Wescott Word

Dear District 30 families,

Every day, District 30 is working to support the social-emotional health of our students. Today, we want to remind parents of the actions happening and the resources available in our schools to support our learners.

• This year, District 30 has added a new Social Worker to each building in addition to our expert School Psychologist team. Our mental health teams have already visited every class to introduce themselves to students and let them know how to ask for help if they need it. Additionally, if you feel your child needs the support of our team, please reach out to your school principal.

• Additionally, this is the third year of our RULER program, which is a social-emotional learning initiative that helps students learn to identify, understand, and navigate their feelings. This year, we have invited you to partner with us in helping children expand their RULER skills, which was discussed at Curriculum Night and in previous issues of this newsletter. Please see this newsletter today for the September RULER topic.

• District 30 also holds inclusivity and belonging as one of our core values, as outlined in our Strategic Plan that was created by our community. This value is emphasized daily in every classroom through lessons, play, and by example. Our goal is to ensure that every student has at least one trusted adult and friend they can turn to in school.

• Finally, please remember that if you hear anything worrisome about the safety of our schools, students, or staff, it is critical to tell a staff member. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing information in person, you can always utilize the Illinois Safe2Help program.

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We are grateful for the tremendous sense of community in District 30 and for your partnership in caring for the whole student. As a community, let’s ensure we all support one another throughout this school year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Emily K. Tammaru

Superintendent of Schools

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 14, District 30 will run a test of our emergency notification system. As part of this test, you should receive an email, phone call, and text message to the contact numbers and email addresses you have registered with the district.

You can review and update your contact information in Parent Portal on the Language & Contact Information for District Communications form. Please review/update this form for each child you have enrolled in the district. Once submitted, your contact information will be updated overnight.

In order to receive text messages from District 30 via BrightArrow, you will need to opt in. To opt in, please send “Yes” to 79041.

Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation with this critical test.

Wednesday, September 11

PTO Ice Cream Day

Thursday, September 12

Special lunch order deadline 10 a.m.

Wednesday, September 18

PTO Special Lunch

(Quest will not be serving lunch on this day)

Wednesday, September 25

Dist. 30 Conversations with the Community - 12 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Sunday, September 29

PTO Fall Fest - 2 p.m.

We are excited to announce that author/illustrator Rob Harrell will visit Wescott 4th- and 5th-graders on Tuesday, September 24 at 12:45 pm. Our students LOVED the previously Caudill-nominated book "Wink" and Harrell will be here to discuss his next novel, "Popcorn." The visit is brought to us courtesy of The Book Stall. Access the online book order form here! Contact Mrs. Janavicius with questions.

I am so excited to announce that author/illustrator Bob Shea will be visiting Wescott K-3rd graders on Tuesday, October 8th! Our students LOVED last year's Monarch-nominated book, Chez Bob, and he will be here to talk about the sequel, Pizza for Birds!

The visit is brought to us courtesy of The Book Stall. Click here for the online book order form! Contact Mrs. Janavicius with questions!

Wescott students and staff completed a successful fire drill on Tuesday to ensure we are prepared in case of a fire emergency. We were able to successfully empty the building and account for everyone in less than the time determined by the Fire Inspector. We are proud of everyone!

The club will generally meet on Wednesdays in Room 139 (Ms. Karlin's room) from 3:20 to 4:20 pm. Dates TBD. It will start in September and go to winter break.

Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 will have three school board seats to be filled at the Consolidated Election on April 1, 2025. Candidates who are elected will fill four-year terms expiring in April 2029.

Candidates for the office of the school board can now circulate nominating petitions for signatures. The period for filing nominating petitions concludes November 18, with November 12 being the first day permitted to file a petition.

A candidate for the school board is required to file the nominating petitions, Statement of Candidacy, and receipt for filing their Statement of Economic Interests with the applicable county election clerk and not with the school board secretary or the administrative offices of the school district. The county clerk may have petition forms available, or blank petitions may be downloaded from the State Board of Elections website, elections.il.gov.

