Thursday Notes – October 31, 2024

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From Mr. Brooke’s Desk

Come to the TRANSFORM Scholarship Auction on November 15!

We are looking forward to seeing you decked out in your favorite decade!  Whether it’s the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or…current decade, it’s going to be a fun and lighthearted evening, celebrating the many decades that God has been faithful in transforming WCGS into the place it is today!

Be sure to RSVP for a delicious buffet dinner featuring great food followed by dessert from the WCGS Soda Shop!  Browse the auction items, bid, enjoy music from students, and join in the Trivia game!  (No experience is necessary! And there is no charge to attend!) 

Best of all, this event supports the Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance for students to receive a Christ-centered education.

P.S. Yes!  We are still accepting auction items!  Next week will be the last week since the silent auction opens on Saturday, November 9th. We can hardly wait for you to see the fabulous items to bid on!

Want to sponsor the auction? Promote your company on the auction site and throughout the evening on November 15!

For more information contact Joanne DeGroot or Lauren Fortosis and don’t forget to RSVP! (Adults only, please!)

From Mr. Painter’s Desk

Report Cards and MAP Results

As I referenced last week in Thursday Notes, first quarter report cards will be sent electronically to parents at around 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, November 1. MAP Growth Assessment results will also be sent home tomorrow with your child in an envelope. Please be looking for this information. There will be a letter inside the envelope explaining more about the data, so please take time to read it prior to reviewing the results. We felt it was important to get you these results on the same day as the report card since the MAP results are just one piece of information about your child as a learner.

Parent-Teacher Conference Registration

Registration for Parent-Teacher Conferences is now open. You received specific instructions on how you are able to sign up last Friday from Beth Wright. Conferences are being held on Thursday, November 7, from 1:00-8:00 p.m. and on Friday, November 8, from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. There is no school on these two days. We look forward to seeing all of you at your children’s conferences as we seek to gain a more complete picture of who your children are and what they need as individuals. Click here for instructions.

Top 5 Traffic Reminders

As we enter the 2^nd quarter, I want to pass along my top 5 traffic reminders to help things to continue to be efficient and safe before and after school:

• Even though it may seem counterintuitive, the fastest way to pick up your children and exit campus is actually to park! When you park, you may either have them walk to your car (if students are old enough), or pick them up at the door and then walk them back to your vehicle. This will get your children to you quicker, get you off campus faster, and also help with our traffic flow.

• Students should never enter or exit the vehicle from any lane of traffic except the curbside lane (the lane closest to the curb). This means that parents should never pick up their child in any lane other than the curbside lane. Also, when they exit, they need to exit on the curb-side, not into the flow of traffic.

• Parents should always remain in their vehicles if they are in a moving lane of traffic, including the curbside lane. If you need to get out of your vehicle to help your children exit the car, please use the parking lot to park your vehicle and then escort them across the crosswalk.

• If you are in a moving lane of traffic and you see space in front of your vehicle, please pull forward. Even if it is just a few feet, the collective effort of all of our vehicles will tremendously help with the flow of traffic.

• Do not park your vehicle in a moving lane of traffic. There are 2 spots that are especially challenging on campus, as I am sure you have figured out by now! At location #1, this is a lane of traffic waiting to merge into the curbside lane along the front of our building. Children should never cross our moving lanes of traffic to meet you here. They must wait until you make it to the curb. At location #2, it is important that you never park here, but wait to merge into the curbside lane once there is enough space to pull forward fully into the curbside lane. If you pull out and pull over near the bump out on the corner, you will be blocking the 2 lanes of moving traffic coming from the East side of our building, creating a backup.

Thank you for your help in these areas to ensure the safety of our students!

Please Join Us!

The next WCGS Parent Series event is Tuesday, November 12, at 6:30 p.m. Back by popular demand, we welcome WCGS school dad and licensed Clinical Psychologist and Executive Coach, Chris Mazzarella presenting, The Anxious Resilient Generation: Fostering Attachment with God through Identity & Purpose.  Join us as Chris walks through the conversation of stress and anxiety and the impact it has on children and families.  You will learn what research is discovering, along with practical tools to lead your child with confidence and resiliency. Sign up here if you plan to attend.

Important Upcoming Dates

Friday, November 1

Report Cards Issued

Zero Waste Day

6:00-7:30 p.m. – Mother Son Event (Commons/Gym)

Saturday, November 2

BIRTHDAY: Jennifer Fraser (Reading Specialist)

Sunday, November 3

Daylight Saving Ends

Monday, November 4

Hot Lunch – Chick-fil-A

8:00 a.m. – Praise Team Rehearsal (Commons)

9:00-10:00 a.m. – Moms in Prayer (Room 605)

4:00 p.m. – JV Boys’ BBall vs. Timothy Christian (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – V Boys’ BBall vs. Timothy Christian (WCGS)

6:00/6:45 p.m. – 6th Grade Boys’ BBall vs. Timothy Christian (WCGS)

Tuesday, November 5

Hot Lunch – Jersey Mike’s

3:30-5:00 p.m. – Robotics Team (Room 607)

4:00 p.m. – JV Boys’ BBall vs. Harvest Christian (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – V Boys’ BBall vs. Harvest Christian (WCGS)

