Greeley Greeting

August 20, 2024

Week of March 17, 2025

Principal's Message

Dear Families,

It was wonderful to see so many of you at PTO STEAM Night last week! Below, you'll find some photos capturing the fun. A huge thank you to our STEAM Night committee for organizing such a fantastic event and to the dedicated teachers who volunteered their time to make it a success.

We're also making great progress on our 5 Essentials Parent Survey! Participation has jumped from 2% to 14%—thank you to those who have already completed it. To receive a full report of parent insights, we need at least 20% participation. Just 22 more responses will get us there! If you haven’t taken the survey yet, we’d love to hear your feedback. Your input is invaluable in shaping our school’s future.

As we head into spring break, I want to wish safe travels to those venturing away and a peaceful, relaxing break to those staying local. However you spend the week, I hope it brings you joy and rest!

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
Lindsay

Upcoming Dates

March

3/19 Powerschool Portal Opens (Progress Reports)
3/24-3/28 Spring Break
3/31 School Resumes

April

4/7-4/30 One School One Book (info coming soon from the PTO)
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

IAR Assessment Dates- grades 3-8

In early April the district will administer the state-mandated assessment, Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). The IAR includes complex tasks in reading and math that require strategic reasoning, extended investigation, and writing.

The IAR will be administered to students in Grades 3 through 8 from April 2 - 17, 2025. Individual teachers or schools will send details concerning specific dates and times of testing sessions. District curriculum, which is aligned with the Common Core and Illinois State Priority Standards, exposes students to the content and skills presented on the IAR throughout the school year. In the weeks before the tests, teachers will familiarize students with the computer platform and question format used in the IAR test platform to ensure that students feel comfortable with the test interface.

Information regarding IAR can also be found on the District website. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact your principal.

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:

Homework and Executive Functioning Support in The Winnetka Public Schools

April 9, 2025

9:30 A.M.

Location: Washburne RC

This session will highlight the work that is being done to better support our students in the area of executive functioning and how the District’s philosophy and expectations on homework will be experienced by our students.

RSVP for this event here

If you missed it, view videos from past sessions:

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

Reminders from Last Week

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.