Grass Lake School News

What a great week to be a BRAVE! Happy New Year and welcome back! We are thrilled to kick off 2025 together and are excited about the opportunities, events, and learning that lie ahead. Next week, we are celebrating Spirit Week, and each day will bring a new theme to unite our school community in a fun and creative way! On Monday, students can show off their patriotic pride with Patriotic Day (wear red, white, and blue). Tuesday, students can dress on their wild side and dress in Animal Prints, and we can’t wait to see the fun that is in store! Wednesday, students can dress like their teachers, and that will be fun to see how our students dress to impress as their very own teachers! Thursday brings warmth to January with Tropical Beach Day, and on Friday, students will show off their class pride during Color Wars, with PK-2 wearing red, grades 3-5 in blue, and grades 6-8 rocking black. We hope everyone will join in and share their school spirit!

In Pre-K news, we are excited to announce two upcoming events. First, on Tuesday, January 15, we will host a Pre-K Coffee Talk. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to connect, share experiences, and learn more about our Pre-K program. The event will take place in the LRC, with a morning session from 7:45 AM to 9:00 AM and an afternoon session from 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM. Families can RSVP using the link in the flyer below. Later in the month, on Tuesday, January 28, we are partnering with Emmons School to host a free Pre-K Screening for district children ages 2 to 4 as part of our Pre-K for All program. This event is a great opportunity for prospective families, and we encourage you to share the details with anyone who might be interested.

We are also proud to highlight an exciting Project-Based Learning (PBL) initiative that involves our 5th and 8th grade students partnering with the Antioch Senior Center for a project called “Your Life, Your Legacy.” This intergenerational project will foster communication and connections between our students and seniors in the community. The project will officially launch at the end of January, and we hope to engage as many seniors as possible. If you or someone you know, age 55 or older, would like to participate, please refer to the flyer found here for details.

In addition to these updates, I would like to spotlight our student newspaper, the Blue & Gold found here. This publication showcases the creativity, talents, and hard work of our students, featuring everything from school news to humor and updates on events. Be sure to check out the latest edition!

I am excited to remind you about our GLS Digital Audio Library, which launched just before winter break. This resource offers a wide range of engaging audio content for students to explore at school or at home. To access the library, students need to log in using their school email account. If you encounter any issues, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Lowe (elowe@gls36.org) for support.

Lastly, tomorrow we will be reviewing E-Learning procedures to prepare in case we need to call an E-Learning Day this winter. Students will work with their teachers to learn how to access online lessons and activities. This is not a full day of online learning but rather an opportunity for students to get familiar with the process and learn how to navigate everything online. To make the day more fun, students are encouraged to wear their pajamas on Friday, January 10!

We are looking forward to all the learning, collaboration, and growth that 2025 has in store. Thank you for your ongoing support in making Grass Lake School an incredible place for our students to learn and thrive. 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

We’re excited to invite you to our Pre-K Coffee Talk at Grass Lake School! This is a great opportunity to connect with other families, learn more about our Pre-K program, and share your feedback to help us grow. Whether you’re a current or prospective Pre-K parent, we’d love to see you there!

Event Details:
📅 Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025
🕔 Morning Session: 7:45 AM - 9:00 AM
🕔 Afternoon Session: 12:15 PM - 1:30 PM
📍 Location: Grass Lake School LRC

Enjoy coffee, pastries, and engaging conversations about how we can support your child’s growth and development.

Please RSVP by completing the form below. Your input helps us plan for a meaningful event!

606 is excited to offer two programs to accommodate our dynamic group of students. Sports Training and Afterschool Club.

Sports Training

Our Sports Training is for those students that want to learn and advance their skills to be successful within their sport. Basketball is our current sport being offered!

Afterschool Club that provides a safe, fun and socially engaging environment for all kids to participate in theme day activities. Kids will have the opportunity to participate in small group games, art projects, themed movies and snacks.

Weekly signups are now available! Click the LINK to register!

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 847-395-5160 or kporter@gls36.org. This form and program are confidential.

Coming Soon!

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Neihengen and Mrs. Moe for organizing such an incredible Fine Arts Night last week. The students did a fantastic job, and it was clear how much time, effort, and passion went into making the evening a success. Thank you both for showcasing our kids' talents so beautifully and creating a night to remember!

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

We are also proud to highlight an exciting Project-Based Learning (PBL) initiative that involves our 5th and 8th grade students partnering with the Antioch Senior Center for a project called “Your Life, Your Legacy.” This intergenerational project will foster communication and connections between our students and seniors in the community. The project will officially launch at the end of January, and we hope to engage as many seniors as possible. If you or someone you know, age 55 or older, would like to participate, see below.

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