Glenwood's News to Roar About

Glenwood students will become proficient readers by 2nd grade and be armed with the social and emotional grit to believe that they CAN be successful.

We exist so that students develop the academic and social emotional skills needed to make confident choices and to grow and succeed at life.

Hello Families-

I hope that your spring break with your children at home was fun and relaxing for you. Or…did you send them off somewhere so that your days were fun and relaxing! I am kidding of course, but I do hope that spring break was a pleasant one for you and the family.

As far as school is concerned, we have made it to the home stretch. We have less than 40 days left before the end of the year. I don’t know about you, but, to me, it definitely felt like the year just zoomed by. There will be several events scheduled in the next couple of months. Please keep an eye out for flyers, Dojo messages, and announcements from the district and school.

I want to take this time to remind you that the online registration process for next year has begun. The only thing that you will need to do is log-in and verify that the current information on file is correct. Please take this time to update phone numbers and emergency contact information as needed. If you have your log-in information, go ahead and get your child registered. If you need your portal letter again, email or call the school and the secretaries will get the information to you.

If your address has changed or your child will be attending a different Waukegan school, you will need to provide proof of residency as outlined by the districts. If you still are not sure if your child will be attending a Waukegan school, I would recommend that you get him/her registered until a final decision is made. Give us a call if you need assistance, we will be glad to set up an appointment.

Thanks again for your attention to our monthly newsletter. I hope it is providing you with information that you can use to plan and support your child at school.

Thank you,

Cabrina Williams-Leneau, principal

Late start Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Bell to come inside at 11:05 and tardy bell at 11:15).

No School April 7, 2025 -Teacher Institute Day

No School April 18, 2025- Good Friday

Late start Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Bell to come inside at 11:05 and tardy bell at 11:15).

*Keep in mind breakfast is not served on late start days.*

*Friday, April 25th Movie Night Kinder-2nd 5:00-7:00 PM

*Friday, May 2nd Movie Night 3rd-5th 5:00-7:00 PM

The theme for the month of April is Random Acts of Kindness. The students will be focusing on acts of kindness. Each day the student will have an act of kindness to complete and teachers will keep track of how many acts of kindness are completed in the classroom.

Books to Read:

Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer

I am Kind by Brad Meltzer

Counting Kindness by Hollis Kurman

My Heart by Corrina Luyken

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead

Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems

Extra Yarn by Mac Burnett

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller

Come with Me by Holly McGhee

Kindness is my Superpower by Alicia Ortego

Videos to Watch:

LifeVest- Kindness Boomerang

Kindness is a Muscle Song

Kindness Dance

Kid President Kindness Video

Kindness Brings Color

All Glenwood students receive interventions to support them behaviorally and emotionally throughout the week. Some examples are Second Step, which is a curriculum that teaches emotional regulation and conflict resolution skills, as well as Calm Classroom, which helps students practice breathing techniques that they can use to self-regulate at any point in the day. Some students require more than these universal interventions, however. If you feel as though your student is struggling emotionally or behaviorally, you can fill out this form to request additional support. Your request will be reviewed by the school Tier II team, and we will reach out after we determine how we can best support your student in the school setting.

https://forms.gle/bUWaToUJziLYwsXeA

Wraparound Center Accepting Referrals

Since summer, our District’s Wraparound Center has been open to provide essential resources for families in need of additional support. The Wraparound Center serves as a one-stop location where students, families, and residents can access therapeutic services and resources from community agencies. The Wraparound Center operates out of the lower level of 214 Washington Street in downtown Waukegan.

These services are available for students, families and the community. Our District partners with direct service providers, A Safe Place and CYN Counseling Center to create a nurturing and empowering environment where families can access the resources they need to thrive. CYN focuses on mental health support and social-emotional counseling. A Safe Place focuses on sexual abuse and domestic violence support and counseling.

