Western Weekly

• December 20th: Winter party
  

• December 21st: Last day of student attendance

• December 22nd - January 7th: Winter Break

• Monday, January 8th: School Resumes

• Monday, January 15th: No School - MLK Day of Service

I hope all of our families have had a good week. We are in our final two weeks of the 2nd quarter before winter break and our students are working harder than ever. We have many fun events planned to celebrate all of their success.

Enjoy the weekend.

Dr. Isabelli

• Emergency Remote Learning Times - updated
• MLK Day of Service collection
• Our week in photos - don't miss out on all of the phone - scroll to the bottom
• Community Partners - Flossmoor Library Holiday Fun

In the event that an emergency remote learning day is called this school year due to weather, or other circumstances, the school day will be a combination of synchronous virtual instruction and independent learning time. Below is our plan for e-Learning if we need to call a severe weather day. For returning families this is the same plan we used last year. Please reach out with any questions.

PreK: Students will have an at-home packet to work on. This will go home ahead of time, and parents should keep it in a safe place. If children have device access at home, they will go on Zoom for learning time. Do NOT complete the packet ahead of time.

Grades Kdg. - 5th: Students will have class on Zoom and all work uploaded to Canvas. Kindergarten will also have an at-home packet to work on. This will go home ahead of time and parents should keep it in a safe place. Do NOT complete the packet ahead of time.

Specials/Specialists Schedule: Teachers will have the posted schedule for specials and WIN on their Canvas pages.

Zoom links for interventions & Specials: For our younger learners we will put together a Google doc that classroom teachers will be able to link to their Canvas pages. This doc will have a picture of the teacher that students can click on to head to their zoom meeting. Older students will head to Mr. Tracy, Mrs. Klein, Mrs. Pasqua and Mrs. Symowicz's Canvas pages for their zoom links if they have specials that day.

Jack and Jill of America Inc.’s Monarch Cities Chapter will partner with Western Avenue Elementary School on Monday, January 15th to assemble care packages for donation to Prairie State College’s TRIO Program, an outreach program whose mission is to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We will be collecting donation items that can be found on the below flyer at Western Avenue from Monday, Dec. 11th through Monday, January 15th. Please see the attached flyer for more details including a list of needed items and a QR code to shop directly off of the Jack and Jill Amazon wishlist.

Western Avenue to so thankful for this partnership and was blown away by last year's support.

Know a WA staff member that is going above and beyond to provide a wonderful school experience for children? Nominate them for an Above and Beyond award. This program is designed to publicize the incredible things individuals do for our students, schools, and community. Recognition can come from many different places. The button below has the form and information about the program. Feel free to start nominating today, and we look forward to singing staff praises loud and proud of those that are #AboveandBeyond!

Our PTO is sponsoring a WA spirit wear clothing drive. If you have gently used WA spirit wear that is outgrown please consider donating it back to PTO as we will be distributing it to our current wolves who may be unable to purchase spirit wear. Our hope is to help all of our wolves feel connected and proud to come to school and show their wolf pack pride.

It's that time in Illinois when you never know what temperature it may be from the morning to dismissal. Please make sure that your student has outerwear to match the temperatures. We go outside if the temperature with the wind chill is 20 degrees or higher (see graphic in the school information section).

If you are in need of support for outerwear for your student please contact our school social workers - Ms. Zarlengo or Ms. Wisniewski.

Did you know:

● Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause students to fall behind.

● Missing 10%, or 2 school days each month over the course of the year will make it harder to learn how to read and do math.

● Absences and tardies can negatively affect the whole classroom community.

● By 6th grade, chronic absenteeism is a sign that students may drop out of high school.

● Please contact the main office if you need to discuss your child’s attendance.

We need volunteer shopkeepers for our upcoming Den Depot dates! The Den Depot is a mobile store where students are able to shop with wolfpack tickets. Shopkeepers will work 1-2 volunteers per shift where each shift will be 1-3 hours. Please arrive a few minutes early to check into the office with ID and get the Den Depot cart.

Sign-up Genius Link

Monday - Friday:

• 8:30 - 8:40 - Arrival
• 8:40 - 3:15 - Instructional day

PreK Morning Session - 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

PreK Afternoon Session - 12:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Half-Day Dismissal - 11:40 am

If your child will not be attending live class due to sickness, appointment, family obligation, or other issues please contact the main office. You can email Ms. Trice or call the office (708-647-7400).

