Westlake Christian Academy

Grayslake kindergarten, elementary, junior high and high school academy providing Christian families with private academic education.

(847) 548-6209   275 South Lake Street Grayslake, IL

Harvest Fest

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Join us for some family fun as we celebrate the fall season with our Westlake community!

Friday, October 29, 2021

Harvest Fest is a HALF DAY for the entire school. Harvest Fest is intended to be a family event where you can have fun and enjoy the fall season with your Westlake community. This year, Harvest Fest simply will be an afternoon/evening that is set aside for our Westlake families to visit local attractions at the same time.

All students must be picked up at school at 12pm on Friday, October 29th. If your family chooses to visit either local attraction in the afternoon or evening, you are responsible for transporting and chaperoning your students at all times.

These events are rain/snow or shine.

Friday, October 29, 1–4pm
Shades of Autumn Fall Festival at
Stade’s Farm and Market
3709 Miller Road
McHenry, Illinois 60051

stadesfarmandmarket.com

Please note: this attraction is geared more towards preschool/pre-k and elementary students, but all are welcome.

Admission: Please pay that day at the entrance. There is not a coordinated group admission rate.
Ages 2 and under: Free
Ages 3–64: $18
Ages 65+: $10

Limited lunch options are available on site from 11–2pm. There is also a pavilion where you can eat a sack lunch.

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Friday, October 29, 5–8pm
Richardson Adventure Farm
909 English Prairie Rd
Spring Grove, IL 60081

richardsonadventurefarm.com

Please note: this attraction is geared more toward junior high and high school students, but all are welcome.

Admission: Please pay that day at the entrance. There is not a coordinated group admission rate.
Ages 2 and under: Free
Ages 3–12: $14
Ages 13+: $18

Richardsons offers concessions, as well as food trucks.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

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Wednesday, October 6 |  4:30 – 8:30 PM
Thursday, October 7 | 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

We would like to invite you to get to know your child’s teacher a little better at parent-teacher conferences on October 6 & 7. This is a critical way that you can partner with us in the education of your child, and we encourage everyone to sign up for a conference. 

While there will be no childcare on site, we do understand that you may need to bring your child with. In which case, your child may sit outside the classroom for the duration of your conference.

If you have children in both elementary and secondary, the office staff will coordinate your secondary conference requests with your elementary times. 

Contact the school office at Info@WestlakeChristian.org or 847-548-6209 ext. 0 with any questions.

All conferences are in-person. Masks are required.

Elementary Parents (Preschool-6th Grade):
Click here to sign up for an elementary (Preschool-6th Grade) conference.

Secondary Parents (7th – 12th Grade):
 Click here to sign up for a secondary (7th-12th Grade) conference.

Grandparents’ Day 2021

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We love our Grandparents!

Westlake Christian Academy looks forward every fall to having our students’ grandparents visit the school. This year, we are providing two opportunities for grandparents to visit classrooms. Preschool–6th grade teachers will host virtual classroom “visits” in the morning (via Google Meet), and we will also have in-person drop-in tours (all grades) in the afternoon.

If you have been to a previous Grandparents Day at Westlake, the format will seem quite different. We hope that offering both a virtual and in-person option will allow many grandparents to attend. We are also eliminating the portion of the day when grandparents gather in the gym to watch class performances. Instead, individual classes will be making a presentation during their virtual visit. We hope you enjoy the opportunity to spend some time with your grandchild(ren) and see what’s happening at Westlake!

Friday September 24, 2021

9:15–11:30am: Virtual Classroom Visits

1:00–2:30pm: Drop-in Classroom Tours

Grandparents Day is a Half Day (9am–12pm)

Grandparents Day is a HALF DAY for all students. There is no After Care on all-school half days. Because it is also a Late Start Friday, the school day runs from 9am–12pm for Preschool through 12th grade. Pickup for all Preschool–6th grade students is from Slusser Street, via the back entrance to the playground.

All students are expected to be picked up between 12:00–12:20pm. Please leave campus for lunch, and then students may return with grandparents any time between 1:00–2:30pm for an in-person classroom tour.

