Skokie Home Scoop
December 16, 2024
Dear Families:
Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, December 17th: D36 School Board Meeting @ 7:15 pm
Monday, December 23rd - Friday, January 3rd: No School - Winter Break
We hope you are having a wonderful and calm start to your week during this busy time of year. We feel truly honored to be in partnership with you in your child’s journey through middle school. We wish you a wonderful, restful, fun and fulfilling winter break ahead!
This week, all classes will be checking in on our school charter. The feelings on our charter were collaboratively identified by our students and staff as the feelings we want to experience at Skokie. As we build and sustain charters, we identify behaviors that lead us to experience these feelings.
Exploring Skokie
Orchestra: The Skokie 6th Grade Concert Orchestra and Skokie 5th Grade Strings just had a wonderfully successful concert on Tuesday, Dec 10 in the Skokie School Auditorium.
The 5th grade Elementary orchestra performed Hocus Pocus by William Owens, Desert Sands by Soon Hee Newbold and Frog in a Tree by Ed Siennicki. The 6th grade Concert orchestra performed Gauntlet and Falconer by Doug Spata and Kraken by Evan VanDoren. Both groups also performed as part of the concert grand finale in Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. Congratulations to all on an amazing performance!
Many students will now be preparing either solos or small ensembles to perform on Feb 8 in McHenry as part of IGSMA (Illinois Grade School Music Association) Solo/Ensemble Competition.
We hope that everyone has a safe, relaxing and joyful holiday season!
Mrs. Nussbaum
Kinetic Wellness: As winter weather has set in, KW classes have moved inside. Students are currently rotating through three different curricular units. In basketball students are working on basic basketball skills and small-sided games. Our team-building unit prepares students for the upcoming climbing unit by helping students develop strong communication and cooperation skills. Our third unit is Speed Stacks, a cup stacking unit challenging students’ dexterity and speed.
The annual Skokie tradition, Reindeer Games will occur the week before Winter Break. Reindeer games includes, fun dress-up spirit days, holiday trivia, and team relay activities.
Clubs
The winter session of the Baking Club is live on the District Web Store. Registration opens at 9am on Tuesday, December 17th.
January/February sessions of Climbing Club will be open for registration at 9am on Tuesday, December 17th.
Tuesdays: 1/28-2/11
Thursdays: 1/16-1/30
Winter Chess Club Information and Registration
Save Time by Pre-Registering Your ID Now for December School Events
In advance of holiday events, we strongly encourage all parents/family members to proactively make a visit to your school to get your ID (Driver’s License) registered in our Raptor System or fill out this form at your earliest convenience (one per guest). This system allows the District to conduct an immediate background check on visitors during school hours so we can ensure that all those within our school buildings are safe and clear to be there. This must be done for each event you are attending; previous Raptor registrations will not suffice for future events. By taking care of this in advance of a holiday event, you should experience a more efficient entry process. If you are unable to do this in advance, remember to bring your drivers license or state ID the day of the event and arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the event in order to register.
To expedite the process even further, please fill out this form (one per guest).
The Dimension of Belonging featured in December is “Known” and monthly observances include Human Rights Month, Hannukah, and Christmas. Learn more by reading the Belonging Means… Newsletter which features contributions from The Skokie School and the Department of Communications, Safety & Security.
Registration for incoming kindergarteners and students NEW to the District (beginning fall 2025) is now open.
Kindergarten enrollment: Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2025, are eligible to enroll for Kindergarten.
School Admissions and age requirements are addressed in School Board Policy 7:50 School Admissions and student Transfers to and from Non-District Schools.
2-Step Process to complete registration:
Step 1: Click here to begin the online new student registration process.
Step 2: Contact Maria Perez via email marizperez@winnetka36.org or phone 847-446-9400 to schedule a time to drop-in with final verification documents.
Complete BOTH steps of new student registration BEFORE January 17, 2025 and receive a $40.00 discount applied to your child’s 2025/2026 student fees.
Benchmark Assessments & Otus Access
Benchmark assessments are valuable tools that provide a snapshot of student progress at a point in time. These assessments help teachers to identify areas where students are excelling and where they may need additional support. They can also inform instructional decisions by providing data that can be used to tailor teaching to meet each student's unique needs and strengths. Benchmark assessments are an important component of progressive education, which recognizes that students learn in different ways and at different rates. By using benchmark assessments to inform instruction, teachers can provide a more individualized approach to learning that supports each student's academic growth and personal development.
Academic benchmark assessments for literacy and math will occur three times this year for students in grades K-8. The Winter Benchmark Assessments start on January 6th and conclude on January 24th. There are four platforms the district utilizes to gather student learning information; aimswebPlus, mCLASS, NWEA MAP, and SSIS. Benchmark data will be available in Otus beginning January 31, 2025. In order to allow for the data uploads to take place and to provide parents with consistent access to student data, please be aware that the Otus Parent Portal will be inaccessible January 6-January 30.
Building Data Team meetings to review the Winter Benchmarking data will occur February 3-14.
Contagious Illness Update:
To keep everyone informed on what we are seeing around the district, we are sharing that a lot of students are currently getting diagnosed with pneumonia, flu, strep, and GI viruses. Please keep our health guidelines in mind when thinking of sending your child to school.
Everyone needs to be fever/vomiting/diarrhea free for 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school.
January Winnetka Parents Institute Schedule
The District offers regular sessions for families to learn more about a variety of topics. View the entire 2024/2025 schedule here.
Up Next:
Acceleration Applications Overview with Assistant Superintendent of Innovation, Teaching and Learning Dr. Becky Mathison
January 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Location: Carleton Washburne School RC
Attend this session to understand accelerated programming options for students entered grades 3-8 during the 2025/26 school year. Time will be provided for attendees to begin the application for this process.
Preschool/Kindergarten Family Information Night (with Winnetka Administration and Sue Stolzer, Early Childhood Assessment Team Lead from TrueNorth)
January 15, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Location: Greeley School
This informational session is intended for Winnetka parents of preschool students who will be attending The Winnetka Public Schools. Parents will learn more about the support and services that the District provides to current preschool students attending local preschool programming as well as what is available within our schools once a student enters kindergarten. Families will receive a preview of:
The transition-to-Kindergarten process by Crow Island, Greeley and Hubbard Woods Principals,
The resources available to families of current preschool students from the Department of Student Services, Equity and Inclusion
Details on “Kindergarten Connection” which will take place in Summer 2024
Highlights of a typical kindergarten day in The Winnetka Public Schools
We look forward to meeting new families at this event!
Sincerely,
Michelle Cooney and Larry Joynt
Principal and Assistant Principal
The Skokie School
