Greenbriar Gazette 4/11/25

Dear Greenbriar Families,

We are excited to be wrapping up IAR testing today! Our 3rd-5th graders have done a great job managing multiple tests and different schedules this week. We'll be conducting make up sessions next week as the assessment window closes on Thursday. We're also looking forward to our April Pack meetings next Thursday. Students will spend some time preparing letters to welcome new Pack members in the fall and celebrating their 5th grade Pack members.

Today, parents of 3rd and 5th graders will receive course placement letters with recommendation for placement in math (for current 3rd graders) and math and ELA (for current 5th graders) for the 2025-26 school year. These letters will be shared digitally. Please reach out with questions.

We're excited to start our training runs for the HOH5K run/walk which takes place on May 3rd. Sign up to join the Greenbriar race team here. Our students will have the option to join the training runs during lunch recess on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next three weeks. Please sign up here if you'd like to volunteer to support the training runs--no running experience necessary!

As a reminder, there's no school next Friday. The next issue of the Gazette will arrive in your inboxes on Thursday morning.

Have a great weekend,

Ginny

Registration for the 2025-26 school year will open April 14. All families will receive an email from Lisa Brown on Monday with the SnapCode necessary to register. You can review procedures, student fees and important back-to-school dates on our Student Registration webpage.

The Greenbriar Library presents Shark Week, April 28-May 2, 2025. Many fun activities are planned, such as reading books about sharks, watching shark videos, contests, crafts, Zooming with Sharks4Kids, a presentation by a shark expert from the Field Museum, and much more!

Have your child(ren) wear shark attire or the colors blue or gray on their library day for a chance to win a prize.

Summer Enrichment and Extended School Year registration closes tonight. Summer Enrichment and Extended School Year (ESY) session will be held Thursday, June 5 - Friday, June 27 (No Summer Enrichment/ESY on Thursday, June 19, to observe the national holiday Juneteenth.)

Students in incoming grades 1-4 will attend at Westmoor School and incoming grades 5-8 will attend at Northbrook Junior High. Visit our Summer Programming website for course listings and additional information.

We're so excited to launch our cookbook in honor of our 75th anniversary! Check out The Capsule Collection, recipes from across the decades from the Greenbriar community. Click here to your hard copy for $35 or here to order a digital copy for $14.99. All proceeds go to benefit Education for All Children, a non-profit that helps to fund education in Kenya including for District 28's sister school, Spurgeon's Academy.

We are seeking volunteers to help us facilitate our Open House event on May 17th from 10:00-1:00. We're looking for help with welcome tables (45-minute blocks) and docents for particular spots in the building to help facilitate self-guided tours (1 hour blocks). If you're interested in volunteering, please sign up here. No historical knowledge necessary! We will provide all materials!

Our 5th Grade Golden Folder Ceremony Assembly will take place on the last day of school, June 3rd. Each 5th grade student will receive two tickets for guests to join for the ceremony. We cannot allow more than two guests per student due to the fire code capacity for our gym. We will live stream the ceremony for any additional family members viewing from home. The schedule of events for the last day of school will be as follows:

• 8:15--5th Grade Breakfast on blacktop, weather permitting
• 10:00--Golden Folder Ceremony Assembly in gym (2 guests per 5th grader)
• 11:00--5th Grade Video Viewing in auditorium (guests welcome to stay)
• 11:30--5th grade farewell walk through Greenbriar and dismissal

District 28 board policy offers an intra-district transfer option for families registering students for kindergarten through 5th grade. Families may choose this option for a variety of reasons, including child care, transportation, caregiver work schedules, and individual family or student circumstances.

• This option is open to any family residing within the District 28 boundaries.

• Individual requests are required for each student.

• Siblings are not automatically guaranteed placement as grade-level enrollment in each location is a factor for consideration of approval. Although we strive to keep families together when requested, space could potentially be available at one grade level in a school and not at another based on the current enrollment in that school.

The superintendent or designee will review transfer requests and make the final decision. In the case of sibling requests, families can make a final determination if all siblings are not able to transfer.

To make a request, please complete the Intra-District Transfer Request Form prior to April 15. During spring registration, please register your child for your home school. Families will be notified of their request approval or denial by April 21. Families that were approved for an intra-district transfer for the 2024-25 school do not need to submit a form because the approval remains valid.

KidCare registration will open for the 2025-26 school year on April 15, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

To register and make electronic payments, click on the link to our Web Store. Please note, you will be charged a $25 non-refundable registration fee to hold your child’s spot. If you are registering for both AM and PM KidCare, your registration receipt will reflect one program. However, your child will be registered for both sessions.

Learn more about the KidCare Program and see FAQ on our KidCare webpage.

In the event your child is placed on a waitlist for an AM and/or PM session, you will not be charged the $25 registration fee until your child is placed. Also, if your child is placed on a waitlist, you will receive additional information via email from Mary Bergman, KidCare Director, once space becomes available.

Questions about registration can be directed to Holly Vosburgh at hvosburgh@northbrook28.net

As part of the transition process to NBJH, we hold an Informational Night for our 5th-graders and their parents/guardians so you can learn more about NBJH programs, extracurricular offerings, expectations and opportunities. You even get to meet some current 6th-grade staff and students! We ask that you please save the date for Thursday, April 24 from 6:45-8 p.m. Again, this is an event we hope our current 5th-graders AND their parents/guardians can attend. The evening will begin in the NBJH main gym, so parking in the rear of the school is most convenient, but parking in the front lot is also an option. We expect the event to last a little more than one hour.

