Dear Woodbury Families,
Happy October! Fall is officially here, bringing cooler weather, vibrant autumn activities, and another exciting month ahead. As we move further into the school year, our classrooms are buzzing with learning, our students are becoming more confident in their daily routines, and our school community continues to grow stronger every day. October is always a fun and busy month, and we are looking forward to all of the celebrations, learning, and opportunities to connect that lie ahead.
This month, we are continuing to focus on our core value of Growth Mindset. Throughout October, we will encourage students to remember that learning takes time, mistakes are simply part of growing, and challenges are opportunities to keep trying. Whether it’s working through a challenging reading passage, learning to identify and manage big feelings, making a thoughtful social choice, or simply adding the powerful word “YET” when something feels hard, we want our students to recognize the incredible power of effort, empathy, and perseverance.
We have an incredible month packed with enriching experiences and moments to connect as a community. Early in the month, our young authors are already tapping into their creative spirits with our October Storybook Contest, while our 3rd graders gear up for hands-on discovery during their Hoover field trip on October 5th. We are especially looking forward to celebrating kindness and healthy habits during Anti-Bullying Day on October 6th and Walk & Roll to School Day on October 7th. Inspiration will be in full swing when guest author Jennifer Hayes visits us on October 8th to inspire our readers! Families should also look forward to a long, restful weekend with no school on October 9th for an Institute Day or October 12th. Later in the month, experiential learning continues with our 1st graders visiting the Opera House on October 14th and Kindergarten taking a trip to Kuipers on October 23rd. We also welcome parents to stay connected at our district level during the School Board Meeting at SMS at 7:00 p.m. on October 20th. Finally, we can’t wait to bring our entire school together for one of our favorite traditions of the year—our annual Halloween Festivities and Parade on October 30th!
Looking ahead, we are also preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences coming up in November. Strong home-school communication is key to student success, and we warmly invite all of our families to schedule a time to meet with your child's classroom teacher. Please keep an eye out for sign-up details so we can connect, share achievements, and set goals together for the months ahead.
Thank you to all of our families for continuing to partner with us and for encouraging our students each and every day. We have 100% parent sign up and connection on Parent Square this year! That is something we appreciate so much. We are so excited for another wonderful month of learning, growing, and blooming together!
Warmly,
Mrs Kern
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October:
10/1: October Storybook Contest Reminder
10/5: 3rd Grade Hoover
10/6: Antibullying Day
10/7: Walk & Roll to School Day, PPA Meeting 3:30 p.m.
10/8: Author Visit, Jennifer Hayes
10/9: No School, Institute Day
10/12: No School
10/14: First Grade Opera House
10/20: School Board Meeting @SMS 7:00 p.m.
10/23: Kindergarten Kuipers
10/30: Halloween Festivities & Parade
November:
11/3: 3rd Grade opera House
11/6: End of First Trimester
11/9: Fall Picture Retakes
11/11: Veteran's Day Assembly
11/13: 11:10 Dismissal
11/17: Butterbraid Pick Up, School Board Meeting @SMS 7:00 p.m.
11/19: Breadmaking
11/20: Breadmaking
11/23: PT Conferences
11/24: PT Conferences
11/25-11/27: Fall Break
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Walk to school day is coming up on October 7th, 2026!
Please join us for the Fall International Walk to School Day in an effort to GO GREEN, promote wellness, and celebrate the beginning of a great school year.
When: Wednesday, October 7th, 2026 @ 7:30 am
Where to meet: Sandwich Park District
Where to park: Sandwich Park District Parking Gravel Lot
Who: All students, families, staff, and community members are invited to participate!
**Parents do not need to stay to walk.
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Delta Dental came on 9/17 and gave a fun program on oral health. Everyone got a free toothbrush kit! |
Happy Spooky Season everyone! October is a great time to talk about feelings, friendships, and kindness. This month, we're also continuing to talk about our core value of growth mindset—helping students understand that mistakes are part of learning and that their brains grow when they try hard things. In addition to recognizing emotions and solving problems peacefully, we're encouraging students to say "I can't do it yet" and keep going. It helps them realize that they can do whatever they set their mind to, even if it is hard.
