Washington Wildcat Chat

Dear Washington Families:

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and beautiful fall weather! Thank you to everyone who joined us for parent teacher conferences and visited the book fair last week! It was great to welcome new parents and familiar faces into the building to engage in conversations and partner with one another in supporting our students.

The District is planning another parent opportunity later this month. We hope you can join us for the first Parent University of the school year, where Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning, Dr. Samantha Alaimo will discuss standards-based reporting practices. Kindergarten through fifth grade families will learn what standards-based reporting looks like in the classroom structure, and how the changes will be reflected in the Trimester 1 report card.

This event will be held on Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm inside the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center (8200 W Greendale Ave, Niles). If you plan on attending, please RSVP and fill out this form so they can accurately plan the presentation's content. To find a collection of resources on Standards-Based Reporting please visit the SBR page on our District website.

Thank you for your continued partnership and contributions to our school community. Enjoy the Monday holiday and we look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday!

Warm Regards,

Angie

Teachers and Room Parents have been coordinating to plan our Halloween celebrations this year. Our Halloween parties will take place in the afternoon of Thursday, October 31st. All half-day kindergarten students are invited to attend the classroom celebrations that day. More information will be shared soon.

Please see below for the Halloween costume guidelines:

• Students will come to school in costume. (Students may wear a Halloween mask during the parade only)

• Children should not bring any food or candy to share.

• At 3:15 pm, the parade will begin. We will send the parade route out later this month.

• All children will parade slowly, so there will be plenty of opportunities for pictures and videos.

• Please remember to help your child make safe and respectful decisions about his/her costume. Students may wear a mask in the parade but not during school.

This year Washington School will be hosting a Pumpkin Character contest. Please see here for more information and slides.

Who: Any Washington family can enter this Optional contest. We will accept one pumpkin design per family.

What: Use a FAKE pumpkin to bring a children's book character to life. The pumpkins will be displayed in the LRC the week before Halloween. Starting Oct. 21, as students come to the LRC for lessons, they will get the chance to vote for their favorites. The 5 pumpkins with the most votes will be awarded prizes provided by our generous PTO. The 5 winning pumpkins will also go on to compete against the top 5 pumpkins from the other D64 elementary schools.

When: Pumpkins can be dropped off at Washington between Tuesday, October 15th and Thursday, October 18th. Winners will be announced on Oct. 28th.

** Please be sure to fill out the registration form using the QR code.

https://qrco.de/bfQVKP

We are just shy of our goal of $16,000!

Walk-A-Thon is the PTO's largest fundraising event of the year and funds many school enrichment activities such as field trips, assemblies and classroom parties as well as teacher grants and teacher appreciation.

Donations are accepted through October 13th!

To support the Walk-A-Thon, click here, or you can visit your students fundraising page on the PTO website. Simply add your child and their teacher’s information to your account, and you’ll be able to share their personal page with family and friends.

• Parent Teacher Conferences, October 15th
• D64 Parent University, October 22nd
• Halloween Celebrations and Parade, October 31st
• Election Day, November 5th - NO SCHOOL
• Fall Break (Thanksgiving), November 25th - 29th - NO SCHOOL
• Washington Holiday Sing, December 18
• Winter Break, December 23 - January 3

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.