Moving??? If you move during the school year please contact the office to update your information in Skyward. If you move outside of the Western Avenue boundaries please contact Mrs. Isabelli. We believe that too many transitions during the school year affect students' learning. Therefore, as long as students continue to participate in their live instruction they may finish the school year at Western Avenue.

Lunch Prices for 2023/2024

Full Price $3.35, Reduced Price $0.40

Student Milk is $0.35 for ALL students

Breakfast Prices for 2023/2024

Full Price $1.65, Reduced Price $0.30

Families must submit the free/reduced lunch application form to determine if your student(s)qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Students who are arriving to eat breakfast at school can arrive at 8:25 a.m. and proceed to door F. Breakfast will be served from 8:25 a.m. - 8:38 a.m.

We love celebrating our learners on their birthdays. However, as a reminder students are only allowed to bring NON-EDIBLE birthday things to share. Some ideas that students have brought in our pencils, play-dough, stickers, crayons, glow sticks, etc.

If you need help logging into Canvas please view this flyer from the District. There is also a wealth of resources for parents on the District website regarding Canvas. All students in grades 3rd - 8th are required to complete and submit assignments in Canvas as well as completing paper/pencil activities. Parents of 3rd - 8th graders can check on their students assignments and grades in Canvas. ALL teachers have daily schedules and parent resources posted on their Canvas pages.

• Elementary: 8:30 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. arrival

• All students will enter the building upon arriving at school to prepare for the day.

• Upon drop-off, students will enter the building at 8:30 a.m. and head to their classroom to unpack and prepare for the day.

• Teachers will be waiting for students outside of their classrooms.

• Staff will be stationed throughout the grounds to help students navigate to their entry doors and classes. (See map for entry points and drop-off.)

• Stop/drop parking is allowed ONLY on the north side of Vardon Place and the west side of Brassie Avenue.

• Parents must walk their student to the crosswalk area.

DROP-OFF General Safety:

• Pull up all the way in the car line until a staff member signals you to stop.

• Have children walk to the crosswalk to cross the bus lane

• If your child is being dropped off on the nearby streets, they must walk down to the crosswalk/concession area for a safe crossing, not between the vehicles.

• Do NOT get out of your car in the car line or leave a parked vehicle in the car line.

Tardy:

• Students who arrive after 8:40 am will need to be dropped off at the main entrance Door A.

• All students must be signed in by an adult in the office if they arrive late.

• You must use the entrance on Vardon and park to drop off your student.

• NO drop-off/parking is allowed in the Fire/Bus lane off Western Avenue in front of the school. This MUST stay clear at all times for emergency vehicles.

Arrival Guidelines (Bus Riders)

Bus information will be available in Skyward. If you see any issues,

please contact Wanda Alexander at 708-546-7072.

• Once the bus arrives at the building, a staff member will dismiss the bus, and students will proceed to their entrance door (see map below)

Walker No Parent Required Guidelines

• Students allowed to walk home without a parent present will exit their designated doors and walk home.

Car Rider/Walking Parent Guidelines

• Walkers will be dismissed out the doors marked on the map below.

• Parents walking to pick up students must have their car tag number.

• Pull up all the way in the car line until a staff member signals you to stop.

• Staff will relay which vehicle Pick Up Tag numbers are in the car line and have those students ready to load in the vehicles.

• Your child will be directed to your vehicle by a staff member. Parents in the car line need to stay in the vehicle at all times. Staff will assist with opening car doors for younger students if needed.

In debriefing with Flossmoor Police after Wednesday's Code Red lockdown we discussed what to do for people arriving at the school and not knowing we are in a lockdown. Below is the procedure that we have jointly developed.

• Upon approaching the building outsiders would hear the Code Red announcement being play in Mrs. Isabelli's voice.
• Anyone coming to the school during this time will be directed to the baseball field area on Brassie Avenue to await entrance into the school building once it has been all cleared for safety.

Kickert Transportation has made available to parents in Flossmoor School District 161 a FREE notification system to notify parents when there are bus delays.

• If you would like to receive notifications when delays or incidents affect your student's bus, please register with Bus Bulletin.

There is no cost for this service.

Registration is simple and fast.

