Hubbard Woods Update

March 6, 2023

zoom_out_map

Bird Study in Kindergarten

zoom_out_map

Principal Update

Hubbard Woods Families,

Thank you for all of the wonderful ways in which you support all of us at Hubbard Woods. The kindness that has already been shown for our Staff Appreciation Week has been wonderful. We all value our collaboration with our families. Thank you!

I hope to see many of you at our parent coffee on Friday morning.

Here are the links from the below-mentioned articles in the SEL Spotlight:

14 Tips to Help All Kids Learn to Manage Anxiety

Understanding and Treating School Anxiety

Sincerely,

Beth Carmody

Attention Kindergarten Parents for 2023/2024

Do you have an incoming Kindergarten student? Kindergarten Parents for 2023/2024 School Year

If you have yet to pre-register your kindergartener and turn in all required paperwork, we are asking that you do so ASAP in order to properly plan and staff kindergarten classrooms for next year. Communications will be shared during the next several weeks to families that have registered regarding parent input forms, open house and schedule for kindergarten connection that you won’t want to miss.

If you have any questions, please contact, District Registrar, Margie Karabas (847-446-9400). If you have not yet pre-registered, you can begin the process here.

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

Elementary Math Core Values in Winnetka D36

Deep Conceptual Understanding

Children have the ability to think deeply and to build a rich understanding of mathematics as a whole. It is important for students to understand not just how a process works, but why that process works, and how it relates to a larger understanding of the number system and mathematics in general. This challenging work promotes higher level thinking. Having a deep conceptual understanding of fundamental concepts learned in the early years, builds a solid foundation for students as they learn more advanced topics. Depth of understanding allows students to make sense of a variety of situations and apply what they have learned. Our hope is for our students to truly understand mathematical ideas so that they are empowered mathematicians who are confident and capable. In the long run, depth of understanding is more important to student performance than going further, faster. We strive to challenge and engage students through rich problem solving activities and opportunities for strategic, flexible thinking that will prepare them for the future.

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. Thank you to the parents who provided feedback regarding the request form. The final version is posted on the webpage. Please note this is not the live form; 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.

Winnetka Parents Institute

The District offers an array of upcoming educational sessions for families and community members. Click here for a complete list of session dates and more information.

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

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:

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

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:

RSVP here

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 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.

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.

www.winnetka36.org/adventures

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

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: