Hubbard Woods Update
February 21, 2023
Principal Update
Hubbard Woods Families,
We had an outstanding week with our Cradles to Crayons collaboration. This was an amazing experience for all involved- and there were many. Thank you, to Jessalyn Garvey, our PTO vice president for leading us through this experience. It took a great deal of organization and we truly appreciate it. Our HW committee put in quite a bit of time to plan and all of our staff did a wonderful job with the execution of the plan. Thank you, 2nd-4th grade parents, for chaperoning our trips and for figuring out the semi-complicated registration and permission forms!
I wanted to share what Jessalyn heard from the organization:
"...Our students have been the most well-behaved school group they've ever had.
It was clear from student questions and interaction that there was a lot of prior discussion about C2C, clothing insecurity, and dignity. And that the whole experience with Hubbard Woods has been incredible, and they hope to partner again."
One of our HW families, the Avsars, are Turkish immigrants. We are partnering with them to support the victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey. Collection boxes will be in the lobby until tomorrow for the items listed below. You can scan the QR code for more information. The family has created the Hubbard Woods Elementary Quake Relief Fund which is under the umbrella of the Bridge to Turkey Fund.
Sincerely,
Beth Carmody
Winnetka Public Schools Foundation
WPSF Phone-A-Thon Fundraiser Is Coming Soon!
On March 12th, Winnetka Public Schools Foundation (WPSF) Board members will be reaching out to D36 parents and community members by phone, text, and email in order to secure donations for the coming year. Every donation can make a difference in our schools and for our community! Donate online by March 11th to “Beat the Call!” With your support, WPSF can continue to provide our teachers with the resources they need to bring creativity to the curriculum while enhancing the learning experience for all Winnetka D36 students.
What is the Winnetka Public Schools Foundation (WPSF)?
WPSF is a non-profit volunteer organization which raises funds from District families and the
community. Those funds are used to provide grants to D36 educators which enable them to go above and beyond what is possible with tax dollars alone. This year, WPSF provided over $111,000 in grants to Crow Island, Greeley, Hubbard Woods, Skokie and Washburne.
What People Are Saying About WPSF
“The Foundation continues to be a vital partnership that supports [our] work, allowing us to consider resources that we may not otherwise have immediate access to, while also continuing to promote the creative and innovative instructional design that our district has historically celebrated. We are immensely grateful to the Foundation for its commitment to our schools, students and staff, and excited about the possibilities in the year ahead.”
Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent Winnetka School District 36
WPSF Funded Hubbard Woods Grant Highlight: Basho Bash
To celebrate the Hispanic Heritage Month, Hubbard Woods Spanish teacher, Rocio Monge, requested a WPSF Artist-in-Residence grant to bring Basho Mosko to spend a day with students. Basho, a trained educator and YouTuber with over 50 million views, creates educational music videos to support Spanish language learning. Basho delivered fun-filled, high-energy performances tailored towards each grade. As a result of his performance, Basho is collaborating directly with Rocio Monge to create content tailored to the needs of D36 students and the high-standards of the District.
“Children learning Spanish enjoy themselves singing and dancing while at the same time improving their fluency and expanding their vocabulary. Basho creates fun and engaging songs that enlarge the vocabulary, especially with high-frequency phrases in Spanish, while creating a positive and joyful environment in the classroom.”
Rocio Monge, Spanish Teacher, Hubbard Woods
District Update
Acceleration Policy Information
This 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, click here to view an infographic and click here to visit our updated webpage. Note that the acceleration request form will be open March 6-31. If you have questions about the policy, please contact the Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, Dr. Becky Mathison, at beckymathison@winnetka36.org.
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
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
In this episode Dr. Kelly Tess discusses the national teacher shortage with The Skokie School Principal, Michelle Cooney; Jeff Knapp, Assistant Superintendent of Professional Learning and Human Resources; and Daniel Walsh, Interim Dean of the School of Education and Associate Professor at North Park University. The guests reflect on the landscape when they initially began their careers in education, the need to enhance recruitment and retention practices, and what makes this a unique era in terms of hiring the next generation of teachers. The guests reflect on how these factors may specifically impact our practices in Winnetka. According to Principal Cooney, "In order to do hard and important work, we need to be in a community where we support one another." Listen the full episode to learn more about this timely topic.
Listen here:
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: RSVP here.
Learning the Mood Meter- District Implementation of RULER
(District 36 SEL Coaches)
March 14, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
Interested: RSVP here
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: RSVP here
Adventures in Learning Summer 2023
The Winnetka Public Schools will offer its Adventures in Learning summer program from June 14th to July 19, 2023. There will be no classes on June 19th or July 4th. Our General Program is designed for students entering 2nd grade through 8th grade and will be held at Washburne School. Our Primary Program provides activities for children Pre-K (4 years old by June 1st, 2023) and K-1st grade (5 years old by September 1st, 2022) and will be held at Crow Island. Classes will be as varied as wilderness skills, archery, tennis, science, cooking, and many types of crafts...along with the annual favorite, Animal Care. Registration will go live in March.
Elementary Math Core Values in Winnetka D36
Flexible Thinking
A flexible thinker can solve problems using different strategies or approaches and is able to persevere when challenged. Flexible thinking is a key part of being efficient, strategic, and accurate, and it demonstrates a strong conceptual understanding. The choice of strategy used to solve a problem is not only influenced by the particular problem, but also by the child. In our classrooms, we want students to see math as a creative subject where they have freedom to choose how to solve a problem. Encouraging students to think in ways that are the most efficient and meaningful for them, is an important part of developing mathematical agency and a positive math identity. Instead of learning one way to solve a problem, we want students to have a variety of tools and solid understandings they can rely on. In our instruction, we celebrate different ways of thinking and honor each student’s process of making sense. This brings richness and depth to our students as individual thinkers and to our math communities. It also fosters the growth of mathematical agency, which is a key element of a lifelong learner.
FROM OUR PARTNERS AT THE ALLIANCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD:
READ: Alliance’s Fall/Winter Newsletter
READ: Alliance’s Let’s Play Guide 2022-2023 and NEW Let’s Play! Information
REGISTER: Virtual Parent Series: Attachment and Your Young Child’s Mental Health: How You Can Make a Difference with Kate Blaker and Sarah Eastburg in Conversation with Carly Andrews, February 23, 7pm
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
Important Dates to Remember
- Monday, March 27th-Friday, March 31st - Spring Break
- Friday, April 7th- No School (Religious Holiday)
- Friday, May 26th- Half Day AM ( Reporting Day)
- Monday, May 29th - No School ( Memorial Day)
Hubbard Woods School
8:30am | Doors open
8:37am | School promptly begins
11:30am-12:20pm | Lunch
2:10pm | Kindergarten dismissal
2:45pm | Early Release (MONDAYS ONLY)- Kindergarten Stay and Play/Bridge Care and all 1st-4th students
3:15pm | Tuesdays through Fridays Grades 1-4 & Stay and Play/Bridge Care Dismissal
Email: jenniferhartlett@winnetka36.org
Website: https://www.winnetka36.org/hubbardwoods
Location: 1110 Chatfield Road, Winnetka, IL, USA
Phone: (847) 446-0920