Hubbard Woods Update

Dear Hubbard Woods Families,

Class placements will be posted at 4 pm. You can access these using the PowerSchool portal. New families should have received an email with instructions. You will be able to access this via your PowerSchool account using this link. If you have any trouble accessing your account, please reach out to parentportal@winnetka36.org. Please note that I am dropping my youngest child at college for his freshman year tomorrow morning, (insert big sigh) and will answer any questions upon my return on Monday.

*Teacher Meet & Greets, 1st-4th, will take place on Tuesday, August 23rd. This is an opportunity to visit your child’s classroom, meet the teacher, and see classmates before the start of school. This will occur from 10:45 -11:30 am. Everyone should enter through the front doors on Chatfield or the playground door. Please see the interior map below. We will have printed copies at school that will be easier to read!

It is in our student's best interest to only have the children, and their parents, enrolled in the classroom, enter. Ideally, siblings are not present or are waiting outside of the classroom and do not detract from the experience for the child in the class.

This is an open house type format so come whenever you would like within the time window. Visits should be kept to under 15 minutes to allow time for teachers to interact with all students.

While teachers would love to visit with past students, this time is for relationship building with their new students.

Meet and Greet for Kindergarten students will take place 8/23 from 10:30-11:45. After placement goes live (8/18 4PM) on Powerschool, classroom teachers will be in touch via email by Monday 8/22. They will send out a sign-up for Meet and Greets that are divided into 20 minute slots. While the rest of the school operates as an open house-come when you want, the K team likes to make sure that students are evenly spaced. If only one time works within that 10:30-11:45 window, and all those spots are taken, the teacher will work with you to accommodate. You will enter by the front door of the building and exit the classroom back door onto the playground where you are welcome to stay and connect with new and familiar friends.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

We eagerly await our first day of school: Wednesday, August 24th. This first day is a half-day. Our doors will open at 8:30 am, and school begins at 8:37. Half-days will end at 11:20 am.

• Outdoor supervision begins on the playground at 8:20 am. Students will be instructed where to line up by any of the many adults supporting them on the playground. Students arriving at 8:30 can enter from either the front door on Chatfield or the playground door.

• 1st-4th Parents dropping off or picking up their children by car should use the assigned drop-off areas: A-L at the front of the school on Chatfield and M-Z on the south side of the school on Laurel. A-L should enter via Chatfield at Green Bay Road. No turn-offs are allowed from Vine or Burr. M-Z should enter via Laurel and may not utilize Burr. At no time should driveways be blocked. Do not use "No Outlet" streets, Hamptondale or Chatfield, for pick-up as vehicles using our neighbors' driveway to turn around is not courteous and is a nuisance to our Hubbard Woods' neighbors. Please see the attached map.

• White and Llanes Kindergarten parents can drop off K students, and their siblings, in the K circle on Gordon Terrace. This is on the west side of the school. You must enter from Gordon Terrace and should not use Hamptondale or Chatfield. Kuzel and Greer Kindergarten parents will drop off at the Laurel drop-off location on the south side of the school. K teachers will meet students at their cars beginning at 8:30 and send them to the playground.

• For families wishing to drive and physically escort children to school, street parking in the neighboring areas should be used. If you are in the carpool line, you do not exit your car out of respect to the parents/guardians dropping off behind you.

• Bus service will begin on day one.

SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL

Our second day of school, Thursday, August 25th, will be a full day. Our doors will open at 8:30 am and school begins at 8:37 am.

• The day ends at 3:15 pm for Grades 1-4

• The Kindergarten day ends at 2:10 pm

• The Kindergarten day, for students enrolled in Stay and Play, ends at 3:15 pm. All pick-up for this program takes place in the kindergarten turnaround.

Lunch Timing for 2022-2023

Across all three elementary buildings, Lunch/Recess for the coming year will run from 11:30 am-12:20 pm. This is a ten-minute shift as we used to end at 12:30. Students will eat for 25 minutes and play for 25 minutes. 1st and 2nd will eat first in the auditorium and then play. 3rd and 4th will play first and then eat. Kindergarten teachers will share their individual schedules with their families as they will eat in their classrooms. We plan to continue using outdoor spaces to eat when the weather accommodates.

The timing shift was put into place to allow students time to recenter after a busy lunch/recess experience. We start our classes right at 12:30 so this will provide time for a healthier transition for students and staff.

Please note that while I am a HUGE dog lover, Village Ordinance prohibits dogs on school property. Also, cell phone use while driving on/around school grounds is illegal. "A person, regardless of age, may not use a wireless telephone at any time while operating a motor vehicle on a roadway in a school speed zone." Thank you for helping us keep kids safe as we know they can make unexpected decisions regarding crossing streets, etc.

SAFETY

Beginning Wednesday, we will return to using the Raptor Visitor Management System. As a reminder, each time you visit HW, our entrance monitor, Rosa Kanellos, will be asking you for your license, even if you are already in our system. In exchange for your license you will receive a visitor's lanyard to be worn while you are in the building. This lanyard lets staff know that you have been checked in and that you are cleared to be in the building. Before you leave, please return your lanyard to Mrs. Kanellos and she will return your license to you. As always, we thank you for your help in keeping our school as safe and secure as possible.

TECHNOLOGY

IPads will stay at school for our K-1 students. Students in grades 2-4 may bring them home dependent on classroom projects, etc. Please reach out to your teacher if you have any concerns in this area. If for any reason, we anticipate needing remote instruction, we will send IPads home with all students.

HEALTH

All Kindergarten and new students need to have: Physical, Vision, and Dental forms turned into school ASAP. 2nd graders need a recent dental form as well. If you have any medical concerns please reach out to our nurse, Ashley Jaskowski.

PTO

A million thank yous to our PTO for all of the work that you do to welcome our staff, and new/old families back to school. The PTO works hard to keep us informed on opportunities and programs. Please make sure that you are receiving their newsletter, The ITEM via email. It arrives approximately every other Sunday. Please check your spam if you are not receiving it. email the PTO with questions at hwitemeditor@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Beth Carmody

• Thursday, August 18: Class placement live on PWS at 4:00pm
• Tuesday, August 23: New Family Popsicle Party 10:00 - 10:45am
• Tuesday, August 23: Teacher Meet & Greet for students & parents 10:45-11:30am
• Wednesday, August 24: First Day of School Half Day. Dismissal at 11:20am
• Thursday, August 25: First Full Day of School. Stay and Play begins in Kindergarten for those registered.
• Monday, September 5: No School
• Monday, September 26: No School
• Wednesday, October 5: No School

Email: jenniferhartlett@winnetka36.org
Website: https://www.winnetka36.org/hubbardwoods
Location: 1110 Chatfield Road, Winnetka, IL, USA
Phone: (847) 446-0920