Willow Parent Bulletin # 25

March 1, 2024

Thank you!

Thank you to all of the parents/guardians who have already filled out the 5 Essentials Survey!! We would appreciate if a few more of you would also be giving of your time. If you scroll down, there's a link towards the bottom!

We had a lot of fun guests this week! On Wednesday, Oba William King was back at Willow enchanting us with his storytelling! He favors call and response, so our Wildcats were just as active as he. A short video of his is below, but there are several on YouTube if you would really like to experience his talent.

We also had the largest "marching band" that I have seen this time around. Marching Band is one of the options our Wildcats can choose with their Willow Wows. This time, Mrs. Riedel, our music teachers had a special treat for everyone... the New Orleans Brass Band from New Lenox and members of the Prairie State Jazz Band joined us! We appreciate these accomplished musicians joining us as "The Saint Came Marching" down our halls.

Next Friday, March 8th, your child's 2nd trimester grades will come home in his/her/their bookbag. You will have the regular report card, a Forefront report for math, and STAR scores for those grade levels who took it. Don't forget it's standards based...what we want them to securely know by the end of the year. Please reach out to your child's teacher with any questions.

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New Orleans Brass Band and Prairie State Jazz Band become Wildcats

Ms. Wendt's 2nd grade Chatterpix

Ms. Wendt's 2nd graders made a Chatterpix movie about their Black History reports. Click the link below to see their fun video!

Black History Chatterpix

When your child is sick

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When your child is sick, please keep him/her/them at home. It does no one any good to give a morning dose of medicine/Tylenol/etc and to then send them to school. If your child has a fever, he/she/they need to be fever free for a full 24 hours (without medicine) before returning to school. It's not fair for the rest of the class and teacher to be exposed.

Similarly, when your child is sick at school, the expectation is that an adult will pick up immediately. Please review your emergency contacts to be sure if you are unavailable, one of them can come in your place. We cannot keep children who are vomiting and/or running a fever.

ISO: Kindergarten students for 24-25

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We will be having Kindergarten Orientation on Thursday, April 4th at 6:30 PM in Willow's large gym. We are thrilled to meet the parents of our future Wildcats!

If you have a child who turns 5 on or before September 1, 2024, he/she/they are eligible to attend kindergarten next year.

During orientation, you will meet the Kindergarten Team, get general information on what a typical day looks like, learn about curriculum, expectations, our screening process, and see a short video. We will have a folder of information for you to take home and a couple of raffle prizes.

If you cannot make it that evening, stop by our office any time to pick up a folder. The evening is designed for parents, not students.

Bookmobile

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Friday 3/8/24 from 10:30-11:20 and 12-12:30

In the garden hallway

Books are priced from $1 to $5.

Students should have their money in an envelope or baggie marked BOOKMOBILE, name and amount on it.

Erin's Law-part 3

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During the month of March, our counselor and social worker will again be visiting classrooms. The final part of their presentations is the most important and serious talk.

During this lesson the students will hear use of proper anatomical language. All lessons will have links for parents to follow up with at home. If you feel this state mandated part of the curriculum is not something in which you want your child to participate, please notify the Willow School Office.

You can find more information at:

http://www.erinslawillinois.org

https://www.secondstep.org/child-protection

Parent Instructions on how to access Home Links and Resources after Erin’s Law presentations:

1. Go to website, http://www.secondstep.org/

2. Enter the Kit Activation Code as assigned by your child’s grade level;

Early Learners (Preschoolers): CPUE FAMI LYGE

Kindergartners: CPUE FAMI LYGK

First grade code- CPU1 FAMI LYG1

Second grade code- CPU2 FAMI LYG2

3. Go to Second Step Child Protection Unit.

4. Click on View Family Resources on the Family Resources tab.

5. Click on your child’s grade level tab.

6. Click on Home Links & Family Resources.

7. Click on Lessons 4 Home Links for details on lessons being taught as well as activities you can do with your child to reinforce the concepts taught.

What your Wildcat is Learning: Open and Close Syllables

What is an open syllable?

