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Dear Skokie Families,
It has been a pleasure and privilege to be a part of The Skokie School community during these first weeks of school. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the amazing staff who work with your children. They are dedicated, professional, supportive, and willing to give 110% on behalf of their students.
Your children are wonderful young people. Seeing them enter the building each morning makes me smile. They enter with enthusiasm and an eagerness to engage with their peers. Their learner habits are well-ingrained, and they exhibit a purpose for learning throughout the day. Watching the engaged learning taking place in the classrooms is inspiring.
Betty and Larry have done a tremendous job in their comprehensive planning to make sure the year began smoothly. Focused from the very beginning on our new SEL model for students, we hit the ground running. It is exciting to see a new program begin in such a positive and meaningful way.
I would like to thank all of you for making me feel welcome. Winnetka District 36 is a very special place and a wonderful learning experience. It truly is progressive education at its best. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the Skokie family.
Betty will return on Oct. 3rd. During the next week, Larry will be assisted by central office administrative support. Please refer any inquiries to Larry until Oct. 3rd.
Again, thank you for your support.
With warm regards,
Pat Kritzman
Acting Principal
The Skokie School
Crosswalk Safety
With the delightful weather, many of our students are biking to school. Please review bike safety with your child.
- Always use a crosswalk
- Wait for the crossing guard to signal you to cross
- Do not walk diagonally through the intersection
- Walk you bike or any non-motorized device in the crosswalk.
Grand Foods Receipts
Collecting Grand receipts is an easy and no-cost way for you to support the Skokie-Washburne PTO (so ultimately our schools!) and also support The Grand, a fabulous local grocery store. It is simple, too. Just collect and drop off your Grand receipts in the colorfully wrapped boxes labeled "Grand receipts" located in the front foyer of Skokie School. In fact, your 5th or 6th grader can easily get involved in the process and drop off the receipts themselves. The Grand generously donates 3% of the pre-tax amount to the PTO on each receipt collected from their Winnetka or Glencoe stores. Don't forget to bring in the Grand Food Center receipts that you saved over the summer.
iPad Chargers
This year we are giving families the option for 5th Graders to take a charger home to charge their school iPad. In the past we gave 5th graders iPad chargers for home use with the added responsibility that they had to turn in that charger at the end of 8th Grade or if they left the district. If they did not turn in the charger and cord, the family was charged a $20 fee.
At Skokie School students have access to a cart to charge their iPad at school. At Washburne students are solely responsible for charging their iPad at home each night.
We understand that families may have chargers available for charging all the devices in their household. This is a reason why we are giving you the option to take a charger home with the same responsibilities as before.
A 5th Grade family can request and receive a charger from school with the understanding that at the end of 8th Grade or if they leave the district, they are turning the charger back in to the school district or being charged a $20 fee.
If a 5th Grade family does not request a charger via this form they are still responsible for charging their iPad at home, but they will not be responsible for turning a charger in at the end of their 8th grade year or leave the district.
If you have any questions please contact Maureen Miller (Director of Technology) or Matt Boyer (Technology Integration Specialist at Skokie School).
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @skokie36
Memory Books
Please use
this link
to order a Memory Book for this school year! There is a promotional cost of $20 until October 4th, after which the cost will be $25. There is an additional cost for personalized icons and all ordering is done online.
Washburne Autumnfest
6th Graders have been invited to join the festivities this year, and classes will be attending the Washburne Autumnfest with their Advisories next Friday, September 27th, from 2:35-3:15 pm. Tickets are $.25 each and most activities cost between 2-8 tickets, with all the proceeds going to the all-school project charity. Tickets will be sold at lunch next Thursday and Friday here at Skokie.
Skokie Families,
This year, Skokie is again collecting tabs for the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) near Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Ronald McDonald House's mission "...is to care for families of children with complex medical needs by providing comfort, compassion and a sense of community... by keeping families of hospitalized children together in a 'home away from home'." For more information, visit http://rmhccni.org/about-us/mission/.