Candidates who are interested in seeking endorsement from the District 30 School Board Caucus should contact Caucus Chair Marci Goldgar at marci257@aol.com by Friday, October 18. The School Board Caucus is a committee of District 30 residents that includes families both with and without children enrolled in Willowbrook, Wescott and Maple schools. The Caucus' role is to source, screen and endorse potential school board candidates. To be considered by the Caucus, candidates will need to complete a detailed application as well as an interview.

All who live in District 30 boundaries are invited to meet Superintendent Dr. Tammaru and a member of our Board of Education to ask questions and share what is important to you in our schools.

You can pick from either the 12 p.m. or 6 p.m. session on Wednesday, September 25 at our District 30 Offices, 2374 Shermer Road, Northbrook. RSVP is optional so we can plan for space and send a reminder to participants close to the event date.

Please share with neighbors, as this event is for everyone in our boundaries – even if they do not have children in our schools. Click below to join us!

Wescott fully embraces our motto that we are a part of one big family and we are proud of every person who is a part of it. Help us show school pride and support our District 30 Strategic Plan values of inclusivity & belonging and community collaboration by sharing your culture!

With over 30 world languages spoken in our students' homes, we seek your help in translating our motto – "One big family" – into your native language for display on our blank entryway wall.

Throughout the school year, you will find updates on the project here in the Wescott Word, featuring images of students with their language submissions, as well as a list of languages already added to the wall and remaining languages needed.

We imagine this to be a lasting, visual celebration of our amazing Wescott community and can't wait for you to be a part of it!

How you can contribute:

• Please, submit your translation of our motto – "One big family" by clicking the button below. We ask that you follow the same format: first word is uppercase, followed by lowercase words (unless your language has a different set of grammatical rules for this statement).
  
• The translations will be added to the wall once they are processed by the printer. We aim for adding them once a month, unless no additional translations have been submitted. if you have questions regarding your submission, please contact pcoletta@district30.org.

Thank you to everyone who attended our first PTO General Meeting of the 2024-2025 school year. We enjoyed meeting many of you, hearing from Dr. Brown, Mrs. Keller, Katie Schick of the District 30 Caucus and our fabulous committee chairs! For more information about how you can get involved in the PTO, please visit our website. We look forward to seeing you at the next PTO meeting in the new year!

Please join us for one of the most popular events of the year, the PTO Parent Social, held at Pinstripes on Friday 9/13 from 7-10pm! You and your partner are invited to enjoy appetizers and drinks (a cash bar will be available). Meet and mingle with other Wescott parents from all grades. Space is limited, so please sign up today! The registration will close on Monday, September 9.

The Wescott PTO is hosting an afternoon filled with inflatables, face painting, carnival games, crafts, delicious food, and much more!

Sunday, September 29th

2pm-5pm

Buy tickets in advance and save! Tickets are $1 each, but you’ll get 11 tickets for every $10 spent. Activities cost 2-5 tickets, and food ranges from 5-15 tickets. Pick up pre-sale tickets at the Will Call booth on fair day. You can also purchase tickets at the event. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE: https://tinyurl.com/WescottFallFest

Mark your calendars and come enjoy the fun on September 29th, from 2-5 PM at Wescott. We hope to see you there!

Attention all Wescott parents! We’re looking for parent volunteers to capture fun moments at recess for the yearbook! It's a great chance to see your kids in action while helping create lasting memories for our school. Sign up here.

Make your child's birthday extra special with Wescott Happy Birthday Lawn Signs! Deadline to order is October 31st!

We are excited to announce that this year's yearbook will be hardcover! Yearbooks are $22 per copy and $30 per copy with personalization. The deadline to order is October 31. Please note, at checkout, if you do not want personalization, you must deselect the personalization option, as this is automatically selected.

Special Lunch is a PTO-sponsored program to offer SPECIAL lunch to Wescott students once a month (the third Wednesday of the month) from local restaurants. In 2024-25, District 30 schools are partnering with Lunch Solutions to offer exciting lunches from local restaurants. You can order for the whole year or once a month. Hot lunch service is unavailable on PTO special lunch days. The deadline for orders/edits is Thursday 10AM of the week prior.