6:00 p.m. – 5th Grade Boys’ BBall vs. Harvest Christian (WCGS)

Wednesday, November 6

Hot Lunch – Barone’s Pizza and Pasta

8:00 a.m. – MathCounts (Room 616)

8:00 a.m. – Praise Team Rehearsal (Commons)

9:15 a.m. – Women’s Bible Study (Amy Paglia’s home)

9:45 a.m. – Chapel (Grades 3-5)

10:45 a.m. – Chapel (Grades 6-8)

11:45 a.m. – Chapel (Grades K-2)

3:30-4:00 p.m. – Yearbook Club (Graphics Lab)

3:45-4:30 p.m. – YA Battle of the Books Meet (Wheaton Library)

Thursday, November 7

NO SCHOOL – Parent-Teacher Conferences

1:00-8:00 p.m. – Parent-Teacher Conferences

Friday, November 8

BIRTHDAYS: Kendra Bratt (1st Grade Aide; Speech Therapist), Alicia Guevara (1st Grade Teacher), and Annie Rhoads (5th Grade Teacher)

NO SCHOOL – Parent-Teacher Conferences

9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. – Parent-Teacher Conferences

4:00 p.m. – JV Boys’ BBall @ Schaumburg Christian

4:00 p.m. – 6th Grade Boys’ BBall @ Schaumburg Christian

5:00 p.m. – V Boys’ BBall @ Schaumburg Christian

Library News

Book Fair Contest

This year’s book fair is coming on November 20, and you will be getting more information about it soon! We have a jungle theme this year, and we are excited to announce our annual creative contest. You can find all the details about the contest here. Materials are available now in the library, and contest entries can be turned in beginning on Monday, November 4. They are due on Tuesday, November 12.

Notable Notes

Lost and Found 

Wondering where your child’s new fall coat or sweater could be? It’s probably in the lost and found! We’ve accumulated hundreds of items over the first quarter of the school year and will be displaying them next week and during parent-teacher conferences. Please stop by the main hallway and check for your missing belongings. All unclaimed items will be donated by Thanksgiving.

Fathers’ Prayer Breakfast 

On Saturday, November 23, we will host our Fathers’ Prayer Breakfast from 7:30-8:30 a.m. in the Commons here at school. Whether you have attended before, or if this is your first time, we look forward to sharing a meal, hearing a devotional, and praying together as fathers in the WCGS community. It is a rich time and one that I hope you will consider joining. We will respect your time and dismiss by 8:30 a.m. so that you can continue on with your weekend. If you are able to attend on November 23, please RSVP to Lauren Fortosis by Monday, November 18, to help with breakfast planning.

Veterans Day Assembly – LAST CHANCE to RSVP/Submit Pictures!

We have always looked forward to our annual Veterans Day Assembly each November. We believe it is important that we pause and remember all that this day represents. Our assembly will be taking place in the gym on Monday, November 11, at 10:45 a.m. We’d love to honor the veterans in our school community by showing their picture in a slide show that students will see during the program. Any student with a parent, grandparent, or other family member who IS or HAS BEEN a member of the Armed Forces is invited to email a picture of that individual to Lauren Fortosis by Friday, October 25, so that it can be included in a tribute video. (If you have submitted information for the video in the past, we will automatically include it in this year’s video unless you contact us indicating that it needs to be removed). Please include the following information with your picture:

• Student Name:
• Veteran’s/Active Duty Soldier’s Name:
• Relationship to Student:
• Branch of Service:

We would also love to invite veterans who are family members of current students to attend the assembly (in uniform if possible) to be introduced. Our guests of honor and their families will have a reserved seating section that is easily accessible and a brief reception following the assembly. If you have a veteran who can attend, please RSVP to Lauren Fortosis by Friday, November 1.

Community Corner

Get to Know Wheaton Academy

Wheaton Academy invites middle school students and their parents to Get To Know Wheaton Academy on Thursday, November 7, at 6:45 p.m. This evening will provide an opportunity for families to learn about the school’s commitment to academics, spiritual life, co-curricular activities, and college readiness, as well as experience the community, connection, and culture that Wheaton Academy offers their students and families.

The time together will include:

• Opening Welcome from Mrs. Hockett, Principal
• Individual Family Tours
• Meet and Greet with Teachers, Coaches, and Program Leaders

Register online at wheatonacademy.org/visit and discover what it’s like to be a Wheaton Academy Warrior.

Questions? Please contact Amy Burdett, Admissions Coordinator or Amy Hogan, Director of Admissions

VFM Thanksgiving Ball

All the generations of your family are invited to a unique event sponsored by Visionary Family Ministries, a local ministry that encourages families and marriages.  The VFM Thanksgiving Ball will take place on Sunday, November 10, at the Abbington in Glen Ellyn from 5:00-9:00 p.m. Join us for dinner, games, dancing, and family worship! For more details see flyer here or to purchase a family ticket, visit https://visionaryfam.com/event/2024-thanksgiving-ball/. 

Fox Valley Ballet Nutcracker

Looking to do something festive during the upcoming holiday season? Come see the Fox Valley Ballet Nutcracker November 29-December 1 at the Batavia Fine Arts Center! WCGS students Isabel and Hannah Wilding, Pennie Barr, and Libby Cate Green will be performing in it. Get your tickets here.