Placing students in balanced peer groups is one of the most important, and challenging, things we do in education. We consider a wide range of information when making decisions regarding placement including the following: children’s academic strengths and areas for growth, IEP and 504 plan needs, English learner needs, social-emotional needs, peer relationships, and teaching styles. Current classroom teachers, and other staff who work regularly with students, have a great deal of input into a child’s placement for the following year.

We do not accept specific friendship requests or teacher requests for class placement. We do accept parent input on two specific areas regarding placement: 1) information about peers you would like your child to be separated from, only if they were in class together this school year (this type of request will be accommodated as a first priority and may impact other placement decisions for your child); and 2) any input regarding the type of classroom environment that may benefit your child and/or if you have had specific, personal experiences with a teacher based on an older sibling.

​If you have information to share, please submit using this survey link by April 25th. If you feel like your child’s teacher/team has enough information regarding placement already, you DO NOT need to submit a ​survey response. ​Please note, parents of second graders who would like to opt their child out of the multiage classrooms should indicate this preference at the above link. If you ​questions, please ​contact Dr. Hiltz or Ms. Montagano, School Psychologist, by April 2​5th.

5th Grade Families: Tickets for the Spring Musical will go live on Eventbrite on Monday, April 14. Please make sure to create an Eventbrite account prior to securing tickets. If you have any specific seating requests, please contact Mr. Bartunek, jbartunek@northbrook28.net by April 1.

• Green/Orange Rench/Sliepka
• Blue/Purple Edwards/Hart

The PTO will be sending a weekly update...you can also always find the latest news and updates on the PTO website.

It is that time of year... the Annual District 28 Homer O. Harvey 5K Walk/Run is Saturday, May 3rd at 8 a.m. and the time to register is TODAY!

The HOH5K event raises funds for scholarships for School District 28 alumni graduating from high school. Families from all five schools are invited to participate in the 5K event, including Greenbriar Elementary, Meadowbrook Elementary, Westmoor Elementary, Northbrook Junior High and Glenbrook North High School. Since 1989, the Homer O. Harvey Scholarship Fund has raised over $400K and awarded scholarships to more than 400 high school students.

Go to www.HOH5K.org to learn more, donate/sponsor, volunteer, and to register NOW.

Everyone who registers before April 12th will receive a t-shirt.

Feed the family and help a good cause: Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is hosting a Dine & Share for the Homer O. Harvey Scholarship Fund.

Wednesday, April 16 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Order online or call for take-out or delivery and use promo code GPFund24

Lou MalnatI's will donate 20% of all sales to the HOH Scholarship Fund!

• April 11th: PTO Pizza and Spirit Wear Day!
• April 18th: No School
• April 21st-23rd: 5th Grade IL Science Assessment
• April 22nd: Board of Education meeting @ 7pm
• April 23rd: Administrative Assistants' Day
• April 25th: PTO Pizza and Spirit Wear Day!
• April 28th-May 2nd: Greenbriar's Shark Week!
• April 30th: 5th Grade Musical Orange/Green Performance @ 7pm
• May 1st: 5th Grade Musical Blue/Purple Performance @ 7pm
• May 1st: Spring NWEA MAP testing window opens
• May 2nd: PTO Pizza and Spirit Wear Day!
• May 5th-9th: Staff Appreciation Week!
• May 5th: Concert and Jazz band tour of schools
• May 6th: Incoming kindergarten screenings
• May 6th: Cadet, String, and Philharmonic Orchestra concert @ NBJH @ 7pm
• May 7th: Beginning and Chamber Orchestra concert @ NBJH @ 7pm
• May 8th: 5th Grade Candor Health presentation
• May 8th: Festival of Bands concert @ NBJH @ 7pm
• May 9th: PTO Pizza and Spirit Wear Day!
• May 9th: NB28 Children's Choir Something More Celebration and Concert @ 7pm
• May 13th: PTO Meeting @ 8:45
• May 13th: D28 Children's Choir Concert @ 6pm
• May 15th: D28 Children's Choir Concert @ 7pm
• May 16th: PTO Pizza and Spirit Wear Day!
• May 17th: Greenbriar 75th Anniversary Open House from 10:00-1:00

Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook provides mental health services for children and adolescents in Chicago’s northern suburbs. With a unique, highly engaging blend of activities-based programming, Youth Services offers group and individual services focused on early intervention, prevention, education, support, sexual and gender identity support, health education, and crisis response. Their mission is to ensure that every child grows up happy, healthy, and hopeful with a vision to be the center of collaborative social-emotional support for children and youth. Youth Services has the most generous sliding scale program in the area and many of their programs are offered free-of-charge. No family is turned away based on their ability to pay.

Visit Spartan FC to register

Parenting Myths Debunked: Finding Balance in a Pressure-Filled World

When: Thursday, May 1 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Northbrook United Methodist Church (1190 Western Avenue, Northbrook, IL)

Are the pressures of modern parenting taking a toll on your well-being? Join us for an eye-opening talk with Doug Boulton as he debunks common parenting myths that drive stress and undermine resilience--- for both parents and kids. From the truth about happiness and elite colleges to the impact of intensive parenting, Doug shares research-backed insights and practical tips to help you find balance, foster resilience, and redefine success for your family.

Register here.

Attention 4th & 5th-grade students!

You are invited to the French Fair on Wednesday, April 23 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the small gym at Northbrook Junior High.

Come learn how fun, easy and useful learning the French language can be.

Play games, win prizes, do crafts, participate in activities, and taste French food and drinks.

This every is free for you and your family!

Please direct questions to Mme Perkins.

Alice@Wonderland will be presented by Glenbrook North High School Theatre April 24-25 at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on April 26. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at www.cur8.com