Principal's Update 09-19-2014 and 09-26-2014

Last Tuesday, we had many 6th Graders who were interested in trying out to be one of our morning announcers for the entire school! The students did such an excellent job, it was almost impossible for our staff to narrow it down to just five announcers. As a result, we will have two groups of morning announcers and the groups will rotate months saying the announcements for the school! In addition, we decided to have the remaining students serve as alternates, as we often have days when one of our regular scheduled announcers are unable to announce. At some point in the year, all students who were interested in being an announcer should have a turn! We have never had this happen before, but with the great try-outs, we felt that every interested student would do an excellent job announcing this year!

Information for our 5th grade students going to Outdoor Education this year was sent home with students last Monday. Students need to return all required forms for the trip by this coming Friday, October 3rd! The 5th graders at Willow Creek will be going on the Outdoor Education Trip from October 23rd - October 24th!

Permission Slips for Session #1 of our after school clubs went home last week and were due back by Friday. Students who were entered into the clubs should have received a letter home on Friday notifying them of their entrance into Session #1. We do have a waiting list for our Lego Engineering Club, as this was extremely popular. Students who are on the waiting list for this club also receive a letter notifying them of their status on the waiting list. Our after school clubs will begin this Tuesday and run through November 20th. The clubs will meet every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3-4 p.m. There will be additional opportunities for students to participate in after school clubs later in the year when we offer Session #2 from January 6th - February 26th and Session #3 from April 7th - May 28th.

Our all school Fun Run was held on Friday!! Thank you to all of our parents who volunteered for this event! This run would not be possible without our parents who help record students' number of laps, prepare water, hand out popsicles, and direct and cheer the students on throughout the run! A huge "Thank You" goes out to Jessica Venouziou, Nancy Llaneta, and Mrs. Bailey for all of their hard work preparing for and facilitating the event! It was also great to see so many parents and grandparents who came out to see the students run and cheer them on to keep going! Our students loved participating in the event and they did an excellent job walking or running for the entire time. We were lucky to have such beautiful weather! All funds raised for the Fun Run will go directly back to the students of Willow Creek throughout the school year. Money raised for the run is due to school by Friday, October 10th.



Comcast is currently running an offer for families to receive 6 months of free internet service for their home. The promotion has been extended through Tuesday, September 30th. Click on this link in order to learn more about this exciting opportunity and see if you qualify for this offer!

Woodridge School District 68 now has a Spanish-language Facebook page. This page is another way for parents to read news and information about happenings at our schools. Spanish speaking families are encouraged to visit the site today and give us a "Like"! The page is: Distrito Escolar de Woodridge 68. 

This week coming week, each of our grade level teachers will attend a half day training for our new writing program. As a result, your child's teacher will be out for one half day at some point in the week. My first Mingle with Matthews, which I will be holding on Tuesday, October 7th at 7 p.m. will focus on "The Why and What of Writing at Willow Creek." Please join me to learn more about our new writing curriculum this year! 

Picture Day will be held this coming Friday! Students who are ordering pictures must have their order forms with payment on Friday!! All students will have their picture taken for the class picture, however, only students who bring an order form will receive individual photos. Order forms have already been sent home. If you need an order form, please contact the school to send another one home with your child this week. 

Finally, a call to action was posted to our school Peachjar, Website, and district Facebook for parents of District #68. This call to action is in regards to Senate Bill 16, which if enacted, will make sweeping changes to how the state funds education. It will negatively impact many school districts, including District. #68. This bill does not increase the level of education funding, it changes the way state funding is distributed among districts. For more information on how Senate Bill 16 impacts District #68 and how you can take action to help, click on this link to go to a district page with additional information or visit the school Peachjar. Your support is greatly appreciated. 

Upcoming Dates to Remember: 
Monday, September 29th: Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 30th: Student Council Officer Elections, 10:05 a.m.
                                              Session #1 After School Clubs Begin
Friday, October 3rd: Fall Picture Day
Tuesday, October 7th: Room Parent/New Volunteer Mtg., 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 7th: Mingle with Matthews, 7 p.m.
Friday, October 10th: Fun Run Money Due
Monday, October 13th: NO SCHOOL, Columbus Day
Thursday, October 16th: 5th Grade Robert Crown Parent Information Night, 6:30 p.m. @ Murphy
                                           Monday Schedule
Friday, October 17th: Market Day Pick-Up
Tuesday, October 21st: Market Day Catalog Sale Fundraiser Kick-Off
Thursday, October 23rd and Friday, October 24th: 5th Grade Outdoor Education Trip
Friday, October 24th: Halloween Dance
Monday, October 27th: Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 31st: School Improvement Day, No School for Students
                                      End of First Quarter
Tuesday, November 4th: PTO Meeting, 1:30 p.m.
                                         Market Day Catalog Sale Orders Due
                                         Election Day
Sunday, November 23rd: 5th and 6th Grade Chorus Performance at the Wolves Game

Check out the picture below of students whose names were chosen in this week's "Positive Paws" raffle!