with more pictures and information about end of the year activities we have had in the last few weeks. Please be sure to note, we did not have a records day this year and our students official last day will be Thursday, May 30th.

Finally, I sent out the message below to parents via e-mail last week. Please consider taking a few minutes to complete the survey. I know the original link I provided was not working correctly, but I believe the one I included below should work. 

Willow Creek School now qualifies for Schoolwide Title 1 status, which makes us eligible for federal grant funding. In order to determine specific Title 1 needs at Willow Creek, the federal government has asked us to acquire additional information from parents to help us plan. We are considered eligible for Title I because the free and reduced lunch percentage at WC has reached the 40% mark. As a result, once again, I would greatly appreciate parents taking 3-5 minutes to take the survey that will provide us with the information we need to plan for the funding. This survey is different than the 5Essentials survey you completed earlier this year but is also very brief. You may access the survey by clicking on the link below. The parent/community survey is LIVE at this link: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e7hokftthgo4apsl/start
It will automatically close at 11:55pm on May 28th.

Upcoming Dates to Remember: 
Tuesday, May 28th: 3rd Grade Picnic
                                   4th Grade Picnic
                                   5th Grade Picnic
                                   District Awards Night, JJH, 7 p.m. 
Wednesday, May 29th: 5th Grade Field Trip to Cantigny 
                                        1st Grade Picnic
                                        6th Grade Picnic and Party
Thursday, May 30th: Last Day of School
                                     Report Cards Go Home
                                     Kindergarten Picnics
                                     Primary Awards Assembly, 9:00 a.m.
                                     Intermediate Awards Assembly, 9:30 a.m. 
                                     Talent Show, 1:15 p.m. 
June 1st: Online Registration for the 2013-2014 Begins

Check out the pictures below of some of the students whose names were chosen in the "Positive Paws" raffle!