Dear Skokie Families,

There is so much to share about this week at Skokie!  Spring tends to be the busiest time in our school, with end of year projects and performances.  This week alone there was a district wide choral concert on Wednesday evening followed by a jazz concert on Thursday.  Wednesday's performance was both upbeat and moving, seeing all of our district choral students showcase songs that reflect their hard work and enthusiasm.  We are so fortunate to have the dedication of our amazing choral directors:  Betsy Balkin (Skokie), Hillary Schroer (Washburne), Alex Novello (Crow Island), Gary Wendt (Hubbard Woods) and Mary Ferneding (Greeley), who coordinated an awesome concert in which each school performed on their own, as well as together.  Thank you to these teachers for what you bring to our schools!  Likewise, Thursday evening's Jazz Band concert was the final of its kind for our retiring director (still one more band concert to go though!), Bob Rzeszutko.  As always, it was an evening for students to showcase their practice as jazz musicians, which is always so impressive amongst our young instrumentalists.  Mr. Rzeszutko and Mr. Vowles bring our students through an incredible musical journey of growth in such a short time, and we are grateful for their important role in our thriving instrumental music program!

I would be remiss if I didn't use some of this week's Home Scoop to give a huge shout out to our Assistant Principal, Ms. Betty Weir.  This week is Assistant Principal's Week, and an opportunity to acknowledge the role this position plays in a school, and the special dynamic that Ms. Weir brings to it.  Her compassionate heart and thoughtful consideration for all she does helps bolster our school community as a whole, and I couldn't be more grateful for her good work.  Thank you, Ms Weir!

We also hosted our first "Skokiepalooza" today, planned by our students and Arts Team:  Ms. Balkin, Ms. Antman and Mr. Greenman.  Today's event was a showcase of all things creative; student work on display throughout the building; dance, music, and art activities, high engagement and celebration of the Arts.  Thank you to our Arts Team (and the rest of our staff as well!) for supporting this day, which required a lot of planning and coordination!  

Finally, if you hadn't heard the news, the first ever image of a black hole was captured this week, thanks to the work of a 29 year old MIT graduate student, Kathaerine Bouman.  Take one look at her photo below, and you will notice the following:  scrawling mathematical work on the boards behind her; another mathematician, head down, deep in work; an array of computers open; coffee cups poised to fuel the work.  More than that though, look at that face.  Look at her hands, held up in a balance of pride and surprise.  Look at the smile in her eyes that is silently shouting, "It worked!  I did it!"  That's the face of a woman who was once a student who undoubtedly had a teacher, parent or mentor who dared her to ask big questions, challenged her to be curious, entertained skepticism and warned her never to settle for the first and fastest answer.  That's the face of a once 6th grader who was excited in Science class, and felt emboldened by her math work.  That's the face that we can only hope to see on those of our current students--the pay-off of years of being an inquirer, a pioneer in a world where it feels like there are few new frontiers.  I thought of Katherine Bouman's face this week when one of our sixth grade teachers told me about the project she was working on with her students, integrating both math and science concepts into work to help understand the proportion of the sun to the other planets, which led to several students questioning how we define "life" on Earth, and whether that could be defined differently on other planets.  That big question was nurtured by the teacher, and will be explored by the students in Inquiry when the project is complete.  In most schools, there's no time for the big questions, but rather the push to get through the required curriculum, forgetting that so much can be learned if the curiosity is the driver for learning.  In short, Winnetka continues to be a foundation for curious learners because our teachers work for the moment when that very look appears on their students' faces.  Congratulations to Katharine Bouman on reaching that moment at a national, if not universal level!  And congratulations to the educators along your path who are celebrating with you this week.

Enjoy the weekend and the time together with your families.  The cold is creeping back in, so bundle up!  We look forward to seeing everyone return on Monday for a short, four day week.

Most Sincerely,

Kelly Tess