Carleton Washburne

Washburne was filled with over 500 Skokie and Washburne students on Friday evening as they danced, ate, crafted, played basketball and socialized during the 2024 Dance Marathon. The event was a huge success with both schools coming together to raise over $68,000 for the advancement of care and treatment at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. A huge thank you to the many parent volunteers, our amazing staff, and our student steering committee who helped organize, plan, and supervise this event. What an accomplishment!

Trimester 2 report cards will be available online on Friday, March 24th. Report Cards will also be mailed home this Friday. Families can access report cards in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. You can see step-by-step directions for how to access report cards using this link. If you have any questions, please reach out to parentportal@winnetka36.org.

Please join us this Thursday, March 21st at 10:00am, as the Skokie and Washburne principals will be presenting on, “The Developmental Progression of the Middle School Child”. Please RSVP here and join us in the Skokie Community Room.

We also would like to remind parents to pick up students curbside on both Elm and Oak streets, as well as encouraging students to utilize the crosswalks when crossing the street. Thank you for your cooperation and partnership in ensuring a safe arrival and drop-off for all our students. As we head into spring break, we hope everyone is able to enjoy the time away and come back in April refreshed and ready to tackle the final months of the school year.

Take Care and Be Well,

Andrew Fenton & Ben Horwitz

Carleton Washburne Principal & Assistant Principal

You are invited to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey. On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey is administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can inform school improvement efforts. We do not receive results from the survey unless at least 20 percent of parents/guardians respond. The more responses parents/guardians provide, the more we will know how to focus our efforts. Please help us to improve by completing the survey.

• Go to: the 5Essentials Survey website to take the survey

• Select “Parent Survey.”

• You may enter your email address if you would like to receive confirmation of your submission, but it is not required.

• Then enter “COOK” into the county field and type in your student’s school.

The parent survey closes on March 29, so please submit your responses soon.

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

Selection Sunday may have taken place yesterday, but March Mammal Madness has already started for our science students. Students are using their knowledge of biology to determine which species (animal or plant) would win in a hypothetical face off. Several days a week, the winners are revealed to our students through videos produced by Arizona State University. As with any bracket, March Mammal Madness is full of upsets and unpredictability. Students have to account for home court advantage as well, or in this case, home habitat. Our students also designed jerseys to support their favorite species throughout the tournament.

Kudos to our science teachers for facilitating another year of March Mammal Madness.

In this section we will be shining the spotlight on our Related Studies program and all the wonderful opportunities available to our Washburne students.

In Art classes these past two weeks we have been wrapping up final projects and starting a new trimester. Students learned about Navajo weaving and how to warp up a lap loom, basic stitches, and making shapes. They then created their own design. We wrapped up our final project in Sculpture class - a covered jar. In Studio Art 8 we completed our Self Portraits. In Art & Design students completed their Costume Designs. Portfolios of artwork should have arrived home, please reach out if you did not receive it.

In the coming weeks, building social workers will implement state-mandated sexual abuse prevention education during one 20-30 minute session in each classroom. Parents have the option to opt their children out of the program as they deem appropriate, and must do so by March 4th.

For more detailed information about Erin’s Law and curriculum content, or to find the opt-out form, please refer to the Erin’s Law page of the District Website or contact our Washburne social workers; Rachael Hutson, Naira Ejupovic, and Ellie Hotchkiss.

The student designed Washburne 2023-24 Yearbooks are still available for purchase.

Order your Washburne Yearbooks via the district web store by clicking this link.

Online ordering will be available until June 3rd. Check and cash only after June 3rd.

Yearbooks will be delivered to students the final week of school.

Please reach out to Margie Karabas: margiekarabas@winnetka36.org with any questions.

Track and Field season is approaching soon. It is an interscholastic sport available to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Students train and can compete in various races from sprints to the mile run. We will also mix in some field events, including the shot put, high jump, and hurdles. Practices are Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays/Fridays from 3:30-4:30pm. Students can come as their schedules allow - practices are not mandatory. Meets typically happen once a week, and are optional as well. On good weather dates, students should plan to meet in the back field between Washburne and Skokie.

