Winston Campus Elementary
August 29, 2021
Important Information:
School Hours
Monday–Thursday
Gr 1-6 - 7:50 a.m.– 2:30 p.m.
AM ECDEC- 7:50 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.
PM ECDEC- 12:25 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Lunch- 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Friday:
Gr 1-6—7:50 a.m.– 1:40 p.m.
AM ECDEC—7:50 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
PM ECDEC- 11:30 a.m - 1:40 a.m.
Lunch—11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Principal: Ms. Marilynn Smith, 847-963-7505, smithm3@ccsd15.net
Assistant Principal: Mr. Michael Coleman, 847-963-7504, colemanm@ccsd15.net
Student Services Coordinator: Ms. Abigail Hansell, 847-963-7472, hansella@ccsd15.net
Elementary Secretary: Ms. Judy Martinez, 847-963-7580, martinej@ccsd15.net
School Nurse: Sandy Conrath, 847-963-7502, conraths@ccsd15.net
PTA President: Mrs. Victoria West, wcepresidentpta@gmail.com
- If your child will not be in school due to illness or other circumstances, please call the attendance line at 847-963-7501 before the start of the school day. When reporting an absence, please make sure to include your child’s full name, teacher, date of absence, and reason for absence.
- #MoreThanEver Be sure to Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe!
- Connect with your teacher and do your best!
Important Dates:
- Monday, September 6 - No School (Labor Day)
- Wednesday, September 8 - Board of Education Meeting
- PTA General Membership Meeting - 5:00 PM via Zoom
- September 14 - Fall Picture Day
Internal Coaching to Support On-going Teacher Professional Development!
Annual Notice of Universal Screening and Testing Windows
Each year District 15 administers a series of short tests to help understand our students’ academic and social-emotional wellness levels. These tests’ results help plan classroom instruction and identify students that may need additional support or acceleration to meet academic learning goals. Periodic testing and monitoring of student academic growth and wellness is a key characteristic of a responsive academic system. District 15 uses two key assessments to monitor our students’ progress.
FastBridge Grades K-1
All students in Kindergarten and first grade take the FastBridge assessment system in the Fall and Spring of each school year. FastBridge uses brief measures of early literacy and math at the Kindergarten and first grade levels. These brief assessments provide data on an early learner’s reading and math development. The FastBridge assessments typically take less than 10 minutes per student, but the data gained provides teachers with insights and suggestions to help address each child’s needs. More information about FastBridge can be found at www.fastbridge.org.
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Grades 2-8
Students in grades 2 to 8 take an academic test called the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). The MAP test measures each student’s achievement and growth in reading and math. Most students complete the MAP in less than 40 minutes. The MAP test provides our staff with valuable information that helps plan instruction and track student growth. Like FastBridge for the early grades, students in grades 2 to 8 take the MAP once in the fall and again in the spring. Please visit the District 15 website if you would like more information about the MAP test. If you would like to have your child practice the MAP test, you can visit the MAP practice site at: http://bit.ly/PracticeMAPTest. MAP test results from the fall and spring testing periods will be available to parents via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. These results are typically posted in October and again in June.
MAP and FastBridge testing are completed at school. However, if you have a student that qualifies for virtual learning through a medical exemption, your child will take these tests remotely (at home). Students in quarantine due to a close contact with another who has been identified as COVID-19 positive, will take the MAP test or the FastBridge assessment when their quarantine ends and they return to school.
If you are interested in more information about the MAP test, please contact me, your child’s teacher, or download the MAP Parent Toolkit at https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/
Sincerely,
Thomas Edgar, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services Department
WCE Behavior Matrix
We have the highest expectations for all of our students and staff and we live by our core beliefs, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Over the summer, Winston Campus Elementary received the highest recognition with the Midwest PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Network of schools. We have been recognized for our work toward fully implementing a framework that leads to improved student outcomes. The framework helps to increase consistency of instruction, enhances staff skills, proactively provides supports for learners, and builds stronger relationships with students across all levels of the school.
Please review our schools behavior matrix with your child!
Transportation Department Update
On behalf of the transportation department, I would like to welcome our students back to the 2021-22 school year. We have officially been in school for one week and the transportation department is working around the clock to add new students to our routes, expedite our pick-up and drop off routines while also hiring and training more drivers to help us successfully transport over 10,000 students on 602 routes using 122 of our own buses! As I hope you can imagine, it is no small feat. I have spoken to a number of you -- thank you for allowing us to work out any errors in routing and pick-up or drop-off delays. As you may have seen in the news, there is a national shortage of bus drivers and our District is continually working on recruiting and training more drivers. To all families that ride our buses -- thank you for your patience and understanding as we work out the kinks that every new school year brings.
