
Westville School District will be closed Tuesday February 16 due to inclement weather. There will be no remote learning and food distribution for remote learners will move to Thursday February 18.

On January 22 the governor and state health officials provided updated guidance that will allow for more sports opportunities to start moving forward for Illinois schools. Currently the district has a plan for extra-curricular sports that is posted on our district website at www.gowestville.org.
Next week the governing bodies for junior high and high school sports each have a board of directors meeting on Wednesday January 27. After the IESA and IHSA board of directors meetings, the district may update plans in accordance to any decisions that are made. In the meantime the district will proceed with the plans that have been laid out until more is known.
Right now we want to wait until those meetings happen before we tweak any of our current plans. After their meeting hopefully we will have a better understanding of the real impact for our school sports. In general, it is all very encouraging for increased opportunities this spring and we will provide updated information and plans as soon as we know more.

Radio Station 94.5 has a voting contest on their website for a School Spirit Showdown. There is a bracket for weekly voting and the winning school gets $1000 and a trophy. The link is below! We are currently up against BHRA.
https://t.co/Uh7t6iDFt8?amp=1

Chromebooks distribution for WHS and WJHS went great today. If you were unable to pick up your Chromebook please call ahead and make arrangements to pick up your Chromebook for ALL WHS and WJHS learners (in-person and remote) on Friday August 21st if possible.
Instructions for how to start up your Chromebook can be found here:
https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/874073/2020_8-20_Chromebook_How_to_Guide.pdf
Information on how to access online curriculum will come shortly (teachers are almost done loading their materials). Information on Giacoma device distribution is also coming shortly as well. No Giacoma remote learning student will be penalized or delayed if the devices that have shipped are unable to be delivered by Monday August 24. We anticipate it shortly and will continue to be flexible and adapt in the meantime. Thank you for your patience.
Find a Way - Together, we can do this!

The IESA, which governs elementary and junior high sports, has made a decision to cancel junior high baseball and softball for this fall. At this time all junior sports activities for the district will be suspended until more decisions are made about junior high and elementary sports potentially occurring later in the school year. This temporary suspension will apply to summer activities for junior and elementary students at Westviille, but will NOT impact high school activities at this point. Incoming freshmen may continue to participate in scheduled high school activities.
We understand the disappointment this will create for our students and families and will continue to seek safe solutions in the future.
Thank you for your support of Westville Schools.

All softball activities for the upcoming week July 20-24 have been cancelled.. All other activities are still set to continue as scheduled.

Message from Westville School District,
Governor Pritzker has issued a stay-at-home order for Illinois which begins tomorrow thru April 1. The District is reaching out to explain what this means for our students and community. Attention is focused on three main areas: food distribution, continuity of learning, and clear communication. Please check your email or the district Facebook page for information our district response. The school board and administrative team will continue to collaborate with neighboring school districts as well as regional, state, and national agencies. The safety and well-being of our residents is our highest priority as we continue to support our community during this time.
Thank you.

Westville High School seniors please remember scholarship applications are still available. The deadline to apply is March 19th. The link for applications can be found on the WHS website and on the district Facebook Page. Applications have been open since February 21st. Please take time to apply today if you have not already.

Westville School District Parents – There is still time to vote. Polls have very safe precautions in place and close at 7PM. There is an important question about school funding on the ballot. Please vote. Every vote counts on this very important issue for our community.

Westville School District Parents – Today is election day. An important question about school funding is on the ballot. It is not necessary to declare a party to vote. Precautions are in place for safe voting. Please vote, every vote will matter on this very important issue for our community.

Good afternoon this is a message from Westville School District,
In light of recent events in East Central Illinois and out of an abundance of caution regarding COVID-19, Westville School District will be CANCELING STUDENT ATTENDANCE for tomorrow Monday March 16.
Teachers will report for a Teachers Institute Day from 8AM – 1PM.
Students and/or families that may need access to resources, medicine, and/or personal effects may contact the administrative office at each school tomorrow to make arrangements to pick those materials up before 1pm.
The state mandated school closure will begin Tuesday March 17 and last until March 30th.
An email will be sent to all district staff Sunday March 15 concerning planning during tomorrow’s Teachers Institute Day.
More information will be made available as this situation continues to develop.

Update on School Closure and Westville School District Plan Moving Forward:
Westville School District will be in session for students on Monday March 16 with an early dismissal schedule (11:20 for WHS/WJHS and 11:55 for Giacoma). This will be the last day of normal student attendance before the mandatory school closure that will begin March 17 thru March 30.
The purpose of this short student attendance day on Monday will be for students to have access to any resources, medicines, study materials, coats, and other personal effects they may need before the mandatory closure.
Parents with concerns revolving around the events related to the spread of Coronavirus may choose to keep their student at home. Students will not be penalized if they do not report to school.
There will be no school lunch provided during the short day on Monday. School breakfast will be provided as normal.
All extra-curricular practices, activities, events, and parent/teacher conferences will be temporarily suspended until more direction is provided about the return to normal school activities.
An email will be sent to faculty and staff later this weekend to plan for staff activities on Monday.
More information will be provided as this situation develops. The district Facebook page will be a good place to find information that is being shared on our website, but it will not be an area where the district will be able to respond to questions, and we are aware there will be many to follow.
Thank you for your support of Westville Schools during this time of caution for our collective health. With patience and level-headed action, our students and community will move forward for the better.

To further safeguard our communities from the spread of the coronavirus, Governor JB Pritzker has declared mandatory school closures for all schools, both public and private, serving Illinois pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students.
This mandatory closure takes effect Tuesday, March 17. Currently, we anticipate the closure to last through March 30.
The Westville School District administrative team is implementing a contingency plan in response to the Governor's decision and more information will be shared this evening on our district website, social media page, and through parent email.

Westville Parents/Community are invited to an informational meeting tonight at 6PM at WHS in the media center on the 1% County School Facility Sales Tax decision that will be on the March 17th ballot, refreshments provided. Residents without school children encouraged to come.

Westville Parents and Community Members are invited to an informational meeting tonight at 6PM at Giacoma in the east media center on the 1% County School Facility Sales Tax decision that will be on the March 17th ballot. Refreshments provided and questions will be answered.

Westville School District will be conducting a 2-minute barricade drill at each school today. These drills are part of the district's ongoing commitment to safety and security. This is a short reminder to students on how to secure a room if needed during a potentially violent critical incident. Teachers will then debrief with age appropriate talking points to remind students of procedures from our emergency operations plan. Law enforcement will be monitoring these drills. Thank you for your support for safe schools at Westville School District.

Westville School District will be closed Friday February 14 due to poor road conditions and low temperature.

Parents of WHS students who go to College Express: DACC has canceled classes for the afternoon College Express. Those College Express students will be released to go home after lunch. Please call WHS 267-2183 for questions or concerns. This is for College Express kids only.

Dear Westville Parents at all three schools, the district gives a survey each year to get family input. Would you please consider helping complete this survey? We need 20% participation from all three schools to meet our requirement with the state and we are very close. You can take the survey now by following this link : https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/

Westville Schools will be closed Thursday February 6th due to poor road conditions.

Due to poor road conditions from rain and flooding, Westville School District bus service will not be able to transport students from Grape Creek Road to Morey Chapel Road on Tuesday January 14th. This affects some students on Bus 5 for WHS and WJHS. This affects some students on Bus 6 for Giacoma, and some students on Bus 15 for Middlefork. Arrangements will be made tomorrow (January 14th) for the best way to proceed for the 20 student families directly affected by this interruption in service moving forward. Thank you for your understanding as the roads are being repaired.

Due to poor road conditions from rain and flooding, Westville School District bus service will not be able to transport students from Grape Creek Road to Morey Chapel Road on Monday January 13th. This affects some students on Bus 5 for WHS and WJHS. This affects some students on Bus 6 for Giacoma, and some students on Bus 15 for Middlefork. Questions about bus service for tomorrow can be directed to Bus Director Sue Garmon at (217) 260-3077. If service is disrupted after Monday January 13th, another district message will be issued. Thank you for your understanding as the roads are being repaired.

A fire alarm was pulled accidentally at Giacoma this afternoon and the building was briefly evacuated as a precaution - fire department officials have confirmed the building was safe for students to return. Thank you to Westville PD and fire service for such a quick and timely response.

For over 15 years with the district Mrs. Brown always dropped off the most wonderful Christmas cookies and treats for all WHS staff and the central office team. Mrs. Brown retired last year after a great career and yet she continues to bless us a Westville. What an amazing teacher and outstanding person to work with- thank you Mrs. Brown!

