Willow Parent Bulletin #12

November 5, 2021

Food Drive

Our annual food drive starts next Monday and runs through Friday, November 19th. The donated food items are used to create baskets to help Homewood families. South Suburban Access donates turkeys for us to top off each basket.

Please check the list below to see what your child's grade level has been asked to contribute:

EC/PreK:

dressing/stuffing

canned cranberries/sauce

cornbread mix

rice

noodles

macaroni and cheese

Kindergarten:

canned carrots, green beans, or corn

cream of mushroom soup

soup

canned sweet potatoes

baking vegetable oil

First grade:

gravy mix/packets

instant mashed potatoes

salt/pepper

French's Fried Onions

chicken broth

Spaghetti sauce

Second grade:

canned pumpkin

flour

sugar/brown sugar

marshmallows

evaporated milk

pie crust

Donations can be sent with your child or brought into the Willow Office. Grocery gift cards are also welcomed. Thank you in advance for helping to be sure all our families have a meal for which to be thankful.

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Student arriving at 8:05AM or later

The bell to enter the building is at 8:00AM and the tardy bell is at 8:05AM. If you arrive and there are no adults in safety vests outside, you need to walk your child into the office. Please do not let them out of the car if there are no adults from the school visible out front.

When students come in late, it throws off the day for them, as well as the class. They miss critical information in the morning, as well as the class community building activities. Please make a concerted effort to have your child at Willow by 8:00AM.

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Outside Temperatures:

With the weather changing, I wanted to be sure you knew the District's policy on when students would be indoors and out. If the temperature outside is 20 degrees Fahrenheit or above, and not inclement (raining), students will be outside in the morning and for recess. If it's too wet, raining, or below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, then students are kept in the building.

Please keep these guidelines in mind when helping your child choose clothing for the day. Also be sure to label hats, gloves, coats and boots. Our lost and found could outfit a small army at this point.

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Safety Drill

Each year we are required to have a full lock down with both students and police present. A new requirement is that we also notify parents ahead of time. Our drill will take place next Tuesday, November 9th, in the morning.

During the drill, the office staff will not be available, as they, too, participate. If you are coming in late or call during that time, please be patient until we can resume normal activity. In total, it should take about 15 minutes.

Your wildcat's teacher will be discussing how we safely move to a different area of the room and wait quietly for the all clear signal. You can also help by letting your wildcat know to quickly and quietly follow directions. Please also reassure him/her that we practice this the same way we practice a fire drill. At this age it's a tough balance between teaching them to be safe and also not frightening them. We appreciate your help.

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Food coming in to the building:

Parents are able to bring in lunch for their student. We do not, however, accept food that arrives via delivery services like Door Dash.

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How much sleep do Wildcats need? (from The Sleep Foundation)

The amount of sleep needed varies depending on your child’s age, activity levels, and individual needs. The National Sleep Foundation suggests the following guidelines4:

Preschoolers (ages 3-5) require 10-13 hours of sleep
School-age children (ages 6-13) require 9-11 hours of sleep
Teenagers (ages 14-17) require 8-10 hours of sleep

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found that most American children and teenagers don’t sleep enough5. Nearly 6 in 10 middle schoolers and at least 7 in 10 high schoolers don’t sleep enough on school nights. Of the high school students surveyed, almost two-thirds sleep less than eight hours nightly.

Adhering to sleep schedules with parental support can help students achieve the sleep needed to help them perform their best.

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Book Blurb: "Brown Sugar Babe"

Brown Sugar Babe written by Charlotte Watson Sherman and illustrated by Akem

is an endearing story about a little girl who wonders about the color of her skin. Her mother takes her on a journey showing her all the amazing things in the world that are brown and how wonderful each and every one is. Brown Sugar Babe is available through the Matteson Public Library System.

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MASKS

Please take time to be sure your child has 2 clean masks in his or her bookbag. Our supplies are rapidly dwindling due to the number of students showing up each day needing one. If you are able to donate a box of disposable kids' sized masks, we would appreciate them!