The deadline for the first (September) special lunch orders/edits is Thursday, September 12th at 10:00 am.

Due to a change to the State of Illinois School Code, Wescott School Health Office will only be able to distribute over-the-counter (OTC) medications (such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen) to students with a completed Medication Authorization Form (for OTC). The new requirements include a physician’s signature along with a parent/guardian's signature.

Please return the completed form to the school’s health office if you would like your child will be able to receive over-the-counter medications at school. Thank you!

For all students new to District 30, state regulations require a State of Illinois Health Examination Form completed within the last 12 months. This must be on file in the health office prior to the first day of school. If your child does not have a Health Examination Form on file with all current immunizations, your child could be excluded from school.

Kindergarten students are also required to have a completed State of Illinois Eye Examination Form by October 15. The exam must have been performed on or after August 21, 2023, one year from the start of school.

Dental examinations are required for all kindergarten and grade 2 students. Examinations must be completed within 18 months of the May 15, 2025 deadline. These forms can be obtained from the health office and are also available on our website. If you have questions, please call the front office at 847-498-1090.

If your student requires medication or a health care plan, please click here to download all of the necessary forms. If forms are not completed by the opening of school, we will abide by the health care plan from the previous year for those students with life-threatening food allergies or medical conditions.

All forms can be dropped off at the front desk, to School Nurse Kelly Montesano or emailed to kmontesano@district30.org.

Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 continues its partnership with Quest Food Management Services to provide quality food services to your student. We are happy to offer a preorder system via myMealOrder! Click the button below to order lunch for your student.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ashley Jenkins, Food Service Director for Quest at ajenkins@questfms.com.

Wescott has a “no food or drink” birthday celebration practice. We want our students to know other ways to celebrate birthdays besides treats.

If you want your child to bring something in for their birthday, we encourage you to donate a book to our library through the PTO Birthday Book Club. You can also send school supplies such as pencils, erasers, stickers, bookmarks, etc.

Please do not send paper birthday invitations to school. The use of electronic invitations through our PTO directory is suggested.

Want to know what's going on around the community? District 30 uses a "Virtual Backpack" to share community information while saving paper, costs, and lightening the loads our students bring home. Please click the button below to view upcoming Community Events.

Any time a student feels unsafe, any adult in their school can help!

But sometimes, students or parents wish to reach out for help in a different way or after school hours. Safe2Help Illinois offers students a safe way to share information 24/7 that might help prevent any threat to school safety, including bullying, self-harm or other serious concerns.

The goal of this program is to get students to “seek help before harm;" it is not intended to suspend, expel, or punish. Safe2Help Illinois also offers a Mental Health Toolkit that provides resources for parents and educators reinforce the components of this program.

Safe2Help Illinois offers around-the-clock help via:

• Hotline: 844-4-SAFEIL
• Text line: 72332
• Email HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com
• Plus a website full of resources for young people seeking help for themselves or a friend. Its Ways To Get Help page is a directory of specialized hotlines, and other sections of its website provide practical steps for dealing with depression or helping a distraught friend. The checklist called "20 Questions To Ask Yourself If You Feel Like Giving Up" can help older children overcome a bout of anxiety or depression.

Wescott School is part of Northbrook/Glenview District 30, which exists to create an inclusive community that inspires learning, fosters resiliency, and cares deeply for every child. We honor childhood and foster intellectual, physical and social-emotional growth. District 30 serves more than 1,200 students in pre-K through 8th grade across Willowbrook, Wescott and Maple Schools.

We prohibit harassment and discrimination of all forms within our district and follows all policies and procedures to ensure a safe environment for all.

Main office: 847-272-4660

Health/Attendance Office: 847-400-8760

Location: 1820 Western Avenue, Northbrook, IL 60062, USA

Website: district30.org/wescott
Facebook: facebook.com/ngsd30
Twitter: @district30