October is such a fun month full of celebrations beyond Halloween (though that is the most fun!). October is officially Bullying Prevention Month, which is a month-long event to educate and raise awareness about bullying and how to prevent it. It is also a wonderful opportunity to promote bullying prevention by encouraging everyone to act with kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. Now more than ever, it is crucial to join together in creating a world that is kinder, more accepting, and more inclusive. Please follow the link above to find out more information about bullying, its definition, and different ways to prevent bullying and support our children.
As the social worker, we meet with students for the social work IEP minutes, and provide interventions for both individuals and groups of students to improve their social or self-regulation skills. At times, we may be reaching out to talk to you or sending home a permission form about providing some extra support for your child.
We are also here to help you and your families, whether it be resources like food, clothing, or counseling help, or helping you through a transition or crisis at home. Please feel free to contact me at any time, even if it is a quick email to let me or the teacher know that your child has had a hard night, morning, or weekend so that we can provide them with some extra time, patience, or support throughout their day.
I am available to chat with you if you have any questions or concerns or need any help. Please feel free to reach out. I am available at 815-786-6316 x7124 or at modonnell@sandwich430.org.
Have a great month!
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Students are part way through the first unit of the school year; Steady Beat and Rhythm. In this unit we learn about simple rhythms, and the importance of being able to keep a steady beat with music from many genres, meters and musical moods. Students practice following a steady beat with body percussion, marching, dancing and playing different classroom rhythm instruments. Students have seen quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes, whole notes and quarter rests. The older students put the notes and rests together to recognize basic rhythms including the rhythm that the ladies use to get students attention in the lunchroom. Clap, Clap, clap-clap, Clap or two quarter notes, two eighth notes and a quarter note. This is always a popular pattern as students get to "educate" the lunch staff as to what exactly they are clapping. Soon students will learn about a melody and how the importance of steady beat remains the foundation of a melody, as well as the basis of all rudimentary concepts in general music. Fourth grade students understand what role the general music units play in beginning band, which they can start in fifth grade, and choir which is an elective for sixth grade. |
In PE, students have already practiced many skills this year. They began by practicing and learning the importance of locomotor skills through sprinting and tag games. They then transitioned to continuous kickball, a run and fast paced activity where they practiced the basics of base games. Students also completed their introductory frisbee unit which will be further built on later in the year. The distance running unit was a great success, and our cross country coaches will be very excited to eventually see these groups come through the grades. Finally, students were exposed to various forms of throwing and catching, strengthening their hand-eye coordination and motor movements. If you would like to further support their development in these skills, blocking out ten minutes a day to practice any of these areas with your child will go a long way in encouraging them to practice a healthy, active lifestyle in the years to come. |
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Fays BBQ Fundaiser- Friday Oct 16th - Grab Fays for dinner and a portion of the sales will go to PPA. Wanna help out? We need a few volunteers to help cook the meats and pack meals. Sign up here to volunteer: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0E4BABAD2EA6FBCE9-65932506-fays?useFullSite=false
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Halloween Grams-be on the lookout for the gram sheets to come home!
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Woodbury Shirt-Has your child grown out of or lost their orange Woodbury shirt? If so, you can purchase a new shirt for the cost of materials using this link: https://shopwgac.com/products/woodbury-school-shirts
- Raise Right Fundraiser: Are you ready for Christmas? Need Groceries or Gas?
- Raise Right offers four ways to earn for Woodbury PPA–all from spending you’re already doing!
- Gift cards: Buy eGift or physical gift cards for brands you already shop with and earn a percentage back with every purchase.
- Shop online: Shop your favorite brands’ websites and earn on every purchase
- Local dining: Dine at participating restaurants to earn with every meal.
- Travel bookings: Book hotels, car rentals, or attractions through RaiseRight and earn while you plan your next trip.
- Click the link below to get started:
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https://www.raiseright.com/enroll/WVC3VC874UQ4?utm_source=coordinator_invite&utm_medium=invite_link&utm_campaign=dashboard_invite_tools
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Meeting Minutes:26/27 PPA Mtg Notes
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Next meeting: October 7th at 3:30pm at Woodbury
- Important Dates:
- Thursday Oct 1st- Woody’s Donut Pick-up 3-4pm
- Friday Oct 2nd- Custodian Appreciation Day
- Wednesday Oct 7th-PPA Meeting 3:30pm
- Friday Oct 16th- Fays BBQ Fundraiser
- Oct 13th-23rd- Halloween Grams
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Find us on Facebook: “Woodbury PPA Community”
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Halloween Party & Parade Information
We will be enjoying Halloween festivities this year on Friday, October 30th. The Halloween Parade will begin at 1:30 with classroom parties to follow.
