Crow Island Connections

Dear Crow Island Community,

I wanted to start by saying thank you for all the kindness and thoughtful messages shared with me for Principal Appreciation Week! I feel so lucky to be part of the Crow Island community and truly appreciate the support from our students, staff, and families. Thank you for making me feel so appreciated!

Thank you to all of our families for taking the time to attend parent teacher conferences last week! We appreciate the opportunity to connect with you, celebrate your child's growth, and partner together to support their learning.

We are looking forward to our big Halloween celebration this Friday! We are hoping for beautiful fall weather so we can enjoy our outdoor parade and Ghost Walk. If the weather does not cooperate, we will move these activities indoors, and they will be for students only. We will continue to keep an eye on the forecast and will communicate with families ahead of time if it looks like we will need to move indoors.

Finally, a reminder that there will be no school on Monday, November 2 (Institute Day) and Tuesday, November 3 (Election Day).

We can't wait for a fun Halloween celebration on Friday!

Sincerely,
Anna

October

• Friday, October 30th | Halloween Parade and Ghost Walk
  

• Monday, November 2nd | No School- Institute Day
  

• Tuesday, November 3rd | No School- General Election Day

• Friday, November 6th | Kindergarten Butterfly Migration + Outdoor Performance @ 2 PM

• Monday, November 23rd- Friday, November 27th | No School- Thanksgiving Break

One of the many things that makes Crow Island so special is our beautiful courtyards! Each classroom has its own courtyard space, which teachers and students use in a variety of ways to extend learning beyond the classroom walls.

This year, we introduced a new PTO volunteer opportunity: Courtyard Parents! These parent volunteers partner with classroom teachers to help design, maintain, and care for their courtyard spaces throughout the year. Our Courtyard Parents have already been hard at work, creating some wonderful fall displays that have brought a festive touch to our school!

Take a look at some of their beautiful work in the photos below. A big thank you to our Courtyard Parents for sharing their time and creativity to help make these special spaces even better for our students!

Crow Island Halloween

Friday, October 30, 2026

We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween at Crow Island! Please see below for information about our costume parade, Ghost Walk, classroom celebrations, and costume guidelines. *Please note- if the weather does not cooperate, we will need to move the parade and Ghost Walk indoors and it will be for students only. We are keeping our fingers crossed for beautiful fall weather so parents and families will be able to join us outside!*

Costume Parade & Ghost Walk: 1:00 PM

The entire Crow Island community of staff, students, and families will come together to celebrate Halloween!

Costume Parade Route:

Students will parade out the back door onto the blacktop area, turning left onto Glendale toward Willow Road, then west on Willow before heading back toward school at the Crow Statue.

Parents and families are invited to watch the parade from the sidewalk along Willow Rd. in front of the school, along Glendale, or along the fence near the blacktop.

After the Costume Parade

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students will head to the amphitheater for the Ghost of Crow Island.

Grades 1–4

After the parade, students in grades 1–4 will continue through the Ghost Walk in the Crow Island Woods (near the 1st grade playground) before heading to the outdoor amphitheater.

Parents and families will walk from their parade viewing locations along Glendale Ave. to the outdoor amphitheater, where families, students, and staff will come together for the Ghost of Crow Island! The outdoor festivities will end around 2 PM, and families will be able to head home as students head inside to continue the fun.

Classroom Celebrations: 2:00–2:30 PM

All grade levels will celebrate Halloween in their classrooms from 2:00–2:30 PM.

Room parents and class photographers are invited into classrooms to help facilitate the celebrations. Room parents should plan for the following:

• A craft or game(s) for students to enjoy in the classroom

• No food or candy is permitted

  
  

Costume Guidelines

Students may bring their costumes to school and will have time to change before the parade and Ghost Walk. Please keep the following guidelines in mind:

• No fake blood or weapons

• Costumes should be school-friendly (nothing too scary)

• No masks

• Please keep costumes simple, as students will be changing into them independently

  
  

We are looking forward to a fun afternoon celebrating together!

We are looking forward to seeing you all at this year’s Winter Sing on Thursday, December 17th!

Children will perform at each performance time, but as always, students may sit together with their families during their family's performance time when they are not onstage. You are all invited to join us at the time assigned to your last name:

Performance Times:

9:00- Last Name P-Z

10:30AM- Last Name A-G

1:00PM- Last Name H-O

Please reach out to Ms. Trilla or Ms. Crows with any questions!

Get ready to sign up for winter discovery clubs!

• Registration will be open November 9th-20th.

• Winter session runs December 7, 2026–March 5, 2027.

• More information to come, please see below for our offerings!

Monday: Finish Strong (K-2); Hip Hop with Chicago School of Music (K-4)

Tuesday: ChessEd (1-4); Lego (K-4)

Wednesday: Coding (K-4); Art (K-4)

Thursday: Pom Squad: Dance & Cheer (K-4); Cooking (K-4)

Friday: Ukulele & Guitar (K-4); Hot Shots (K-4)

Parents may access scores through the PowerSchool Parent Portal Document Library and/or Otus.

View additional information here regarding benchmark assessments and how to access these scores.

IAR & ISA score reports have been uploaded to your PowerSchool Parent Portal but are requiring a few more days to be finalized in Otus. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Securly Home is a tool provided to parents to aid in the management of school-provided technology while at home. For more information on how to set it up and use it, please view this Securly Home flyer.

Crow Island 101 Document:

Our Crow Island 101 Guide is a helpful, at-a-glance resource for families. Many parents like to keep a copy in their kitchen for quick reference. You can view it here: Crow 101 Document.

Arrival & Dismissal:

Please take a few minutes to review our Arrival & Dismissal procedures for this year. These routines help ensure a safe and smooth start and end to each school day for all students.

Hot Lunch Program:

Crow Island has a hot lunch program run through a third party collaboration with our PTO called Marla's Lunch. You can register and sign-up here: Marla's Hot Lunch.

Email:

annatrilla@winnetka36.org (Principal)

christinedemas-hall@winnetka36.org (Administrative Assistant)
Website: https://crowisland.winnetka36.org/
Location: 1112 Willow Road Winnetka, IL 60093
Phone: (847)-446-0353
Instagram: Winnetka Public Schools