Grass Lake School News

What a great YEAR to be a BRAVE! As we close out another school year at Grass Lake, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the unwavering support, kindness, and partnership you've shown throughout the year. Together, we’ve created a school community where students feel safe, supported, and encouraged to grow into the best versions of themselves.

It’s remarkable to look back and see just how much our students have grown this year. Not only academically, but also socially, emotionally, and as members of a larger community. They've taken on challenges, discovered new passions, deepened friendships, and shown resilience and grit in ways that remind all adults in their lives why we do this work.

Thank you for being such an essential part of that journey. Your encouragement, your presence, and your belief in our school make all the difference. We are so grateful for the trust you place in us every day.

Please see below for the end-of-year activities that will be taking place over the course of the next couple of days. As a reminder, we have a full day of school on Tuesday, June 3 and students will be celebrating their last day with our annual GLS Field Day and it looks like we are going to have some amazing weather too!

We have also created a section below about some important updates regarding next year, in particular for our 5th through 8th grade students as well as a copy of our calendar from last year. Please see below for more details and reach out with any questions!

8th Grade Graduation
When: Friday, May 30, 2025 | 6:00 PM (outdoors, weather permitting)
If indoors: GLS Gymnasium at 6:30 PM

Where: Outdoors behind Grass Lake School (weather permitting)
If indoors: GLS Gymnasium at 6:30 PM

8th Grade Lock-In
When: Monday, June 2 – Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 6:00 PM – 7:00 AM
Where: Grass Lake School

Kindergarten Year-End Celebration
When: Monday, June 2, 2025 | 11:00 AM–12:45 PM
Where: LRC, classrooms, and outdoors

Who: All of our Kindergarten Students and Parents/Guardians/Siblings

Field Day & All-School Picnic
When: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 8:00 AM
Where: Grass Lake School
Who: All Students and Staff (8th Grade Students are invited to attend)

As summer begins, we hope your family finds time to rest, recharge, and make some memories together. Please note that our school office will remain open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM if you need anything in the coming weeks and months and we look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Warm Regards,

Ryan Wollberg

Principal/Grass Lake School

This is a reminder that Grasslake School will be collecting devices on or before June 3rd. Please be sure that your student leaves home with their Chromebook, Chromebook charger, and bag on the last day they will attend class. In addition to the Chromebook, the charger also needs to be returned to us.

• If your student has a loaner Chromebook, they will return it with their charger.
• Any items not turned in will be charged to your account on June 6th.
• If your student will be absent on June 3rd, they can choose to drop off their items on Monday, June 2nd OR the last anticipated day they will attend school.

If you have any questions, please contact Todd Williams at twilliams@gls36.org

As we finish the remaining weeks of the 2024–2025 school year, we’re excited to share several important updates to our 2025–2026 schedule that will directly impact students in grades 5–8. These enhancements are rooted in our commitment to increasing instructional impact, supporting individual growth, and ensuring a smooth developmental transition between elementary and middle school.

5th Grade: Staying in Elementary, with a Middle School Twist

Starting next school year, fifth grade will remain part of the elementary model and be assigned to a homeroom with Miss Ross, maintaining consistency and structure as students continue to grow academically and socially.

Fifth graders will attend PE with 6th graders and are expected to use lockers and change into PE clothes. A lock and appropriate gym attire will be included on the school supply list to help students prepare for this added responsibility and independence.

6th Grade: Welcome to Middle School

Sixth-grade students will be divided into two groups for core academic classes (ELA, Science, Social Studies, and Math). This structure allows for a smoother transition into middle school, as we’ve seen great success this year with smaller class sizes supporting student engagement and adjustment.

Students will still come together for PE, Lunch/Recess, Health/Art/Music, and they will also be together during Academic Flex, ensuring they remain connected to their full peer group throughout the day.

Middle School (Grades 6–8): New Morning ABC Academic Flex Rotation

A major shift in the middle school schedule is the addition of a rotating ABC Academic Flex Period at the start of each day. This 45-minute, ungraded block is designed to extend learning in core subjects and offer real-time academic support or enrichment, without interrupting other instruction.

Here’s what a typical Academic Flex rotation might include:
A Day – Math Focus
B Day – ELA Focus
C Day – Science, Social Studies, SEL, or Project-Based Learning (PBL)

This structure provides a purposeful start to the day, supporting deeper understanding and authentic learning opportunities.

Core Academic Offerings: Remain Consistent

While the day’s structure is evolving, our commitment to core academics remains strong and familiar:

• ELA will continue to be taught in two daily periods, offering time for focused instruction in reading, writing, and language.
  

