The Skokie Home Scoop
September 20, 2021
Dear Skokie Community,
We hope you enjoyed this beautiful weekend! I think that everyone in our school community is looking forward to getting into more of a rhythm now that we have several full weeks of school ahead of us. Our students and staff have gotten to know each other as individuals and as learners over these past several weeks. In the coming weeks, as we get closer to our Fall Conferences, our teachers will continue to deepen their knowledge of students as learners. We greatly value the time we get to spend with parents at the Fall Conference to learn more about what the children are reporting back to you at home, your insights into your child’s learning profile, and also to share our observations about the start of the year.
Your child’s advisory team will be reaching out to you in the next week or two with a conference sign up. At Skokie, you will have the opportunity to conference with your child’s advisor and academic partner teacher. These conferences will be offered in person or via Zoom, depending on your preference as a family.
Skokie Social Emotional Learning Update
Our Skokie School based Social Emotional Learning Committee met this past week to reflect upon lessons that are resonating with students and identify areas in which we should focus as we head into the coming weeks. Overwhelmingly, our staff is noticing that our students could benefit from more explicit instruction related to navigating friendships, inclusivity, and working cooperatively with peers. This is no surprise with what we typically see in middle school, and it is underscored by the circumstances of the pandemic.
As we look to October, we are looking forward to engaging our students in discussions about the following topics:
How can my words and actions impact others’ feelings?
What is empathy?
What is the difference between mean/rude behavior and bullying? What do I do about it?
What is a clique and how can it impact social dynamics?
How might I navigate social circumstances that arise on Halloween?
You might find it helpful to engage your child in conversations surrounding these topics, as well, to gain a better understanding of their thought process and feelings related to these ideas.
Take care,
Betty Weir and Larry Joynt
Skokie Principal and Assistant Principal
Exploring Skokie: Instrumental Music
All Band and Orchestra ensembles are off to a strong start at Skokie School.
5th Grade Band students recently discovered their first sounds on their instruments. Now that everyone is making sound on their instrument, we need everyone to practice making those sounds at home. New musicians love to show off their new skills - ask your student musician to teach you how they make sound on their instrument!
6th Grade Concert Band students are working on playing their first scale while rehearsing full length pieces of music. These students play together as a group on a daily basis and are beginning to form a strong sense of community amongst themselves.
Concert Orchestra and Strings
The Skokie 6th Grade Concert Orchestra and Skokie 5th Grade Strings are enjoying their new space up in the Loft!
Rehearsals and lessons are in full swing and we are all loving being back together in the building! The focus of both groups is, of course, to learn orchestral repertoire and the basic skills of playing together in an ensemble. However, in 6th grade, we also focus on the study of music theory to make sure that all students understand all of the notations, symbols, markings and language used in the music that they are playing. These are some pictures of the 6th graders hard at work taking their first theory pre-test.
Skokie Clubs
Upcoming Dates
September 22: Skokie Chorus (after school)
September 23: Lions of Leadership (before school)
October 4: Memory Book Club begins (before school)
October 11: Conference Week
October 14: Half Day of Student Attendance (AM), Conferences (PM)
October 15: No School - Conference Day
District News
Important Information Regarding District 36 COVID-19 Testing Program
This is an important update on our Covid-19 Testing Program was shared on Friday, September 17. Please take a moment to review the information if your family is participating. Both BinaxNOW and SHIELD signed consent waivers need to be received at your child’s school before your child will be tested. Please return the hard copies of your signed consent/waivers to your child(ren)’s teacher by Wednesday, September 22.
Clarification: Testing Consent/Waivers for Vaccinated Students
Winnetka Parents Institute: Search Inside Yourself (SIY)
Thursday, September 23 at 9:30 a.m. (hosted via Zoom)
Join us to experience an inspiring one-hour introduction to the mindfulness-based emotional intelligence program developed at Google and backed by the latest neuroscience. This is an interactive experience that provides you with hands-on tools and experiences to help you get a taste of the full 12-hour program the District 36 faculty and staff will experience this fall.
Learn introductory tools to:
Reduce stress and experience greater overall well-being
Develop the resilience needed to sustain high performance
Improve communication, collaboration and team performance
Click here to RSVP to this Winnetka Parents Institute Event.
A corresponding Zoom link to this session will be shared with those who have RSVPed no later than September 22.
Parent Education Session with District Partner The Alliance for Early Childhood
Parent Education Session from District Partner Family Action Network (FAN)
“We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation,” featuring Eric Garcia and Steve Silberman
Monday, September 20, 2021, 7:00 p.m.
Zoom registration link: www.bit.ly/GarciaFANSponsor
For additional details, click here.
Winnetka Wire
View the September 2021 Winnetka Wire (the District’s monthly newsletter) here.