Message from the Principal

Dear Virginia Lake Families,

It has been an incredible start to the school year! Thank you for all of your support! This week, our staff will be sharing important information with our families about their individual classrooms on Wednesday, September 11th during our Parent Orientation. The schedule is available below.

Our PTA will be hosting the first PTA meeting of the school year on Tuesday, September 10th at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be in person in our multi-purpose room (MPR). Please come in through Door 16. We will also share a virtual link for the meeting. At 8:00 p.m., we will have a meeting for our classroom room representatives. Room representatives coordinate classroom parties for Halloween and Valentine's Day. If you are interested in helping, please contact your child's teacher. All of our PTA meetings following the first meeting, will take place in our teacher's lounge.

During dismissal, please provide our staff with some additional space by waiting on the sidewalk or on the grass by Door 4. Please do not crowd the door as students and staff exit at the end of the day. Thank you in advance for your help!

Assignment notebooks have been provided to each child in grades 3-5. Please send $5.00 to your child's teacher to cover the cost of the assignment notebook. Thank you!

Please consider helping Virginia Lake stock the teacher's lounge with snacks and necessities as we begin the school year. We are asking that all food items be individually wrapped/packaged All items can be dropped off in the office.

Stock the Lounge Sign Up

Let’s make it a great week!

Warmest Regards,

Patti Van Winkle, Principal

Please be mindful of our District 15 Board Policy regarding cell phones and smart watches. All electronic devices (including wearable devices) must be kept powered-off or silenced and out-of-sight during the regular school day unless: (a) use of the device is provided in a student’s individualized education program (IEP), or (b) it is needed in an emergency that threatens the safety of students, staff, or other individuals.

Please contact our school office at least 30 minutes prior to dismissal, if there is a change of transportation. If you are emailing your child's teachers, please do so prior to the lunch hour. Our staff is teaching and may not see an email. Thank you for your partnership to ensure our students are safe.

During the week of September 9th, the Palatine Police Department will be enforcing the new parking rules. Please do not park on Rohlwing Rd. during arrival and dismissal.

There are new parking restrictions that the City of Palatine has implemented over the summer. Parking is not longer allowed on the east AND west side of Rohlwing Rd. This change is in effect because during arrival and dismissal parked cars and cars waiting in our car rider line have blocked traffic on Rohlwing. Cars are no longer allowed to park on the Rohlwing Rd. during arrival and dismissal. If families prefer to exit their car to pick up their child, they can park in the Palatine High School stadium lot and walk to our property. Cars waiting in the car rider lane should wait alongside the curb to pull into our lot. The photo below provides a visual of the parking restrictions. We thank you in advance for your help in implementing this change.

Did you know? Students with perfect attendance are more likely to excel in their studies. Help us meet our goal of 9 or fewer absences for success! Together, we can make every day count for our children!

Please see the attached letter for additional information regarding MAP testing.

Students in grades 2-8 will participate in MAP Testing in reading and math beginning September 11. MAP tests are unique because they adapt to your child’s responses to measure your child’s skill level. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If your child answers incorrectly, the next question is easier.

These results provide a more complete picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn — whether it is on, above, or below their grade level. MAP tests measure students’ achievement and growth. Teachers use results to identify students with similar learning needs, tailor classroom lessons, and set goals for students. MAP results will be shared with families in early October.

District 15 is implementing a new application that will allow families to track their child's school bus. Please download the application here.

1. Download My Ride K-12 from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
2. After the app installation is complete, open My Ride K-12.
3. If you do not already have a registered email, click Register.
4. To register, enter your email address, password, and name.
5. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email. Click on the link in your email to confirm your registration through the My Ride K-12 website.
6. Log in, then find your student by going to My Students and clicking Add Student.
7. When prompted to find your school district, search for Community Consolidated School District 15-Palatine.
8. Find your student by going to My Students and choosing the + button. This will present the Add Student screen.
9. Enter your student's ID number. (Please be sure to use your student's school ID number, not to be confused with the state ID number. The school ID can be found on their Infinite Campus profile on the "today" tab.)
10. Next, select your student's school name from the drop-down list, and click Add Student, and then Back to Students. Repeat this step to add additional students.
11. Once you have linked to a student, click on that student’s profile to see all relevant transportation information.
12. Press the Share button to share a student link with someone else. Enter the email of the person you would like to share with. That person will receive a confirmation email that will automatically link them to the shared student(s). Recipients must register with My Ride K-12, if they have not already done so, to access the student information.
13. Regularly check for updates to ensure that your device is running the latest version of the app.
14. Remain logged in to the app to receive district notifications, even when the app is not actively running.

We will be hosting our Parent Orientation Night on Wednesday, September 11th. Our schedule for the evening is listed below. We look forward to sharing our learning plans and expectations for the upcoming school year. This is an informational evening for parents/guardians ONLY. Thank you for saving the date!

6:30-7:00 p.m.- Preschool -2nd Grade

7:10-7:40 p.m.- Grades 3-5

We are quickly approaching the first day of school and wanted to remind you to renew your PTA Membership for the 2024-2025 year!

The pricing for standard memberships remains the same this year.

Single Adult Membership $10

Faculty/Staff Membership $8

Two Adult Family Membership $16

New this year are Booster Memberships! Get all the same perks as the standard membership with an additional donation included. Booster Memberships include up to two adults, a bonus item as a thank you and a donation that goes directly to the PTA to help support activities and events at the school. The levels are as follows

Silver $25 - (receive up to two memberships and a VL window cling perfect to display your support for the PTA)

Gold $50 - (receive up to two memberships, VL window cling and a stuffed dolphin)

Platinum $75 - (receive up to two memberships, VL window cling and a dolphin baseball hat)

Diamond $100 - (receive up to two memberships, a VL window cling and a VL tumbler cup)

All funds raised are used to sponsor school programs, events and resources for our students. Homecoming is the first PTA sponsored event on Friday September 6th!

A reminder that we ALWAYS appreciate the support you provide however that comes. Joining does not require any commitment of time and you do not need to volunteer if unable.

Please follow the link to get signed up!

https://www.virginialakepta.com/membership#ghUtwZ

Tuesday, September 10th- PTA Meeting- 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 11th- Parent Orientation - PreK-2- 6:30-7:00p.m./ 3-5- 7:10-7:40 p.m.

Monday, September 30th- Picture Day

Email: vanwinkp@ccsd15.net
Website: https://www.ccsd15.net/VL
Location: 925 N Glenn Dr, Palatine, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-7105