Washington Wildcat Chat

Dear Washington Families,

In the coming weeks, our staff will begin to collaborate on the important process of creating class lists for the upcoming school year. This process is quite structured, takes various factors into account, and involves many stages.

Because the placing of students in classrooms is so important, we use a very specific and detailed process for all children. We consider several criteria in making our decisions, with no one being more important than another. The following criteria are considered before placements are made:

• The total number of children in all grade-level classes needs to be equal.

• Ability levels of students need to be balanced in each grade level class.

• Leadership skills and other affective characteristics need to be balanced.

• Students’ learning styles should be matched appropriately with teachers’ instructional styles.

• Some student combinations should be split for social or academic reasons.

We will also coordinate co-teaching opportunities for our multilingual students and students with diverse learning needs. These considerations dictate how we group and cluster students in all grade levels.

If you would like to provide specific information about your child to assist in the homeroom placement selection, please submit a letter by Friday, March 21st. Pertinent information may include the parents’ view of how the child learns best, the environment that best suits learning, peer social matches to avoid, and any other important details. Such information will be considered as part of our process, but final decisions about class assignments are determined by the administration and teachers.

Due to the nature and complexity of this task, we are unable to accept requests for specific teachers. We ask that you please do not put our teachers in an awkward position by requesting a specific placement for them. At times, they are unable to honor a request and we do not want them to feel responsible for not being able to follow through with considerations. Additionally, our staffing needs and teacher assignments change from year to year based on the number of students at each grade and life events of staff members.

Please note that any letters received after Friday, March 21st may not be considered. Our staff will spend a significant amount of time on placements, and we take the process very seriously.

Lastly, please note that once homeroom assignments are made and notifications are shared in August, we are unable to honor requests for changes. We encourage you to take the opportunity now to share your thoughts. If you have questions or feel you need to have a conversation with me that our letter method doesn't provide, please contact me as I'd rather have this conversation now than a complicated conversation in August.

Thanks for your support and partnership.

Warmly,

Angie

Uncle Pete’s Sack Lunch Project is coming soon! The sack lunches prepared by our school community will be delivered to shelters, food pantries, senior programs, and soup kitchens as well as those in need of food across Chicago’s West Side and Uptown areas.

Lunches will be collected in the morning at the start of the school day as children arrive on Tuesday, March 4th.

Stay tuned for more information about what to include in the sack lunches! Wildcats Give Back!

Each February, The American Heart Association promotes the Kids Health Challenge. This challenge brings awareness to several key areas of heart health that pertains to our kids. This year we are going to take a deeper dive into heart health and what can be done to help your heart. Here are two main topics and how we are going to address them in PE at Washington:

1. Finn’s mission-Hands only CPR

We will be using our Bosu Balls to

have students learn and practice

how to perform hands-only CPR.

Click here to see a little bit about Finn's Mission

There will be no school on Friday, February 28, 2025.

We have not had any school closings due to inclement weather before February 1st, meaning Friday, February 28 becomes a Records/Planning Day. Staff will work, but there will be no student attendance on Friday, February 28.

Additional dates to remember this month:

• February 14: No School (Teacher Institute Day)
• February 17: No School (Presidents’ Day)

Washington's Open House will be held on Wednesday, February 12th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Parents and students will have the opportunity to visit their classrooms and share all of the wonderful things they have been learning. When the Open House ends, please consider joining us for the PTO meeting at 7:30 in the MPR. We look forward to welcoming you to share this special night with us.

Calling all authors! Don't forget that stories are due on Friday, February 28th. Since the due date falls on a day when school is not in session for students, we will still be accepting entries on Monday, March 3rd. This is a great opportunity for all students to share their writing talent with our school community. Guidelines and program details can be found in the link. Good luck to all of our talented Washington authors!

The Washington PTO Read-A-Thon kicked off this week and continues through February 24th!

Our first annual Read-A-Thon in 2024 exceeded expectations, raising more funds than anticipated and sparking excitement for reading throughout Washington!

How to Get Started:
Instructions on activating your reader's personal page were sent home last week. Once activated, you'll be able to view and record your child’s progress.

To activate your reader’s account today, simply click here and follow the easy steps!

Tips:

• Add Read-A-Thon as a safe sender in your email to ensure you receive future updates.
• Encourage your child to participate—this program makes reading fun and helps develop stronger skills!

What’s in it for the kids?

• Readers can earn and select individual prizes.
• Top-performing classrooms will enjoy special celebrations!

Thank you for your support and participation! Together, we’re fostering a love of reading and building a stronger school community.

Registration is open and you can now enroll your child for the 2025-2026 school year. All of the information and links can be located on the District Registration Page .

The registration deadline will be noon on Friday, March 14, and if you register your child and pay the fees by then, you will receive the early bird discount. You must fill out and submit registration forms by Monday, March 10, at 3:00 pm to take advantage of the fee discount. This allows our staff time to verify documents and send out invoices so you can pay them by noon on Friday, March 14. Any families who do not register by this date will receive a records release, as we assume you’re going to another district.

For the 17th consecutive year, academic registration fees will remain unchanged for families who register and pay by the deadline. However, the early bird discount does not apply to participation, bus, or tuition fees. Our website has the fee list and explanations for any fee increases, such as for Instrumental Music and Chromebook maintenance.

• Read-a-Thon, February 3rd to 24th
• Open House, February 19th
• Board of Education Meeting, February 20th
• Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences, March 6th
• Spring Break, March 24th - 28th

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.