Parents/Guardians are always welcome to attend the parade along with younger children to see their older siblings and their classmates! Guests of the parade line the sidewalk around the building and students will be making their way around the building on the sidewalk by classroom. If we have inclement weather, we will parade around in the gym and hallways.
Students are invited to wear their costumes to school with the following guidelines:
- Students will change into costumes after lunch and must be able to put on independently over their clothes.
- If a student's costume includes a mask it will not be able to be worn while at school except for a picture and the parade.
- Please limit costume accessories, as these can potentially serve as a distraction to our daily learning. Weapons (play swords, knives, guns, etc.) are not allowed.
The classroom teachers have been coordinating Halloween parties with volunteers. Only designated volunteers will be able to participate in classroom parties on the 30th.
All classroom celebrations will follow our district-adopted Treat Policy. However, each classroom will incorporate one curricular activity during their celebration that will involve the consumption of a tasty treat. Our school nurses will vet the ingredients for allergies and safety concerns prior to our room parties taking place. As always, the safety and health of our students is a top priority.
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The district worked closely with the Regional Office of Education to create an attendance policy that is more aligned with the rest of the county. Our goal is to reduce the number of Chronic Absentee students within the district.
- CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM- a student who misses 10 percent of school days (18) within an academic year with or without a valid excuse. According to school research, these students are at greater risk of educational loss. Students within this category are reported to the state and monitored on the district/school report card.
To achieve this goal, we updated our attendance policy to create systems of support to monitor attendance and support families. The biggest changes are outlined below for families. Additional details can be found in the student handbook for each school.
- All excused absences count toward a student's total of 10 days of absence.
- After 10 absences, the district will ask for a doctor's note for future absences.
- All absences must be reported daily by 10:00 AM
- If a student is not reported absent by 10:00 AM the district will begin to identify the student’s location and reason for the absence.
- Parents/Guardians will be contacted first.
- If no one can be reached, we will contact emergency contacts.
- If no one can still be reached, we will contact the district SRO to do a safety check at the student’s home.
- Support for student absences will begin at the seventh absence of the school year.
Please help us achieve a positive school outcome through consistent student attendance. This is a significant predictor of student and school success. If someone in your family is unable to attend school for the day, it will be important that you report the absence by 10:00 AM.
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The carryover period for students who were receiving free/reduced lunch for the 2025-2026 school year will end on September 24, 2026. If a new 2026-2027 application has not been submitted by that date, your child will automatically be put on paid breakfast and lunch beginning September 25, 2026.
If you would like to fill out an application, please log in to your Infinite Campus parent portal account and click on “More”, then “Meal Benefits”. Once your application has been submitted and reviewed, you will receive an approval/denial letter in the mail via USPS.
Meal Rates for the 26-27 school year are as follows:
- Breakfast (K-12) $2.15
- Elementary/Middle School Lunch (K-8) $3.90
- High School Lunch (9-12) $4.05
Only one application needs to be completed per household. If you recently received notification that you have already been approved for free or reduced meals for the 2026-2027 school year you do not need to complete an application.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Jody Kruswicki, Administrative Assistant, 815-786-2187 or jkruswicki@sandwich430.org
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Our district follows a security protocol for guests and volunteers entering the buildings. This system requires identification from visitors (i.e. state ID, driver’s license, etc.), and all visitors will be photographed. A quick background check will be performed by searching US sex offender databases (with the option to expand this to criminal databases.). The system also links with our student database to provide an extra layer of protection for students with no contact orders.
To help make the start of the school year as smooth as possible, families who plan to volunteer in classrooms, attend classroom celebrations, or chaperone field trips are encouraged to complete this visitor screening during Stop N' Drop or Curriculum Night. Completing the process early will help ensure quick and easy entry into the building for future school events throughout the year.
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