Dear Crow Island Families,
I wanted to quickly highlight that we have several upcoming events we hope your family can participate in at the school: Math Night and STEAM Expo. Information for both events is linked below in the newsletter.
In addition, we are hosting two district parent events around RULER and Math. You can find more information about both events below.
Have a great week!
Luke
- Wednesday, March 8th: Family Math Olympics Gr 3 & 4 6:30 - 8:00pm
- Thursday, March 9th: Family Math Olympics Gr 1 and 2 6:30- 8:00pm
- Friday, March 24th: Spring Break Starts
- Monday, April 3rd: School Resumes
- Thursday, April 6th: STEAM Expo 6:00pm
- Tuesday, April 11th: Illinois Assessment Readiness (IAR) Grades 3 & 4
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STEAM Expo:
Save the date for the Crow Island Steam Expo. The Expo will take place on Thursday, April 6. Students in grades 2, 3, and 4 can participate.
This year's STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) Expo will take place on Thursday, April 6. All 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders are welcome to participate. During the school day, students will present to their peers. From 6-7 pm, families will be welcome to visit and view student projects. Guidelines for the projects can be found here. All students must be registered by March 23 using this Google Form.
Filament Theater Follow-up:
"Our students recently completed a residency with Chicago's Filament Theater. Please check out this Final Residency Summary to learn more about what our students experienced and learned that week. As a thank you to Crow Island, Filament has provided us with a code for one free child ticket per family to see Think Fast, Jordan Chase! We hope your students will be able to see how the ideas they generated when voting, sharing and collaborating will influence the professional production! You can find the QR Code for the ticket here.
Flexible Thinking
A flexible thinker can solve problems using different strategies or approaches and is able to persevere when challenged. Flexible thinking is a key part of being efficient, strategic, and accurate, and it demonstrates a strong conceptual understanding. The choice of strategy used to solve a problem is not only influenced by the particular problem, but also by the child. In our classrooms, we want students to see math as a creative subject where they have freedom to choose how to solve a problem. Encouraging students to think in ways that are the most efficient and meaningful for them, is an important part of developing mathematical agency and a positive math identity. Instead of learning one way to solve a problem, we want students to have a variety of tools and solid understandings they can rely on. In our instruction, we celebrate different ways of thinking and honor each student’s process of making sense. This brings richness and depth to our students as individual thinkers and to our math communities. It also fosters the growth of mathematical agency, which is a key element of a lifelong learner.
WPSF Phone-a-Thon
On March 12th, Winnetka Public Schools Foundation (WPSF) Board members will be reaching out to D36 parents and community members by phone, text and email in order to secure donations for the coming year. Every donation can make a difference in our schools and for our community! Donate online by March 11th to “Beat the Call!” With your support, WPSF can continue to provide our teachers with the resources they need to bring creativity to the curriculum while enhancing the learning experience for all Winnetka D36 students.
Working in Winnetka 36:
Winnetka 36 is always looking for great candidates when there are openings and we appreciate referrals encouraging them to apply. Here’s a link to our current openings: https://www.applitrack.com/winnetka36/onlineapp/default.aspx
We also get questions about the necessary steps on how to become a substitute teacher and thought we would share how to do that on the bottom of the document: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/how-become-sub-teacher.pdf
Acceleration Policy Information
Thank you to the parents and community members that attended the WPI event about the acceleration policy on January 25. Click here to access a recording of the session. Attendees were provided a draft copy of the acceleration request form in order to provide feedback before the form goes live on March 6. If you would like to provide feedback, please review the draft of the form here. Feedback that is specific and aligned to a particular question would be most helpful. Consider which items need to be changed, looked at further, or improved. Please share your feedback with Dr. Becky Mathison at beckymathison@winnetka36.org by Friday, February 10.
The criteria for the acceleration request process includes Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) scores two or more achievement scores at the 99th percentile one grade level above over the last two years. Students recently completed the winter MAP test. Winter student reports are not sent home. Student reports are sent home at the end of the school year with fall to spring growth measures. If you need further information on your child’s recent testing session please contact your building principal. To view a chart that depicts the achievement percentiles for MAP scores by grade level, click here.
FAN Event on School Anxiety:
Toni Boos, Psy.D. will moderate a discussion with Leslie Brankin, Psy.D. and Anna Finis, Psy.D. about school anxiety and refusal from childhood through young adulthood. This presentation will provide an overview of school anxiety and refusal and will help families gain an understanding of its various presentations, potential causes and functions of refusal behavior, and strategies for supporting youth and young adults in getting to school more consistently. They will also discuss how to best partner and collaborate with schools and community resources to create change. Here is the link to the recording
FROM OUR PARTNERS AT THE ALLIANCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD:
READ: Alliance’s Fall/Winter Newsletter
READ: Alliance’s Let’s Play Guide 2022-2023 and NEW Let’s Play! Information
REGISTER: Let’s Play! Let’s Play! Cardboard Design Experience on Saturday, January 28, 10:00am-12:00pm, Joseph Sears School, 542 Abbotsford Rd, Kenilworth, IL 60043
Join The Alliance for Early Childhood and partners Joseph Sears School, Kenilworth District 38 and Winnetka-Northfield Public Library to think outside of the box and get creative at our Cardboard Design Experience. Children will bring their own design ideas and we will provide the cardboard and tools for their creations to come to life. Intended Age Audience: All ages are welcome.
Bundle-up and head outside to join The Alliance for Early Childhood and Community Partner BackYard Nature Center to engage in imaginative, child-directed, outdoor free-play in the woods. All ages are welcome.