Referral Process

The Wraparound Center operates on a referral basis, and will not be available for walk-ins. Individuals may self-refer, or refer others. A referral process has been established to allow staff and service providers an opportunity to screen potential clients to ensure we can properly support their needs. Our external/community referral form can be accessed here. If you or someone you know could benefit from the support offered, please complete the form. Individuals should expect to hear back from staff within two business days. A separate internal referral process on S.T.A.R. is also in place to allow our support teams to make student referrals.

Anyone with questions email wraparound@wps60.org.

We are very excited to partner with CYN and A Safe Place and are continuing our efforts to secure additional direct service providers to support students, families, and community members.

Please complete the survey below about different events at Glenwood School.

Parent Survey Link

Kindergarten:

*Phonics: capital letters, reviewing digraphs and consonant clusters, reviewing letter names and sounds, reading text independently and fluently, blending sounds to make words, building reading comprehension, tricky spelling, tricky/high frequency words, improving handwriting, rhyming

*Reading: using graphic organizers and building key vocabulary related to taking care of our earth, sequencing, recalling key details from text, comparing and contrasting

*Math: addition, subtraction, writing numbers 1-100, naming and building 2d and 3d shapes, measuring time, interrupted counting, decomposing numbers 1-10, nonconsecutive numbers

*Science: content related to taking care of our earth, understand what happens to garbage, earth's natural resources, reduce, reuse, recycle, pollution, water cycle

*Social Emotional Themes: we can be kind, showing kindness, kindness at school, demonstrating kindness

First Grade:

Math Unit 9: In this unit, we will focus on adding and subtracting with 2-digit numbers.

Knowledge/ S. Studies/ A New Nation: American Independence; we will learn when and how our country, the United States of America, started. We will be introduced to many important historical figures and events as the story unfolds

of how the thirteen colonies determined and gained their independence from Britain to become the United States of America.

*SEL: Cool Tool for this month is keeping your hands to yourself, to practice being respectful to others.

*Skills: We will continue working with pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions. We will continue practicing verb tense and root words. We will learn tricky consonant blends such as ck, wr, wh.

Second Grade:

Math- We will finish up unit 8 and begin unit 9. We will learn about equal shares as it relates to fractions and number lines, learn about expanding and trading (borrowing) in terms of subtraction, and estimating costs.

ELA- We will finish up our unit about the Human Body and Nutrition and begin our unit on Immigration. The students will be introduced to the concept on immigration in the United States- an especially important topic because the United States is often referred to as a country of immigrants. Students will practice collecting and synthesizing information by using note-taking tools such as charts and graphic organizers

Phonics- In phonics we will be reading an informational text about The War of 1812. We will learn about text features in informational text. In grammar we will focus on adverbs, adjectives, and building complete sentences.

SEL- We will be reviewing all of the skills we have learned so far such as empathy, being a problem solver, and ways to show kindness.

Third Grade:

ELA/SLA: In April, we will be starting a Native American Unit. The students will be reading selections that are realistic fictional accounts with the purpose of conveying nonfiction information about several Native American cultures. Students will read how Native Americans spread through the continents, changing their ways of life as they did so. They will read about Native Americans who settled in the Greater Mississippi River areas as well as in the Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Arctic/Subarctic.

Math: The first we get back from spring break, the students will be reviewing for the chapter 7 unit test and cumulative test. Then, we will begin working on more multiplication and division strategies along with problem solving.

SEL: For the month of April we will be focusing on Random Acts of Kindness. We be keeping track of of the mind kind things that our classmates do for each other.

Fourth Grade:

ELA: Students will begin their last CKLA unit on Treasure Island. Students will have the opportunity to read this adventure story and then write their own adventure story.

Math: Students will begin their last Math unit. This unit reviews all of the concepts we have learned this year but it will be presented through multistep story problems.

Science: Students will be learning about weather.

SEL: Students will be reviewing empathy, kindness, calm down strategies, and problem solving.