You can choose to receive text messages, phone calls, and emails.

All contact information is stored securely and will not be shared or sold.

No information was given to Kickert by the District, you will provide phone numbers and emails when you register.

• For more information, or to sign-up and start receiving notifications, please visit:

www.BusBulletin.com/parents

On the Bus Bulletin home page click on the Register link. Enter your information to create your account.

• Once you have created your account, you will select your notification methods. You may enter up to 7 phone numbers and/or email addresses. • You only need one account per family, just enter all the contact information for everyone.

• When you add a phone number or email address, you will be sent a verification code, to enter on the screen.

• You will have the option to test the contact information you supplied with a generic message. • Once your notification methods are complete, you will select all the bus routes for your student(s). • There are separate routes for morning and afternoon routes. For example, if your child rides route 1 at Western Avenue, you would select WA AM1 and WA PM1, to get notified of delays on morning and afternoon routes.

• When you have entered all your information, click the Save Changes button.

• Your Bus Bulletin has now been activated!

Contact Nurse Bryant at - kbryant01@sd161.org

MEDICATION

The only 2 medications (over the counter or prescription) that a student can have in their possession (including locker, backpack, purse, etc.) is an inhaler or epi-pen with authorization. An epi-pen requires physician and parent authorization on the required forms. An inhaler requires parent authorization on the District form and the inhaler prescription box. Students may not have any over the counter or prescription medications at school at any time without the required District authorization forms.

Health Requirements:

Transfer/new students must present a physical and immunizations on the required IL Certificate of Child Health Examination form. It is the parent's responsibility to provide a copy of the physical/immunization forms from previous school records prior to the exclusion date. Please do not rely on the transferring school to send the records by exclusion day. Out of state transfers must have a physical on the Illinois form.

Kindergarten

• Dental Exam due by May 15th

2nd Grade

• Dental Exam due by May 15th

Action Plans

An annual updated action plan is requested for all students with allergies, asthma, seizures, diabetes and other medical conditions.

COVID - 19: Please report all positive COVID cases to Nurse Bryant.

• What is Responsibility?
  

  Responsibility is the willingness and ability to take ownership of our thoughts, words, and actions. We have a responsibility to our school, family, and community to be accountable for our choices and how they impact ourselves and others.

  
  

  Why focus on Responsibility?

  • Responsibility teaches resilience. It is not possible to persevere and achieve our dreams without taking personal responsibility seriously.
  • Responsibility empowers us to own our actions. There is great power in being able to make conscious, calculated choices to reach goals and manage those things in our control.
  • Responsibility teaches us to manage our time and resources. Responsibly organizing and prioritizing needs is an executive function of the brain that improves with practice.

  
  

  Responsibility in Action:

  • Give students roles and responsibilities. When students have a leadership role in class, they are accountable for contributing positively to the classroom culture.
  • Empower students with self-management tools. Provide students with tools to help manage stress and impulsivity while motivating them to meet goals.
  • Clearly communicate consequences. Empower students to make choices and experience the consequences of their actions, both positive and negative.

We are excited to continue our Western Avenues Alpha Wolves Program which has been successful with the help of our dads and grandparents. The Alpha Wolves program looks for males to come into the building and help with recess, lunch, hallway monitoring, and just being a presence in the building. Last year our program was recognize by the Illinois State Board of Education at the Those That Excel Banquet.

What do the Alpha Wolves do?

• Help out in the lunch room.

• Play games with students at recess.

• Walk the halls to monitor safety and hand out wolf pak tickets for students following expectations.

• Commit to as many or as few days/times as possible based on your schedule

• All volunteers will need to present their ids to run through our security system to volunteer

If you would like to join the Alpha Wolves please sign up for your days on this Sign-up Genius link. Bring your driver's license in to be scanned through our security system.

This program is designed to publicize the incredible things individuals do for our students, schools, and community. Recognition can come from many different places. The button below has the form and information about the program. Feel free to start nominating today, and we look forward to singing staff praises loud and proud of those that are #AboveandBeyond!

The Flossmoor Public Library has fun holiday events for all ages! Check out the full December calendar here.

Email: gisabelli@sd161.org
Website: https://www.sd161.org/o/western-avenue
Location: 940 Western Avenue, Flossmoor, IL, USA
Phone: 708-647-7400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/district161wa
Twitter: @western161