Carleton Washburne

We are excited to host our Washburne students for the 2nd annual Washburne Winter Bash this Friday, February 2nd from 6:30-8:00pm. There will be a DJ, photo booth, snacks, prizes and games. The PTO is still looking for a few volunteers to help make this event a success. CLICK HERE for more information from the PTO, and to sign up for the event.

Washburne Winter Conferences are next Thursday, February 8th and Friday, February 9th. On February 8th, conferences will run from 8:30am-5:30pm. On February 9th, conferences will run from 8:30am-12:30pm. At Washburne, you can schedule a 5 minute conference with each teacher that your child has during trimester two. Parents can choose to have their conferences in person or virtually via Zoom.

Families can sign up for Washburne Winter Conferences by clicking this LINK. All families should have received specific instructions to schedule conferences for their child. If you did not receive this information, please reach out to Mr. Horwitz at benhorwitz@winnetka36.org.

Take Care and Be Well,

Andrew Fenton & Ben Horwitz

Carleton Washburne Principal & Assistant Principal

Washburne Families, we want your feedback on our lunch program.

Please Click Here and take a few minutes to share your feedback as we look to ensure you have the highest quality food service program possible.

8th grade families can sign up for a 15 minute conference with New Trier to discuss your child’s schedule for next year. You can access the Sign Up Genius by clicking on this LINK. Please make sure to enter your child’s name in the comments when you make an appointment.

Families can sign up for any 15 minute time slot that works best for you and your child between 1:00-6:00pm on Wednesday, February 7th. If you sign up for a conference during school hours, your child will be released from class to meet you in the gym. Parents should enter the building through our athletic entrance off Elm Street.

If your child has an IEP, your child’s case manager reached out last week with separate instructions. If you did not receive this email, please reach out to your child’s case manager.

Welcome to Window to Washburne! Each week, we will be highlighting some of the learning taking place in our classrooms.

Pride of Lions is back, again! Pride of Lions is a schoolwide reading challenge in which students are encouraged to read high interest young adult books. Typically, our Resource Center Director, Ms. Nelson, and our Reading Specialist, Ms. Summerville, present 20 books to students in the fall. This year, we split the list up 10 and 10, and students are now hearing presentations about the final 10 books. Individual students who read at least four books and the teams that read the most total will receive prizes! Copies are available from our English teachers, our Resource Center, as well as local bookstores.

Here is the list of the final 10 books if you would like to get a copy for your child:

Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Top Prospect by Paul Volponi

When the World was Ours by Liz Kessler

Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall

The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

Night Raven by Jonathan Rundberg

The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day

Invisible by Christina Gonzalez

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond

Calling all engineers, inventors, and robot wranglers! Spark your creativity and get ready to design and build beyond your wildest dreams! We’re bringing back the Washburne Robotics Club kicking it off on Tuesday, February 20th, continuing for the next 15 weeks!

Here are the details:

Time: Tuesdays, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM, a perfect after-school adventure!

Dates: February 20th - June 4th, let's conquer the spring semester with bots!

Location: The CW CoLab, N102, (Mr. Selgrat’s room) Washburne

What to Expect: We will collaborate to build and program Lego robots! We will work together to choose our path as a club, sharpening our creativity and problem-solving skills.

No experience needed: Just bring your enthusiasm, curiosity, and willingness to participate.

The First Lego League Robotics Club is live on the District Web Store.

Registration opens at 9am on Tuesday, January 30th.

This year's dance marathon benefiting Lurie Children's Hospital will take place on Friday, March 15th from 3:30-5:30pm at Washburne. If you haven't received a fundraising link from your child or his/her/their advisor yet, you can find your link here. Advisory Links

Where does the money go? Children's Miracle Network

The energetic and creative Dance Marathon Student Steering Committee has set its sights on beating our total from last year, which made us the top fundraising middle school in the country! Our total last year was $83,186.70.

Last, there will be plenty of ways to volunteer to help plan and run the dance Marathon through the PTO. That information is forthcoming. Stay tuned!

Boys Volleyball season is set to begin at the end of the month.

Tryouts will be on Tuesday, January 30 and Wednesday, January 31st from 3:30-5:00pm.

Practices will start on Thursday, Feb. 1. Practices are typically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:30-5:00pm and Friday mornings from 7:00-8:00am. Games are played throughout the week, starting at either 4:00 or 5:00pm. We are done by 6:30pm on game days and have no weekend commitments. Boys who are interested in playing need to be registered online and have a medical clearance form or current physical on file at school. Boys should bring athletic clothing, athletic shoes, and knee pads to tryouts and practices. If you have any questions, please contact Andy Becker at AndyBecker@winnetka36.org

Boys Volleyball registration opened on the District Webstore Tuesday 1/16 at 9am.

CLICK HERE to register.

Friday, February 2nd: Washburne Winter Bash - 6:30-8:00pm @ Carleton Washburne School Gym

Thursday, February 8th & Friday, February 9th: Washburne Winter Conferences

Note that the last day of our school year will now fall on Friday, June 14, 2024. This is due to the emergency day taken when we experienced a winter storm last week.

Families may now access the calendar for the upcoming school year, also available on our District website.

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, click here to view an infographic and click here to visit our updated webpage. Note that the acceleration request form will be open February 26-March 22.

If you have questions about the policy, please contact the Asst Supt of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, Dr. Becky Mathison, at beckymathison@winnetka36.org.

January 30, 2024

6:30-8:30 P.M.

Location: Skokie School

Join WPSF at their free annual event to learn about findings from the literacy pilot and to see a showcase of recently funded grants in D36. Teachers will be participating in a panel discussion on reading education. Don't miss this opportunity to learn firsthand from faculty and district leaders and to see #grantsinaction. If you plan to attend, please RSVP via this link.

The District offers regular sessions for families to learn more about a variety of topics.

Click here for the Winter/Spring 2024 schedule.

Videos of the Fall 2023 sessions are available here:

• The Winnetka Experience: Portrait of a Graduate, Portrait of an Educator, and Progressive Education

• District 36: Benchmark Assessments

• The Middle School Experience, AKA “Why is my child acting like this?” Please help.

• Literacy Pilot: How District 36 Educators are Testing Literacy Programs and Practices

Registration for incoming kindergarteners and students new to The Winnetka Public Schools in 2024/2025 is now open. Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2024, are eligible to enroll. Questions related to School Admissions and age requirements are addressed in School Board Policy 7:50 School Admissions and student Transfers to and from Non-District Schools.

Please note: There are two steps to completing new student registration. We ask that parent(s)/guardian(s) complete BOTH steps of pre-registration BEFORE January 12, 2024. As an added incentive new students that have completed the two step pre-registration process by January 12, 2024, will receive a credit of $40.00 toward student fees for the 2024/2025 school year.

Step 1: Complete the online pre-registration form; Step 2: Visit the District Office (1235 Oak Street) to provide the following:

1. Proof of residency. Click here to view the list of documents that will meet these requirements. For your convenience residency documents may be uploaded during online registration.

2. Original or certified copy of your child(ren)'s birth certificate and a parent photo ID.

Completing both steps (online and in-person) is required for your child(ren) to be enrolled as new students. Click here to begin the online segment.