• Math, Science, and Social Studies will remain daily components of each student’s schedule.
  

• Health, Art, and Music will continue to rotate by trimester, ensuring a well-rounded experience for every learner.

We’re proud of how these updates reflect our dedication to supporting each student academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you for your continued partnership in helping make Grass Lake a place where students thrive and grow.

After a thorough review of student data, a cost analysis, and valuable input from students, staff, and parents, Grass Lake School will not be offering an academic summer school program this year. Instead, we are refocusing our efforts on enhancing our school-year schedule to better meet student needs year-round, rather than just through a three-week summer program. While GLS will not be hosting a summer school program, we’re excited to share that Stellar Athletics (who currently runs our Friday Afterschool Club) will be offering a summer camp opportunity right here at GLS!

This nine-week program, running from June 4 to August 1, will provide structured and engaging activities for students in grades K-8. Families will have flexibility with daily or weekly sign-ups so you can take those summer vacations and still allow the students to join the camp. Stellar Athletics operates independently from GLS, meaning families who choose to participate will be responsible for the cost. GLS is not financially responsible for the program, but we’re excited to share this opportunity with our school community as it was designed with you in mind! See below for more details:

Things to know about Steller Summer Camp:

• 9 week Summer Camp June 4th through August 1st
• Camp operates Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4:00pm
• Early Bird Drop off and Extended Day Pickup available
• Early Bird- 6:30 am-7:30 am
• Extended Day- 4:00 pm- 5:00 pm
• Campers will be dropped off and picked up by their parents. NO BUSSING available.
• Campers will need to bring their own sack lunch, snack and water.
• Early Bird Registration ends March 21st for a guaranteed spot!

Things to expect from Steller Summer Camp:

• A safe, fun and socially engaging environment for all campers to participate
• Each week will be themed with all activities following the theme!
• Campers will have the opportunity to:
• Participate in small group activities
• Be creative with art projects & crafts
• Explore with experiments to stimulate learning
• Utilize STEM Centers
• Enjoy outdoor activities- weather permitting
• Participate in water activities- weather permitting
• Recieve movement breaks with sports and open play
• Watch themed and purposeful movies
• Have FUN Fridays!

Water Day Extravaganza – May 30th

Get ready to make a splash and cool off in style with the biggest water party of the year!

• Giant Water Slide: Feel the rush as you slip, slide, and splash your way into summer!

• Water Balloon Battles: Grab your friends and get ready for the ultimate water showdown!

• Super Soaker Spray Zone: Water guns galore! Dive into the action and soak your friends!

• Popsicles to cool off after all the fun!

Bring your swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, and a big smile—we’re ending the year with a splash-tastic celebration!

Space is limited, so please register your child as soon as possible to secure their spot.

REGISTER HERE!

We’ve been offered a great opportunity to support our school this weekend! The Lodge has invited Grass Lake School and the PTO to continue selling drinks for the remainder of the Taste of Summer event, excluding Friday. This is a fantastic way to stay involved and help raise funds for our students.

If you’re available to lend a hand, we’d love your support. You can view the updated volunteer schedule and sign up here:

Taste of Summer Volunteer Sign-Up

Please feel free to share this with others who might be interested. Every helping hand makes a difference, and we truly appreciate the incredible support of our GLS community!

One great way to support our school is by getting involved with the Grass Lake School PTO! Our PTO helps make so many of our favorite events and experiences possible, from Breakfast With Santa to Scoopie Night, donating classroom supplies, special treats for staff and students, and so much more. Their efforts directly support our students, staff, and school community.

Whether you can lend a hand occasionally or want to be more involved, there’s a place for everyone.

Interested? Email us at grasslakepto@gmail.com
Or scan the QR code (below) to join the GLS PTO Facebook page and stay connected!

Band and Choir Families

Please take advantage of the awesome opportunity provided by District 117 this summer! They offer private music lessons during the summer on all instruments and voice! If you are interested in lessons for your child this summer, here is the REGISTRATION LINK to reserve their spot today. Private lessons are a wonderful way to improve and maintain skills on any instrument.

In other news, our NEHS led by Mrs. Moe, raised $590.98 for the Grayslake Save-A-Pet. They did this through the coin wars competition that took place a few months ago at GLS. The Save-A -Pet staff was so excited to hear of this amazing donation and see all the letters that the NEHS students wrote to them. They hung up all the letters on their waiting room wall. Way to go NEHS!

Please follow the link below for more information about our Winter Athletics.

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