WJHS Highlights

Drop-off/Pick-up Traffic Pattern

As a reminder, and for the safety of our students and staff, there is no left turn into the circle drive during both drop-off and pick-off and no left turn leaving the circle drive in front of the school. Not adhering to the designated traffic pattern impacts student safety and traffic flow.

The Village of Wilmette has replaced the sign into the traffic circle to make the message more clear and visible. Please be advised that this is a Village of Wilmette sign enforceable by the Wilmette Police Department. Since there have been recent complaints made to the Wilmette Police Department about left turns, there will be enforcement periods in the near future. Thank you for your cooperation.

December often finds us in a season of giving and offering gratitude for the things that we are thankful. Practicing gratitude with our children is a wonderful way to help them build empathy, support the development of their relationship skills, support finding creative solutions to conflict, and can help kids make positive choices when they interact with others.

This month as we all reflect on the past year and look forward to a fresh start in 2025, try one of these simple ways to practice gratitude as a family…even the simplest acts can make a big difference in the lives of others…as well as your own!

• As you tuck your child in bed at night or as you converse at the dinner table, ask your child, “What were you thankful for today?” Share your own as well! This will help to reframe even the negative thoughts (i.e. “Ugh…the snow…”) to positive thoughts (i.e. “The snow today made everything look clean and bright outside.”) and by sharing your own thoughts of gratitude, you serve as a model for your child.

• Write thank you notes…but not only for gifts! Gratitude can be expressed to others (teachers, grandparents, siblings, etc.) with a simple note of thanks for anything! See if you can get crafty and creative as you send notes to others expressing your thanks.

• Create a family gratitude jar. After creating the jar, put it in a special place in the house where you add to it on a regular basis with little slips of paper. You can use questions such as, “Who makes you laugh?” or “What are the things that made you happy this week?” to prompt thinking about gratitude, or just keep it as a spot for family members to add regularly. Open it and look through it every few months, to see how many things in our lives have created a sense of gratitude.

ENRICHMENT NEWS

The German students went downtown to the Christkindlmarket last week to experience an authentic German style Christmas market.

The French students enjoyed Buche de Noel cakes this week during classes and learned the history of this traditional French dessert.

These activities are sponsored by the WJHS PTO’s iGNITE Fund for Enrichment. Thank you parents for donating to your child’s enrichment programs!

IGNITE MAGNETS DISTRIBUTED - ASK YOUR STUDENT

iGNITE Magnets were distributed to students whose families made a contribution to the WJHS PTO’s iGNITE Fund for Enrichment. Your student would have received their magnet with a thank you note from the WJHS PTO during their homeroom this week. Hopefully they will make their way home to parents to display on your car! Questions? Email Tania Bouwman at waysandmeans@wjhspto.com.

NEW AUDITION DATES ADDED

The WJHS Talent and Variety Show has added dates in January 2025 for your student to audition with their act! Choose from 1/16, 1/22 or 1/30, 3:15pm-4pm at WJHS.

Whether they sing, dance, play an instrument, recite poetry or tell jokes, this is the chance for them to have a real audience! Sign up HERE! Rehearsals will be on Thursdays afterschool in January and February, with the performance on 3/6/25. Questions? Email Vandita Pateriya at vandita9@gmail.com for any questions.

What I Like About…District 39!

There are so many fun and creative things happening in our schools that bring smiles to students and staff alike. As we head into winter break, we celebrate all that we love about our schools! Please enjoy these short videos sharing a few of the many reasons our students and staff enjoy their schools!

• Central

• Harper

• McKenzie

• Romona

• Highcrest

• WJHS

Parent Education Event

District 39’s December Parent Education event titled “Youth Substance Use Trends Parents Should Know About” was full of valuable information for families. If you were unable to join us live, the recording and presentation materials are available below.

• Recording of Presentation

• Presentation Slides

• Slang for Substances

• Decoding Emojis

We are grateful to have partnered with PEER Services and the Knowledge Empowers Youth (KEY) Coalition for this presentation, which provided outstanding guidance on an important topic. Please visit our Parent Education webpage for our full schedule of events as well as archived recordings of past events.

Board of Education Meeting

The Board of Education gathered this past Monday for its monthly business meeting. In addition to hearing committee reports, the Board was presented with a draft of the 2025-26 academic year calendar, which will be officially approved by the Board on January 27th, and approved the supplemental debt service tax levy for 2024. Agendas and materials for all Board of Education meetings are posted online the Friday prior to the meeting.

Save the Date – Registration for the 2025-26 Academic Year

With the end of the calendar year rapidly approaching, we wanted to share that registration for the 2025-26 school year will open on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. District 39 is excited that it will be offering full-day kindergarten for all families beginning in Fall 2025! A draft of the 2025-26 academic year calendar is available here and will be officially approved at the Board’s January 27th Board of Education Meeting.