Greeley Greeting

August 20, 2024

Week of October 28, 2024

Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Thank you, families, for all the handwritten cards and notes last week for Principal Appreciation week in addition to the amazing gift basket of Foodstuffs goodies! I feel so blessed to serve this incredible community.

We are excited to kick off our Halloween festivities this Wednesday with the PTO Pumpkin Decorating Showcase. We are hoping for clear skies on Thursday for the Ghost Dance at 1:00 PM, and it looks like the rain just may hold off. Please remember that only students and staff are permitted on the playground, but families are invited to watch from outside the fence.

As a gentle reminder, there will be no school this Friday due to Teacher Institute Day. As we look ahead to next week, we look forward to welcoming students back on Monday, November 4th, for our special Greeley Mascot Election. Additionally, our All School Pajama Day will be on Wednesday, November 6th in celebration of exceeding our New Trier Township Pantry Food Drive goal.

Thank you for your support,

Principal Kopinski

Upcoming Dates

October

10/29 Picture Retake Day
10/30 PTO Pumpkin Showcase
10/31 Halloween Parties, Ghost Dance in the afternoon (details below)

November

11/1 No School, Teacher Institute Day
11/4 Mascot Election Day
11/5 No School, Election Day
11/6 Mascot Election Results Announced AND All School Pajama Day
11/8 Spiritwear Day and Veteran's Assembly
11/14 No School-Parent Teacher Conferences
11/15 No School-Parent Teacher Conferences
11/22 Bonus Spiritwear Day!
11/25-11/29 Thanksgiving Break

December

12/3-12/5 Greeley PTO Bookfair
12/18 Winter Sharing Concerts (see Greeley Public Calendar for times based on last name)
12/23-1/3 Winter Break

Subscribe to the Greeley Public Calendar

Picture Retakes TOMORROW (October 29)

Please fill out this Photo Retake Signup if you would like your child(ren) to have their photo retaken. If you have any questions, reach out to Stuart-Rogers at 847-864-7322 or info@srphoto.com.

New Information

Discovery Clubs by Right at School

Discovery Clubs (formerly referred to as after-school electives), offer specialty programming for Greeley students after the school day ends. These seasonal Clubs are offered in three sessions - fall, winter and spring - with five Club programs per session, each on a different day of the week. Greeley PTO works with the Discovery Club provider, Right at School, to offer an array of programming targeting activities such as STEM, arts and movement with offerings across age groups. Look for more information about Discovery Clubs and winter Club offerings in upcoming PTO newsletters or on the Discovery Club website: https://www.rightatschool.com/discoveryclubs/.

Veteran’s Day Assembly

Last year we were fortunate to have the Navy Band Great Lakes Brass Quintet, the “Brass Ambassadors” and some Veterans come to enjoy the band and be honored. This year, we are excited to share that on Friday, November 8th, the Navy Band Great Lakes Woodwind Quintet, Fairwinds, will be coming to perform for our students. We are looking for veterans to come to see the band and be honored. If you are a veteran or you know one who is free on November, 8th please reach out to Angela Borchers at angelaborchers@winnetka36.org.

Leader Round Table Follow-Up (Feedback Requested by Friday, November 1)

Thank you to those families who were able to join our leader round tables, hosted at all five buildings. We’ve included a link to the slides as well as a link to a feedback form including questions that were asked at the event. Feedback is requested by Friday, November 1st. Feedback will be synthesized and shared out in an upcoming principal newsletter. We will then follow-up leading up to Fall Conferences in a subsequent newsletter with ways we are being responsive to the feedback.

Crow Island Slides and Google Form

Greeley Slides and Google Form

Hubbard Woods Slides and Google Form

Skokie Slides and Google Form

Washburne Slides and Google Form

Season 3 of “Winnetka Voices” Launched!

October is National Principals Month and the Illinois Principals Association (IPA) observes Principal Appreciation Week October 20-26, 2024. To highlight the the contributions of our building Administrators, the first five episodes of Season Three of the District’s podcast Winnetka Voices, feature Ms. Ivory Ajavon (Principal of Hubbard Woods School), Ms. Lindsay Kopinski (Principal of Greeley School), Ms. Michelle Cooney and Mr. Larry Joynt (Principal and Assistant Principal of The Skokie School), Dr. Andrew Fenton and Mr. Ben Horwitz (Principal and Assistant Principal of Carleton Washburne School) and Dr. Luke Livingston (Principal of Crow Island School). Winnetka Voices is a podcast hosted by The Winnetka Public Schools, featuring candid conversations on issues relevant to education and shared resources to support our students and families.