Fifth Grade:

ELA/SLA/Social Studies: We begin our unit on Native Americans, introducing students to the diverse tribes and how each tribe is proud of their unique identity and culture. We finish the unit with a persuasive writing project.

Math: Unit 8 has students applying what they know in measurement, computation, and graphing. They solve various present day problems with these skills.

Phonics and Word Work - The students continue decoding and defining vocabulary, accurately reading and writing multi-syllable words, as well as reading and responding to grade level text independently.

SEL: - The theme this month is Random Acts of Kindness where everyone at Glenwood is encouraged to do nice things for others. Maybe they’ll clean the kitchen for you!

Mr. Junig's physical education classes have started physical fitness testing. These tests include a pacer running test, curl ups to test abdominal strength, push ups for arm strength, trunk lift for core, sit n reach for flexibility, and height and weight to calculate body mass index. Finally, remember what we learned in the video some of us watched on our virtual day of learning. To reduce the spread of illnesses, wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds.

Ms. Harrison's Art Class - Students in 4th and 5th grade are learning about a famous bird illustrator John James Audubon. They will be illustrating their bird drawing with an art medium of their choice. In 3rd grade they are learning about Pablo Picasso and cubism. They will be creating the Three Musicians collage. In 2nd grade, students are learning about Vincent Van Gogh and his abstract technique in creating sunflower collage. 1st graders are learning about Joan Miro and technique in using doodling into an artform. Finally, the kinders are learning about Piet Mondrian and will experiment with tempera paint using primary colors (red, blue and yellow).

Equity through Literacy

Literacy, as a component of Equity, means that students receive all the resources and support needed to become proficient readers. Without literacy, our students' futures are compromised and limited. To enable our Glenwood students to be successful and compete effectively in the job market when they grow up, we have established a vision statement that we want our students to be proficient readers by second grade. We want our students to get what they need, through an instruction and educational environment that provides a culturally responsive, rigorous education, regardless of socio-economic, language-based, or racial/cultural backgrounds.

What do we need from parents/Caretakers? To achieve literacy, parents, caretakers, and families need to forge a partnership with the schools. It is important to read with the children and/or have them read to you. Let them practice their newfound reading skills with you! Ask your child's teacher for strategies to work on to improve their reading. Together we can achieve equity through literacy!

Literacy equity

Sandra Zamble

ESL Resource Teacher

Glenwood Elementary School

On Friday, March 14th, all roads led to Glenwood’s Girl’s Choice Dance. With a Mardi Gras theme, Glenwood Tiger-ettes brought their special “choice” escorts to this fun-filled evening. Many thanks to Ms. Salmon, the coordinator of this event, our seasoned Dee jays, Ms. Jankovich and Mr. Moorehouse, and the many staff members who helped to decorate and support this special evening. A great time was had by all! Go Glenwood Tigers and Tiger-ettes!

On Thursday, March 20th, all roads led to Glenwood Elementary School for a memorable literacy based event geared for parents and students. This event was coordinated by Mrs. Zamble, ESL Resource Teacher and SBEF, Mrs. Rodrigo, SLD Resource Teacher, and Mrs. Ramirez, Instructional Support Teacher. The presentation was given by Mrs. Leslie Bracero, current Waukegan educator, author, and actress. Mrs. Bracero conducted an engaging literacy-based presentation in which she read to parents and students from her book and taught strategies for parents to help them engage their children in reading activities.

The event included music and dancing to add to the fun. Parents and students made predictions and discussed the story together. The book presented was written in English and Spanish, which enabled many parents to follow along in addition to translation being provided by our liaison, Ms. Nellie Castillo-Zamora. Many thanks to Mrs. Leneau, Glenwood Principal, Ms. Jankovich for tech help, and other staff members including teachers, parent mentors, our head custodian, PTO president and members of the PTO. Thanks to all for making this a success! Go, Glenwood Tigers!!!

If you are interested in the monthly lunch calendars, you can use this link to district's website to get more information.

District Lunch Information