The Skokie Home Scoop
March 7, 2022
Dear Skokie Community,
We wanted to bring your attention to a recent development we’ve been hearing about from students: students’ pictures and full names are being posted by other students on Tik Tok accounts using the Skokie logo and the name “Skokie Ships.” Students are using these accounts to pair students together, saying they should be in a relationship. Students have expressed they are uncomfortable with their names and pictures being used in this way.
This came up in the Fall as well, but it was isolated to a smaller group of students. In collaboration with parents, we were able to address it with those students. It seems to be more widespread now, so we wanted to make parents aware in the hopes that you could engage your child in a conversation about this topic and review their social media accounts together. We recognize that not all of our students have devices or social media accounts. However, this topic seems to have reached students regardless of their social media status.
We regularly discuss digital citizenship with students at school and the importance of using technology responsibly. We specifically teach students about digital etiquette and safety, such as keeping personal information private, not posting information about others without permission, and the importance of posting cautiously due to the permanence of information on the internet. Please reinforce at home that students should not be sharing names or pictures of other students via social media or otherwise without their permission.
If you’re interested in more information related to navigating conversations and setting expectations regarding social media usage at home, please consider checking out the "LIKE" resource pages.
In Partnership,
Betty Weir and Larry Joynt
Principal and Assistant Principal
Pictures from Tuesday's Orchestra Concert
Baking Club Coming Soon
The 2022 Flour Shower Baking Club, besides being in a nut free environment, will be offering the option for gluten free recipes. We will work on techniques for making a variety of desserts such as brownies, cookies, scones, hand held pies and cupcakes. Our first meeting will be more of an orientation during which time we will organize our space, make teams and plan on what we will be making in the coming weeks. Everything will be taken home as nothing will be consumed on site. Each baker will need to bring in a few of their own items. Information on that will come later.
They will be meeting on Thursdays from 3:30-5:00pm starting April 7th, 2022.
PLEASE NOTE: Your child may have already participated in the
club this school year. We would like to offer it again to students who
have not previously been able to be a part of it. We kindly ask you, if
you have participated in it once, please allow other students to sign up
at this time.
Registration opens at 9am on Monday, March 21st, 2022.
Connections for the Homeless Donations
Thank you to all the staff, students, and families for supporting and participating in our food and clothing drive for Connections for the Homeless. Your generous donations were greatly appreciated.
Thank you as well to the students and parents who participated in delivering the donations on Friday!
Exploring Skokie:
French
Bonjoru! One of the highlights this month has been playing the Lucky Reading Game. Students read and work together in teams to understand a text of familiar language. Then a member of each team sits in the front of the room with a whiteboard and the text and answers questions. If the answer is correct, they draw a card from a deck of giant cards and get points depending on the value of the card. The students love this game. I love it, too--- because they must read and reread the text looking for the answers, thus providing them with lots of comprehensible input!
Spanish
Fifth graders started our class novel Isabela captura un congo. We previewed and learned vocabulary for this for several days, and talked about places children like to / would like to travel or visit. We also talked about where pets sleep and eat, and about some of the typical animals in Costa Rica. We learned a very catchy song about pets as well. Ask your student about it!
Sixth graders finished their story about a dog doing a variety of exercises, and shared this story with an adult at home. We are getting ready to start a class novel, and have been familiarizing ourselves with the Yucatán region in México, where our story takes place.
Upcoming Dates:
Thursday, March 10th: Band Concert in the Washburne Gym at 7:30pm
Friday, March 11th: End of Trimester 2
Monday, March 14th: Start of Trimester 3
District Updates
Adventures in Learning Registration Opens March 9
The Adventures in Learning 2022 program will run from June 16th-July 20th. Registration will be live on the District Webstore at 12:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 9, 2022. For more information, please visit https://www.winnetka36.org/adventures.
Resources for Families: Responding to Questions about War
We recognize that children and families may be grappling with how to discuss and answer questions about the events in Ukraine. Additionally, we recognize that some families may have personal connections to the situation. Please reach out to your child’s principal and teacher if there is a specific need to support your child. Additionally, the following resources may help parents who are looking for some guidance in discussions at home:
How to Talk to Kids About Violence, Crime, and War: Common Sense Media gathers tips and conversation starters to help you talk to kids of different ages about these topics.
Talking to Your Kids About War: VeryWell Family explores ways families can speak with young people about war, including tips on sharing information and restricting media coverage.
From The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library:
Mandarin Bilingual Storytime Event
Introduce your family to Mandarin through simple stories, music, and hands-on activities with local educator Emma Forquer. For ages 3-8. Siblings are welcome.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
2:00pm - 2:30pm
Winnetka Lloyd Room, Winnetka Public Library
Our next Mandarin Bilingual Storytime will be Saturday, April 9 at 2pm. For details as well as information on other family events, click here.
Parent Education Sessions from District Partner Family Action Network (FAN):
For upcoming events, access FAN’s website here.
Early Entrance to Kindergarten & Acceleration
The Accelerated Placement Act requires Illinois public school districts to adopt and implement policies on acceleration, specifically: Early entrance to kindergarten and first grade; Acceleration in a single subject area; and “Whole grade” acceleration (sometimes referred to as “grade skipping”). The goal of the Acceleration Act is to ensure that districts adopt equitable and effective assessment and placement practices. This provision is designed for students consistently performing beyond grade level whose needs currently cannot be met through differentiation. The deadline for applications for grade level or single subject acceleration is March 31 for consideration for the 2022-23 school year. Additional information and the link to the application can be found here.