Grass Lake School News

Our Family Engagement Team met on Tuesday, February 12, and we’re gearing up for an incredible Multi-Cultural Event on Saturday, May 10, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM!

Before we dive into planning and invite more families to join the fun, we’d love your input! Do you think this date and time work best for our event?

Please let us know your thoughts below. Your feedback helps make this event the best it can be! Thank you!

What a great week to be a BRAVE! One of the things that continues to impress and inspire me daily is the flexibility, patience, and support of our staff, students, and families. On Wednesday, when we had to transition to an early release due to the snowstorm, the way everyone quickly adapted and worked together to ensure safety was truly remarkable. Thank you all for your cooperation and understanding.

I hope to see many of you this Saturday night at our PTO Trivia Night! The flyer above and below have all the details, so grab your team and get ready for a great time. Now, I’m not trying to start an “us vs. them” situation here… but I do have to warn you, our GLS staff is bringing their A-game and if you look up competitive in the dictionary, you will see your GLS staff next to it. We may be dedicated educators by day, but when it comes to trivia, let’s just say the competition gets real. The question is—do we have some trivia masters out there among our GLS families who can take us down? We’ll find out on Saturday night!

I can't wait to see everyone there—win or lose, it’s going to be a fun night for a great cause!

Looking ahead, a quick reminder that there will be no school on Friday, February 16, as our staff will be participating in the 2025 FeBRRuary: Breathe, Rejuvenate, Reflect Institute Day, hosted by the Lake County Regional Office of Education. This day is an opportunity for our teachers to collaborate, recharge, and gain new insights from educators across the county. Investing in professional growth helps us bring fresh ideas, strategies, and best practices back to Grass Lake, ensuring we continue to provide the best learning experience for our students. Additionally, there will be no school on Monday, February 19, in observance of Presidents' Day—we hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

As we continue through the school year, I want to continue to highlight one of the most exciting initiatives at GLS this year and that is our very own GLS Food Pantry. This resource is dedicated to supporting our students and families in need, and seeing our community come together to give, support, and uplift one another has been truly inspiring. If you’d like to contribute, we welcome donations of non-perishable food items. Every can, box, or bag of food donated makes a real difference for a family in our school. If you’d like to help in another way or have any questions, please reach out to our school social worker, Kelly Porter, at 847-603-5160 or kporter@gls36.org. Thank you for being part of a caring and compassionate school community that ensures all our families feel supported.

Speaking of giving back, our N.E.H.S. and N.J.H.S. students are hosting Coin Wars from February 24-28 in the library! Each class will have a jar to collect donations, and the class that raises the most will win an ice cream party. All proceeds will go to Save-A-Pet, supporting animals in need. This is a great opportunity for our students to come together for a cause, practice generosity, and have some fun along the way. Encourage your child to look in the couch cushions, clean the car (bonus if they wash and wax!), whatever they can do so they can bring in spare change and help their class take the lead every coin counts!

Thank you, as always, for your help and support and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Warm Regards,

Ryan Wollberg

Principal/Grass Lake School

At Grass Lake School, we take pride in our history and the incredible individuals who have walked our halls. Today, we’re thrilled to celebrate one of our very own, Zackary Simonini, a GLS alum who is making waves in Hollywood!

Zack’s journey from GLS to the big screen has been nothing short of inspiring. In 2024 alone, he has appeared in three movies and a commercial, and now, he’s stepping onto an even bigger stage FOX’s game show, THE FLOOR Season 3! That’s right, he’s stepping up, stepping over, and hopefully NOT stepping off too soon!

For those who know Zack, this success comes as no surprise. His passion, perseverance, and talent have taken him far, and we couldn’t be prouder to see a GLS graduate reaching new heights. Whether he’s winning big on The Floor or lighting up the silver screen, one thing is certain: I am sure many of you who know Zach will say, “We always knew he’d be famous!”

Let’s celebrate Zack’s journey and cheer him on as he takes on this exciting new challenge. Tune in, support a fellow BRAVE, and remember that autographs are still free (for now)!

Each week throughout the school year, families enrolled in our Backpack Program will go home with pre-bagged, shelf-stable, nutritious food items. Items may include: milk, pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, cereal, tuna, beans, rice, and more! Please complete this form if your family would like to be enrolled. The food will come home with your student once a week. If you decide your family would no longer like to be part of the program, or if you have any questions, please contact Kelly Porter at 847-603-5160 or kporter@gls36.org. This form and program are confidential.

We were able to get a sneak peek of some of our students practicing for the upcoming musical "Willy Wonka Jr." Don't tell anyone, as it is our little secret and follow this link!

Also, We are looking for volunteers! If you would like to volunteer to sell ice cream, sign up below.

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

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