Dear 2014-2015 Willowgrove Families: Monday, June 2, 2014
We are emailing several pieces of information to you today. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with information about our meet the staff night, before/after school care, student class placements, and bus registration.
Meet the Staff Evening
Tuesday, June 17th in the gymnasium at Forest Grove School at 7pm. We would like to give families a chance to meet the Willowgrove Staff, join us for dessert, and see Forest Grove and Dr. J.G. Egnatoff Schools. We will have a short program and introductions in the gymnasium at Forest Grove starting right at 7pm. We will then invite families to join us for dessert and snacks. Families and students will then have a chance to tour Forest Grove School, as well as drive over to Dr. J.G. Egnatoff School for a chance to see that facility.
Before/After School Care
While the “contingency plan” is in effect, Willowgrove students will be able to use the before/after school programs at Forest Grove School and Dr. J.G. Egnatoff School. The YMCA operates both programs. They have committed to supporting Willowgrove families and will ensure they have sufficient staff in place. Pre-registration will be held at the end of June and the YMCA is still finalizing details - more information about times and locations of the pre-registration will be sent in the near future. Willowgrove families will be required to pay standard YMCA fees for service. All information about fees and hours of operation will be available at the pre-registration.
Once Willowgrove School opens, Boys and Girls Club will operate the before/after school program in the new building. As we get closer to an actual opening date for Willowgrove School, Boys and Girls Club will also organize a pre-registration for service. At that time they will send out their fee structure and hours of operation. The goal is to have absolutely no disruption in before/after school service when we move into the new school.
Class Placements
Below is some information about student class placements for fall 2014. A reminder that grade K – 3 students will attend Forest Grove, and grade 4 – 8 students will attend Dr. J.G. Egnatoff until Willowgrove School is ready.
Kindergarten Families – we will be offering full day-alternate day classes and not the every day morning or every day afternoon option. We will be in touch towards the end of June with your child’s assigned schedule.
Our goal is to place students in a setting that meets their individual needs and is appropriate for the group as a whole. The final placement of each child is a school based decision. We will consider many criteria when developing class placements including:
Academic needs
Social needs (individual and group)
Academic diversity of the group
Special needs
Independence / dependence
Teacher strengths
Balance of males to females
Consultation with other staff involved (resource teachers, consultants, etc.)
One companion, if possible
Combining students from various previous schools
Parent identification of special circumstances or information affecting one of the above
It is very possible we will have combined classes at Willowgrove. It is too early to know what grade levels might have combined classes in the fall. Placement in a combined classroom setting is neither a promotion nor a demotion – classroom groupings are generally based on mixed abilities of students. Students will receive high quality, differentiated instruction in all classes across all grades.
We will communicate class placements, schedule, and school start up information to Kindergarten families at the end of June. Given the unique situation of opening a new school, we will set up grade 1 – 8 class placements at the end of August to accommodate for changes in enrolment over the summer. This information will be available on Registration day – Tuesday, September 2, 2014.
It is difficult to predict how our enrolment might change next fall or throughout the school year. As much as possible students new to the school will be incorporated into existing classrooms. Please be advised that the possibility of mid-year changes to class groupings is a possibility. If this happens we will communicate with you and keep student learning as our top priority when making decisions.
To help us with our work creating class groupings, we are also sending home a “Supplemental Information Form” today. It is an optional form and only needs to be completed if there is information you want us to have. We are including the option of listing the names of 3 students your son/daughter would like to have in their class next year.These should be students that they work well with. We are also asking for your feedback if there are any additional details you would like us to consider regarding class placement of your child.
The form is attached to this email. We would like this form to be emailed back to by Monday, June 9th, 2014.
Busing Information
Today we are emailing First Student bus registration forms to all Willowgrove families. Please complete them accurately and return via email to the Willowgrove School office by Monday, June 9th, 2014. Please send them to the email address . They will be directed to our Admin Assistant Rita Wall.
We will pass all forms along to First Student. The goal is to have bus routes prepared by mid-August, and for First Student to share pick up and drop off times with families at the end of August.
Kindergarten students will ride the bus to and from school with the other grade 1 – 8 students. Kindergarten families, please complete the form as it is. We will share your child’s class schedule with First Student at the end of June when things have been finalized.
Important: The bus form is not user friendly!! When you open the form, you will need to “enable content”. You will then need to click on the tab “view” at the top of the page and then click on the option to “edit document”.
If this does not work, please print a paper copy. They can be dropped off at the Willowgrove office. As well, you could ask Forest Grove, Silverspring, or Dr. J.G. Egnatoff to send them along in the school mail.
Thank you for your time and attention to this information. If you have any additional questions, please call Rita Wall at 306-683-7970 or Shane Armstrong at 306-683-7971.