What a great week at Grass Lake to be a BRAVE! What an incredible start to the school year we’ve had! Last Sunday, we kicked things off with our PTO Back to School BBQ, and it was truly an amazing time. It was wonderful to see so many families come together to celebrate the beginning of another great year.

On Monday and Tuesday, we welcomed back our dedicated staff for inservice and training sessions. This year, we are excited to refocus on our new Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program, which was a key part of our training on Tuesday. We also reignited our PBIS program and our BRAVE traits: being Safe, Respectful, and Responsible. These core values are at the heart of our school culture.

On Wednesday, the highlight of the week was welcoming our students back as they walked the red carpet into the building, setting a positive and enthusiastic tone for the year. Throughout the day, students participated in stations where they learned the expectations for behavior in all areas of the school. They were also introduced to our new reward system, BRAVE Bucks, which we’re thrilled to roll out this year.

We’re excited to end this fantastic week on a high note with a special assembly led by our 8th-grade students. They’ll be showcasing their leadership by celebrating our BRAVE Traits: being Safe, Respectful, and Responsible. During the assembly, we will also hold our first PBIS raffle of the year!

Three lucky winners will be selected as our guests of honor at a very special event—the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new book vending machine. T

This exciting unveiling will take place at 6:00 pm in our LRC on Monday, August 26. We’re thrilled to have the mayor of Antioch joining us for this momentous occasion as we use the book vending machine for the first time. This could not have been possible without our amazing PTO and we thank them for their dedication to GLS! We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our students’ achievements and this exciting new addition to our school!

Last but never least, Fall sports start next week and we will once again have a late bus that is an option for our students. Guided Study will begin on September 3 after MAP Testing. This program is for 4-8 students and please email Ms. Ryan for further information at dryan@gls36.org.

Thank you, as always, for your help and support. I hope everyone has a great weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Warm Regards,

Ryan Wollberg

Principal/Grass Lake School

Beginning next week, all students will participate in the Measure of Academic Performance Tests or MAP Tests. Students will be taking 2 tests focused on reading and mathematics to evaluate their current academic standing. Should you need specific dates/times, your child’s teacher can provide specifics for both tests. Please know that children will not take more than one test session each day. Non-testing days and the remainder of testing days will be devoted to instruction.

You can help your child do his/her best on MAP or any assessment by doing the following:

• Make sure that your child attends school on the days of testing.

• Ensure he/she receives a good nights sleep the night before testing.

• Provide breakfast on the mornings of testing (snacks will not be provided due to allergies).

• Let him/her know that you have confidence in his/her ability to do his/her best.

• Advise him/her not to worry about the test and to do the best he/she can.

Important Dates for the Fall:

August 19th 5pm- ALL SPORTS/ATHLETES Concussion Baseline Testing. This is for any student participating in a sport this upcoming 24/25 school year.

August 23rd- Athletic Packets Due!

August 26th- First Day of Practice: Fall Sports

Please follow the button below to be directed to our GLS website for more details related to our Breakfast/Lunch menus and ordering information. If there are any questions, please contact our main office. As a reminder, our lunch fees are $3.75.

This year, you will continue to see important updates from me regarding the importance of attendance every day at GLS. More information will be forthcoming in upcoming newsletters but we wanted all of our students to start the year off headed in the right direction. Please follow this link to view our Academic Calendar for the upcoming school year and we encourage all of our families, to the greatest extent possible, to schedule doctor and dentist appointments, vacations, etc. on days off. While we understand there may certainly be extenuating circumstances out of your control, your help in sending your child to school every day will help them continue to excel at GLS.

As a reminder, Grass Lake encourages you to send your child to school every day, unless they are exhibiting one or more of the following symptoms:

1. The student has a temperature consistently above 100 even when taking medication in the last 24 hours.
2. The student is throwing up or experiencing diarrhea in the last 24 hours.
3. The student has pink eyes that are crusty and not receiving medication for them for 24 hours.

While this list is not all-inclusive your help is appreciated as even missing 2 days a month equates to missing almost 10% of the school year. Also, as a reminder, any absence due to illness that lasts for more than three consecutive days may be verified by a medical note, which must be produced within two days of the student’s return for the absence to be considered excused. Thank you for your help and support!

Grass Lake School hours of attendance are 7:45 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. on regular schedule days and 7:45 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. on early release late-start days. When reporting an absence please indicate the reason for the absence and if it is due to illness, please report symptoms including if your child has a fever, cough, or sore throat. This will assist the district in assessing when a student will return and whether it must comply with any reporting or notice requirements.

Please report absences by phone OR by email:

• Call (847) 395-1550, or
• Email attendance@gls36.org

If the school has not heard from you and your child is absent, you will receive a call to verify the absence. School code provides that parents/guardians/other persons having legal custody of a child provide telephone numbers at the time of enrollment to enable the school to notify the parent/guardian/other person with legal custody of the child’s absence from school. Accordingly, this verification of absence call will be made to the numbers provided at registration and not necessarily the parents’ places of employment.

This year, we have adjusted and included bus information in Infinite Campus. You can view your child(rens) bus information by following these steps or going to our website by following this link:

1. Sign into Infinite Campus
2. Select your GLS Student(s)
3. Select "More"' in the column on the left
4. Select "Transportation"
5. Under "Bus" it will read one of three numbers GLS00# (# indicates what bus 1, 2, or 3) to indicate if they are on bus 1, 2, or 3. This year we are running three routes for K-8.
6. If you are a Pre-Kindergarten parent it will read GLSPK# (# indicates what bus 1(AM), 2(AM), 3(PM), or 4(PM).

As a reminder, for Friday early release, please plan for students in grades K-8 to be home 1.5 hours earlier than Monday through Thursday.

We’ve also posted this information on our website, which you can access by following this link. As a reminder, during the first few days, the buses may run approximately 5-10 minutes off schedule, so we kindly ask for your patience. Additionally, all Pre- K and Kindergarten families, please plan on meeting your child at the bus stop, as the drivers will not release them unless an adult is present for safety purposes. We truly appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Below, you’ll find a map for your convenience, detailing our drop-off and pick-up procedures. We ask that parents remain in their cars during drop-off and pick-up to ensure smooth traffic flow and student safety. The only exception is for Pre-K families, who may require the need to get out to get their child(ren) out of a 5 point harness car seat.

Please note the following morning waiting areas for students:

- Pre-K: Will enter in the main entrance but have a separate waiting area in our main foyer/hall.

- K-3: Library

- 4-6: MPR (Multi-Purpose Room)

- 7-8: Basement near their lockers

If you plan to pick your child up early from school, kindly email your child's teacher as well as Cristina Monroy, our administrative assistant. Early pick-up and late drop-off should be done through our main entrance. Please remember to bring your ID when picking up your child, as we want to ensure they are sent home with an approved individual.

When your child is dropped off in the morning, they will enter through the main entrance. In the afternoon, they will exit through the same doors (marked by the yellow box below). Please wait in your car, and we will release students to you as quickly as possible. Again, we ask for your patience at the beginning of the year as we refine our procedures—rest assured, the process will become faster as everyone gets accustomed to it. Additionally, please do not drop off your child until the front doors open at 7:30 am.

Thank you for your continued support!

GRASS LAKE SCHOOL

26177 W. Grass Lake Rd. Antioch, IL 60002
Phone: (847) 395-1550 | Fax: (847) 395-8632

Email: rwollberg@gls36.org
Website: www.gls36.org
Location: Grass Lake School District 36, West Grass Lake Road, Antioch, IL, USA
Phone: 847-395-1550