West Happenings: August 2024
- 8/14 - Class Assignment & Transportation Live in ParentVue after 2 PM
- 8/15 - New Family Night 6:00 - 6:45 PM
- 8/20 - Meet The Teacher (Last Names A-K 2:15 - 2:40 pm / L-Z 2:40-3:05 PM)
- 8/20 - Back to School Kick-Off Ice Cream Social & Dance Party 1:30-3:30 PM
- 8/21 - First Day of School for Grades 1-5 (DIsmissal at 2 PM)
- 8/22 - First Day of Kindergarten (Full Day)
- 8/28 - Safety Drills (Fire, Shelter, & Lockdown) 2 PM
- 9/2 - No School - Labor Day
- 9/12 - Parent Night 6:30-8 PM
Class Assignment and Transportation Live in ParentVue on Wednesday, August 14th after 2 PM
After 2 pm on August 14th log into ParentVue to see what class your student will be in and their transportation information if they will be riding a bus to and from school.
New Family Night - Thursday, August 15th at 6 PM
A new family orientation will be held on Thursday, August 15th from 6-6:45 pm. We hope to see all our new families there. This will be an opportunity for you to learn about West. Children are welcome! They will go with staff members to listen to stories and do an activity while the parents hear a presentation from our Principal and Assistant Principal. After the presentation families will be allowed take a self-guided tour of the building. Please enter through door 8 into the cafeteria.
Meet the Teacher - Tuesday, August 20th
On Tuesday, August 20th please bring your student to meet their teacher, check out their classroom, bring in their supplies and say hello to their friends and the staff at West! If you ordered a School Supply Kit, it will be in your student's classroom on their desk. Please note the different times are based on the first letter of your last name. This is to relieve congestion in the building. 2:15-2:40 is for last name starting with A-K, 2:40-3:05 is for last names starting with L-Z.
Back to School Kick-Off Ice Cream Social & Dance Party - August 20th
During Meet the Teacher, please join us from 1:30 - 3:30 on the West playground for an Ice Cream Social and Dance Party! West students may choose one free ice cream (dairy and gluten free options available. Due to allergy precaustions, we kindly ask students are accompanied by a parent/guardian when choosing their ice cream. Additional ice cream available for purchase ($3/scoop).
Pick Up Pass Information
Due to District schedule changes we will no longer be doing a staggered bell dismissal for car pick up. So there will not be any parking passes. All students being picked up in the front circle will come outside at 3:30. Cars can enter in a single file line at that time. More details about all arrival and dismissal procedures are included in the document linked below. Thank you for understanding our change in procedure.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16idR3qZvnp9H0avlFWC56oDrh78Bzgn1m4C-qNUwh9A/edit
First Day for Kindergarten - Thursday, August 22nd
The first day of school for Kindergarten is Thursday, August 22nd. This will be a full day, students will be release at 3:30.
West Families in need of School Supplies
If any family is in need of School Supplies, please contact, Beata Moreschi, School Social Worker. She can help with back to school supply needs, which includes backpack, school supplies, gym shoes, etc. Please contact her at 815-788-5558 or bmmoreschi@d47.org.
A Note from the Health Office
Welcome back to school, I look forward to seeing your student(s) very soon! Here are some important facts from the health office.
If your student will need daily medication or keep any medication in the health office (prescription and/or over the counter medication), please get a medication authorization form completed by the doctor for this school year. Please note, any and all medication, including prescription and over the counter use, need an authorization form completed. Once you have the form and medication, you can bring it in to me, please do not send medication in with your student. *Medication forms for 2024/2025 school year: Per state of Illinois guidance, all asthma, allergy, and seizure diagnoses will need a physician-directed health plan. If your student will need medication kept at any District 47 school next year, please use the appropriate link below. Medication authorizations forms are good for one school year, a new form is required each year for your student(s).
Asthma Action Plan (2024/2025 school year) Use this along with medication authorization form if your student will need an inhaler at school.
*New Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan, To be completed by Physician and Parent (Required for 2024/2025 school year) https://docs.google.com/document/d/132fnfVE_-hohq6M9JGWjn7KX1XpxqjqGrBnfaQav-nY/edit
If you are a parent of a kindergartner, the first day of school for your student is Thursday, August 22nd. All paperwork for your kindergarten student is due in the nurse's office prior to this start date (District 47 has a first day exclusion policy). Required paperwork includes a physical dated within the last year (with both sides of the form completed, including 'health history' portion, signed and dated by parent/guardian) and kindergarten immunizations up to date; a vision exam is due by October 15th and a dental exam is due in May/2025. I am in the building from 8:00am-4:00 pm daily starting Tuesday, August 13th. Or, if you have the completed paperwork, you can drop it off at any time, as the front office is open. Or, you can email the paperwork to wesmedrecords@d47.org. If you send an electronic version from a 'portal', please make sure the health history portion is completed on page two or the back side of the form. If you have already submitted the required paperwork, thank you!
If you have any questions regarding the health office procedures for medication or required paperwork, please reach out to me, Amanda Keegan, RN, Building Nurse at Ajkeegan@d47.org or 815-788-5555.
Safety Drill Schedule This Month
The health and safety of our students and staff are our top priority. Under the Illinois School Safety Drill Act, all public schools are required to conduct a variety of safety drills annually. Drills practiced include fire (3), bus evacuation (1), severe weather/shelter-in-place (2), and law enforcement (lockdown/active shooter) (3)
We will hold our 1st drill practice (fire, shelter, lockdown) on August 28th at 2:00 p.m. This first round of drills will not include our local police and fire departments. We will communicate our next two rounds of drills with you in the future.
Preparing for various scenarios in advance helps empower staff and students in the case of a real emergency. While the chance of an incident happening is unlikely, we care about the well-being of our students and staff and are required by law to educate our school community to ensure emergency preparedness for all.
As indicated above, our school will participate in a lockdown drill on August 28th. We understand that some drills, particularly the law enforcement/lockdown drill, could cause anxiety for some students. Should you have questions about the lockdown drill or wish to opt your child out of the drill, please fill out and submit this form to your child’s school or contact the main office at 815-788-5550. Under state law, schools must still provide alternative safety education related to an active threat to students who do not participate in the lockdown drill.
Menus
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Peachjar E-Flyers
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