Greeley Greeting

Dear Families,

We are well into the swing of things and halfway through our winter benchmarking period. While there isn’t much new to share this week, we’re excited to provide updates soon about two upcoming events in February: a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) spirit week and a student-led fundraising initiative supporting the gorillas at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Our staff has also been busy submitting grant requests to the Winnetka Public Schools Foundation. We’re eager to share the outcomes of these efforts with you later this spring.

Finally, following a request from the Greeley Leader Roundtable in October, we’ve compiled a selection of recommended resources on Progressive Education. We hope you find them insightful and helpful.

Warm regards,

Principal Kopinski

January

• 1/6-1/24 Winter Benchmarking
• 1/15 Winnetka Parent Institute: Acceleration, 9:30am at Washburne (RSVP below)
• 1/15 Winnetka Parent Institute: Kindergarten Information Night, 6pm at Greeley (RSVP below)
• 1/20 No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
• 1/31 Otus Parent Portal Opens (Winter Benchmarking Data)

February

• 2/12 Winnetka Parent Institute: From Washburne to New Trier, 9:30am at Washburne
• 2/20 No School-Parent Teacher Conferences
• 2/21 No School-Parent Teacher Conferences
• 2/24 Acceleration Request Window opens

March

• 3/7 End of Trimester 2
• 3/10 Start of Trimester 3
• 3/13 Greeley PTO STEAM Night, information to follow
• 3/24-3/28 Spring Break

The Volunteer Center invites your school community to join us for our Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 20, 2025, at the Community House in Winnetka (620 Lincoln Avenue) from 11 AM to 2 PM.

This free, all-ages event is a wonderful opportunity to honor Dr. King's legacy by giving back to our community through hands-on service projects. Activities will benefit veterans, hospitalized children and adults, seniors, the unhoused, and orphaned animals.

If attendees plan to participate in the fleece blanket activity, we kindly ask them to bring 4 yards of fleece fabric. We’ll provide everything else, including guidance from our enthusiastic Junior Board members. There will also be blanket kits available for purchase.

In addition, we encourage donations of new socks to support unhoused individuals.

In response to our Greeley Leader Rounding in October, families requested additional resources to better understand Progressive Education. Here are just a few resource to get you started on your journey! Additional resources will be featured in a few newsletter.

What is Progressive Education? article by US News

Winnetka Voices Podcast Episodes:

• Season 1, Episode #5: Progressive Education: 100+ Years Strong in Winnetka
• Season 2, Episode #1: Our Portrait of an Educator and Reflections on 100 Years of Progressive Education

Benchmark assessments are valuable tools that provide a snapshot of student progress at a point in time. These assessments help teachers to identify areas where students are excelling and where they may need additional support. They can also inform instructional decisions by providing data that can be used to tailor teaching to meet each student's unique needs and strengths. Benchmark assessments are an important component of progressive education, which recognizes that students learn in different ways and at different rates. By using benchmark assessments to inform instruction, teachers can provide a more individualized approach to learning that supports each student's academic growth and personal development.

Academic benchmark assessments for literacy and math will occur three times this year for students in grades K-8. The Winter Benchmark Assessments start on January 6th and conclude on January 24th. There are four platforms the district utilizes to gather student learning information; aimswebPlus, mCLASS, NWEA MAP, and SSIS. Benchmark data will be available in Otus beginning January 31, 2025. In order to allow for the data uploads to take place and to provide parents with consistent access to student data, please be aware that the Otus Parent Portal will be inaccessible January 6-January 30.

Building Data Team meetings to review the Winter Benchmarking data will occur February 3-14.

For help with understanding what questions you can answer in Otus, access Otus for Parents.

Additional Otus Parent Resources

Kindergarten students who are not currently enrolled in Stay & Play will have the opportunity to register for the 2nd half of the year after 8:00 am January 6th through this link. Please note that the registration period ends January 31, 2025 and will remain closed for the remainder of the year. The rates are prorated below. If you attempt to register before the 6th, you will receive an Item Unavailable message. After purchasing Kindergarten Stay & Play registration, your child will be able to begin their attendance in the program the following Monday so the schools can plan accordingly.

Hello 3rd and 4th grade families!. We are excited to announce that the Winter Session for After School Sports will be starting right after Winter Break! Registration will open on Tuesday, December 10 and will close on Monday, January 27. 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!!

January Winnetka Parents Institute Schedule

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

Up Next:

Acceleration Applications Overview with Assistant Superintendent of Innovation, Teaching and Learning Dr. Becky Mathison

January 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM

Location: Carleton Washburne School RC

Attend this session to understand accelerated programming options for students entered grades 3-8 during the 2025/26 school year. Time will be provided for attendees to begin the application for this process.

RSVP Link

Preschool/Kindergarten Family Information Night (with Winnetka Administration and Sue Stolzer, Early Childhood Assessment Team Lead from TrueNorth)

January 15, 2025 at 6:00 PM

Location: Greeley School

This informational session is intended for Winnetka parents of preschool students who will be attending The Winnetka Public Schools. Parents will learn more about the support and services that the District provides to current preschool students attending local preschool programming as well as what is available within our schools once a student enters kindergarten. Families will receive a preview of:

• The transition-to-Kindergarten process by Crow Island, Greeley and Hubbard Woods Principals,

• The resources available to families of current preschool students from the Department of Student Services, Equity and Inclusion

• Details on “Kindergarten Connection” which will take place in Summer 2024

• Highlights of a typical kindergarten day in The Winnetka Public Schools

We look forward to meeting new families at this event!

RSVP Link

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