Grass Lake School News

Please follow the link below to see what is coming up as we wind down the remaining part of May and head into summer break! This is written by the students and also for our students and families. Great job to our Newspaper Club!

What a great week, or better yet YEAR, to be a BRAVE! As we reach the end of an incredible school year, I want to take a moment to reflect on our collective accomplishments and express my heartfelt gratitude to every one of you. This being my first year as principal at GLS, I have been truly honored to become a part of such a wonderful community. From the dedicated staff who go above and beyond, to the parents and guardians who support and encourage, and most importantly, our amazing students who inspire all of us with their enthusiasm and determination – thank you.

This year, we have witnessed remarkable growth and achievements. Our students have excelled academically, embraced new challenges in Project-Based Learning, and showcased their talents in the arts and athletics. We've come together as a community during events like the Fine Arts Glow Show, two PBL Showcases, and the Seussical musical, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

As we head into the summer break, I encourage everyone to take this time to relax, recharge, and enjoy the beautiful weather with family and friends. Summer is the perfect opportunity for students to explore new interests, read for pleasure, and continue learning in fun and exciting ways. If you are looking for resources please follow this link for some reading fun! There is also an interesting article about screen time and how to help navigate the technology world in this day and age by following this link.

Looking ahead to the next school year, I am filled with optimism and excitement. We will continue to build on our successes, embrace innovative teaching methods, and foster a nurturing environment where every student can thrive. Directly below this narrative, is a quick 3-question survey to help us make next year even better and I hope you take a moment to complete it. Last week we held a Family and Community Planning meeting with staff, students, and parents/guardians to brainstorm and plan two exciting events for the upcoming school year. I am confident that together, we will make the 2024-2025 school year our best yet.

With school ending on Friday, May 31, and Summer School and Sports Camps beginning on Monday, June 3 it will be a quick turnaround. Our GLS staff and I have already been busy behind the scenes making plans for an amazing Summer School in June. All parents/guardians should have received an email from Durham with bus information. We have also posted the bus routes on our website which you can access by following this link.

Please see below for details related to our end-of-year celebrations that are coming up quickly!

All School Awards Assembly

When: Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 1:00 pm

Where: Grass Lake School

Who: Students in grades 3-8 who are eligible for an award. Parents will be personally notified if their child will receive an award.

What: An opportunity for all students and staff to celebrate our student successes throughout the year. Please also note, this will be the last day of school for all 8th-grade students. All 8th grade students can join us on Friday, May 31, 2024, if they choose to help with Field Day and we ask that students make prior arrangements with Mrs. Juszczyk.

8th Grade Graduation

When: Friday, May 31, at 6:00 pm (The graduation will once again be held outdoors, weather permitting. In the event we have to move it indoors to our gymnasium, we will begin at 6:30 pm).

Where: Grass Lake School

Who: All School and Family Members

What: Our final farewell to our graduating class of 2024 from GLS!

Thank you, as always, for your help and support. This will be our last weekly update for the school year, and I am incredibly grateful for our amazing Grass Lake School community. Enjoy your summer, and we look forward to seeing you all in the fall!

Sincerely,

Ryan Wollberg

Principal/Grass Lake School

All fifth through eighth-grade student-athletes, please follow the button below to view this month's newsletter from Ms. Juszczyk our athletic director.

Thanks to an investment by the Lake County Regional Office of Education through June 30, 2027, every student in Grass Lake School now has access to the Varsity Tutors for Schools platform. This access includes:

• 24/7 On-Demand Chat Tutoring

• On-Demand Essay Review

• 100+ Weekly Live Classes

• Recorded Enrichment Classes

• Self-Study & Practice Resources

Here is a pamphlet and a video that provides an overview of the platform's features. Students can go to their Clever Dashboard and select the Varsity Tutors icon to log in to the platform. Any chat sessions students participate in are recorded and posted on their dashboard for future reference. We hope you find this new tool useful and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

I continue to have conversations with families about when to send their children to school and when to keep them home. 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 which 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!

"No school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests" - Dorothy H. Cohen

In order to continue to move Grass Lake School forward, please let us know any ideas you have on how we can continue to improve our school! We will be checking this suggestion box periodically- if you would like a more immediate response, please call or email Ryan Wollberg directly.

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 have increased from $3.50 to $3.75.

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. An answering machine will take messages during the hours when the school office is closed. 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.

The telephone number to report absences is: (847) 395-1550 or via email attendance@gls36.org.

We have created an email address to allow you to "email" attendance information. This is an alternative to using the Attendance Hotline phone number or using the Infinite Campus portal. We wanted to create yet another option to allow busy parents the opportunity to report absences. Please email all pertinent information to attendance@gls36.org. If you choose to use this option, pertinent information would include your child's name, date, grade, and reason for the absence, late-arrival or early-dismissal. Please choose the option that works best for you, whether that be email, phone or IC portal.

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.

By now all GLS families should have received an email with information related to their child(rens) bus stop information. We also have posted the information on our website which you can access by following this link. As a reminder, the first couple of days the buses may be running approximately 5-10 minutes off schedule so we do ask for your patience. Also, all Kindergarten families please plan on meeting your child at the bus stop as the drivers will not release them unless an adult is present to meet them for safety purposes. We appreciate your help and cooperation.

Below you will find a map for your convenience as it relates to our drop-off and pick-up procedures. If you plan on picking your child up early from school, we kindly ask you to email your child's teacher as well as Cristina Monroy, our administrative assistant. When you enter the building for early pick or late drop off this should all be done through our main entrance. Make sure to have your ID when picking your child up as we want to make sure we are sending your child home with an approved individual.

When your child is dropped off they will enter through our gymnasium doors and in the afternoon they will exit through those same doors (yellow box below). Please wait in your car and we will release students to you as fast as we can. Again, I do ask for your patience at the beginning of the year but I promise you, it will continue to get faster and faster. Also, please do not drop off your child until the gymnasium doors open at 7:30 am.

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