An open syllable ends in a long vowel sound spelled by single vowel letter. “Hi” and “me” are open syllable words. “Zero” has two open syllables. You can dramatically sing the long vowel sounds in open syllable words to help kids notice how they differ from closed syllables; the end of an open syllable is “open” for the vowel to make its long sound.

Talk about open syllable words vs. closed syllable words once students get comfortable reading short vowel sounds in CVC words. When students seem ready to consider how vowels can also make their long sounds in words, go for it!

Note: Once students are comfortable reading open syllable words, you’ll want to teach the exception for words ending in “a.” Words like “sofa,” “yoga,” “data,” and “zebra” technically end in open syllables but the “a” makes the schwa (“uh”) sound.

Examples of Open Syllable Words

One syllable: hi, me, be, he, she, we, no, go, so, yo, flu

One syllable with y acting as a vowel: by, my, shy, cry, fly, dry, sky, why

Two syllables, both open: zero, hero, solo, polo, Wi-Fi, yo-yo, dodo, tutu, baby, navy, pony, tidy

What is a closed syllable?

A closed syllable has a short vowel sound spelled by one vowel letter. It ends with (is “closed by”) a single consonant, a consonant blend, or a consonant digraph. The words “hit,” “ramp,” and “mash” are closed syllable words. The words “picnic” and “basket” each have two closed syllables.

CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words are closed syllable words. These are usually the first words children learn to decode using their early knowledge of consonants and short vowel sounds. So, closed syllables are usually the first syllable type we teach students. Once kids can read CVC closed syllable words, it’s exciting for them to move on to reading other one-syllable closed syllable words that have more letters, like “frog,” “camp,” or “grass.” Plus, they can also read words that have multiple closed syllables, like “picnic” and “basket.”

Note: Once students are very comfortable reading closed syllable words, you can let them know about a handful of exceptions. Syllables with -ild, -ind, -old, -olt, and -ost are technically closed, but the vowels make long sounds, as in “wild,” “kind,” “fold,” “bolt,” and “most.”

Examples of Closed Syllable Words

One syllable: at, in, on, up, cat, mat, pat, sad, leg, web, wet, bed, hid, hit, pig, six, job, got, mom, rot, sun, bus, gum, mud, mash, path, when, dish, with, moth, such, much, frog, grass, camp, prank, shrink, crack, fetch, punch

Two syllables, both closed: hotdog, picnic, sunset, tennis, upset, magnet, disgust, sunblock, radish, robin, napkin, dentist, cactus, seven, pencil, helmet, mitten, plastic, pumpkin, rabbit, insect, subject, subtract, trumpet

Tip: For many more closed syllable words, check out our CVC word list. All CVC and CCVC words are closed syllable words!

We Need Your Help!

Each year, we are required by the state to have parents complete a survey called The 5 Essentials. It gives you a chance to let us know what we are doing well and areas in which we need to improve. It should take about 15 minutes. Your feedback is super important for us!

5 Essentials Parent Survey

Positive Office Referrals- Way to go, Wildcats!

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Aasiyah

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Megan

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Zion

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Miriam

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Paris

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Zaire

Bulletin Stats:

This week we had 16 states and Mexico. Hello to our 411 readers!

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Staff Shout Outs

If you've noticed anyone at Willow going above and beyond, please use the link to recognize him/her/them! 💖 I share your kind words with them in my staff bulletin.

https://forms.office.com/r/L4vYqd7NpN

Willow Handbook

Virtual backpack

Homewood PTA

HF Park District

Pancake Picnic March 9: https://hfparks.com/event/pancake-picnic/

Flashlight Egg Hunt March 22: https://hfparks.com/event/flashlight-egg-hunt/

Lucky Egg Hunt March 23: https://hfparks.com/event/lucky-egg-hunt/

Park Pride May 4: https://hfparks.com/event/park-pride/

Mother's Day Tea Party May 11: https://hfparks.com/event/mothers-day-tea-party/

Learn to Skate Classes: https://app.amilia.com/store/en/homewood---flossmoor-park-district/shop/programs/89858?subCategoryIds=4609164&subCategoryIds=4591354

Homewood Library