Romona Review: Back-to-School

Dear Romona Families,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year at Romona! We are looking forward to a fantastic year together as partners in education.

We have a lot of important information to share with you today. This is our first email of the year and we will write to you every Friday. These emails will contain information from the school and from our dedicated PTA. We encourage you to visit our PTA website to learn more about how you can get involved.

We hope you enjoy these last weeks of summer & look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, August 21st!

Warmly,

Cindy & Lisa

Grades 1-4 & KEEP39 School Day: 8:35-3:15 (2:15 dismissal on Friday)

Kindergarten: AM 8:35-11:55

LEEP: AM 8:45-11:05, PM 12:10-2:30

Please refer to this District 39 Calendars for information about days when we have no school. Please visit our Romona website for the online calendar which you can subscribe to if interested.

You will be getting an email from the District on August 15th with your child's teacher assignment. These emails come throughout the day, so please let us know if you do not receive an email by the 16th by calling our office at 847.512.6400 or emailing us at Office-Romona@wilmette39.org.

Our first day of school is Wednesday, August 21st. This is a half day, so dismissal for grades 1-4 is at 11:55.

Kindergarten students will be having a meet & greet in the classroom with their teacher on this day. These events are intended to offer our young Mustangs a time to meet their teacher with their special adults. Please click here for the timing of the meet & greets.

LEEP will begin the following week. The meet & greet will be on August 26th and the first day for our preschoolers will be on Tuesday, August 27th.

Our team has been working hard all summer getting ready for the start of school. We can't wait to welcome back our Mustangs!

Keeping our Mustangs safe during arrival & dismissal takes all of us working together! Please follow our guidelines and traffic patterns to make sure that everyone stays safe.

K-4 Arrival

All students can come in through the front door and will be supervised in the auditorium from 8:20-8:30. All students will go to their classrooms at 8:30 for our 8:35 start time. Please help us get all of our students into the building by 8:30 everyday!

Dismissal

Kindergarten:

• Kindergartners will meet their parents outside of their classroom doors in the garden.
• Bus riders will gather in the auditorium.

Grades 1-4:

• All mustangs will exit out of the front doors at the end of the day. Please let your Mustang know where they should meet you (ie. in the car line or near the stop sign).
• Bus riders will gather in the auditorium.

District 39 believes inclusion plays a vital role in student growth. We are committed to providing a safe and equitable learning environment that fosters a mindset of empathy, respect, and belonging for all District 39 students and staff.

By respecting each person’s unique identity, perspective, and learning style, we create a stronger community. We honor differences including races and cultures, genders and sexualities, abilities and aspirations, identities and affiliations, socioeconomics and worldviews. Embracing diversity prepares our students to thrive in an increasingly complex global community.

Monday, August 19th

• New Family Orientation (5:30)

Wednesday, August 21st

• First Day of School
• 11:55 Dismissal for grades 1-4
• Meet & Greet for Kindergarten

Thursday, August 22nd

• First full day of school (8:35-3:15)

Friday, August 23rd

• Early Dismissal (2:15)

Saturday, August 24th

• Rockin' Romona (4:00-6:00)

Monday, August 26th

• LEEP Meet & Greet

Tuesday, August 27th

• First day of attendance for LEEP

Monday, September 2nd

• No School: Labor Day

Wednesday, September 4th

• Picture Day
• Curriculum Night

Make sure all of your health forms are ready to be turned into our nurse, Mary Ann Roche. Please contact her at rochem@wilmette39.org with any questions.

• Lechner Early Education Program (LEEP): Medical forms
• Kindergarten: Vision, dental, & medical forms
  
• 2nd Grade: Dental form
• All: Medication & health updates
  

Students are allowed to bring a snack to school every day. Please make sure that all snacks are fresh fruits and vegetables.

Please report your child's absence before 8:30 any time your child is absent from school. You can call the Romona attendance line at 847-512-6450 or new this year, report absences through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. More information coming soon!

We work with the Wilmette Park District for our before and after care programs at Romona. If you are interested in more information, please visit the WPD Website. The PTA will also be offering some special after school clubs, so please keep your eye out for those offerings.

If your Mustang is riding the bus, please make sure to attach their bus tag to their backpack. We also ask that you watch this video to review the expectations with your Mustang before the start of the year. We want our buses to be a place where all students are respectful, safe, and kind! Thank you!

District 39 aggressively investigates bullying. Please refer to our D39 Parent Handbook to see our practices and Board of Education policy on bullying and teasing.