Principal's Update 11-09-2012

Our week started off with a bang! We had our Accelerated Reader(AR) Assembly on Monday afternoon to honor the reading accomplishments of our students from the first quarter of school. This year, our theme for AR is an Olympic/Sports theme "Reading for the Gold." Students earn raffle tickets throughout each quarter as they reach 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of their quarterly goals. These raffle tickets are entered into the raffle that we hold during each AR Assembly. Students whose names are drawn in the raffle are then invited to choose a prize. As a school, we encourage students to not only achieve their quarterly goals, but to continue reading throughout the quarter to surpass their goals once they have achieved them. As a result, students who read at least 125% of their goal earn a gold medal. Each time they earn 125% beyond their goal they can add to their metals with pins. During the assembly this past week, our top and most improved readers were also invited to play "Olympic Ring the Teacher" and all of our students who read at least 125% of their goal were asked to stand and be recognized. Check out the pictures from the assembly below. I also included a clip of the students chanting "WE ARE, WE ARE READERS" to the tune of "We Will, We Will Rock You."

Students have already been working on setting appropriate second quarter reading goals in conjunction with their classroom teachers. These goals are based on the students as individual readers and are designed to motivate students to challenge themselves, yet also realistically think about what is obtainable in order to experience success. I encourage parents to talk with children about their goals and help them monitor their progress towards reaching their goals each quarter. Part of our District 68 FOCUS is to "Operate with High Expectations and Clear Targets in Place" for students. Setting goals with children is one of the ways in which we implement this component of FOCUS. Students know exactly what is expected of them and how they can achieve their individual reading targets when it comes to their independent reading each quarter.

Willow Creek students participated in Bus Evacuation Drills on Wednesday. Westway Coach brought buses to the school in order for our students to learn and practice how to properly evacuate a bus in the event of an emergency. All Illinois schools are required to participate in these drills each year. Our students did an excellent job listening to and following directions in order to efficiently evacuate a bus.

On Thursday, I enjoyed a pizza lunch with our students of the month from October. Their names are listed below and I have included pictures from the lunch. Each individual student also has their picture hanging up in the foyer of our school! These pictures are rotated monthly as the new students of the month are identified. Be sure to check them out when you are in the building for conferences in another week.

Kindergarten: Isabella Matuszak and Maggie Joyce
1^st Grade: Elena Curkoska and Matthew Lapacek
1/2 Wiese: Allan Chehin
2^nd Grade: Nekhi Moses and Jaylen Feliciano
3^rd Grade: Hugo Roman, Sofia Asenova, and Zach Milos
4^th Grade: Kailey Ferguson and Gustas Prunskus
5^th Grade: Josh Gamonez and Becky Grecco
6^th Grade: Tim Johnson and Mikayla Acovelli



Friday was a busy day at Willow Creek. In honor of Veteran's Day on Sunday, we invited four veterans to visit our school in order to talk with students about the service they provided our country and answer students' questions about their time in the armed forces. Members of our student council escorted each veteran to the classrooms he or she visited and provided the students with background information regarding Veteran's Day. Each veteran then shared their personal story with the class. Students were extremely interested in learning about the various branches of the armed forces and the individual veteran's story. Our four veterans represented three of the five branches of the armed forces.   Two veterans had served in the Navy, one served in the Air Force, and one served in the Marine Corps. Our two veterans who served in the Navy were Willow Creek parents Mr. and Mrs. Arenz. In addition, our school board also visited Willow Creek on Friday. You will be able to see, in the slide show below, pictures of our veterans and also a few of our school board members listening to the veterans as well! You will also see our veterans visiting the lunch room where students had additional opportunities to interact with them and ask questions. Be sure to call your family, friends, neighbors, or co-workers today who have served in the United States Armed Forces to thank them for their service! 




Parents should have received a letter this week with their exact conference time for either November 19th or 20th. Please be sure to confirm the conference times for your children and return the bottom portion of the form to the classroom teachers by Monday. 

Thank you to all of our families who sold items in our Catalog Sale. Items that were ordered will be delivered to Willow Creek for pick-up by our families in early December. 

American Education Week, November 12 – 16, is set aside to honor our public education system and the people and things that make it great.  This year’s theme is “Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility.”  During this week, the Woodridge Education Association (WEA) will highlight the importance of togetherness between teachers, staff, parents, students, and the community. I have included a link to the handout that went out to parents on Friday regarding the activities that will be going on throughout the week. I also included the events in the reminders below for ways students can participate throughout the week.

Upcoming Dates to Remember: 

·         Monday, November 12th: 
            School Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m., JJH
            “Just a way to say thanks.”

o   Students will make thank you cards for the support staff from our school.

·     Tuesday, November 13th: 
            PTO Meeting, 7 p.m., WC LRC
            “Schools work together as a team.”

o   Students should wear clothes/jersey’s from their favorite sports team

·     Wednesday, November 14th: 
            5th Grade Field Trip to Robert Crown
            Educational Support Professionals Day

o   Help us celebrate by reminding your child to give our support staff extra special thank you when you see them!

·     Thursday, November 15th: 
            “Operation Gratitude”

o   Each student will write a letter or draw a picture for the soldiers that are overseas.  We will be sending the letters, as well as a donation, to “Operation Gratitude.”  If you would like to donate or send letters yourself, go to www.OperationGratitude.com.

·     Friday, November 16th: 
           1st Quarter Report Cards go home with students
           “School Spirit Day”

o   Students should wear their Willow Creek gear and school colors to show their support for our school!

      ·         Monday, November 19th: No School, Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-9 p.m.
      ·     Tuesday, November 20th: No School, Parent/Teacher Conferences 11 a.m.-4p.m.
      ·         November 21st - 23rd: No School, Thanksgiving Break

Check out the pictures of our students whose names were drawn in this week's Positive Paws drawing!