Why tabs? United Scrap Metal, a local recycling company picks them up from RMH. They recycle the metal and then pay them the market value, plus a charitable match on a percentage of their profit. United Scrap Metal recycles all types of metal; however, they focus mostly on pop tabs since they are clean, compact, easy to collect and the aluminum in the tab is a higher-grade so it has a higher recycling value.
All types of tabs are accepted - from juice cans, pop cans, to cat food cans.
Last year Skokie collected over 50 pounds of tabs...it was quite amazing.
This year, we are hosting a competition between the advisories. The advisory with the most tabs, as determined by the weight, will win a prize.
Thank you for your support of this program.
Marla Goldberg
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Assistant Principal Corner
As we've continued our first Social Emotional Learning (SEL) theme of the year about Establishing a Sense of Belonging, we have been talking to students about acceptance and what it means to be accepting of others.
Acceptance means accepting others. Not making ideas in your head about what I think they are like. Not presuming things about them because of the way they speak, the way they look, what they wear, or how they are abled.
We also had an assembly this afternoon to introduce our next SEL theme, Understanding How to Get Your Brain and Body Learning Ready, so please ask your kids about their takeaways from that assembly.
We'd love it if you would talk to your kids about what they've been doing this week in school, especially related to their thoughts about acceptance, being accepting of others, and the assembly.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Larry Joynt
Assistant Principal
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District News
Redistricting 2020
After three years of evaluating redistricting scenarios, The Winnetka Public Schools Board has narrowed the
Redistricting options under consideration to three
.
The options were presented to the Board on August 26, 2019 by Cropper GIS, a demographer working with the District since 2016. New attendance boundaries will be implemented in August 2020. A final
recommendation
for Redistricting will be made at the School Board Meeting on September 24, 2019.
Community members who live in areas under consideration for Redistricting were notified via U.S. mail. Additional information and
maps of the Redistricting options
are available on the District website and a
community mailing
was sent to all households in Winnetka the week of August 18.
At the August 26 Meeting, the School Board also affirmed its commitment to the District's Educational Master Facility Plan, which includes
(3) K-4 elementary schools and moving grades 5-8 to Washburne School by 2023
.
The Board also began discussions on "phasing-in." Phasing-in allows a subset of students to remain at their current elementary school AFTER new boundary lines go into effect. On August 26, 2019, the School Board agreed to phase-in students from the Crow Island area who will be in fourth grade in 2020-2021. They also agreed that any new student enrolling for the 2020-2021 school year will be required to attend their newly assigned school. The Board will continue discussions regarding phasing-in other groups of students at the September 24, 2019, meeting.
Community members are invited to attend the following upcoming meetings:
September 24, 2019
7:15 p.m. at Greeley School
School Board Meeting
A Redistricting Presentation will be shared and the Superintendent will make a recommendation on a plan for Redistricting 2020.
October 22, 2019
7:15 p.m. at Greeley School
School Board Meeting
The School Board will approve the plan for Redistricting 2020. New attendance boundaries and "phase in" accommodations will be approved at this meeting.
Safely Crossing Green Bay Road During Bridge Construction
Working in collaboration with the Winnetka Police Department, we are addressing specific concerns regarding the traffic/pedestrian impact of the Streetscape Project in the West Elm Business District.
We strongly encourage pedestrians and bicyclists to consider alternative routes to avoid the road construction and lack of normal sidewalk accessibility at Elm Street and Chestnut Street. If traveling from the east, recommendations include detouring north or south on Green Bay Road one block to Oak Street or Spruce Street. Pedestrians and bicyclists may utilize the sidewalks on either street westbound to Birch Street, which are much clearer of any related construction concerns. Traveling from the west, recommendations include utilizing Birch Street in either direction to Oak Street or Spruce Street to avoid the construction when traveling east. The Winnetka Police Department is increasing their presence to assist with crossings of pedestrians and bicyclists at Elm Street and Chestnut Street.
Officials at the Winnetka Police Department have expressed confidence that with your cooperation during this period of inconvenience, the use of these alternative routes create the safest travel conditions possible. The Village anticipates the substantial construction of the Streetscape Project will be completed by October 18th.
From the Village:
From the Alliance for Early Childhood:
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/.
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Dates to Note
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