Carleton Washburne
Monday Memo - September 20, 2021
Washburne Families,
It was another wonderful weekend filled with sunshine. We are hopeful you were able to be outside and enjoy some time with family, friends and community. Our Washburne students continue to impress with their work ethic, joy, and commitment to learning and following safety protocols. It was a highlight of our week to meet with a group of parents last Wednesday for coffee and conversation. Ben and I had the opportunity to hear about the start of the school year from a parents’ point of view and answer a number of questions. Thank you to the PTO for helping host this event, and we look forward to collaborating in the future to make “principal coffee and conversation” a monthly event.
Take Care and Be Well,
Andrew Fenton & Ben Horwitz
Washburne Principal/Assistant Principal
Clarification: Testing Consent/Waivers for Vaccinated Students
If a parent of a vaccinated child submitted initial consent on the District’s online form, a hard copy of the BinaxNOW and SHIELD consent/waivers were sent home with the student on Friday, 9/17. Although there is currently no testing program for vaccinated students, it is possible that the Cook County Health Department will allow Districts to test symptomatic, vaccinated students in the future when the transmission rates lower. Offering onsite testing for symptomatic, vaccinated students would ease the burden on families having to do this on their own.
Completed forms for their vaccinated child(ren) allow us to remain as agile as possible for future changes to Cook County Health Department guidance, but there is currently no reason we would test a vaccinated child at school. These forms will be held separately from those of unvaccinated students. Again, vaccinated students will not be included in SHIELD testing at this time.
Picture Day is Tuesday
Picture day will take place this Tuesday, September 21st. All students will have their photos taken outside this year, weather permitting. Please see the following guidelines regarding what students should wear:
8th Grade: This is a formal, graduation picture. Students should wear a dark sports jacket, a white or pastel shirt, and a tie –or-- a dark top and a simple piece of jewelry.
7th Grade: More casual attire is permitted. In general, darker clothing shows well, and shirts with collars are better than those without.
Retakes will be on October 21st for any students who are absent.
Team Imagine Community Service Project
As part of Team Imagine's commitment to building community and caring for people in need, they took a field trip on Friday to build bonds within our team, between our Washburne community and the wider world. At Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville, we packed meals and supplies to send to countries suffering from hunger. Students, teachers, and parent chaperones all worked together for this important cause.
Washburne Club Fair
Washburne will be holding a student club fair on Friday, September 24th during Flex time. Students who are interested in learning more about our existing clubs or who want to start an activity of their own are encouraged to attend. Information about all of our clubs will be shared with students if they are unable to attend the club fair.
MAP Make-Ups
Window to Washburne
Welcome to Window to Washburne! Each week, we will be highlighting some of the learning taking place in our classrooms.
Even as we have returned to a much more normal year, our teachers and students have retained some of the practices that were employed last year. One of our learnings from last year was the importance of going outside, whether for a mask break or for a particular lesson. On Friday, students in Ms. Karageorgis’s class journeyed to the sidewalks between Washburne and Skokie to take the math concepts they were learning and put them into practice. Students created sidewalk games with chalk that focused on adding and subtracting negative numbers. Kudos to Ms. Karageorgis and her students for applying their learning and creating games that other students can enjoy.
Directory Spot is Updated and Available Now!
Directions for accessing Directory Spot can be found on the District 36 Central PTO website: https://central36pto.org/directory-spot/
New and existing users login to Directory Spot with the email address provided during school registration. Existing users may need to logout and re-login to see updated 2021-2022 school year information. New users should receive a welcome email so check your junk folder if nothing is received. New users will click “reset password” and follow the prompts.
For questions regarding Directory Spot, please contact District 36 parent Leigh Sears at leighsears@gmail.com.
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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.
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 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
Upcoming Dates
Tuesday, September 21: Picture Day & School Board Meeting @ 7:15pm
Thursday & Friday, October 14 & 15: Fall Conferences