REGISTER: Virtual Parent Series: Attachment and Your Young Child’s Mental Health: How You Can Make a Difference with Kate Blaker and Sarah Eastburg in Conversation with Carly Andrews, February 23, 7pm
From the moment children are born they seek a secure attachment with caregivers, and this attachment becomes the secure base for their future development. Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk writes that “children whose parents are reliable sources of comfort and strength have a lifetime advantage - a kind of buffer against the worst that fate can hand them.” Join Kate Blaker and Sarah Eastburg in conversation with Carly Andrews as they discuss the role of attachment between parent and child and explore what being "securely attached" means, how parents can support secure attachments with their children, and the effects of secure attachment on the family’s mental wellness. Facilitated by Kate Blaker, M.A.T, NBCC, LPC, and Sarah Eastburg, LSW. More details here.
Learning the Mood Meter- District Implementation of RULER
(District 36 SEL Coaches)
March 14, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
Interested: RSVP here
D36 K-8 Math Programming: An Overview
(Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of ITL and District Math Teachers)
March 21, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
During this session Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, alongside a team of math educators from the District will provide an overview of D36 math programming K-8 including an upper grade course map, explain how the approach aligns to progressive education and the portrait of a graduate, and ways to support your student at home. This session will feature a panel of D36 math educators.
Interested: RSVP here
APRIL 2023:
Differentiation: What is it? What does it look like in D36?
Dr. Becky Mathison (Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning)
April 19, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: SK Community Room
During this session Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, alongside a team of educators from the District will provide an overview of what differentiation is, how it is implemented in D36 classrooms, explain how the approach aligns to progressive education and the portrait of a graduate, and ways to support your student at home. This session will feature a panel of D36 educators.
Interested:
Adventures in Learning Summer 2023
The Winnetka Public Schools will offer its Adventures in Learning summer program from June 14th to July 19, 2023. There will be no classes on June 19th or July 4th. Our General Program is designed for students entering 2nd grade through 8th grade and will be held at Washburne School. Our Primary Program provides activities for children Pre-K (4 years old by June 1st, 2023) and K-1st grade (5 years old by September 1st, 2022) and will be held at Crow Island. Classes will be as varied as wilderness skills, archery, tennis, science, cooking, and many types of crafts...along with the annual favorite, Animal Care. Registration will go live in March.
Winnetka Voices Podcast Episodes
Winnetka Voices is a podcast hosted by The Winnetka Public Schools, featuring candid conversations on issues relevant to education and shared resources to support our students and families.
NEW! Episode #4:
Recruiting & Retaining Incredible Educators
In this episode Dr. Kelly Tess discusses the national teacher shortage with The Skokie School Principal, Michelle Cooney; Jeff Knapp, Assistant Superintendent of Professional Learning and Human Resources; and Daniel Walsh, Interim Dean of the School of Education and Associate Professor at North Park University. The guests reflect on the landscape when they initially began their careers in education, the need to enhance recruitment and retention practices, and what makes this a unique era in terms of hiring the next generation of teachers. The guests reflect on how these factors may specifically impact our practices in Winnetka. According to Principal Cooney, "In order to do hard and important work, we need to be in a community where we support one another." Listen the full episode to learn more about this timely topic.
Listen here:
Winnetka Parents Institute
UP NEXT:
From Washburne to New Trier: (Paul Waechtler, Principal)
A D36 Parent's Guide to the New Trier Transition
March 7, 2022 (confirmed)
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Carleton Washburne School, 515 Hibbard Rd.
Paul Waechtler, Principal at the New Trier High School Freshman
Campus, and Lori Worth, 8th Grade Transition Faculty, will discuss the New Trier freshman placement process and the efforts made to ensure a smooth transition to high school. A Q & A will provide an opportunity for parents to learn more about how to best support their child(ren) as they prepare for their New Trier experience.
Interested:
Adventures in Learning Summer 2023
The Winnetka Public Schools will offer its Adventures in Learning summer program from June 14th to July 19, 2023. There will be no classes on June 19th or July 4th. Our General Program is designed for students entering 2nd grade through 8th grade and will be held at Washburne School. Our Primary Program provides activities for children Pre-K (4 years old by June 1st, 2023) and K-1st grade (5 years old by September 1st, 2022) and will be held at Crow Island. Classes will be as varied as wilderness skills, archery, tennis, science, cooking, and many types of crafts...along with the annual favorite, Animal Care. Registration will go live in March.
Online Registration Open for Incoming Kindergarteners & New Students for the 2023-2024 School Year
Registration for incoming kindergarteners and students new to The Winnetka Public Schools in 2023-2024 is now open on the District website and via https://registration.powerschool.com/family/gosnap.aspx?action=30658&culture=en. Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2023, are eligible to enroll.
The new student registration process is completed in three steps:
Complete new student pre-registration forms online beginning November 16, 2022.
Provide the original or certified copy of your child(ren)'s birth certificate and a parent photo ID. The certified copy can be submitted in person at the District Office. If you have the original birth certificate, you may bring it to the District Office to be photocopied. The District Office is at 1235 Oak St., Winnetka.
Provide proof of residency and paper registration forms. For your convenience, all required residency documents may be uploaded during online registration. Click here to view the list of documents that will meet these requirements as well as the other forms required for registration (Registration Forms & Information).
Children will not be considered enrolled until both the online and paper portion of registration has been completed and residency documentation is verified. If you have any questions, please contact the District Office at 847-446-9400.
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Facebook and Twitter: @Winnetka36
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