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Dear Winnetka Parents,
In a continuing effort to incorporate appropriate use of technology in our schools, we felt it would be beneficial to briefly address the use of "smart watches" in our schools. Although students do not typically carry personal cell devices in elementary school, we have noticed an increasing number of students with smart watches. While we welcome the use of watches for purposes of telling time, it is important to revisit our schoolhouse expectations for technology.
In order to ensure student engagement and their participation in our community of learners, the use of smart watches during school hours for the following activities are prohibited:
- Texting
- Sending photos
- Playing Games
- Making phone calls
However, as we have seen the watches serve as distractions in our classrooms, students will be asked to put their SMART watch inside their backpack in their locker during the school day. If that is a challenge, the child will need to leave the device at home. Please remember that the school is not responsible for lost personal items. Thank you for your continued partnership in creating the best possible learning environment for our students.
Sincerely,
Beth Carmody, Hubbard Woods
Julie Pfeffer, Crow Island
Joshua Swanner, Greeley
Crow Island News:
Dear Crow Island,
Over the years, we have periodically offered informal parent book group discussions on topics of interest. As you are aware, anxiety is an emotion that many of our children and families experience. We would like recommend the book below and offer opportunities for parents to meet with our school social workers (Jori Swartz and Ellie Hotchkiss) and myself for informal discussion to help us all become "worry wise parents raising worry wise kids."
Freeing Your Child from Anxiety, Revised and Updated Edition: Practical Strategies to Overcome Fears, Worries, and Phobias and Be Prepared for Life--from Toddlers to Teens, By Tamar Chansky
From Amazon.com:
Parents everywhere want to know: What is normal? How can you know when stress has crossed over into a full-blown anxiety disorder? How can you prevent anxiety from taking root? And how do you help your son or daughter break free from a pattern of fear and worry and lead a happy, productive life? Fortunately, anxiety is very treatable, and parents can do a lot to help get their children's emotional well-being back on track.
Please join our conversations on:
Thursday February 27th -9:00 - 10:00 AM (focused on Part I and II)
Thursday April 2nd- 9:00 - 10:00 AM (focused on Parts III and IV)
The book can be ordered from Amazon.com and there is no need to RSVP. Please join us!
As you know and related to this book topic, we have a district-wide goal this year focusing on building a community-wide understanding of Social Emotional Learning and its impact on students. As part of this initiative, we will be featuring a parent corner article from members of our Parent SEL committee (see below).
Finally, later this week you will receive information about this year's STEAM Expo. Please be on the look out for this separate newsletter.
Fondly,
Julie
SEL PARENT CORNER
As District 36 embarks on the Social Emotional Learning Initiative, parents are playing an integral role in making this a community-wide effort through participation on the committee and involvement in workshops and meetings. Throughout this year and next, information and resources about SEL and integration in District 36 will continually be updated and made available. One of the ways the SEL message will be communicated and explained to parents is through multiple Winnetka Parent Institute (WPI) events. The first WPI on SEL was held on December 3 at Washburne School and served as a clear and thorough introduction to SEL in District 36. Administrators, teachers, and parents all provided input into the presentation and their own perspectives on the important of SEL. There will be two additional WPI's on SEL in the second half of the 2019-2020 school year. Please take a moment to review the highlights and summary here of the December WPI on SEL. Information from the WPI can be found here:
Video of December 3 WPI and Presentation Slides for December 3 WPI.
SEL has always been an important component of Winnetka's progressive philosophy of educating the whole child. However, as times change and pressures increase on children, the District is taking a more formalized approach and additional steps to ensure, as a District, everyone is using the same language, has the same tools, and has the resources needed to integrate SEL into the school day. District 36 is working with The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (
CASEL), a nationally known expert organization based in Chicago, to implement a framework for SEL in our schools. A Super Committee of administrators, teachers, staff and parents are working together to begin the journey of integrating SEL into the schools and our community. The District 36 School Board also recently approved a 3 year plan to focus on SEL and make it a part of the curriculum. Notably, New Trier High School has also adopted as part of their planning, a focus and implementation of SEL in the high school setting.
The importance of SEL is becoming overwhelmingly apparent as schools across the country representing all demographics are reporting higher anxiety levels in children and dysregulated behavior due to a variety of different factors. Large corporations are also observing a deficiency in social and emotional skills as they look to expand their workforce with the younger generation. It is becoming increasingly clear that students in high achieving communities are increasingly at risk as noted in a recent
Washington Post article.
CASEL provides a framework of five key competencies for Social Emotional Learning - Self Awareness, Self Management, Responsible Decision Making, Social Awareness, and Relationship Skills. In the first year of the District's SEL work, the focus will be on the adults in the District - administration, teachers, staff, and the community- learning to understand and improve on these competencies. The following year these learnings will shift to the students. The District, in partnership with CASEL, will be working with the teachers and staff all year and each school has designed their school improvement plans to address the adult piece as well as a student component with the goal of implementation with students next year.
The focus of the first WPI was on the SEL competencies of Self-Management and Self- Awareness. The next two WPI's will focus on the remaining three competencies of Responsible Decision-Making, Social Awareness and Relationship Skills. Please watch your principal's newsletters for the upcoming 2020 Winnetka Parent Institute events on SEL. Additionally, The Family Action Network will be presenting many speakers on SEL in the coming months and their events are free and open to the public. Please click on the
FAN website for more information about past and future events. The Winnetka Public Schools Foundation will be hosting the Carlson Event on January 23, 2020 and will feature SEL speaker, Dr. Matthew Dewar.
