Thursday Notes – September 11, 2025

View This Week’s Photos

From Mr. Brooke’s Desk

Patriot Day

Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11, which is now referred to as Patriot Day. One of the 3000 people who perished during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, was a 1983 graduate of WCGS, Todd Beamer. Todd is remembered in part for his heroism and the words, “Let’s Roll!” We as a Wheaton Christian Grammar School community pause to remember and honor the many who lost their lives or were impacted by the events 24 years ago. Please join us in prayer for those families and for the many who defend our freedom on a daily basis.

Share Your Story – Celebrate God’s Faithfulness!

We believe that every family in our school community has a unique story of how God led them to WCGS — and we want to celebrate that together! Please consider taking 5 minutes to fill out a short survey (option to be anonymous) to share how you were led by God to enroll your students at Wheaton Christian Grammar School. Your testimony could be a powerful encouragement to others and a beautiful reminder of His faithfulness at work in our midst.

CLICK HERE TO SHARE YOUR STORY

Thank you for helping us gather these stories of God’s goodness!

Coming Soon! Scholarship Auction and Trivia Night

With great anticipation, we are excited to announce the Scholarship Auction and Trivia Night on Friday, November 14!

If you missed the fun last year, you’ll want to be sure to attend this year!  Watch for your invitation, but in the meantime, think about what you might contribute to this year’s silent auction to make it a success.  Here are just a few ideas!

• Tickets to sports events or concerts are always popular items!
• Have a craft?  Sewing, knitting, pottery, cooking/baking, woodworking, homemade games or toys, etc.  People love handcrafted items or…  Consider giving a lesson in your craft.
• Getaways!  Have a vacation home, Timeshare or Airbnb you can donate?
• Business services.  Accounting, Carpentry, Dental, Financial Counseling, Home Design Services, Housecleaning, Music or Dance Lessons, the list is endless!  Not sure?  Just ask!
• Other ideas?  We would love to hear them!  Contact Shannon McDonald, Development Coordinator: smcdonald@wheatonchristian.org

Nothing to donate?  We would still love for EVERYONE to come and enjoy a great dinner and dessert (no charge!) browse the auction items, enjoy music from our students, and have some Trivia fun!  You might also find great auction items to bid on!  All funds benefit the Scholarship Fund… a great cause because you are providing tuition assistance for children who might otherwise not be able to receive a Christ-centered education.

From Mr. Painter’s Desk

Nursing Team

We are blessed to have an incredible medical team to care for the health of your children while they are at school. Bess Paull will continue to be our lead nurse, caring for a majority of the medical-related documentation, communication, and training.  She will also spend a couple of days on campus as the nurse in our clinic.  We have added two additional nurses to our health team to help cover the additional days in the clinic.  School parents and registered nurses, Christina Zimmerman and Kelsay McNutt, bring a wealth of experience and compassion to our community.  We are so grateful that they have joined our team – they have proven to be incredible assets already in just the first few weeks!   Since the nurses will be rotating throughout the week, please email nurse@wheatonchristian.org if you have any questions for the nurse on duty.

Smartwatches

Our students have done a great job with our cell phone policy over these first three weeks, and I continue to be grateful for the community and culture this creates at WCGS.  I would appreciate your help in reinforcing our policy on smartwatches, as we have seen a number of students wearing them to school.  Although some of the smartwatches may not have a data plan to be able to make calls or receive messages, if they have a touchscreen interface, they cannot be worn during the school day.  Please be sure that smartwatches are either left at home or taken off and placed in the backpack/locker until after school.  For your reference, our policy on cell phones and smartwatches is below:

Students’ personal cell phones and smartwatches must be kept turned off and in lockers during school hours. A smartwatch can be defined as a wearable computer in the form of a watch, often with a touchscreen interface. Simple pedometers may be worn, but smartwatches that can receive text messages or other alerts, or have apps associated with them, may not be worn. Students should remain off cell phones and smartwatches at all times while inside the building. Before and after school use of these devices should be confined to transportation and other logistical arrangements between students and their families or carpools. If students need to reach a member of their family during the school day, they can request permission to use the student phone in the main office. Any violation of these expectations may result in having the student’s phone or smartwatch taken away and retained by the Principal until the student and a parent come to claim it. Repeated offenses of this rule will be met with increasingly severe consequences. This policy applies to field trips unless otherwise communicated by the teacher.

