Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
-W.B. Yeats
It’s that time, time for our kids to load up their back-packs, don their new threads and head back to school. It can be a hard transition going from the freedom of summer to the structure of being a full-time student. But you know what, it’s worth it. There is nothing like getting a good education, it gives our children a foundation for the rest of their lives.
The first day of school at Whittier is Monday, Aug. 25. This will be a full day of school for students. See below for the daily school schedule.
Grades 1-6
8:20 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.
Kindergarten
AM: 8:20 a.m. to 11:05 a.m.
PM: 12:10 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
Please also mark your calendar for Whittier’s Curriculum Night, which will be held the evening of Thursday, Sept. 4. Please note that Curriculum Night is for adults only.
We are so fortunate to have a wonderful Whittier Community. Thank you!
Whittier School PTA Executive Committee
Co-Presidents: Rita Brezina & Valerie Hardy
Co-Vice Presidents: Tiffany Kuelthau & Debbie Levinthal
Secretary: Amy Ihde
Treasurer: Corinne Potter
info@whittierschoolpta.org
whittierschoolpta.org
PTA Meeting Schedule and PTA Kickoff Social
Attend monthly PTA meetings in order to stay informed about school and PTA activities and to share your ideas! PTA meetings are held one Tuesday evening per month in the Jaguar Jungle (gym) at Whittier, and free babysitting is provided during these meetings.
This year’s PTA meeting dates are:
- September 16
- October 21
- November 18
- December 16
- January 20
- February 17
- March 17
- April 21
- May 19
Whether you’re a PTA meeting regular or will be checking the PTA out for the first time at the September meeting, we hope to see you there! Grab a friend or come alone. All are welcome!
Directly following the September PTA meeting, PTA members are invited to head over to Emmett’s for continued conversation. Emmett’s is located at 5200 Main Street in downtown Downers Grove.
Summer Math Club Update
Students can turn Summer Math Club packets in to school Monday, August 25 though Wednesday, August 27th. The teachers will turn them into the office and we will collect, grade and distribute prices accordingly. Any questions, contact Deb Loughman, deborahloughman@yahoo.com or Katie Main,ktmain3@yahoo.com.
Language Stars Before School Spanish Program
Languagae Stars Spanish program starts September 8, 2014 and runs before school on Mondays from 7:40-8:20. Register online at www.LanguageStarsAtSchool.com or call 866-55-STARS.
School Supply Kits
Thank you to everyone who came by on short notice to pick up your child(ren)’s school supply kits on Monday. If you were unable to make
it or didn’t have a friend or neighbor pick up your box(es) for you, please stop by the main office at Whittier between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00
p.m. another day this week to pick up your kit.
Variety Show
Keep an eye out during the first week of school for information about this year’s Whittier variety show. Information will be sent home with
the kids AND parents will be able to access the documents on the Variety Show page on the PTA website. Get a jump start and encourage
your kids to start thinking about what they want to perform on the Tivoli stage….This year is going to be AWESOME
Jaguar Jog – Sunday, September 28, 2014
The annual Whittier School Fun Run – The Jaguar Jog – is taking place on Sunday, September 28! The 1 mile kids’ only fun run and the 5k race are a great opportunity to promote fitness! This is a super fun morning for the whole family to mingle with other Whittier families and sign up for exciting Experiences (events for Whittier adults, families and kids throughout the first half of the school year). Please look for details about registration coming soon!
Would you like to help plan the Jog? Please join us Tuesday, August 26 at 7:30pm at Corinne Potter’s house for a Jaguar Jog Committee Meeting! We need your help in planning this fun and important fundraiser for the PTA! If you cannot attend the meeting but would still like to help – please email us at whittierjaguarjog@gmail.com
Do you have a connection to a business or organization who would like to sponsor the Jog? We need your help! All donations will directly benefit the children at Whittier School! We have several levels of sponsorship available – please contact us for details!
Questions? Please contact Chie Nicholson and Corinne Potter at whittierjaguarjog@gmail.com
Back-to-School Social
Join us for some fun in the sun (hopefully it will be a nice day!) and time to reconnect with friends on Friday, Aug. 22, at 3:00 p.m. on the intermediate playground on the east side of Whittier School. Popsicles and water will be served. Important upcoming PTA information will also be shared.
Whittier Wear will be available for purchase at the Back-to-School Social, so you may want to bring your checkbook! Learn more about the upcoming Jaguar Jog, Fun Lunch, PTA membership, and how to get involved in organizations like Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Adventure Guides and Princesses at this event as well.
We hope to see you there!
Fun Lunch
The first Fun Lunch of the year will be Friday, Sept. 12. You should have received a separate communication including the Fun Lunch order form for the first half of the 2014-2015 school year. Please be sure to submit your completed form(s) – one per child in grades 1 through 6 – along with payment (checks payable to Whittier PTA) by September 5th. Please place the form(s) along with your payment in a sealed envelope labeled FUN LUNCH.
If you’d like to turn in your Fun Lunch order before the school year begins, you may either drop it off in the bin on Valerie Hardy’s front porch at 5214 Florence Avenue (the house faces 4th Street though; it’s the house at the NW corner of 4th and Florence) or turn it in at the Back-to-School Social atWhittier on Friday, Aug. 22, at 3:00 p.m.
Once the school year begins, you may turn your Fun Lunch order form and payment in by sending it to school in your child’s take-home folder or by dropping it off in the PTA box in the main office at Whittier.
If you have questions about the Fun Lunch program, please contact Paula Schultz or Amy Toth.
Help Needed with Whittier Landscaping Project
Have you been by Whittier lately? If so, you may have noticed that the landscaping on the west side of the school near the parking lot is quite a bit lighter! Thank you to Karrie Donat and Green Grass Landscape for their efforts in getting Whittier’s overgrown landscaping under control!
This landscaping project isn’t quite finished though. In order to keep the weeds down the area needs to be mulched. The Village of Downers Grove provides free wood chips, but we have to load, transport, and spread it ourselves.
To this end, volunteers are needed to help transport, load/unload, and spread mulch. See details below.
Do you have a flatbed truck or trailer? If so, your help loading and transporting the mulch would be much appreciated. Meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the DG wood chip lot located at the corner of Curtiss and Katrine Streets (near Belmont).
Don’t have a truck or trailer but want to help? Meet at Whittier early evening on Wednesday, Aug. 20, to help unload and spread the mulch.
Rain date is Thursday, Aug. 21.
All help is welcome and appreciated! Volunteers should bring shovels, gloves, and/ mulch forks if you have them. We could also use a few wheel barrows and tarps if available.
If you can help, please contact Karrie Donat (773.484.7924).
Mark Your Calendars
- Wednesday, August 20: Landscape Volunteering
- Friday, August 22: Back-to-School Social
- Monday, August 25: First Day of School
- Tuesday, August 26: Jaguar Jog Committee Meeting
- Thursday, September 4: Curriculum Night
- Friday, September 5: Fun Lunch Forms and Payment Due
- Friday, September 12: First Fun Lunch of the Year
- Tuesday, September 16: PTA Meeting and Kickoff Social
- Sunday, September 28: Jaguar Jog
