The Skokie Home Scoop
March 6, 2023
Dear Skokie Families:
Thank you to all the parents, staff, and students for their tremendous planning, volunteer, and participation efforts in support of the Dance Marathon. The event was a huge success, raising $83,186.70 for Lurie Children’s Hospital!
“The Happiness Advantage”
I was fortunate to be able to attend a talk from Shawn Achor, Harvard researcher and author of “The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life”, last week. There were a few takeaways I wanted to share with everyone to consider.
Happiness is not a result of success; instead it is a cause. Happiness leads to success instead of the other way around, and happiness is contagious. He shared a few practical behaviors that have a significant positive impact on happiness.
Write or say 3 unique things you are grateful for each day.
Unique is the operative word here, as it forces us to be more specific and recognize the little things.
On day 1, I might say that I’m grateful for my dog. By day 5, I might say that I’m grateful my dog had the confidence to go up to an unfamiliar dog and say hello.
Write one 2 minute positive email or text per day to someone new.
New is the tricky part here, as it eventually pushes us to reconnect with people we may not have spoken to in a while.
Oftentimes, these messages lead to a response from the other person, sharing something positive about you.
A 15 minute brisk walk every day.
The benefits of exercise and getting outside are both physical and emotional. Health and mood improve significantly after a 15 minute brisk walk.
Each of these behaviors leads to an increase in happiness for the person doing them, and as a result of that increase, the happiness in the people you interact with also increases. There is a domino effect that positively impacts everyone around you.
I am committing myself to these daily behaviors, and I wanted to share them with all of you to consider as well.
Food Reminder
While we don’t have an event or classroom party on the near horizon, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone of our school policy regarding food and snacks. For safety purposes, we do not provide students with food during classroom celebrations. This includes snacks to bring home and snacks to eat during the event.
Sincerely,
Michelle Cooney and Larry Joynt
Principal and Assistant Principal
The Skokie School
District Updates
Acceleration Policy Information
The Accelerated Placement Act requires Illinois public school districts to adopt and implement policies on acceleration that provide opportunities for single subject and grade level acceleration. To learn more about District 36’s acceleration policy implementation visit the following links: acceleration infographic and updated webpage which includes a link to the application form. The request window opens on Monday, March 6 and closes on Friday, March 31.
Winnetka Parents Institute
UP NEXT:
March 2023
From Washburne to New Trier: (Paul Waechtler, Principal)
A D36 Parent's Guide to the New Trier Transition
March 7, 2023 (confirmed)
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Carleton Washburne School, 515 Hibbard Rd.
Paul Waechtler, Principal at the New Trier High School Freshman
Campus, and Lori Worth, 8th Grade Transition Faculty, will discuss the New Trier freshman placement process and the efforts made to ensure a smooth transition to high school. A Q & A will provide an opportunity for parents to learn more about how to best support their child(ren) as they prepare for their New Trier experience.
Interested:
Learning the Mood Meter- District Implementation of RULER
(District 36 SEL Coaches)
March 14, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
The Mood Meter is a tool that helps build awareness of emotions in ourselves and others. This tool aids us in understanding how our emotions influence our thinking and behavior, empowers us to recognize and label our full range of emotions, and assists us in developing strategies to learn how to work more skillfully with our emotions.
Interested:
D36 K-8 Math Programming: An Overview
(Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of ITL and District Math Teachers)
March 21, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
During this session Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, alongside a team of math educators from the District will provide an overview of D36 math programming K-8 including an upper grade course map, explain how the approach aligns to progressive education and the portrait of a graduate, and ways to support your student at home. This session will feature a panel of D36 math educators.
Interested:
APRIL 2023:
Differentiation: What is it? What does it look like in D36?
Dr. Becky Mathison (Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning)
April 19, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: SK Community Room
During this session Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, alongside a team of educators from the District will provide an overview of what differentiation is, how it is implemented in D36 classrooms, explain how the approach aligns to progressive education and the portrait of a graduate, and ways to support your student at home. This session will feature a panel of D36 educators.
Interested:
Winnetka Voices Podcast Episodes
Winnetka Voices is a podcast hosted by The Winnetka Public Schools, featuring candid conversations on issues relevant to education and shared resources to support our students and families.
NEW! Episode #4:
Recruiting & Retaining Incredible Educators
Listen here:
Working in Winnetka 36:
Winnetka 36 is always looking for great candidates when there are openings and we appreciate referrals encouraging them to apply. Here’s a link to our current openings: https://www.applitrack.com/winnetka36/onlineapp/default.aspx
We also get questions about the necessary steps on how to become a substitute teacher and thought we would share how to do that on the bottom of the document: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/how-become-sub-teacher.pdf
Adventures in Learning 2023
Adventures in Learning 2023 runs from June 14th-July 19th, 2023.
No camp on June 19th or July 4th.
A decades-long tradition, this summer program includes classes as varied as Athlete's Club, Razzle Dazzle Science Magic, Recyclable Art,Basket Weaving, Camping Adventures, Make Your Own Music Video, Adventures in STEAM, Archery, Computer Animation, Greek Mythology Drama, Coding, Yoga for Kids, AIL Action News (New for 2023), Animal Care,and Spa-Liscious to name a few!
Students in grades 2-8 may choose up to four classes from over 60 options. Younger children (pre-Kindergarten through grade 1) will explore our progressive educational concepts through guided play and outdoor activities.
This year's program will again be held at Washburne for the 2nd-8th graders and Crow Island for the Pre-K (4 years old by June 1st, 2023)and K Primary program (5 years old by September 1st, 2023).
2023 Fees
General (base cost*) and Primary Program
$675 Winnetka residents
$725 Non-residents
*Some General Program classes have an additional supply fee (will be noted in the catalog).
Registration begins March 8th for Winnetka residents.
Parent Education Sessions from District Partner Family Action Network (FAN):
For upcoming events, access FAN’s website here.
Follow us on Social Media!
Please follow the District via the following social media platforms in order to see day-to-day happenings and more.
Facebook and Twitter: @Winnetka36
Instagram: @WinnetkaPublicSchools