• Our first practice will be Tuesday, April 2.
• Registration is now open via the District Web Store.

Please contact Andy Becker at AndyBecker@winnetka36.org for any questions.

More information regarding the season will be sent home before Spring Break to all registered students.

Reminder to 8th grade families. Please click here for more information on submitting your child's baby photo for the Class of 2024 graduation ceremony.

Photos are due by April, 5 2024.

Tuesday, March 19th: D36 School Board Meeting - 7:15pm @ Washburne School

Monday, March 25th - Friday March 29th: Spring Break - No School

Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent of Schools, invites you to our second “Coffee with Kelly,” a community conversation hosted at our schools! Staff, families and community members are welcome to join Dr. Tess and a special guest for co-facilitated discussions on topics of interest, providing an opportunity to gather together, listen to each other’s perspectives and reflect on enhancing our partnership to educate the students of Winnetka.

This “Coffee with Kelly” will center on the topic of Reading Aloud with Your Child at Any Age. Dr. Tess will be joined by Crow Island second grade teacher Missy Parks and Washburne Special Education teacher, Chris Joob for a conversation on:

• The value of listening to a story out loud and the neural connections this helps to build,

• The opportunities that are opened up for conversation and connection by sharing a story together,

• learning about how staff and families feel linked or out of synch with each other and their schools through literature,

• and reflecting on how developing a love for reading doesn't have to happen independently.

This is an opportunity to converse, connect, learn, and grow together!

Guests are invited to:

• Read either of these two articles on the benefits of reading aloud:

• Why Reading Aloud to Kids Helps Them Thrive

• 5 Benefits of Reading Aloud

• and/or come as you are, excited to engage with your childrens’ teachers, your neighbors, and your school leaders!

Wednesday, March 20 from 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.

The Skokie School Community Room,

520 Glendale Ave., Winnetka

Please RSVP by Monday, March 18.

All staff and parents (including grandparents!) are welcome. You do not need to be a Skokie family or staff member to attend. Coffee will be served!

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

Click here for the Winter/Spring 2024 schedule.

Up next:

Not Quite Little Kid, Not Quite Teenager: The Developmental Progression of the Middle School Child

March 21, 2024

10:00 AM

Skokie Community Room

Join Principal Cooney and Assistant Principal Joynt (The Skokie School) and Principal Fenton and Assistant Principal Horwitz (Carleton Washburne School) for an informational session focusing on the ins and outs of the growing middle school child. We will spend time exploring both the academic and social-emotional needs appropriate to 5th-8th grade children, how they change over that four year span, as well as the neurological changes that contribute to these needs. Parents with current middle schoolers, or soon-to-be middle schoolers, are encouraged to join us for an engaging, encouraging and educational hour together.

Interested:

RSVP here

Following the event a link will be provided to the taped presentation on the website.

Feedback Link

March is Women’s History Month! Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent, is joined by three impactful women in our school community: Denise Dubravec, Winnetka Campus Principal/Assistant Superintendent at New Trier High School; Winnetka Public Schools alum Norah; and Marena Rudy, a Winnetka Public Schools Board Member. The women reflect on how they have been inspired and encouraged in order to lead with confidence. As Norah recognizes, “We have a lot of forward momentum.”

We hope this episode serves as a glimpse into how we can support women and girls in their leadership ventures by modeling self-advocacy, curiosity and empathy.

Listen here:

Apple Podcast

Amazon

Spotify

iHeart Radio

Google

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.

Winnetka Public Schools Foundation reached 80% of the fundraising goal during the annual Phone-A-Thon! Thank you to the loyal donors and the new donors. We're looking to close the gap and want to fund the amazing grant requests coming in from teachers across District 36. The grants in the pipeline affect each and every student at all five schools. They involve funding for robotics, audio/visual equipment, small group learning resources, SEL, targeted literacy and math resources and so much more. Every dollar donated makes a difference to bring these grants to life!

Help us meet the goal here.

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