Morning: Virtual Classroom Tours (Preschool–6th Grade)

Take a peek at what the school day looks like for your grandchild! Preschool–6th grade teachers will host a brief Google Meet for each grade. The times will be staggered, so that grandparents can “visit” multiple grades throughout the morning. Grandparents can expect to “meet” the teacher, “see” what’s happening in the classroom, and say hello to their grandchild.

Each grade will have a 10–15 minute Google Meet, which grandparents can join using a link that was emailed to parents on September 22nd. Please ask your grandchild’s parent to forward the email to you. A schedule and full instructions for joining will be included. Please RSVP below.

Afternoon: In-Person Drop-In Tours (Preschool–12th Grade)

Grandparents are invited to visit the school with their grandchildren to take a quick tour of the classroom. Students will be able to show you where they sit, along with some of their school work.

The school will be open from 1:00–2:30pm for tours. You may come at any time during that window, but please let us know that we should expect you. The doors will not open until 1:00 pm, as our teachers need time to eat lunch and prepare for your arrival. Please RSVP below.

Grandparent's Day Registration

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Celebrate Westlake

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While this year has certainly looked much different than any of us expected, the Lord has done so many amazing things through our school. Our students are flourishing, in the midst of many difficult circumstances. They have grown both academically and spiritually. As we reflect on the blessings of in-person learning in a Christian environment, we give all the praise and glory to God!

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 
To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18, ESV

Normally at the end of our school year, we would host “Celebrate Westlake,” a special event where we would gather as a community to praise God for his provision and to raise support for the coming school year. This year, we have combined many of our year-end concerts and programs into one special program, Celebrate Westlake 2.0. We hope you will enjoy performances from our bands and elementary music students, a showcase of secondary student artwork, and stories of God’s faithfulness.

Watch the Video

Perhaps God has blessed you with resources that can be used to further God’s kingdom through the work of Christian education and discipleship at Westlake. Donations can be made online or by mailing a check to the address below. Thank you for partnering with us!

Donate Now

Donations can be mailed to:

Westlake Christian Academy
275 S Lake Street
Grayslake, IL 60030

Christmas Concert Series

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Christmastide (Intermediate and Concert Band)
Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Ringing In Christmas (Preschool – 6th Grade)
Thursday, December 17, 2020

Thank you to the WCA Parents Association for arranging to have Dalton’s Cakes make cookie decorating kits for our elementary families.

Be sure to share your cookie creations with us by using #wcaChristmasCookieFun and tagging @daltonscakes.

Merry Messages

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merry-messages

Take a few moments and spread some Christmas cheer!  Each year, as part of the fundraising for our Senior Mission Trip, we offer our Merry Messages to our students and families.  For just $0.50 per message, you can write a sweet tiding to that special someone and we’ll include a candy cane to be delivered on Tuesday, December 15th throughout the school day. These Merry Messages are only able to be delivered to Kindergarten – 12th grade (sorry, we can’t accommodate Pre-S/K).

There are two ways to order:

  1. Print out the order forms below and fill them out yourself
  2. Fill out the online form and we’ll hand write it for you!

All payments need to be made to the office by the beginning of the day on Friday, December 11. Feel free to pay by cash or check, but bring exact change if you’re paying by cash – our elves don’t carry change. You may either send in your orders & payment with your student or place it in the mailbox that is outside the main doors to the left.

Self-Written Orders:

If you’re wanting to print and hand-write your order, please print one of each of the attachments, fill them out, and send in the completed order and message to the office along with your payment.

Merry Message Order Form 2020

Merry Message Note Cards 2020

Online Ordering:

If you’d like to do your ordering online, please fill out the form below completely, then be sure to send in your payment (your message will not be delivered if payment is not received by Friday, December 11th before school).  There is only one message per entry, so if you’d like to send more than one Merry Message, you’ll need to fill out the form again on the confirmation page.

Merry Message Entries Are Now Closed. You may still be able to contact the office, but online orders are closed.

Drop Off – Pick Up – End of School

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We want to give our students an opportunity to drop off all their school books, pick up personal items, clean out their lockers, and say goodbye to their teachers.

