Washington Wildcat Chat

Dear Washington Families,

Happy New Year and welcome back! I hope your winter break was filled with joy, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones. As we step into the second half of the school year, we are excited to invite our students back to Washington and have our school filled with energy and excitement once again.

This new year brings opportunities for growth, learning, and connection. Together, we will continue to build a strong school community where every student feels safe, supported and inspired to achieve their best.

Our dedicated teachers and staff are eager to help students reach their goals and make the rest of the year a success. We value open communication and look forward to partnering with you to ensure a positive and enriching experience for all.

Thank you for being a vital part of our school family. Let’s make 2025 an incredible year!

Warm regards,

Angie

Here are a couple of important enrollment save-the-dates for next school year.

• January 21, 2025 - Registration opens for ALL students. This includes kindergarten and children returning to preschool.
• March 14, 2025 - Registration closes.

You can expect to see an email from Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins, the first week back from winter break, that will go over the registration deadline and how to make sure you get the early bird discount. Any information will also be posted on our registration page.

District 64 cares about the security of your student's personal information. Effective December 13th, we will be requiring all parents to create a minimum 12-character password for their PowerSchool Parent Portal account. Strong passwords are of the utmost importance - they protect your electronic accounts and devices from unauthorized access, keeping your sensitive personal information safe. The more complex the password, the more protected your information will be from cyber threats and hackers.

All students in grades 3-8 are invited to participate in District 64's School Level Spelling Bees! The Washington Spelling Bee will take place on Thursday, January 16th in the MPR. The top three spellers at Washington will go on to compete at the District level in February.

The D64 Spelling Bees will follow the Regional Scripps Spelling Bee format, including both Spelling & Vocabulary Rounds. See this link for more information and details on how to register.

Rainbows for All Children provides peer groups for kids in 1st - 8th grade. These groups provide a safe space for them to share their experiences associated with loss of a loved one and/or a changing family dynamic due to divorce, deployment, etc. Trained facilitators help encourage communication while identifying, navigating and discussing feelings amongst the group. Our next session begins on Tuesday, January 14th, 2025. This free program meets every Tuesday, from 5:30 - 6:30 pm, at the Park Ridge Community Church.

Please use this Google Form link to register your child/children and/or to be added to our communications list. Any general questions or interest in volunteering to become a facilitator, please contact rainbows64@att.net . For more general info please visit https://rainbows.org/

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YWOBWEERhlRwR0oLRee2bU1j89cOg4Qp7jEB0yCnS-E/edit

• School Resumes, January 5th
• PTO Meeting, January 15th
• Parent University, January 15th
• No School, MLK Day, January 20th
• Registration Opens, January 21st
• PTO Meeting, February 12th
• No School, Teacher Institute Day, February 14th
• No School, President's Day, February 17th

Inspire all students to discover their strengths, embrace learning, achieve personal excellence, and demonstrate care. Students thrive in a rich, rigorous, and innovative curriculum delivered by highly qualified teachers. Each student learns and grows in a safe, nurturing environment. In collaboration with student, parents, teachers and the community, District 64 provides opportunities for each learner to investigate, be successful, be resilient, and become inspired and empowered as they contribute to our global society.