• Today's Early Release: All D76 families are invited to attend the MHS Parade on Friday, October 2nd at 3:30 to support our school and join in the celebration. To help build school spirit, all students will be sent home with a West Oak Wolfpack posters (see picture here) to wave proudly during the festivities. Please mark your calendars for October 2nd and encourage your students and families to get excited to support the West Oak Cheer Team as they walk in the parade!

• Countryside Fire Open House 10.4: The Countryside Fire Protection District is excited to invite the community to our 2026 Open House & Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, October 4th, from 8-12:00pm at Station 2 in Vernon Hills. Here is a flyer for this event. The Open House is a great opportunity for families to visit the fire station, meet our firefighters, and see live demonstrations, including vehicle extrication, a side-by-side burn demonstration, high-angle rescue, and more. A pancake breakfast will also be available during the event.

• SEL Focus of the Month: October's SEL focus is RESPONSIBILITY! Students will be developing skills like focusing, organizing, and goal-setting through our Character Strong curriculum during morning meeting. Please see below for the monthly family newsletters: 

• 3rd Grade Family Newsletter: English  Spanish  

• 4th Grade Family Newsletter: English  Spanish

• 5th Grade Family Newsletter: English  Spanish

• SAEBRS Screener: Next week, our school will complete the Social-Emotional Academic and Behavior Risk Screening (SAEBRS), which includes the student self-report version, mySAEBRS. This brief universal screening tool helps us proactively identify students’ strengths and areas where they may benefit from additional social, emotional, or behavioral support. This information is vital as it allows us to determine if students are on track with expected social-emotional skills and behaviors, or if any additional, evidence-based supports are needed. Our goal is to ensure every student has the skills they need to be successful in the classroom and beyond.

• Halloween Celebrations 10.30: We are excited to be planning some fun Halloween celebrations for October 30th! One of our events will be our annual Halloween parade from 8:45-9:00 a.m. that day. Families are invited to watch the parade outside at the front or side of the school during this time. We are also partnering with the PTO, who will be providing snacks, crafts, and fun activities for the classroom parties. For additional information, please click here. 

• Student Needs: D76 is proud to have a Community Liaison on our staff, whose primary goals are to strengthen the home/school partnership and to provide needed educational wellness, resources and supports to students and families. In our efforts to continue creating an equitable education space, please complete this survey to help us support families for the 2026-27 school year. If you have more than one child enrolled in school, please answer these questions about your oldest child or complete the survey once for each child. 

• Diamond Awards: We invite you to use this form to recognize a staff member who is going above and beyond to make a difference in our classrooms, school, or district. Help us spread the positivity by celebrating and highlighting the incredible work our staff members do each day!

• Health Physical and Immunization Requirements due 10.15: As a reminder, all students entering Preschool, Kindergarten, 6th grade, and any student new to Illinois schools are required by Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/27-8.1) to have a current physical examination (must be completed within one year prior to the first day of school) and up-to-date immunization records on file. Deadline: October 15, 2026

Important: Students who do not submit a completed physical and proof of required immunizations by this date will be excluded from school. They will not be allowed to attend classes or participate in school activities until the required forms are received.

Please schedule any needed appointments as soon as possible and submit forms to the school office. If your child has an upcoming appointment, please provide written confirmation from your healthcare provider to the school nurse prior to October 15.

If you have questions or need assistance accessing health services, please contact the school nurse or main office. Thank you for helping us keep all students healthy, safe, and ready to learn!

• D76 CARES: At D76, the well-being of our students and families is our top priority. Understanding the critical role mental health plays in student success, we have launched D76 CARES - a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving access to quality mental health services across our community. D76 CARES stands for Community, Advocacy, Resilience, Engagement, and Support. Treatment services are initially provided free of charge to district families for up to 8 sessions. Click HERE for treatment request.

Your student's classroom teacher should be your first point of contact. For building-related information, please call the front office at 847-970-3544 or contact the following individuals via email: 

• Front Office Staff: Ms. Kailey Leon: kleon@dist76.org & Kayla Rodriguez: krodriguez@dist76.org 

• Principal: Natalie Kalette: nkalette@dist76.org 

• West Oak Campus Nurse: Julie Marchese: jmarchese@dist76.org 

• West Oak Intermediate Health Clerk: Cinthia Maldonado: cmaldonado@dist76.org

• Thank You!: A huge thank you to all who attended, volunteered, or donated to the Back to School Bash.  We had a great time and hope you did as well. Check our website for a photo gallery from the night. 

• Lunch time Volunteers: Our food service company is providing monthly tastings for new menu items.  If you would like to volunteer to help pass out samples during lunch please sign up here.  Please note each school is on a different day for the duration of all the lunch periods. 

• Next PTO Meeting: You are invited to join us at our monthly PTO meeting on Tuesday, October 20th, from 6:00-7:00pm in the Diamond Lake Elementary School Library. All are welcome to attend.  

• Save the Date: Please save the date for our upcoming dine out at Luke’s on October 20th from 10:00am-9:00pm. Mention Diamond Lake School District 76 or show the flyer and 20% of proceeds will be donated to the D76 PTO.