District Update
Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent of Schools, invites you to our second “Coffee with Kelly,” a community conversation hosted at our schools! Staff, families and community members are welcome to join Dr. Tess and a special guest for co-facilitated discussions on topics of interest, providing an opportunity to gather together, listen to each other’s perspectives and reflect on enhancing our partnership to educate the students of Winnetka.
This “Coffee with Kelly” will center on the topic of Reading Aloud with Your Child at Any Age. Dr. Tess will be joined by Crow Island second grade teacher Missy Parks and Washburne Special Education teacher, Chris Joob for a conversation on:
The value of listening to a story out loud and the neural connections this helps to build,
The opportunities that are opened up for conversation and connection by sharing a story together,
learning about how staff and families feel linked or out of synch with each other and their schools through literature,
and reflecting on how developing a love for reading doesn't have to happen independently.
This is an opportunity to converse, connect, learn, and grow together!
Guests are invited to:
Read either of these two articles on the benefits of reading aloud:
and/or come as you are, excited to engage with your childrens’ teachers, your neighbors, and your school leaders!
Wednesday, March 20 from 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.
The Skokie School Community Room,
520 Glendale Ave., Winnetka
Please RSVP by Monday, March 18.
All staff and parents (including grandparents!) are welcome. You do not need to be a Skokie family or staff member to attend. Coffee will be served!
Winnetka Parents Institute
The District offers regular sessions for families to learn more about a variety of topics.
Click here for the Winter/Spring 2024 schedule.
Up next:
Not Quite Little Kid, Not Quite Teenager: The Developmental Progression of the Middle School Child
March 21, 2024
10:00 AM
SK Community Room
Join Principal Cooney and Assistant Principal Joynt (The Skokie School) and Principal Fenton and Assistant Principal Horwitz (Carleton Washburne School) for an informational session focusing on the ins and outs of the growing middle school child. We will spend time exploring both the academic and social-emotional needs appropriate to 5th-8th grade children, how they change over that four year span, as well as the neurological changes that contribute to these needs. Parents with current middle schoolers, or soon-to-be middle schoolers, are encouraged to join us for an engaging, encouraging and educational hour together.
Interested:
Parents: Please Share Your Feedback!
You are invited to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey. On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey is administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can inform school improvement efforts. The five indicators that affect and predict school success are:
Effective Leaders
Collaborative Teachers
Involved Families
Supportive Environments
Ambitious Instruction
Your participation in this survey is voluntary, but important to our schools and the District. We do not receive results from the survey unless at least 20 percent of parents/guardians respond. The more responses parents/guardians provide, the more we will know how to focus our efforts. Please help us to improve by completing the survey.
Go to: the 5Essentials Survey website to take the survey
Select “Parent Survey.”
You may enter your email address if you would like to receive confirmation of your submission, but it is not required.
Then enter “COOK” into the county field and type in your student’s school.
You will then be asked a series of questions to provide input regarding your family’s experience at your student’s school. Please remember to click “submit” once you are done so your responses can be counted.
Please know that your identity and responses will be kept confidential and will not be connected with your child. If you have multiple children who attend our schools, you may complete one survey for each child. However, only one parent per household may submit a survey for a given child. The parent survey closes on March 29, so please submit your responses soon.
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, click here to view an infographic and click here to visit our updated webpage. The request form is now open; the window is February 26-March 22. If you have questions about the policy, please contact the Asst Supt of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, Dr. Becky Mathison, at beckymathison@winnetka36.org.
WPSF Phone-A-Thon Fundraiser Is Here!
On March 10, Winnetka Public Schools Foundation board members will be reaching out to D36 parents and community members by phone, text and email to secure donations for the coming year. The goal is to raise $85,000 during Phone-A-Thon so that WPSF can continue to fund grants to promote teaching innovation. Every donation makes a difference in our schools! Donate online by March 9, to “Beat the Call.” With your support, WPSF can continue to invest in our students, teachers, schools and community and fund grants to enhance the learning experience for every Winnetka D36 student.
Homework and Executive Functioning Parent Survey
The Homework and Executive Functioning Network, composed of teachers, interventionists, and administrators, is currently working to develop District Guidelines for Homework (grades 5-8) and Executive Functioning (grades K-8).
In order to make an informed decision, the Network would greatly appreciate your honest response to this brief, ANONYMOUS survey so that we can better understand our current practice and perceptions around these two topics. Responses are due by March 13. The information we collect from teachers, students, and parents, paired with research, will guide the Network in developing:
A qualitative, single-point rubric for Executive Functioning that details descriptors in the following areas: Organizing & Planning, Initiating Tasks and Staying Focused, and Managing Emotions.
Executive functioning impacts each student’s growth, development, and achievement. These are essential skills for students in school and life, and are often strong indicators of future success.Guidelines for grades 5-8 Homework Practices to aid in establishing consistent classroom-to-classroom expectations for students, increasing vertical alignment within our system and between levels, and identifying supports in preparing students for “what’s next”.
We understand that experiences may vary by grade level so please complete one survey per grade level and school that your student(s) are in.
Erin's Law
Beginning this Spring building social workers and/or classroom teachers will implement state-mandated sexual abuse prevention education during one 20-30 minute session in each classroom. Parents have the option to opt their children out of the program as they deem appropriate by completing this form by March 15th. For more detailed information about Erin's Law, including curriculum content and zoom opportunity with social work staff, please refer to the Erin’s Law page of the District website or by contacting your school’s social worker, Susan Johnson.
Hubbard Woods School
8:30am | Doors open
8:37am | School promptly begins
11:30am-12:20pm | Lunch
2:10pm | Kindergarten dismissal
2:45pm | Early Release (MONDAYS ONLY)- Kindergarten Stay and Play/Bridge Care and all 1st-4th students
3:15pm | Tuesdays through Fridays Grades 1-4 & Stay and Play/Bridge Care Dismissal
Email: jenniferhartlett@winnetka36.org
Website: https://www.winnetka36.org/hubbardwoods
Location: 1110 Chatfield Road, Winnetka, IL, USA
Phone: (847) 446-0920