Washington Wildcat Chat

Dear Washington Families,

Thank you for a great first week of school! It was wonderful to welcome our students and families back to Washington last Wednesday, and we are looking forward to another successful school year!

I would like to also thank our Washington PTO for hosting our Welcome Back Picnic on Friday. While the weather did not fully cooperate, it was great to sneak in a bit of picnic fun and see many familiar faces before the rain. Many thanks to everyone who assisted with the picnic break down in the rain to support our custodial staff.

We have another eventful week planned at Washington. This week we will begin fall MAP testing and wrap up our FastBridge Assessments. Teachers use this assessment data to plan for whole group and small group instruction. Our weekly MAP schedule is listed below. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions.

Finally, we hope you will join us this Wednesday for Washington's Curriculum night. Parents are invited to meet with teachers to learn more about their curriculum and instructional programming. Please read on for more information about the schedule.

We look forward to another great week of teaching and learning. As always, we appreciate your partnership and support.

Warmly,

Angie

Please see below for the Fall MAP schedule.

Washington's Parent Curriculum Night will take place this Wednesday, August 21, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Each grade level or teacher team (Special Education, Channels of Challenge, English Learners, etc.) has been designated a 30-minute time slot. During this time, parents are invited to meet with the teacher/team to learn more about their curriculum and instructional practices. Please see the schedule below and note that this is an event for parents. We will hold other opportunities for our students to showcase their classroom and work later in the year. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

Pizza Day orders are now open! Click here to place half or full year orders for each child in your family.

The form can also be found on the PTO website by going to My Account > Open Forms > Pizza Day 2024-2025.

If you are having any difficulty accessing the form, please make sure you are logged into your account.

Orders will remain open until midnight on August 30th and cannot be taken after this time, so please be sure to place your order in the next two weeks!

Washington's Safety Week will take place August 26 - 30. Each year, schools in Illinois are required to participate in a set number of designated drills to prepare for various situations. This year, District 64 schools are adopting the Standard Response Protocol for these drills. Throughout the week, we will practice different drills using age-appropriate language and scenarios. Here is our schedule:

• Monday 8/26: Bus Drill and Hold
• Tuesday 8/27: Lockdown
• Wednesday 8/28: Secure
• Thursday 8/29: Evacuate
• Friday 8/30: Shelter

The School Safety Drill Act requires that within the first 90 days of every academic year, we conduct at least one lockdown drill. This drill addresses and evaluates the preparedness of school personnel and students for situations where there is an active threat or an active shooter within a school building.

Please be assured that the lockdown drill does not include any simulations that mimic an actual school shooting incident. The lockdown drill Is announced in advance to all school personnel and students before it begins. Local law enforcement may attend this event to share feedback and guidance with building administration.

This year’s lockdown drill will take place on Tuesday, August 27th. If you do not want your child to participate in the lockdown drill, please email Ms. Brito at abrito@d64.org. If your child is exempted from the drill, we will provide your child with alternate instruction related to an active threat or active shooter event.

Chess-Ed is excited to return to Washington School to provide lunchtime chess instruction

this Fall. The 10-week program runs from 09/13/24 to 11/22/24 and takes place on

Fridays from 11:35 am to 12:30 pm (during lunch). The program is open to students in

all grades and of all chess abilities (including those in full-day and half-day Kindergarten).

Professional instruction will include the basics for beginner and novice players and build

with opening theory, middle game planning, and end game combinations for continuing and

advanced students. Playing chess improves memory, uses analytical and critical thinking

skills, teaches problem solving, responsibility, sportsmanship, social skills and more! The

benefits of chess last a lifetime!

To register, please go to https://2024-2025washingtonchess.eventbee.com/.

Register by 08/30/24 to take advantage of lowest available fee. For more information about the

program, please refer to the program flyer. Chess-Ed is looking forward to working with

your CHESS ENTHUSIAST this Fall!

All cell phones and other personal devices are to be powered off or silenced and out of sight during the school day. However, students in elementary school are allowed to have wearable smart devices with them if they follow the guidelines listed below. Please do not communicate with your student via these devices while we are in school, as these communications should occur before and after school. If there is an emergency and you need to contact your child, call the school’s main office for assistance.

● Students are permitted to have wearable smart devices like smartwatches only if they’re being used to view the time, like a traditional watch. Any student using a smartwatch can’t text, call, or use any apps during school. This includes communicating with parents! If a student is found using any apps on a smartwatch or communicating with it, they will be asked to put the watch/device in their locker.

● Parents can help ensure smartwatches are set to not allow notifications from other apps by placing the device in a mode that does more than silence it. For instance, with an Apple Watch, a parent can put the device in “Schooltime” mode, which limits how the student can use the watch during school. Schooltime mode also easily allows staff members to see that the watch is configured to not be a distraction during school. You can find steps on how to 24 set up Schooltime mode here. Android users can find parental controls by following these steps.

● Parents can configure wearable smart devices in other available ways as long as students cannot communicate with the device or use any apps during school.

There is still time to register your child/children for our 2nd session of the Rainbows for all Children peer groups. The first session for this school year begins Tuesday, Sept. 10th at 5:30 pm. This free program will meet weekly, for 1 hour, at the Park Ridge Community Church and provides a safe space for students in 1st - 8th grade to share their experiences associated with loss of a loved one and/or a changing family dynamic due to divorce, deployment, etc. Trained facilitators help encourage communication while identifying, navigating and discussing feelings amongst the group.

Please use the Google form link below to sign up your child and/or to be added to our email communications list. Any questions or interest in volunteering to become a facilitator, please contact rainbows64@att.net . For more info about Rainbows, please visit: https://rainbows.org/

Rainbows Student Peer Group Sign up

• Pizza Day Ordering, August 16th - 30th
• Washington Curriculum Night, August 21st
• Pizza Starts, September 5th
• PTO Meeting, September 11th
• Walk-a-thon, September 13th
• Camp Duncan, September 19th

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.