Last year, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, set capacity limits on school buses. To help limit ridership and increase the distance between students, we asked parents/guardians to opt-out of transportation if they were able to transport their child(ren) to school. Thankfully, we had many parents agree to do so.
This year, the ISBE and IDPH removed the capacity limits on school buses which enabled us to provide transportation to all 11,000 students we welcomed back for in person learning. In school, we are able to maintain the recommended 3-feet of physical distance between students. However, with the increased capacity allowed on buses and almost all of our students returning to school this year, we simply are not able to maintain 3 feet of distance between students on the bus. This means that when a student is positive for COVID-19, unvaccinated students on the bus are more likely to be deemed close contacts and will be required to quarantine.
If you haven’t already done so and you are able to drive your child(ren) or allow them to walk to school, please consider doing so, this will allow for greater distance between riders on our buses. If you are able to opt out of transportation for the 2021-22 school year, please click here.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Claire Kowalczyk at kowalczc@ccsd15.net. Again, on behalf of our entire team, we thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to safely transport our students to and from school each day.
Kind regards,
Mr. Tom Bramley, Director of Transportation
CC: Dr. Claire Kowalczyk, Deputy Superintendent
Thank you for Attending our Parent Teacher Orientation!
Health and Safety
Governor JB Pritzker issued an Executive Order that states that all students, teachers, and staff at pre-kindergarten - 12th grade schools and daycares will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, effective immediately. Therefore, all students and staff in District 15 will be required to wear masks/face coverings when they are in any of our schools and on our buses. While we know families have various views on masks in school, we thank you for understanding that all schools must comply with this Executive Order.
On July 13, the Illinois State Board of Education stated, "If school administrators decide to remove any of the prevention strategies based on local conditions, you should remove them one at a time and monitor closely for any increases in COVID-19 cases." As we continue to make final plans for the successful opening of the 2021-22 school year and in our ongoing effort to provide the safest teaching and learning environment possible, we will also continue to provide layered safety mitigation methods.
A new safety measure we intend to add this year is optional SHIELD testing. As we shared on July 21, SHIELD will allow us to identify pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic staff and students who opt into this weekly non-invasive screening opportunity. If you have not already done so, please complete the opt-in/opt-out survey in Infinite Campus.
COVID symptom self-certification is required for all people entering the building each day. Student’s will need to bring their self-certification card daily. Lanyards will be distributed to students at the beginning of the school year and cards will need to be presented at the door upon entry to school. If a student does not have their lanyard, families may provide a written note stating that students are symptom free from COVID symptoms. Families may request an additional lanyard in the main office if theirs is lost for a fee of $1.
We will continue to enforce social distancing and encourage all students to maintain a 3-6 foot distance from others. The good news is, students WILL be allowed to share materials and playground equipment. Because of this, in order to support health and safety, we will be promoting and encouraging frequent and often hand-washing/sanitizing habits.
Snacks will not be permitted to be eaten in the classrooms and we encourage all students to bring a water bottle to school.
Picture Day
Come Join Our Incredible Team at Winston Campus Elementary School!
We are looking for Program Assistants and Lunch/Recess Supervisors!
We have great positions available for parents or those looking to get back into the workforce!
*We offer great benefits, great hours, vacation days, pension participation, and a friendly working environment. The minimum requirement is a high school diploma.
Please Contact Marilynn Smith at smithm3@ccsd15.net or 847-963-7500 for more information.
District 15 will be holding a Career Fair on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 from 12:00-3:00pm at the Palatine Library, 700 N. North Ct. in Palatine.
Come apply onsite! We are looking for the following positions:
- Bus Drivers - no experience necessary; paid training; free benefits (employee only); pension; paid holidays
- Substitute Teachers and Substitute Program Assistants - set your own schedule!
- Full time Program Assistants
- Office and Library Clericals
- Maintenance/Laborers/Custodians
- And more!
Winston Campus Elementary School PTA!
Our PTA provides vital support to our school, offering over 25 programs for our children and families. We are fortunate to have parent volunteers who can be seen each and every day working with students and supporting our school.
Please join the Winston Campus Elementary PTA! With your donation, you will become a part of an organization that helps support your child's school. Your PTA provides such programs as the Recreation Nights, the Science Fair, the Back to School Picnic, a Birthday Book for each child, the school calendar, and the monthly newsletter. Plus only PTA members will receive the school directory listing. Download and fill out the membership form, and get involved!
Join our PTA!
Winston Campus Elementary School
Website: www.ccsd15.net/WCE
Location: 900 East Palatine Road, Palatine, IL, USA
Phone: 847-963-7500
Facebook: facebook.com/WCEaglesD15
Twitter: @WCEaglesD15