WJHS Highlights

Dear WJHS Families,

December has arrived and the weather has followed! Winter came in like a lion on Monday and Tuesday and caught some of us (guilty!) a little unprepared. I spent Monday night digging out my winter hat and gloves in preparation for Tuesday.

As the district shares every year, students are expected to go outside for recess unless it is raining or extremely cold. Unless we have a note from a physician, we do not keep children in from recess. During the winter months and at other times in the year, we may have inclement weather. Please send your child to school with appropriate clothing. Boots and snow pants are required to play in the snow during the winter. Students at WJHS may opt to participate in lunch clubs and there is a limited sign-up option for the Learning Commons.

We know that adolescents are coat-resistant and we have been reminding them that all D39 students go outside for recess unless the RealFeel temperature is below 5 degrees or it's raining. Please help reinforce this at home and help them prepare for a 15 - 20 minute recess outdoors. If they forget their jacket they will be directed to get one from the lost and found so that they can go out for recess. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Spelling Bee 23-24 information!

1. Interested in participating? Please fill out this link with an adult at home. Registration ends on Friday, December 8.
2. We will email an adult at home with the next steps. Level One of the bee will happen on the Scripps ONLINE platform. It will open on Saturday, December 16th, and close at 11:59 pm on Sunday, December 17th. There will not be time to take the test at school.
3. Study, study, study! The study lists are in Schoology. This year we are adding an additional level of vocabulary to each test. 7th graders will take the 7th grade test and 8th graders will take the 8th grade test. Please be sure to study the words connected with your grade level.

Please email Mrs. Lubawski with any questions!

Are you in 7th or 8th grade? Do you like math competitions? Do you want to represent WJHS at the regional MathCounts competition on Saturday, February 3rd, 2024? Then try out for the MathCounts team. All meetings will be held from 3:40 - 4:40pm at HMS in Room 153.

Tryouts started on November 30th and will continue on December 7th, and December 14th, students will try out for the team by competing in school contests. The 12 top scoring students will be chosen to represent WJHS at the regional competition on Saturday, February 3rd. The 12 students will have additional practice for regionals on January 11th, January 18th, January 25th, and February 1st. All practices are at HMS from 3:40 - 4:40pm.

Students who do well at the regional competition may be invited to the State Competition in March. The four top scoring students from the Illinois State competition will be awarded an all expense paid trip to the National Competition in May.

If you are interested in trying out, please fill out this Google Form.

Once we return from our fall break for Thanksgiving, December becomes a very busy month for our families outside of school, and for our students also while here at school. When it comes to social-emotional well-being, we as adults can often feel stressed with the many items on our to-do lists at this time of year, which can tend to trickle down to a feeling of unease and added stress for our children. With adults and children are both feeling the effects of added stress, it can be a less enjoyable time of year than we hope!

It is important that as caretakers of children we model strategies (see suggestions below) of self-care and well-being (put your oxygen mask on first), and work to include our kids in practicing tools that can help regulate emotions, and reduce stress and anxiety when engaging in school work and extracurricular activities.

• Take a Pause or Quiet Moment; This might include a brief walk outside, or even laying down on the couch for five minutes with your eyes closed to just calm your body and re-focus your mind. Taking an intentional pause when things get overwhelming helps not only to calm you down, but also can help you to be more productive when you re-engage in the task at hand.

• Paced Breathing: Belly Breathing or Square/Box Breathing can be practiced together to help children (and parents!) control their emotions, de-escalate in periods of stress, or even just before starting a difficult project to prepare to engage fully.

• Stretching/Yoga: Choosing a pose or two together can be a quick go-to that interrupts feelings of stress, allows children and parents to breathe, and helps to relax feelings of tension in our bodies. Here are a few poses that you could check out and try at home.

Email: office-wjhs@wilmette39.org
Website: http://wjhs.wilmette39.org/
Location: 620 Locust Rd, Wilmette, IL, USA
Phone: 847-512-6600
Instagram: @hawkwolf39
Twitter: @hawkwolf39