Happy New Year!
I hope all of you had an opportunity to relax, recharge, and reflect on the past year over break. This week was full of Washburne students, a little tired but mostly full of enthusiasm, sharing their stories of winter break.
January is a busy month, and this newsletter is filled with many opportunities for parents and students to get involved. Social emotional learning (SEL) is a key element of the Winnetka experience and integral to our students happiness and success in the classroom and in life. This year, we established SEL as a District-wide goal 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. Check out the first edition below.
I hope you all have a safe weekend. It looks like we might need to finally break out the shovels and snow boots.
Andrew Fenton Ed.D., Principal
Ben Horwitz, Assistant Principal
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Window to Washburne
Welcome to Window to Washburne! Each week, we will be highlighting some of the learning taking place in one of our classrooms.
One component of a high-functioning elective program is how well those courses complement the core areas. Mr. Mann's Industrial Design, Engineering, and Architecture (I.D.E.A) is an excellent example of a class that allows students to take aspects from math and science and apply it in new ways.
Recently, students in I.D.E.A have been studying bridges, both the history of different designs as well as the key structural elements. Using their newly acquired knowledge, the students are constructing their own bridges, such as the example pictured above. However, not only are students trying to build a strong bridge, they are also learning about efficiency--the winning bridge will be the one that has the best efficiency ratio between what it can hold and how much it weighs.
Kudos to Mr. Mann for finding bridges (pun fully intended) to our core curriculum and designing engaging activities.
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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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Boys Volleyball Information
The 2020 Boys Volleyball season begins soon!
In order to participate, all boys must be registered online and have a copy of the medical clearance form or a copy of a sign physical within a year on file at school.
The season will begin on Tuesday, January 28th. Practices are Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays from 3:30-5:00 and on Friday mornings from 7:00-8:00. Boys should bring athletic clothes, shoes, and knee pads to all practices. A game schedule will be sent out once our teams are finalized.
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CW Cardio/Resistance Training Club is back!
Students can attend any & all of the Tues./Weds./Thurs. sessions, depending on their own schedule! Participating students will receive 3 hours a week in the fitness room, providing an opportunity to workout, while being supervised by a certified KW teacher.
All students are welcome to join us as we set goals, work on personal training habits, and establish a routine for lifetime fitness. If you have any questions contact:
Mrs. Florance (KW Department)
TUES/WEDS/THURS - 41 SESSIONS:
Dec. 3, 2019 thru MAR 19, 2020 - 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
The club meets in the Washburne Cardio Room and is o
pen to 7th and 8th graders.
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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 complete 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.
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.
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.
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.
WPSF Carlson Event
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Family Action Network
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.
Coming Soon:
From The Alliance for Early Childhood:
Let's Play! Block Building
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Drop-in: 11am-4pm
Families, Join The Alliance for Early Childhood for our First Annual Block Fest!
We are excited to partner this year with Northern Illinois University to provide a hands-on building extravaganza featuring five different kinds of blocks. Block play provides a natural environment for kids to experiment with early STEAM concepts. Our Community Partner Northern Suburban Special Education District (NSSED) will be on site as well to support this event.
Intended Age Audience: All ages are welcome.
Parents or caregivers are asked to attend with their children.
Registration is not required. Free and Open to the Public.
From the Volunteer Center:
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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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Upcoming Dates
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Friday, January 17th
Teacher Institute Day
No School
Monday, January 20th
Martin Luther
King Jr. Day
No School
Thursday, January 23rd
WSPF Carlson Event
6-9pm @ Winnetka Community House
Tuesday,
January 28th
Board Meeting 7:15pm @ Greeley School
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