Each student will have their own scheduled time slot. If you have a student in first grade and find it necessary, one parent may accompany their child. Teachers will be in their classrooms to help students pack up all their personal belongings.  **Sign Up for a Time via the Button Below**

Scheduled Dates & Times:

  • Elementary students are welcome to come on Tuesday, May 26th between 9:00 – 3:40.
  • Secondary students (grades 7-11)  are invited to come on Friday, May 29th between 11:00 – 3:00.  
  • Preschool & PreK families may come on either day (no need to sign up for a time slot).  Our PreS & PreK teachers will have already collected all student items for you.  Your child’s personal items will be  in the main hallway on the benches.
  • Our Senior class will get their own day and time on Friday, May 22nd from 4:00 – 5:30 pm and do not need to use the attached sign up form.

Specific Details for All Students:

  • Please have your child enter through the front door and exit through the gymnasium. Faculty & Staff will direct students through the building.
  • Please ensure your child is wearing a mask.
  • We will supply a white garbage bag for your child to carry all their personal belongings home.
  • We will have hand sanitizer throughout the building.
  • As students are exiting the building, they will be encouraged to look through Lost and Found in the gymnasium.
  • Please make sure your child understands this is not a time to move slowly or talk with everyone they see.

Specific Details for Elementary Students:

  • Go straight upstairs to your classroom via the front stairwell.
  • Drop off all textbooks and school materials to your classroom.
  • Empty your desk and then locker as quickly as possible.
  • Go down the back stairs (by 5th grade) and go to the gym.
  • Stop by Lost & Found before exiting the building through the gym doors.

Specific Details for Parents:

  • We ask that you drop off your student at the front door using our normal drop off route.
  • Please then pull out of the parking lot and head around the block to line up along Slusser to pick up your child (following normal elementary pick up protocol).
  • When you pull into the back lot of the school, please follow the rainy-day protocol where cars make a “U” shape along the left side of the lot.
  • *****First grade students may have one parent accompany them into the building, if needed. ***** In that case, park in the main parking lot, walk your child in, and when you are done, walk around the building after exiting through the gym door.

Specific Details for Secondary Students:

  • Enter through the front door and go directly to the gym to drop off all textbooks and materials.
  • Next go to your locker to retrieve belongings. We will provide bags for you. If you have items in other places around the building, please collect them as quickly as possible.
  • Exit through the gym door and check out Lost & Found on your way out.
  • Parents who are driving:  after dropping off your child, drive around the block and enter the playground from Slusser Street. Park and wait for your child there. Exit through the main parking lot (as usual).
  • Students who are driving themselves:  Park in the front lot, enter through the front door. Once you’ve gathered all your personal belongings, exit through the gym door and walk around the back of the building to your car.

ALL STUDENTS MUST SIGN UP BELOW TO OBTAIN A TIME SLOT TO ENTER THE BUILDING.

Sign Up for a Time-Slot Here

International Arts & Culture Day

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We are excited to announce Westlake’s upcoming International Arts and Culture Day, March 19, 2020!  This year’s theme is focused on countries around the world and their arts, including music, dance, crafts, and food.

We are looking for volunteers to provide either time or food for sampling. Please sign up below by March 9th if you are able to help with either of these!

Thank you for helping make this a successful International and Arts and Culture day at Westlake! We look forward to partnering with you to make this a memorable event.

Sign Up Now

We need volunteers to assist in three ways:

  1. helping to supervise our 20-minute activity sessions

  2. providing small ethnic food samples, or

  3. helping distribute ethnic food samples during lunch.

Helping to supervise activity sessions

Each of the grades is creating an activity for our International Arts and Culture Day. Activities might consist of doing a craft, learning a traditional dance, participating in role-playing, learning about a non-traditional musical instrument, playing a game, etc. Because we want all of our students to be able to experience all of the activities, we need parent volunteers who will partner with a teacher to supervise the activity 20 minutes at a time, for six sessions. The volunteer will not need to create or plan the activity. The activity will already be planned and materials will be in place. The volunteer will just assist the teacher in “running” the activity. If you volunteer to help supervise, a teacher will reach out to you and brief you on the activity and your role in it prior to the International Arts and Culture Day. You will be asked to commit to helping either in the morning, from 8:20 until 11:30, or in the afternoon, from noon until 3:20.