Westville School District is a partner in the Vermilion County STEP-UP coalition - that has worked hard to support three main initiatives in the county: Family/Parenting, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse. STEP-UP received recognition from the Governor's Hometown Award commission on November 14, 2019 for this work. Events like the Tim Ryan speaking event on the opiod crisis and the Kevin Hines event on suicide awareness are just two ways the district has helped support the STEP-UP mission to transform lives in Vermilion County. Over 200 county leaders and volunteers are part of this coalition. Search STEP-UP Vermilion County to see how you can partner with a great group of community leaders. #itsagreatdaytobefromtheVC #livesofpurpose

Westville School District is closed Tuesday November 12 due to poor road conditions.

Reminder there is an early dismissal at 11:20AM for WJHS tomorrow.

Early Dismissal Announced for WJHS on Friday September 27 - in lieu of the Lady Wildcats' state tournament game Friday September 27, WJHS will have an early dismissal at 11:20AM. Students interested in riding a fan bus should turn in a permission slip and $3 to the WJHS office by Wednesday September 25. School will continue as normal at Giacoma and WHS that day. Go Wildcats!!

This is a message from Westville School District...
Shortly before noon today, Westville High School was made aware of an alleged threat to school safety.
School administrators immediately notified local law enforcement, who responded rapidly and investigated.
Local police report that, after investigating, they are confident that neither students nor the school were in danger at any point, and that they are confident they have addressed and contained the situation.
The school district would like to thank the Westville Police Department for their swift response in both the investigation and action to confirm and protect student safety.
Out of an abundance of caution, we have asked for additional police visibility around the school for the next couple of days.

Reminder - WJHS softball practice starts today at 3PM at Westville High School - practice will be move to the WHS old gym if rain is an issue.

Parents,
Judith Giacoma Elementary is conducting a shelter in place drill today with students in the morning. This will be a short drill and will include law enforcement. Teachers will go over age appropriate procedures on how to respond. Special considerations have been made for younger students to minimize anxiety. This is part of our continued effort to maintain safe and secure schools. Thank you

Earlier today just before noon, the school was made aware of an inappropriate and threatening remark made to a district administrator. The individual who made the remark left without incident.
The school district notified law enforcement out of an abundance of caution, who responded immediately and ensured the building was safe and secure. There was no disruption to the educational day, but there has been a visible presence of police forces since the incident. To further assure the school remained safe, officials initiated shelter in place procedures as they have been trained to do.
Law enforcement officials have assured administration the schools are and remain safe, and while their investigation continues, that they have apprehended the suspect, who is innocent of any crime unless and until proven otherwise. Please do not be alarmed over the next couple of days as we do expect there will be a more visible presence of law enforcement.
Westville School District is extremely appreciative of the instant and overwhelming response by law enforcement to ensure student safety at all times.

Reminder WHS scholarship applications are due Monday - apply online at the WHS website. Or follow this link - http://www.gowestville.org/article/101056?org=whs

Bus #1 will be running about a half hour late this morning. Parents may arrange to take students to school another way or wait and catch the bus running on this delay. This applies only to bus #1 riders. Bus #1 riders will be excused for the delay but should attend school. Thank you for your patience with this disruption.

Westville School District will be closed Thursday January 31 due to inclement weather.

Westville School District will be closed Wednesday January 30th due to inclement weather.

Westville School District will be closed Tuesday January 29 due to poor road conditions and inclement weather.

WHS hosted speaker Tim Ryan to hear about the opioid epidemic and behaviors and beliefs that lead to addiction . GRF HS and JH along with Salt Fork HS and WJHS attended - #seesomethingsaysomethjng #askforhelp #makeadifference

Congrats to Ms. Hull - one of the featured educators by the News Gazette https://newsstand.joomag.com/en/illiana-lifestyle-fall-2018/0896768001536935362 #makingadifference

Due to a traffic accident on Route 1 Westville Bus 12 will not be able to operate this afternoon - no Westville students were in the accident, but traffic is blocked. The district will be contacting Bus 12 riders to make arrangements.

Just a friendly reminder Giacoma Open House is tomorrow night from 5-7PM, 7th Grade and Freshmen Orientation run 6-8PM at WJHS and WHS- we are excited to see you! #gowestville #2018-19kickoff

If you have questions or want to learn more about the County School Facility Sales Tax there is a meeting tonight open to any county resident at WHS at 6pm - refreshments provided :)

Westville School District will be closed Monday January 8.