Walsh Community Newsletter

Dear Walsh Families,

Happy New Year and welcome back! I hope your winter break was filled with rest, relaxation, and wonderful memories with your loved ones. The building has been far too quiet, and we are thrilled to open our doors and welcome our students back.

As we step into 2026, we are ready to hit the ground running. The second half of the school year is always a special time—it’s when we see so much of the students' hard work from the fall really start to click and their confidence grow.

Thank you for your continued partnership. We are ready to make this next chapter of the school year the best one yet!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Megan Urban

Walsh School Principal

As we move through the school year, we want to share a quick reminder about our illness guidelines. Our goal is to keep our school open, safe, and healthy for everyone.

Please keep your child home if:

-They have a fever of 100.0°F or higher.

-They have vomited or had diarrhea within the past 24 hours.

-They have a contagious condition (like Strep Throat or Pink Eye) and have not yet completed 24 hours of treatment.

-They generally feel too unwell to participate in regular school activities.

Returning to School: Students may return when they have been symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

If you are unsure, calling the school nurse for advice is always a great first step. If your child will be absent, please remember to call the attendance line by 9:00 AM.

I am thrilled to share some wonderful news regarding our recent partnership with Bernie’s Book Bank. Thanks to your incredible generosity, our recent book drive collected 2,300 children’s books!

Bernie’s Book Bank reached out to share their gratitude, noting that these contributions directly support their mission to provide 8 books per year to at-risk children, helping to build a more equitable future.

Thank you for cleaning out your bookshelves and supporting this vital cause. I am so proud of our Bulldogs for helping to share the love of reading with children who need it most.

During the week of January 12th, all kindergarten and first grade students will complete their winter FastBridge benchmarking assessments. Please encourage your child to get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school on these testing days.

We are excited to celebrate all of our students' accomplishments and growth since the beginning of the year. After the testing window concludes, our classroom teachers and support service providers will meet to ensure that all students are receiving the appropriate instruction and supports here at school. FastBridge Parent Reports will be made available to families once testing is complete.

This month, our Walsh EL teachers, will be administering this year’s ACCESS test to all of Walsh’s EL students. The results from the ACCESS test will help guide our staff in making decisions about how to best support our students' English academic language development. Students' scores will reflect proficiency levels ranging from Level 1 (Entering) to Level 6 (Reaching).

Test scores can be used for a variety of purposes:

-As benchmarks against which educators can measure future performance.

-For accountability purposes.

-As a measure to make reclassification decisions about whether a student can exit English language support services.

-To support decisions about placing students into appropriate classes or groups for instruction and instructional planning.

-To show the progress students have made.

If your child receives EL services and you have any questions about the ACCESS test, the results, or the score reports (when available), please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Yearbooks are currently ON SALE! If you are interested in purchasing a book for your child so they can remember their year, please use the link and yearbook code below! 

ybpay.com

Yearbook ID Code: 12828526

PLEASE NOTE: The order form you received said Will County School District 92 2025-2026 Yearbook, but this book is for ALL students at Walsh, Reed, and Ludwig. If you are interested in purchasing a book for a child at Oak Prairie, you will need to use a different yearbook ID code. 

Sales will continue until Wednesday, April 8th. You will not be able to order a yearbook after that date. 

As the weather gets colder, we want to ensure all of our students are prepared for outdoor recess. Our students will go outside as long as the "feels-like" temperature is 20 degrees or above.

Please ensure your child comes to school with warm winter gear (coat, hat, gloves, boots, and snow pants) on these days. However, if the morning forecast shows the "real feel" will remain below 20 degrees for the entire school day, you do not need to send snow pants, boots, etc.

To help your child be successful, we encourage them to practice putting on and taking off their winter gear independently. Developing this skill allows for smoother transitions during the school day.

Ensuring every student is safe and accounted for is our top priority each morning. To help our office staff reconcile records efficiently, please report all student absences by 9:00 AM.

When an absence is not reported by this time, our staff must verify the student’s whereabouts to ensure safety. This generates a high volume of phone calls that can delay other office operations.

When calling the attendance line, please clearly state:

-Student's Name

-Teacher's Name

-Reason for Absence

Providing all three specific details allows us to code the attendance correctly the first time, preventing the need for follow-up calls to your home or workplace.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping our mornings run smoothly.

January 5th-Institute Day-No Student Attendance

January 6th-Girl Scouts and Sunshine Club Afterschool

January 7th-Wear Winter Onsie or Robe, Art Club Afterschool

January 12th-FastBridge Testing Begins, Cheer Club and Lego Club Afterschool

January 13th-Sunshine Club Afterschool

January 14th-Art Club Afterschool

January 15th-ACCESS Assessment Window Opens

January 19th-No School

January 20th-Girl Scouts and Sunshine Club Afterschool, Board of Education Meeting in the Evening

January 21st-92nd Day of School, Wear Walsh/D92 Spirit Wear, Art Club Afterschool

January 26th-Cheer Club and Lego Club Afterschool

January 27th-Sunshine Club Afterschool

January 28th-Art Club Afterschool

January 30th-FastBridge Report Comes Home

Will County School District has many opportunities each year for families who may need additional support during difficult times. Below is a list of resources that may become available through school district programs and local community resources. If you feel your family would be able to benefit if these resources become available, please select which ones you may be interested in. This is not a guarantee of receiving these supports, however, it notifies our social workers of families that are open to receiving.

Please note that your interest in these resources will be kept confidential and will only be shared with the school social worker. If you would like to request a paper copy of this form please reach out to the school office at 815-838-7858 and ask to be transferred to Amanda Lulek, social worker.

Main Office Staff:

Principal - Mrs. Megan Urban - murban@d92.org - (ext. 4003)

Secretary - Ms. Amy Schroll - aschroll@d92.org - (ext. 4001)

Attendance Secretary - Ms. Megan Selle - mselle@d92.org - (ext. 4002)

Nurse - Mrs. Ashlie Lanzi - alanzi@d92.org (ext. 4005)

Walsh School Staff Directory

School Hours:

Summer Office Hours - 7:30am-2:30pm (Through Fri., Aug. 8th)

Regular Office Hours - 8:00am-4:00pm (Starting, Mon., Aug. 11th)

Student Attendance Hours - 8:50am - 3:30pm

Kindergarten and First Grade School Hours- 8:50am-3:30pm

PLC Wednesdays - Dismissal for Kindergarten and First Grade Students- 2:50pm

*Attendance is taken at 8:50am

Early Childhood Morning Session- 9:15am-11:45am, Afternoon Session 1:00pm-3:30pm

PLC Wednesdays - Morning Session- 9:15am-11:15am, Afternoon Session 12:50pm-2:50pm

Will County SD 92 2025/2026 School Calendar

If you have a Walsh School staff member you would like to celebrate for all they do, please fill out the form below to share in recognizing their efforts! Your response will be given to the staff member to acknowledge the fantastic work they do and the difference they make! You can find this link posted in every monthly newsletter.