Carleton Washburne

It was so wonderful to see so many Washburne families in our building last Wednesday evening for Go to School Night. We hope you found the evening informative and we can’t wait to continue to partner with you as we move through the 2022-23 school year. If you were unable to attend on Wednesday, we have included our principal presentation HERE for your review. Our teams will also be sharing their presentations with families.

We hope that you are able to join us next week, on Wednesday, September 14th at 9:00am for a principal coffee at Elm Park. This will be a casual opportunity to meet and connect. Please share any questions or topics that you would like to see integrated into our coffee discussions. We will use these ideas as we plan ahead for future meetings.

As we launch into September, we want to reach out to you about an issue that we know is a common source of frustration for parents and educators alike: cell phones.

As parents ourselves, we know that the cell phone dilemma is faced by all families: What age is appropriate for a phone? What restrictions should be in place? How much screen time is too much? While there are no easy answers to these questions, we know that the end result is that many of our students struggle to stay off their phones during the school day.

At school, we want students to have their phones off and out of sight. Some of this is based on wanting students to focus on learning, but it is also based on the social emotional benefits of having a break from their phones.

As parents, you can help us in several ways:

1. Please reinforce expectations regarding cell phones with your child, specifically that they should be off and out of sight during school hours.

2. Please avoid texting or calling your child during school hours. Students are able to use a phone in the main office if you need to relay a message.

3. Consider setting restrictions on your child’s phone so that certain apps are inaccessible during school hours. We know how hard it is for students to stay off their phones, but it is much easier for them to do so if they can’t access certain apps.

Thank you for your partnership to help us address this important issue

Take Care and Be Well,

Andrew Fenton & Ben Horwitz

Washburne Principal & Assistant Principal

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

8th grade students in social studies have been focusing on the histories of their families to begin the school year. As 7th graders, students learned about themselves as individuals (the history of their first name). To begin 8th grade, they are diving into the history of their last names and sharing that information with each other. In the picture below, students in Mr. Senchal’s class are taking the time to learn each other’s family histories. In order to build a strong classroom community, it’s important that our students are aware of the stories that have led all of them to Winnetka.

Kudos to Mr. Senechal and our social studies department for showing the connections between history and our students’ lives.

Washburne Debate is back for the 2022-2023 school year!

Debate meets after school on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 pm in Maestra Falk's room (C304). This is a great opportunity for students to hone their research skills, become polished public speakers, and challenge themselves outside of the classroom. Students can compete in after-school tournaments with other New Trier feeder schools a few times throughout the year.

Please reach out to Maestra Falk (meredithfalk@winnetka36.org) with any questions.

District 36 has established a robust suite of assessments utilizing multiple measures to provide information on student performance. One of those tools is the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test. Fall testing will occur between September 12 - 23, 2022 with all students in Grades 3 - 8 taking one Reading Test and one Math test.

At Washburne, we will be conducting MAP testing on Thursday, September 15th and Monday, September 19th.

The MAP Assessment is designed to measure a student’s achievement level at different times of the school year and compute growth over time. MAP is a computer-adaptive test, which means every student receives a unique set of test questions based on responses to previous questions. This provides a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student’s learning level. Fall MAP results will be sent to families on October 8th. Additional information on the MAP Assessment may be found on our district website in the Assessment Section of ITL.

Quest Food Management Services, Inc. is the food service provider for the Carleton Washburne Cafeteria. The school district has partnered with mymealtime.com, a convenient and secure online service for monitoring your student's lunch account and making credit or debit card deposits.

Please visit the following link for more information: Washburne Lunch Webpage.

In addition, families who do not already have accounts created will receive an email from the district today with login information. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Huisel at 847-501-2527 or amyhuisel@winnetka36.org.

At the August 16 Meeting, the School Board approved a resolution to move forward with placing the $59.4MM referendum on the November 8, 2022 ballot. If this referendum should pass, it would fund the following work at our schools:

• Updated safety components, including secure entry vestibules

• Upgraded HVAC systems to improve air quality, air flow, temperature control and energy efficiency

• Accessibility for all students, staff and visitors that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Electrical wiring and panel upgrades to support technology and improve energy efficiency

• Plumbing replacements to address fixtures that have reached the end of their useful life

• The addition of a multipurpose room/cafeteria at Hubbard Woods

• Removal of the temporary trailers at Crow Island and the subsequent addition of three permanent classrooms

• ​​Repurposing of the current gym to serve as a multipurpose room/cafeteria and the subsequent addition of a gym at Crow Island

• Extension of the useful life of existing facilities and proactive reduction of costly emergency repairs

This letter from the Board and Superintendent was shared on Wednesday, August 17 with the community.

To view the presentation video, please click here.

To view the presentation slides, please click here.

In an effort to ensure that our community is well-informed, we look forward to hosting Informational Sessions on the following dates (all are welcome):

Virtual:

Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. (Zoom details to follow)

In person:

Weds., Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. (Crow Island--followed by tour)

Sat., Oct. 8 from 9-10 a.m. (Hubbard Woods--followed by tour)

Monday, October 17 at 9:30 a.m. (Crow Island)

Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m. (Hubbard--followed by tour)

Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m. (Crow)

Virtual:

Tuesday, Nov. 1 at noon (Zoom details to follow)

Please note the following deadlines that are fast approaching:

• The deadline for signing up for milk in the K-4 elementary schools and Skokie is 9/9/22.

• The deadline for registering for Kindergarten Stay and Play is on 9/30/22.

If you would like to sign up for either please follow this link and log into your Revtrak account.

Excessive Heat Procedures (Day 1)

• If the heat index (combination of heat + humidity; also known as “Real Feel” on accuweather.com) is between 95-103༠ as reported on accuweather.com for the hours between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. on a given school day, the following Excessive Heat Procedures will be put into place for the District’s buildings

• Keep overhead lights to a minimum if possible.

• Teachers will limit all physical activity in the classroom.

• School nurses and staff will watch for any warning signs of heat distress.

• Outdoor, shaded areas will be utilized for learning as much as possible.

• Please refer to chart from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)

Excessive Heat Procedures (Day 2)

• If the predicted heat index is between 95-103༠ for the hours of 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. the day immediately following the first day of a heat index between 95-103༠, a Remote Learning Day will be implemented for that second day.

• Parents, students and staff will be notified via Blackboard and the district website of the Remote Learning Day by 9:00 p.m. the previous evening.

Excessive Heat Procedures (Day 3 and subsequent consecutive days predicted heat index between 95-103༠)

• Remote Learning Days will be implemented.

• Parents, students and staff will be notified via Blackboard and the district website of the Remote Learning Day by 9:00 p.m. the previous evening.

For any day a heat index is predicted to be 103༠ or above, a remote learning day will be called, meaning protocols for Day 2 action will be followed.

Please view this link for details on the health forms that are due for your child prior to the start of the school year.

If you have not registered and paid for the bus yet for this school year there is still time to do so. Registration for bus service will reopen on Tuesday, September 6th. An email will be sent with the link to register your child along with the bus routes and stops.

The District launched a new website on September 1.. Our goal is to improve both the user experience and design of the site for families, staff, prospective employees and prospective residents. We will continue to refine and add additional features this fall. If you are experiencing any challenges or need help navigating the website, please contact help@winnetka36.org.

For upcoming events, access FAN’s website here.

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

Thursday, September 15th: MAP Testing

Monday, September 19th: MAP Testing

Tuesday, September 20th: School Board Meeting - Crow Island School @ 7:15pm

Wednesday, September 21st: Washburne Picture Day

Monday, September 26th: No School - Religious Holiday