The Social Emotional Learning initiative is an ongoing, evolving process in District 36 and parents will play an integral role in the journey and implementation that will ultimately deepen the commitment to educating the whole child.
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Online Pre-Registration Open for Kindergarten & New Students for the 2020-2021 School Year
The new student registration process is completed in three steps:
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Complete new student pre-registration forms online beginning December 6, 2019.
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Provide proof of residency.
Click here
to view the list of documents that will meet these requirements. For your convenience residency documents may be uploaded during online registration or brought to the District Office.
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Visit the District Office to provide a certified copy of your child(ren)'s birth certificate and a parent photo ID and complete the paper portion of registration.
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.
Winter MAP Testing
We are approaching our second testing window for the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test, which will take place between
January 13 - 24, 2020
. Your child's school or teacher will inform you of his or her specific testing dates.
Similar to the fall, all students in Grades 3 - 8 will take one Reading Test and one Math test. MAP is a computer-adaptive test, which means every student receives a unique set of test questions based on responses to previous questions. This provides a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student's learning level. The purpose of the second testing session is to provide teachers with midyear progress data that will help inform their instruction as they move forward into the school year. Student Reports are sent home at the end of the school year with fall to spring growth measures. Additional information on the MAP assessment may be found on our district website at
www.winnetka36.org/itl/assessments
.
WPI Events:
January 30, 2020 (SEL session)
CASEL Competencies: Focus on Social Awareness & Relationship Skills
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 am
The Skokie School Community Room
Join District educators and parents as we explore the key SEL competencies of social awareness and relationship skills and their impact on learning, wellness, and success. Learn how these important competencies strengthen one's ability to understand others, communicate, build relationships, and collaborate as a valued member of a team. This is the second in a series of WPI's workshops that the District is offering this school year focusing on the important District-wide initiative of SEL.
RSVP here
.
Not Quite Little Kid, Not Quite Teenager: The Developmental Progression of the Middle School Child
February 5, 2020 at 9:30 a.m.
The Skokie School Community Room
Join Principal Weir and Assistant Principal Joynt (The Skokie School) and Principal Fenton and Assistant Principal Horwitz (Carleton Washburne School) for an informational session focusing on the ins and outs of the growing middle school child. We will spend time exploring both the academic and social-emotional needs appropriate to 5th-8th grade children, how they change over that four year span, as well as the neurological changes that contribute to these needs. Parents with current middle schoolers, or soon-to-be middle schoolers, are encouraged to join us for an engaging, encouraging and educational hour together.
RSVP here
.
Recommendation Form Protocol
Throughout the school year, our teachers and administrators may be asked to complete a recommendation form for families considering private schools or summer programs. As each institution's forms vary in the nature of information requested, we have moved to a common form that our Winnetka teachers and administrators will complete for submission to any authorized outside educational institution. Upon request for a feedback form, Winnetka staff will respond within ten business days. In the interest of maintaining appropriate confidentiality and consistency, our District employees will only complete this form, which may be attached to a student's application to any outside educational institution. You may find the form by
clicking here
.
Family Action Network (FAN) is a 501(c)(3) organization that curates a high-quality speaker series each academic year. All FAN programs are free and open to the public. To view a calendar of upcoming events, visit the FAN website:
https://www.familyactionnetwork.net/
.
Coming Soon:
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Replies to this email will be sent directly to Julie Pfeffer. If you would like to other family members to receive the Crow Island School Update please hit reply. Please note that by adding names to the Crow Island School Update mailing list you are not updating any other mailing lists including your child's emergency contact information. Please also note that unsubscribing from this email will unsubscribe from all Winnetka school emails. Please contact Lindy Schmidt, Crow Island School secretary, to make changes to your child's records or if you have questions about other email lists.
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Dates to Remember
Mon-Fri, January 13-24
MAP Testing Window - 3rd & 4th Grades
Tuesday, January 14
3:15pm - 4:00pm, After School Sports - 3rd Grade - Session II
Wednesday, January 15
8:00am, 4th Grade Chorus
9:00am, Pioneer Room Open House (3rd Grade Parents only)
3:15pm - 4:00pm, After School Sports - 4th Grade - Session II
7:00pm, Pioneer Room Open House (3rd Grade Parents only)
Thursday, January 16
7:45am, Morning Strings
3:15pm - 4:15pm, First day of Crazy 8's Math Club - 3rd & 4th Grades - Session II
Friday, January 17
No School - Teacher Institute Day
Monday, January 20
No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Thursday, January 23
6:00pm - 9:00pm, Winnetka Public Schools Foundation's Annual Carlson Event - Guest: Dr. Matthew Dewar
- Winnetka Community House (
click here for information)
Thursday, February 6
Early Dismissal @ 11:25am
PM - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
Friday, February 7
No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
Thursday,
February 13
1:00pm - 2:15pm, STEAM Expo - 3rd & 4th Grades
Friday, February 14
9:30am - 10:30am, STEAM Expo - 2nd Grade
Monday, February 17
No School - Presidents' Day
Thursday, February 27
9:00am - 10:00am, Book Club - Freeing Your Child from Anxiety, Revised and Update Edition:
Practical Strategies to Overcome Fears, Worries, and Phobias and Be Prepared for Life--from Toddlers to Teens, By Tamar Chansky
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The Winnetka Public Schools community empowers every student to flourish in an innovative, experiential environment. We support and challenge all learners to actively engage in continual growth and achievement to make a meaningful difference in the world.
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