Listen here:

Monthly Observances and Celebrations - October 2024

Click here to find October’s edition of the newsletter Belonging Means…

Annual Bullying Prevention Lessons

October is Bullying Prevention month, and this week our students will participate in our annual bullying awareness and prevention lessons with our behavioral health team as a grade level in the auditorium. If you should have any questions, please reach out to me or our school social worker, Katie Kalogriopoulos (katiekalogriopoulos@winnetka36.org) for details.

Parent Teacher Conferences

This year, fall conferences will be on Thursday, November 14th and Friday, November 15th across the district. Families at the elementary level will have the opportunity to schedule a 25-minute conferences with their child's homeroom teacher.

Teachers will be sending out sign-up documents via email this Wednesday, October 30th, so please be on the lookout for that.

Reminders from Last Week

Practice Remote Learning Activity on November 7, 2024

To ensure our students are prepared for any potential shift to remote learning due to multiple days of inclement weather, we have planned a proactive practice activity. This practice session is an important step in ensuring that our students remain connected and ready for learning should inclement weather occur.

Date for Device Take-Home: On Thursday, November 7, all students will bring their school-issued iPads home.

Objective: The goal is for each student to connect their device to their home Wi-Fi network and ensure they have access to the necessary tools and platforms.

Return of Devices: Please ensure that the devices are returned to school with your child on Friday, November 8.

Communication: Additional communication and reminders, as well as a form to record any issues your student experiences, will be sent closer to this practice event.

Message from the School Nurses

During this time of year, we are seeing an increase in illnesses including strep, colds, flu, and other viral infections. Additionally, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), pneumonia, and strep are prevalent in the community right now.

Here are some steps we can take together to help keep our school community healthy:

Stay Home When Sick: If your child is experiencing symptoms such as a persistent cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, please keep them home and consult a healthcare provider. This helps prevent the spread of illness to other students and staff. You can reference our district Health Guidelines here.
Encourage Good Hygiene: Remind your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water, especially before meals and after using the restroom. Using hand sanitizer can also be effective when soap and water are not available.
Promote Cough Etiquette: Teach your children to cover their mouths and noses with a tissue or their elbow when coughing or sneezing. Dispose of tissues properly and wash hands afterward.

Your support in reinforcing these practices at home is invaluable. Together, we can help ensure a healthier school environment for everyone.

Winnetka Parents Institute

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

Up Next:

AI Literacy Lessons for Grades 5-8

November 13, 2024

9:30 A.M.

Location: Carleton Washburne School RC

UNESCO, in their 2021 report entitled AI and education: Guidance for policy-makers stated that:

“AI is said to be a key enabler of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0)…A recent global estimate suggests that 30% of work activities could be automated by 2030. Up to 375 million workers worldwide could be affected...Meanwhile, however, AI and other frontier technologies are increasing the range of high-skill jobs that require unique creative and analytical abilities and human interactions. In short, many workers’ jobs might disappear, and they will need to develop new skill sets – upskilling or reskilling – to enable them to enter the new occupations made possible by AI. Education ministries and training providers need to anticipate these changes, equipping today’s workers and preparing new generations with the necessary technical and social job skills, to smooth the transition to a world dominated by AI, while ensuring social sustainability.”

Artificial Intelligence is “out of the toothpaste tube” and is not going back in. In response, we’ll share with parents the steps we’re taking to increase the literacy of our students of Artificial Intelligence and how we’re preparing them to be responsible users of this tool.

Interested:

RSVP here

If you missed it, view videos from past sessions:

Insights on K-8 Literacy Programming in The Winnetka Public Schools

What to Know About the Otus Parent Portal

Halloween Information

Halloween Costumes

Students are invited to bring their costumes to school on Halloween Day, Thursday, October 31st. In order to maintain a positive learning environment throughout the day, all costumes will be put on after lunch (exceptions with kindergarten may apply).

The following expectations are in place for costumes:

Masks that cover most of a student's face are prohibited
Any weapons, including facsimiles, must be left at home. In the event that these are brought to school, the teacher will hold onto them for the duration of the school day
All costumes should be age-appropriate for elementary school (per school board policy)
Please consider your child's mobility when selecting a costume; we encourage students to wear articles of clothing that are not overly cumbersome

Ghost Dance

Students have been working hard in KW classes to prepare for our Annual Ghost Dance, Weather permitting, our Ghost Dance will be performed by first- through fourth-grade students on Halloween, Tuesday, October 31st. Families are invited to attend and watch our students' performances, which will begin at 1:00pm.

Please note the following:

We recommend arriving at 12:45pm to get situated
Families line up on the sidewalks surrounding the playground
The playground area itself is for students and staff only-please do not enter the playground area
Students will promptly return to their classrooms following the performance
An email will be sent to families should the Ghost Dance be canceled due to inclement weather