Important Upcoming Dates

Friday, September 12

BIRTHDAY: Kate Lindstedt (4th & 5th Grade Instructional Aide; Extended Care)

MAP Testing – Grades K/1

Zero Waste Day

Monday, September 15

Hot Lunch – Chick-fil-A

MAP Testing – 3K

Fall Fellowship Gatherings

8:00-8:40 a.m. – Praise Team Rehearsal (Commons)

9:00-10:00 a.m. – Moms in Prayer (Room 308)

4:00 p.m. – Girls’ JV VBall @ Christian Liberty

4:00 p.m. – Boys’ V Soccer vs. Christian Liberty (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – Girls’ V VBall @ Christian Liberty

Tuesday, September 16

Hot Lunch – Jersey Mike’s

MAP Testing – 3K

Fall Fellowship Gatherings

8:00-8:40 a.m. – Praise Team Rehearsal (Commons)

3:30-5:00 p.m. – Robotics Team (STEAM Room/Innovation Hub)

4:00 p.m. – Girls’ JV VBall vs. Benjamin MS (WCGS)

4:00 p.m. – Boys’ V Soccer vs. Benjamin MS (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – Girls’ V VBall vs. Benjamin MS (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – Boys’ JV Soccer vs. Benjamin MS (WCGS)

Wednesday, September 17

Hot Lunch – Barone’s Pizza and Pasta

MAP Make-Up Testing

Fall Fellowship Gatherings

8:00-8:35 a.m. – Creation Care Club

9:00 a.m. – Chapel (Grades K-2)

9:15-11:30 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)

Thursday, September 18

BIRTHDAY: Val Terdina (Orchestra Teacher)

Sunset Slush Day

Fall Fellowship Gatherings

7:45-8:40 a.m. – Robotics Team (STEAM Room/Innovation Hub)

3:30-5:00 p.m. – Robotics Team (STEAM Room/Innovation Hub)

3:30-4:30 p.m. – Chess Club Begins (Room 714/716)

4:00 p.m. – Girls’ JV VBall vs. Schaumburg Christian (WCGS)

4:00 p.m. – Boys’ V Soccer vs. Schaumburg Christian (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – Girls’ V VBall vs. Schaumburg Christian (WCGS)

5:00 p.m. – Boys’ JV Soccer vs. Schaumburg Christian (WCGS)

Friday, September 19

NO SCHOOL – Teacher Inservice

4:00 p.m. – Girls V VBall Stratford Invite Tournament (Stratford MS)

Saturday, September 20

9:00 a.m. – Girls’ JV VBall Stratford Invite Tournament (Stratford MS)

Nurse Notes

Reminders from the Nurses’ Office

• We have recently made some updates to our website. Please go to Current Parents, then medical requirement/updates, if you are wondering if you should send your student to school or not. Medical Information – Wheaton Christian
• Listed on our website are all the required forms and what is needed each year. It is never too early to schedule your child’s physical for sports or 6th grade!
• We have added two new nurses to our team! When emailing an illness, or doctors note, please email nurse@wheatonchristian.org so that it is seen by all three nurses and is not missed due to a nurse not working that day.
• Now is a great time to check your student’s backpack to make sure they have what they need each day. Putting some extra snacks and a change of clothes in there is a great idea. Sometimes kids will eat most of their lunch at snack time and not have much food left for lunch. The nurses’ office keeps extra clothes for times in need, but we do not have every size, and some kids really prefer their own clothes. Extra socks are a great idea, because our little (and big) friends love the puddles at recess and wet socks are no fun!

Notable Notes

Fathers’ Prayer Breakfast

On Saturday, September 27, 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 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 can attend on September 27, please RSVP to Lauren Fortosis by Monday, September 22, to help with breakfast planning. We hope to see you there!

Backpack Donations Ends September 18!

Are you looking to donate your gently used or new backpacks? Please bring them to WCGS and place them in the utility tote labeled Serve for Hope Uganda located just inside Door #1. The utility tote will be available for donations until mid-September. Leonard and Lauren Matovu (parents of Joelle, 3rd grade) founded and lead a ministry called Serve for Hope Uganda located in Namungoona, Uganda. Through a variety of programs, the Matovus and their team in Uganda aim to share the love of Christ and provide quality education to students in need. One way this is accomplished is by providing backpacks filled with school supplies which will be distributed at the start of the Ugandan school year (late January/early February). Thanks for your partnership in sharing the love of Christ and providing quality education for students in need!

