Message from the Principal

Summer Updates

Necesitas traducción? Mire este breve video para obtener información.

Message from the Principal

Dear Virginia Lake Families,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! The school staff at Virginia Lake looks forward to encouraging, helping, guiding, nurturing, and supporting all of our students academically and socially this school year. We hope you have had a spectacular summer that allowed you to relax and create memories with your friends and loved ones. The Virginia Lake staff is eager to welcome our students back to school on Thursday, September 5th!

Virginia Lake can’t wait to welcome back our former dolphins and meet our new dolphins as we Move District 15 Forward. This year, we are excited to implement full-day kindergarten. We would like to invite all of our families to attend our "Welcome Wednesdays", so students can rekindle friendships from last school year and create new friendships with students who are new to Virginia Lake. We have several new pieces of playground equipment that our students can explore too! Each grade level is assigned a special day. Our PTA will be providing students with treats. Kona Ice will be selling snow cones. We hope your family is able to attend!

Virginia Lake has endured several updates this summer. Our playground has been modernized with three new pieces of equipment. We have added to our “Dolphin Pride” with a new dolphin decal in our main hallway. Our lockers have been refreshed with a new coat of blue paint. The facilities look amazing!

This year, all of our students will receive new Virginia Lake shirts to proudly display their “Dolphin Pride”. Shirts will be distributed to students during the first couple of days of school.

Virginia Lake’s school hours are 9:15 a.m.-3:55 p.m. Arrival begins at 9:00 a.m. School begins at 9:15 am. Every Friday, we dismiss students at 3:05 p.m to provide time for our staff to engage in professional development activities.

A special welcome to our new staff and new hires to Virginia Lake.

Viviana Reyes- Assistant Principal

Maria De La Paz- Bilingual Preschool

Lauren Manka- ECDEC Preschool

Ericka Slusarczyk- Kindergarten

Lindsay Boynton- Kindergarten

Kayley Ng- 3rd Grade

Katherine Gajewski- 3rd Grade

Leah Paraskveas- 3rd Grade

Teresa Schallmoser- 5th Grade

Shayla Flores- ESL

Ana Erdei- Bilingual Resource

Carmein Stringer- Bilingual Resource

Abriana Tereza- Music

Jennifer Muccianti- Physical Education

Adan Morales- Art

Amanda Anderson- Social Worker

Hilal Ekter- Itinerant Teacher

Justyna Mydra - Psychologist

Mary Kaempen- Orchestra

Kevin Holt- Band

Kristina Aguilar- Special Education Coordinator

The following Virginia Lake staff members will be joining a new team this school year:

Amanda Emery- 1st Grade

Brandon Redina- Physical Education

Elise Husak- 5th Grade

Kathy Brown- 5th Grade

Janet Alcala- Bilingual Academic Intervention

Hilal Ekter- Permanent Substitute

Communication is an important connection between home and school. Families will receive weekly newsletters from Virginia Lake once per week beginning on Sunday, August 25th at 5:00 p.m. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact me at 847-963-7105 or vanwinkp@ccsd15.net. We are always happy to assist you.

This email will be resent on Sunday, August 18th to ensure all of our families receive the information for the beginning of the school year.

Let’s make it a great school year!

Warmest Regards,

Patti Van Winkle, Principal

Welcome to Virginia Lake Elementary School, Home of the Dolphins!

We are located at 925 N. Glenn Dr. Palatine, IL 60074.

Our main office phone number is 847-963-7100. Our Absence Line is 847-963-7101.

Principal: Mrs. Van Winkle 847-963-7105 vanwinkp@ccsd15.net

Assistant Principal: Ms. Viviana Reyes 847-963-7104 reyesv@ccsd15.net

Assistant Principal: Mr. Rodriguez 847-963-7121

Elementary Secretary: Ms. Tejeda 847-963-7100 tejedar@ccsd15.net

Office Clerical: Ms. Pereyra pereyrac@ccsd15.net

School Nurse: Ms. Mendez mendezs@ccsd15.net

School Hours

School Hours:

Monday- Thursday: 9:15 a.m.- 3:55 p.m.

Friday- 9:15 a.m.- 3:05 p.m.

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Lunch Hour:

K-1: 12:00-1:00 p.m. (30-minute lunch, 30-minute recess)

2-5: 12:20-1:20 (20-minute lunch, 40-minute recess)

Supply lists are available online. Please click on the following link for information specific to your child’s grade-level assignment.

Virginia Lake School Supply Lists

Medical Forms

Please kindly drop off any needed forms and medications at our Nurse's Office any time between now and September 5th. Please take a moment to review the important medical information below. We look forward to a healthy and happy school year!

All students new to District 15 will require a current physical exam with all immunizations up to date (Certificate of Child Health Examination), and students new to the State of Illinois will require an eye examination. This form is available in the school office, online, and here: State of Illinois Eye Examination Report.
All students should provide proof of immunizations by October 15, 2024 or the student will be excluded from school. The list of current immunizations can be found on the district website here: IDPH Health Requirements.
Students with health conditions such as asthma, epilepsy/seizures, severe allergies, and diabetes require the emergency action plan completed by their physician along with the Medication Administration Forms, signed by the physician and parent, for any medications required at school. Please bring these forms and medications on or before the first day of school. These forms are available in the school office, online, and here.
If your child requires any of these health documents and you have not done so already, please kindly make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. If you have any questions regarding the above requirements, you may contact our school office. Thank you for your patience. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your summer!

We look forward to welcoming our students and their families on Tuesday, September 3rd to Meet the Teacher, from 1:45-2:30 p.m. Families are encouraged to bring their child’s school supplies to this event.

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

Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Students

Both breakfast and lunch will be provided to all students at Virginia Lake School who would like to eat the food served each day. Students at VL are offered FREE breakfast and lunch daily starting the first day of school as part of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, funded by the federal government. Students may bring a lunch from home if they prefer to do so.

What does this mean for families attending the CEP school like Virginia Lake?

Again, all enrolled students will receive a free breakfast and lunch at school at no charge to your household. Your child(ren) will be able to participate without having to pay a fee, but we ask that you still complete the Fee Waiver form here (Spanish form) to determine if your family qualifies for other financial assistance such as school fees, athletic, and activity fee waivers. Completing the application is still necessary for other programs and assists with funding for educational programs in District 15. Information from our Nutritional Services Department may be found HERE for your review.