The Walden Weekly

I know this week has been difficult for our community as the news in Israel and Gaza has been horrific and unsettling. At Walden, we are doing our best to keep routines consistent and positive for students. Our staff has been available to any student that has needed an extra check in. Please be in touch if you feel that your child is having difficulty around these topics and our team will do our best to help and support your child. We are always stronger as one community and we hope that these trying times with settle down soon.

I wanted to share some information about what's to come for Halloween in a few weeks. Please see the updates below.

Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

- Stephanie Strenger

We are looking forward to our school-wide celebration of Halloween on Tuesday, October 31st! Please read through the important points below:

• Our all school parade will take place from 2:00-2:25 outdoors (weather permitting). Families are invited to attend! All students will be walking around the entire perimeter of the building, so feel free to stand around the outer areas, leaving space for students to walk by. If there is inclement weather, our parade will be cancelled.

• All families should leave the premises directly after the parade. Our students will have recess following the parade and we ask that all parents exit school grounds at the conclusion of the parade. Thank you!

• Our parking lot will fill up quickly. Please simply use the city streets (not our bus circle) if there are no spots available, or walk if possible.

• Party volunteers should sign in at the front office and will be allowed in the classrooms 10-15 minutes prior to the party. Please remember our sign in procedures require you to provide a driver's license or a state ID and it will take some time to sign in all party volunteers. Please plan accordingly.

• Please do not send costumes that are difficult to change into. Students will NOT wear their costumes to school, but will be changing into them after lunch. Our festivities will begin in the afternoon with classroom parties, the parade, and fun classroom activities.

• Please help your child in following our rule of no group costumes. This is something that has lead to hurt feelings in the past, and we ask that all group costumes are saved for trick-or-treating after school. Thank you for respecting this guideline.

• Please do not send costumes that include weapons of any kind or costumes with bloody guts and gore.

• If you need assistance in providing your child with a Halloween costume, please reach out to Mrs. Strenger.
  

Let us know if you have any questions. We are looking forward to a fun day!

Walden students have been working hard to be respectful, responsible, and safe across all school settings. When a staff member observes a student following the Walden Way, the student may receive a PAWS pass. Students will exchange their PAWS pass for a sticker to proudly wear throughout the day. If your child comes home with a PAWS sticker, we encourage you to ask what they did to earn it. We will use the PAWS passes earned to vote for a whole school reward. Currently, students are working towards earning either stuffed animal day, music at lunch, or game day.

Thursday, October 26th is a ½ day of school (dismissal at 11:40) and Friday, October 27th there is NO SCHOOL due to parent/teacher conferences!

On Wednesday, October 25, the Library Media Center will host visits from two authors! Please see the information below to pre-order autographed books from our visitors!

Students can pre-order a signed copy of Lowey Bundy Sichol’s book, Cookie Queen: How One Girl Started Tate’s Bake Shop, from The Book Stall in Winnetka. Here is the online order form. Book orders are due by Friday, October 20. Autographed books will be given to students at school in the days following the author visit on October 25.

Students can pre-order a signed copy of Wendy Parris’s debut novel, Field of Screams, from the Book Stall in Winnetka. Here is the online order form. Books orders are due by Thursday, October 19. Autographed books will be given to students at school in the days following the author visit on October 25.

October 26th marks the first official day of School Chest 2023! School Chest is Deerfield High School’s annual three week long charity fundraiser where the community unites to raise money for a worthy beneficiary. This year's non-profit beneficiary is GiGi’s Playhouse Deerfield located right down the street from DHS.

Come for TRUNK OR TREATING at 5pm on Friday, October 27th in the back parking lot of DHS! Admission is free with a suggested donation to benefit Gigi’s Playhouse!

Directly following Trunk or Treating on October 27th at 6:15pm is our Family Friendly DRIVE IN MOVIE. Come with friends and family, bring blankets, and enjoy treats like Shookies Cookies! Admission is $20 per car. Purchase tickets on schoolchest.org now or pay when you arrive!

For more information on how to become involved in this year's School Chest, please visit our website schoolchest.org or email us at Schoolchest@gmail.com or mkaufman@dist113.org. We hope to see DPS 109 families at these events!

We would like to celebrate our Walden family veterans. If you would like, you can fill out this sheet and return it to your child’s teacher by Wednesday, October 18. We will be hanging them up in the hallways of Walden to honor our veterans.

Please include a photo of the Walden student, as well as a photo of the veteran. Also share something special about the veteran. This can be a special memory, fun fact, or anything else you would like to share.

Parents & Guardians,

Our goal in District 109 is to work together to ensure the success of every child. As we are entering the month of October, we want to remind you that regular student attendance is vital to your child’s success. We are committed to working with you, our families, to achieve this goal by supporting your family with any concerns regarding student attendance.

As a reminder, if your child is going to be absent from school, please reach out to your building’s nurse as soon as possible to discuss the reason for the absence.

You can call Mrs. Bredemeier at 847-945-9660 X3103 or email to report an absence at waldenattendance@dps109.org.

If we do not hear from you by 10:00 a.m., our school teams will continue attempts to contact parents/guardians and will also begin contacting emergency contacts. If we are still unable to reach you, we will work in collaboration with our School Resource Officer to conduct a wellness check.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Chronic Absenteeism is defined as absences totaling 10 percent or more of school days (including both excused and unexcused absences). If your child is absent 18 days or more (based on an average 180-day school year) then your child will be considered chronically absent.

• Chronic Truancy is defined as absences totaling 5 percent or more of school days without a valid excuse. If your child has 9 or more unexcused absences (based on an average 180-day school year) then they will be considered chronically truant.

We are here to work with our families to support positive school attendance. If there is anything we can do to better assist you and your child, please do not hesitate to let us know. There are many people in our building ready to help address any challenges in getting to school regularly or on time. We can also help identify barriers to regular attendance and implement key resources to support your family in these efforts.

• Thursday, October 26

• ½ Day of Student Attendance (11:40 dismissal)

• PM Parent/Teacher Conference

• Friday, October 27

• No School for Students

• All Day Parent Conferences

• Thursday, November 2 - Picture Retakes

• Friday, November 10 - No School (Veterans Day Observed)
• Wed. Nov. 22 - Fri. Nov. 24 - No School (Thanksgiving)