Greeley Greeting

August 20, 2024

Week of March 10, 2025

Principal's Message

Dear Families,

We are excited to see many of you at the PTO STEAM Night this Thursday! We’re grateful to our dedicated staff members who are volunteering their time to help make this event special. A heartfelt thank you to our PTO for organizing such a fun and educational experience for our students.

If you haven’t yet completed the 5 Essentials Survey for Parents, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The survey link is below, and we’re aiming for at least 20% participation to receive a full report of parent insights — currently, we’re at 2%. Families with multiple children are welcome to complete the survey for each child.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather today and tomorrow!

Sincerely,

Lindsay

Upcoming Dates

March

3/10 Start of Trimester 3
3/13 Greeley PTO STEAM Night
3/19 Powerschool Portal Opens (Progress Reports)
3/24-3/28 Spring Break
3/31 School Resumes

April

4/18 No School
4/25 Half Day (11:20am dismissal)

May

5/5-5/23 Spring Benchmark Window
5/6 Greeley Spring Sings for Grade 1 and Grade 2
5/7 Greeley Spring Sings for Grade 3, 4, and K
5/22 Kindergarten Open House, 6:15pm (For Incoming K families)
5/26 Memorial Day (No School)
5/30 Otus parent portal opens

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New Information

Homework Tips & Tricks for Parents

The Homework & Executive Functioning Network has compiled a list of tips and tricks to support students and parents with homework success at home. Review the list here!

5 Essentials Survey Window Closing Soon

District 36 has chosen to provide the optional Parent Survey Supplement. This allows parents/guardians to share their perspectives on the important elements of school effectiveness. If at least 20% of parents from your student’s school complete the survey, a parent report will be generated. **Please note that parent survey data will not be included in the State Report Card but will be valuable for school and district improvement planning.

Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement efforts. All responses are completely confidential and will never be linked back to you or your child. To complete the Parent Survey, click here.

Counted Out - Math Documentary Screening (runs through April 7)

On April 8 from 6:00-8:00 p.m., a free community showing of the documentary Counted Out will be held in the Skokie Auditorium, followed by a brief facilitated discussion with participants. If you are interested in attending, please register here.

About the film:
“Counted Out” investigates the biggest crises of our time. Political polarization. Racial biases. Social injustice. Economic inequity. Climate change. And a global pandemic. All viewed through a previously unseen lens: math.

In our current information economy, math is everywhere.The people we date, the news we see, the influence of our votes, the candidates who win elections, the education we can access, the jobs we get is all underwritten by an invisible layer of math that few of us understand, or even notice.

But whether we know it or not, our numeric literacy — whether we can speak the language of math — is a critical determinant of social and economic power.

Through a mosaic of personal stories, expert interviews, and scenes of math transformation in action, “Counted Out” shows what’s at risk if we keep the status quo. Do we want an America in which most of us don’t consider ourselves “math people?” Where math proficiency goes down as students grow up? Or do we want a country where everyone can understand the math that undergirds our society — and can help shape it?

The film’s voices include the late civil rights icon Robert Moses as well as Talithia Williams, associate professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd University and TEDx speaker of “Own Your Body’s Data,” Julia Angwin, investigative journalist and founder of Proof, Steven Levitt, co-author of “Freakonomics.”

Spring Sports Club

Hello 3rd and 4th grade families!. We are excited to announce that we will be offering a Spring Session for After School Sports.

Registration will open on Tuesday, March 11 and will close on Friday, April 18.

The activities will include Kinetic Wellness's favorite games and new exciting activities specific to this class. We will meet each group once a week after school for ten weeks. This class will run on Wednesday for 4th grade and Thursday for 3rd grade from 3:15-4:00 p.m. We look forward to another fun session!!

Spring Dates

4th Grade Dates:

4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14, 5/21, 5/28, 6/4

3rd Grade Dates:

4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/15, 5/22, 5/29, 6/5

Super Goal Reward Update

Single-Subject and Grade Level Acceleration

The Accelerated Placement Act requires Illinois public school districts to adopt and implement policies on acceleration that provide opportunities for single subject and grade level acceleration. To learn more about District 36’s acceleration policy implementation view this infographic or visit our updated webpage. The request form for accelerated programming in the 2025/26 school year is now open until March 21. If you have questions about the policy, please contact the Asst Supt of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, Dr. Becky Mathison, at beckymathison@winnetka36.org.

Monthly Observances/Dimensions of Belonging

The Dimension of Belonging featured in March is “Supported” and monthly observances include Women’s History Month. Learn more by reading the Belonging Means… Newsletter which features contributions from Greeley School and the Department of Innovation, Teaching and Learning.

Erin's Law Information for Families

Beginning this Spring, building social workers and/or classroom teachers will implement state-mandated sexual abuse prevention education during one 20-30 minute session in each classroom. Parents have the option to opt their children out of the program as they deem appropriate by completing this form by March 14. For more detailed information about Erin's Law, including curriculum content and zoom opportunity with social work staff, please refer to the Erin’s Law page of the District website or by contacting our school’s social worker, Katie Kalogriopoulos.

Reminders from Last Week

Adventures In Learning 2025

Get ready for an exciting Summer 2025 filled with opportunities for growth and learning! We are thrilled to offer a dynamic range of Adventures in Learning (AIL) programs, including Discover, Extended School Year, and Academic Intervention Classes. These programs are designed to provide enriching educational experiences and support for students throughout the summer months.

The Winnetka Public Schools will host summer programs at Greeley and Hubbard Woods Elementary schools from June 23 to July 24, 2025. There will be no class on Friday, July 4. The hours are 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Registration is now open. Details are here.

Winnetka Parents Institute Session

The District offers regular sessions for families to learn more about a variety of topics. View the entire 2024/2025 schedule here.

Up Next:

Not Quite Little Kid, Not Quite Teenager: The Developmental Progression of the Middle School Child

March 12, 2025

9:30 AM

The Skokie School Community Room

Join Principal Cooney and Assistant Principal Joynt (The Skokie School) and Principal Fenton and Assistant Principal Horwitz (Carleton Washburne School) for an informational session focusing on the ins and outs of the growing middle school child. Interested:

RSVP here

Season 3, Episode #7:

“Be Where Your Feet Are”: Benefits of Cell Phone-Free Schools

A bold decision was made in The Winnetka Public Schools to counter the growing disruption of personal technology in our learning environments. Yondr, a secure storage system for personal technology was implemented in grades 5-8 in September 2024. Dr. Kelly Tess is joined by Flossmoor School District 161 Superintendent, Dr. Dana Smith, who spearheaded the adoption of this program in Illinois. The conversation touches on research highlighted in the recent bestseller The Anxious Generation, including the impact of cell phone use on adolescents’ neurological development and mental health. Special guests, Carleton Washburne School students Ellie and Lulu, share their candid thoughts on the “new normal” in middle school in Winnetka. The upshot: “I feel like its not that big of a deal…you get used to it.”

Listen here:

Online Pre-Registration for Incoming Kindergarteners & New Students for the 2025/2026 School Year is Now Open

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.