2025-2026 Admissions Applications

We love welcoming siblings of our current students! Applications for admissions for 2026-2027 are available on FACTS Family Portal under Apply/Enroll. Current WCGS families will have priority in admissions if the application is submitted by September 30, 2025. Please contact Admissions Director, Kim Norbeck, if you have any questions about the admissions process.

Paid Positions Still Available

Crossing Guards Needed

WCGS is hoping to hire several crossing guards for morning arrival and afternoon dismissal, and we need your help to find the right people for the job! We are looking for kind and conscientious individuals with great interpersonal skills to interact with our families and broader community either one day or several days each week.  Our hope is to have a team of individuals who have flexible schedules.  If you are interested in helping once a week or taking this on more consistently, we would love to connect with you.  If you or someone you know would be interested in serving in this paid position, please contact Beth Wright.  Our Administrators and Staff will still be a part of the crossing guard team, but a few extra individuals will help us round out the group.

Additional Recess Supervisor Needed

We are looking for one additional Recess Supervisor who is willing to serve on Mondays for this coming school year. This is a paid position and a wonderful opportunity to serve the school and your children on a weekly basis with a minimal time commitment. Just think – you get to be outside, interacting and playing with our precious students (your children!). The Recess Supervisor time commitment is from 11:40 a.m. –1:10 p.m. If you are interested in serving, please contact Beth Wright so that we can provide you with more information about this opportunity. Thank you!

Community Corner

Wired and Worried: Parenting in the Digital Age

Join us for a two-night event exploring parenting in the digital age. This special gathering is designed to help parents navigate the challenges of raising kids in a tech-saturated world with wisdom, intention, and faith.

• Night One (September 22 at 7:00-8:30 p.m.) will feature a guided book discussion on The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, offering space for thoughtful conversation and reflection.
• Night Two (September 29 at 7:00-8:30 p.m.) will feature a talk by Jen Pacer (Discipleship Director at Gospelife) titled Parenting in an Age of Technology. She’ll share practical wisdom and spiritual encouragement for navigating parenting in today’s tech-driven world. You’re welcome to attend either night or both, whatever fits in your schedule.

This event takes place at Glen Ellyn Bible Church (501 Hillside Avenue, Glen Ellyn). Childcare is provided on both nights. Please register online for the evening(s) you plan to attend and let them know if you need childcare.

Parenting Through Spiritual Struggle

We love to see our children succeed, whether it be in their schoolwork, sports, or music. But what about when our kids seem spiritually flat, disconnected, and apathetic? How can we respond when they seem to have little or no interest in spiritual things? This morning with Rob Rienow from Visionary Family Ministries will encourage you with biblical principles and practical ways to build a stronger relationship with your teen and point them to Jesus. Join this event at Wheaton Academy on Saturday, September 13, 9:30-11:00 a.m. There is no cost, but pre-registration is needed. Register here if you plan to attend.

Fall Football Cheer Clinic

Registration is now open for our favorite fall football Junior Cheer Clinic! Practices will be held on October 8 and 9 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in Wheaton Academy’s Field House (Court 3). We are excited to also invite our future cheerleaders to join us at our Cheer Legacy banquet from 4:30-5:45 p.m. on October 10, followed by a halftime performance at the football game! Registration includes a t-shirt and dinner. Visit wheatonacademy.org/camps to sign up and follow us on instagram @wheatonacademycheer for more information.

Wheaton Academy Family Picnic

Wheaton Academy is inviting all families to their Second Annual Family Picnic on Friday, October 3, as part of their Homecoming Activities. The event will be from 5:30-9:00 p.m. New things for the children have been added for this year. FREE pony rides, camel rides, petting zoo, bounce houses, face painting, and balloon sculptures. Burger 302, Billy Bricks Pizza, Dirty Dough Cookies, and The WA Shack will be serving from their food trucks! A live band will be performing 50’s and 60’s classics, and the football game will start at 7:30 as well.  We have it all for a night of family fun!! Come out for dinner, fellowship, and football!!

Supporting Executive Function in Students

Wheaton Academy is hosting a practical, parent-focused workshop led by Holly Taritas, designed to equip families with tools to support organization, time management, task initiation, and study skills at home. This event is free and open to all families in the local community!  You can find out more about the event here.