Providing ethnic food samples

We also need volunteers to prepare samples of various ethnic foods to enhance our lunch. The students will bring their lunches, but we would like to have them have the opportunity to choose up to two small samples of a food from another culture. If you are able to help us with this, we would ask you to prepare enough to be divided into three dozen sample cups. Students will be issued two tickets each to use to “buy” the samples.

Distributing ethnic food samples

We would like different volunteers (not the ones providing the samples) to help serve the food samples during our lunchtime. Each volunteer will be placed at one of several stations in the lunch area (gym), exchanging the samples for the tickets. If you volunteer for this, you will need to be present from 11 AM until about 12:30 PM, as we will also need your help setting up the stations and taking them down.

Thank you for helping to make International Arts & Culture Day a success!

Parent University

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Have you ever felt ill-equipped as a parent to shepherd your child in this new age of ever-present technology and all its challenges?

If so, we’ve created these free events just for you! Join us as we hear from different experts in their field who are all passionate about equipping you to parent your child and discovering their potential, value, and gifts.

These events are FREE and open to the public, no tickets or registration necessary (though registering is helpful). We are sure these events will inform you and resource you to grow as a parent. Each event is on a Tuesday night from 6:30 – 8:30 in our Westlake Gymnasium.  Westlake is located at 275 S. Lake Street, Grayslake, IL 60030.

Do you have questions about these events?  Please contact our Special Services Coordinator, Mrs. Chelsea Schopper.

**Due to COVID-19 All School Events (Including Athletic Practices & Games) are POSTPONED until April 7th at the earliest. Please visit our COVID-19 Updates page for more details.**

Please join us at one of the following evenings:

February 25:  “How to Support Your Child Through Anxiety”
Speaker: Mrs. Carla Reyes-Laury, MA, LPC, White Stone Counseling Resources

 

March 17:  “Planning for College”
Speaker: Luke Franklin, Director of New Student Financial Aid & Strategic Partnerships at Olivet Nazarene University (Date Subject to Change)

**Due to COVID-19 All School Events (Including Athletic Practices & Games) are POSTPONED until April 7th at the earliest. Please visit our COVID-19 Updates page for more details.**

 

March 31:  “Parenting with Purpose”
Speaker: Mr. & Mrs. Bruce & Mia Yamamoto, Certified “Smart Discipline” Presenter (This event’s focus is more for parent with elementary aged children)
April 28:  “Navigating Sexuality & Dating” 
Speaker: Mr. Tony West and Mrs. Cory Huff, Healthy Choices

Register for Parent University

What’s Up @ Westlake Digital

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Every year we have an all-school meeting where our principal gives a “state of the union” type of address. Two years ago, because of the weather, we chose to make the event virtual. It was so successful that we decided to hold this meeting online again last year and this year.

All families will receive a special email on Wednesday, January 27th with a link to watch the video. 

This video will contain important information for everyone to know. Please make it a priority to watch What’s Up @ Westlake Digital sometime between now and Sunday, January 31 at midnight to qualify for dress down passes and a special treat for the class with the most parents in attendance.

Here is some of the information that will be in the video:

  • Why Christian Education is so important and why you should continue to invest in it for your child
  • A stakeholder survey will shortly come to your inbox that is required for our accreditation renewal
  • Our revised calendar for the second semester with updated events and information
  • Coffee with Mrs. DeReus, which is an opportunity for you to give feedback, ask questions, share concerns, and connect not only with Mrs. DeReus but other parents
  • Opportunities for you to help promote Westlake

We’ve created a booklet for you to peruse while you watch the event. You should have received one either in your child’s homework bag which was sent home last Sunday or via the mail with your child’s report card. If you don’t hapeen to have it handy, you may download it here.

How do I get a free dress down day?

There will also be an incentive for every family to watch the video:  a free dress down pass for each student whose parent watches as well as a special treat for the class which has the most parent representation. There will be a link posted in the chat on 1/27 for you to register for your child’s dress down pass. If you’re unable to watch it that night, it can be found in the description of the video on our YouTube page.

275 South Lake Street
Grayslake, IL 60030
(847) 548-6209