The Winnetka Wire
Monthly News from The Winnetka Public Schools
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Dear Parents, Staff, and Community Members,
With great appreciation for our community's involvement and influence, I am pleased to announce that on December 18, 2018, the District 36 School Board prioritized the capital improvement projects embedded in our Educational Master Facility Plan. To fund these priorities, the School Board unanimously approved a $90.6 million referendum for community vote on April 2, 2019. This reflects projects totaling $100.6 million, less $10 million of District reserves.
The priorities identified in the referendum are focused on addressing needs, such as providing ADA access, mitigating water pipes with elevated lead levels, enhancing safety and security to align with modern standards, and improving learning environments that have remained untouched for decades. The plan also calls for operational efficiencies by consolidating from five schools to four.
In our commitment to ensure that our community is well-informed on this topic,
a Fact Sheet was mailed to all residents
. This is the first of three informational mailings you can anticipate in the coming weeks. Additionally, the District's Referendum 2019 webpage is live
here
. This page will be updated regularly and is dedicated to facts surrounding the referendum. Also, we invite Winnetka community members to attend an upcoming informational session:
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Wednesday, February 6, 9:15-10:45 a.m., Hubbard Woods
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Monday, February 11, 1:00-2:30 a.m., The Skokie School
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Wednesday, February 20, 8:45-10:15 a.m., Crow Island
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Monday, February 25, 9:15-10:45 a.m., Greeley
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Monday, March 18, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Carleton Washburne
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Thursday, March 21, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Crow Island
The outcome of the April 2, 2019, Referendum is truly a community decision. We are committed to ensuring that future generations of students benefit from our community's dedication to education, financial stewardship, and creative-problem solving. I am confident in Winnetka's long-standing tradition of democratic decision-making and civil discourse.
Sinc
erely,
Dr. Trisha Kocanda
Superintendent
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The next School Board Regular Meeting will be held at Hubbard Woods School on Tuesday, January 29. There will be a Work Session on the Reaching ALL Learners Goal on Inquiry-Based Learning at 5:00 p.m. The Regular Meeting begins at 7:15 p.m. and the following presentations are on the agenda:
- Fiscal Year 2018 Auditors Report
The Board welcomes public comment at meetings. Each speaker is given three minutes to speak. The speaker will be notified when the time limit is reached. Please note, the Board uses this time to listen to community questions and concerns, but will not respond immediately to individual requests and cannot take formal action on non-agenda items.
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For an update on the Educational Master Facility Plan and the April 2, 2019 Referendum, please see the Letter from the Superintendent above.
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Winter Weather is Upon Us
Our School and District staff are always monitoring the weather to ensure we are making safe decisions for our students. While school principals will communicate specific cold weather plans, we wanted to remind all parents of the following:
- Please make sure your children are dressed appropriately for the
 weather. Next week calls for a string of cold weather days, so please be especially alert.
- Outdoor time will be limited for children when necessary. For instance, schools will open doors early on very cold days and recesses may be held for shorter periods of time or held indoors.
Our buildings and maintenance crews also do a tremendous job, ensuring proactive measures are in place. They frequently monitor boilers, make efforts to keep warm airflow in the building overnight, and take measures to minimize the chance of pipes freezing.
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From our partners at The Alliance for Early Childhood:
Play Time:
How Prescribing Parks Has Changed the Lives of Children
Wednesday, February 6, 2019, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Little Theater, Washburne School, 515 Hibbard Rd.
Winnetka
Parents and caregivers are invited to an evening with Robert L. Zarr, MD, MPH a nationally recognized pediatrician recently featured in
The New York Times
and
Time Magazine
. Dr. Zarr will share his personal experience as a pediatrician on the front lines of treating a growing epidemic of chronic disease in children. Come hear the science and practice behind his innovative park prescription program.
Click here to RSVP
. This event is free and open to the public
For Parents: Managing Your Child's School Anxiety & School Refusal
Featuring Jacqueline A. Rhew, CADC, LCPC,
Co-author of Successful Parenting-Create Your Custom Plan for Raising Independent Children into Adulthood and Co-founder of Center for Emotional Wellness
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Skokie School Community Room
Childhood anxiety and school refusal is at an all-time high, and arming kids with healthy coping strategies is more important than ever. Are your children focused on avoiding failure or are they operating from a place of achieving to their greatest ability, based on their individual strengths and weaknesses? This presentation will review specific interventions designed to assist children in managing their anxiety, as well as promoting increased motivation, healthy goal setting and active school engagement. Learn how to better develop parenting strategies to assist children with healthy coping responses and engage them in effective communication and language that promotes self-advocacy and independence. Ms. Rhew will provide essential tools for parents to assist their children in building resilience, navigating stressful situations, and increasing self-advocacy and problem solving abilities, thus leading to greater self-confidence and self-reliance.
RSVP here.
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Kindergarten pre-registration for 2019-2020 is now open. Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2019, are eligible to enroll. The District's Kindergarten Committee and Central PTO unanimously approved shifting to an online process versus an on-site process. This shift minimizes the time needed to pre-register and respects the busy schedules of our families.
The Registration process is completed in two steps:
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Complete an online pre-registration form
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Provide proof of residency (documents can be uploaded online): child(ren)'s original birth certificate and a parent photo ID will need to be provided in person. Opportunities to do so will be made available in Spring 2019.
The list of documents that will meet these requirements is here.
If you have any questions, please contact the District Office at 847-446-9400.
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The Winnetka Current shared Superintendent Kocanda's Year-in-Review and highlighted the Film Festival at Hubbard Woods.
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For photos, news and more, follow The Winnetka Public Schools on social media. Connect with us by clicking on the icons at the bottom
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Important Dates
Board Meeting
January 29, 2019
7:15 p.m.
Hubbard Woods School
No School
Conferences
February 7 & 8, 2019
No School
Institute Day
February 18, 2019
Referendum Information Sessions
2018-2019
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Winter in
District 36...
Congratulations to the Washburne
"Nerd Herd"
for winning the
Gracious Professionalism Award at the
2019 Einstein State Robotics Tournament!
Greeley students show love for their school with icy artwork.
Crow Island students designed books on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Washburne scientists collaborate on an experiment.
Greeley students explore engineering concepts.
Hubbard Woods students at work in the IDEA Lab.
Skokie students embark on a Google Expedition to Ancient Greece.
Crow Island students created winter-themed art.
D36 educators learned
from renowned architect and educational
thought
leader,
Trung Lee, at
an
Admin Academy
and the
Winnetka Public
Schools Foundation
Carlson Event last week.
From the Archives...
A vintage Hubbard Woods class photo.
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View the goals along with an updated version of the District's 2015-2020 Strategic Plan here.
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The
Village of Winnetka
is celebrating its historic 150th anniversary in 2019. Join us for the kick-off event "Founder's Day"
at the Winnetka Community House
on Sunday,
March 10 at 2:00 p.m. WTTW's Geoffrey Baer presents "150 Years of People, Places & Progress" followed by refreshments. Bring your family and friends to this
for more details!
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For a list of upcoming FAN speaker
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