Greeley Greeting

Dear Families,

Last week, students across all grade levels kicked off their final ARC unit of the year. ARC is our knowledge-building curriculum, and our students are diving into some exciting topics as we head into the last nine weeks of school. Here’s what each grade is exploring through reading and writing:

• Kindergarten: Entomology

• 1st Grade: Plants

• 2nd Grade: Jobs in My Community

• 3rd Grade: Marine Life

• 4th Grade: Sports and Society

In other fun news, I had the joy of taking another PTO Silent Auction winner on the Secrets of Greeley tour, alongside Mr. Thuente, our head custodian. While we can’t reveal all the surprises, we hope you enjoy a few photos from the tour below!

Lastly, we’re getting excited for our upcoming Spring Sing performances in early May. Please check the latest updates for each grade’s start time so you don’t miss a moment.

Warmly,

Lindsay

April

• 4/7-4/30 One School One Book
• 4/18 No School
• 4/25 Half Day (11:20am dismissal)
• 4/29 Parent Coffee Talk

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

We are very grateful to the WPSF for funding 17 teacher grants. The grants help to bring new and innovative practices into our classrooms. Congratulations to the Greeley staff recipients below!

Greeley Kindergarten: Tuff Trays

Tuff trays provide a contained space for rich sensory play, encouraging creativity, fine motor skill development, language skills, literacy/math skills development, cognitive growth, and social interaction through open-ended exploration with various materials. ($2,856)

Greeley Kindergarten: Refresh the Kindergarten Outdoor Space

The Greeley kindergarten playground needs an update! As schools see a spike in dysregulation and impulsivity, refreshing the playground will be crucial to keeping engagement high for all children during outdoor play. Outdoor and gross motor play is essential for building children's confidence, regulating emotions, and strengthening social skills. ($1,909)

Greeley First through Fourth Grades: Functional Seating to Facilitate Classroom Engagement

The purpose of this grant is to provide flexible seating and working options for use in classrooms to facilitate engagement in project-based learning and curricular activities. This would include standing desks and flexible seating options. ($11,434)

Greeley School: Rainbow-Animal Assisted Therapy Partnership

Greeley students would benefit from a partnership with Rainbow: Animal Assisted Therapy in a variety of ways. Research has shown that students of all reading levels benefit from reading to a trained therapy dog. ($3,750)

Greeley School: Quiet Cubby Calming Resources

This is a student-led effort to design and provide calming tools to all classrooms to help students self-regulate. In the 2023-2024 school year, with support from an SEL coach, a Greeley third grader helped develop a calming space in the school. In the spring of 2025, the same student and three other peers wanted to find ways to offer calming resources to more students. A weekly facilitated group was formed to pursue the project. Funding would extend this project. ($600)

Spring Sing is Almost Here!

Rehearsals are underway, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you back to the Greeley auditorium for our Spring Sing Performances in early May! Please see the updated schedule below:

Tuesday, May 6

• Grade 1 6:00–6:30 PM

• Grade 2 6:40-7:10 PM

Wednesday, May 7

• Kindergarten: 5:30–5:55 PM

• Grades 3: 6:00–6:25 PM

• Grade 4: 6:30-7:00 PM

With our growing school population, and an auditorium capacity of about 300 seats, we kindly ask that each family limit attendance to no more than four guests per student. This will help ensure that every student has loved ones in the audience cheering them on. We expect a full house!

Thank you for your support and cooperation—we can’t wait to celebrate our students' hard work and talents with you!

As we begin planning for the upcoming school year, our team is already hard at work with hiring and scheduling. Another important part of our preparation is the development of classroom rosters.

As in past years, we welcome and value parent input as part of this process. Families of students entering grades 1–4 are invited to complete the Parent Input Survey by Friday, April 25. This is an opportunity to share any insights that might help us better understand your child’s needs—such as academic strengths, areas for growth, social dynamics, or significant family experiences.

Please note that requests for specific teachers will not be accommodated.

• Families of students entering 5th grade will receive a separate communication from The Skokie School regarding feedback.

• For incoming Kindergarten students, feedback will be collected later this year through a separate form for families who have completed registration. If you haven’t yet registered and would like to provide input, please complete your child’s registration with the district office as soon as possible.

Final classroom rosters will be shared with families in late August, as we continue to monitor enrollment, potential staffing changes, and other adjustments that may arise over the summer.

Thank you for your partnership in supporting a successful start to the new school year!

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

It’s time to order your 2024-25 Greeley Memory Book! Please use the link below. Order now through May 1. If you have any questions or problems, or if your child would like a book but the cost is a financial hardship, please email greeleymemorybook@gmail.com

School Hours:

8:20am | Morning supervision begins

8:30am | School Doors open

8:37am | School promptly begins

2:10pm | Extended day kindergarten dismissal (Monday-Friday)

2:45pm | Grades 1-4 & Stay and Play kindergarten dismissal (Mondays only)

3:15pm | Grades 1-4 & Stay and Play kindergarten dismissal (Tuesday-Friday)

Office Email: gordonschreiber@winnetka36.org

Location: 275 Fairview Avenue Winnetka, IL 60093
Phone: (847)-446-6060