Greeley Greeting

Dear Greeley Families,

We are eager to welcome families into our building (and over Zoom) for fall conferences! Conferencing is an important aspect of the home-school connection and communicating the performance, growth, needs, and celebrations of our students.

This year, our school district is implementing a number of new benchmark assessments in the fall, winter, and spring. This year, our school improvement plan seeks to use these new assessments and corresponding tools to inform our instructional practices. In addition, families wondering how they might best support their child's learning at home are invited to access the following materials:

FAMILY READING ACTIVITIES

FAMILY MATH ACTIVITIES

In other news, we are excited to continue our monthly school-wide assemblies. This year, a team of staff members will work together to plan a specific theme for each assembly. We also hope to include students in this planning as the year progresses. Our upcoming October assembly will address Bullying Prevention Month by highlighting the importance of appropriate peer interactions. We find it incredibly important to take the time to discuss and model these positive interactions, as we know it is one of many steps in fostering community.

Thank you, as always, for your continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Joshua Swanner

Principal

The Greeley Behavioral Health Team (BHT) will be starting an 8-week divorce support group. The purpose of this group will be to provide a space at school for students to talk about changes at home, feelings associated with divorce, and provide a sense of community. We will be meeting 2x per month with students in grades K-2 and 2x per month with students in grades 3-4. Each group will be capped at 6 students and will be available to families that signup first. If there is a need, there will be another 8-week session offered later in the year.

If you would like your child to be part of this group or have any questions, please email Greeley Katie Kalogriopoulos, school social worker, at katiekalogriopoulos@winnetka36.org.

We are looking for volunteers to help the kids with this in the lunchroom from 11:30-12:15 for the next month. If you are interested, please follow the sign-up genius link. If you are already volunteering as a lunch parent this month, thank you, and please give others a chance to sign up.

Thank you

If you have ordered a hot lunch on a day that your child will not be at school, you may pick up that lunch at the front desk. Please notify the office (847) 446-6060 by 10 am, and we will hold the lunch at the front desk for you to pick up after 12 pm.

If your child is coming back from or heading to an appointment before/after lunch and you'd like them to bring the food home or your child is leaving at lunchtime for the rest of the day, notify the office by 10 a.m. When a hot lunch is ordered on the same day a home lunch is brought, your student will still receive their hot lunch.

If you do not notify the office, your child's hot lunch will be donated.

Please note: For allergy purposes, any donated lunch given to a child who does not have lunch that day will need approval from the parent to receive this.

Please contact Jen Felderman (jennifer.felderman@gmail.com; 773-513-9444), the PTO Lunch Volunteer Coordinator, with any questions.

The District offers regular sessions for families to learn more about a variety of topics. Please view the fall schedule here. If you were unable to attend “The Winnetka Experience: Portrait of a Graduate, Portrait of an Educator, and Progressive Education”view the session here.

Coming Soon:

District 36: Benchmark Assessments

October 19 2023

9:30 A.M.

Location: Skokie Community Room

Join Dr. Becky Mathison, Assistant Superintendent of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, to hear about the standardized academic assessments administered in the areas of reading and math. Learn about what skills are assessed at each grade level, how staff use this information, and when parents can expect to receive assessment results following each of the three benchmarking periods (fall, winter, and spring)

Interested:

RSVP for this event here

Following the event a link will be provided to the recorded presentation on the website.

Feedback Link

Fall benchmark assessment results have been mailed home. Information to help parents understand the assessment reports are available on the District website. As a community of learners, we are navigating the way through how to best use this information along with the valuable insight gathered on a day-to-day basis in our schools. Thank you for being our partner in this growth process.

Last year the District strategic plan goal to realign the K-1 literacy program was updated to entail a full curriculum review of literacy programming K-8. The goal of the curriculum review is to ensure there is a guaranteed and viable literacy curriculum based upon current research that builds from Kindergarten through Grade 8. In the spring a group of educators that comprised the District’s Literacy Leadership Committee identified literacy programs to pilot this year and 60 classroom teachers volunteered to participate in the pilot. Participating in the pilot means that the teacher has been trained in the program and will select one existing unit in the literacy curriculum to replace with the pilot curriculum.

Your child’s classroom teacher may have shared this information during the recent Go To School Night events, as well as through their classroom newsletters. While the student learning outcomes in literacy may remain the same this year, the programming, materials and sequence used may be different in classrooms where the pilot is taking place. More information about the pilot will continue to be shared through District communications and regular updates during School Board meetings. A special thank you to the Winnetka Public Schools Foundation Board for approving funding that was used for a large majority of the pilot training that occurred during September.

Per the Illinois Department of Public Health, it is recommended that a person isolates for at least 5 days from symptom onset if symptoms are present or 5 days from positive test date if no symptoms. Day 1 starts the day after symptom onset/positive test date. They can return on day 6 if fever, vomiting, and diarrhea cease for 24 hours and have improvement of symptoms. It is recommended to mask day 6-10.

The Winnetka Public Schools, Village, Police, and Fire Departments work to proactively refine safety practices on an ongoing basis. We are grateful for our collaborative partnership, and have worked together to compile a Fall Edition of our Safety Bulletin as we begin the 23/24 school year. You’ll find general information on a variety of safety-related topics and resources to support the safety of our entire community.

As part of Winnetka School District 36’s ongoing commitment to equity by fostering connection and belonging, the District will take time each month to recognize the contributions of people of diverse backgrounds. The goal of these monthly observances is to provide resources and support for teachers in order to bring awareness and appreciation to the diverse population of students in our community. Observances will look different at all schools and even at different grade levels. Some activities might include art, music, book studies, research projects, sharing cultural holidays and celebrations, and other school activities. As materials are developed for these observances, we will make them accessible.

September 15- October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month

October: Disability Awareness

November: Native American Heritage

December: Human Rights

January: MLK Jr. Day

February: Black History

March - April 15: Women’s History Month

April 15-May 15: Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage

May 15 - June 13: Jewish American Heritage

If your student brings their school device home (grades 4-8), consider setting up the JAMF Parent App! The JAMF Parent app will allow you to allow & restrict apps, enable an app lock, set device and location rules, etc. All you need is the JAMF Parent App on your device (Apple/Android) and your student's iPad in front of you. Follow the instructions in this brief tutorial from JAMF on how to set it up and interact with the platform. Additional resources can be found here.

Download the District’s app by searching “The Winnetka Public Schools” on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The app will serve as a convenient way to report absences, view and manage your school calendars, and see at-a-glance District news.

Please follow the District via the following social media platforms in order to see day-to-day happenings and more.

Facebook and Twitter: @Winnetka36

Instagram: @WinnetkaPublicSchools

• Thursday, 10/12: No School (Parent-Teacher Conferences)
  
• Friday, 10/13: No School (Parent-Teacher Conferences)
• Friday, 10/20: Kindergarten Monarch Migration
• Friday, 10/20: Fall Family Fun Night; 5:30-7:30pm
• Tuesday, 10/24: Greeley Class of 2023 Book Nook Dedication
• Wednesday, 11/1: No School (Institute Day)

To view the calendar for the 2023/2024 school year, please click here.

If your student brings their school device home (grades 4-8), consider setting up the JAMF Parent App! The JAMF Parent app will allow you to allow & restrict apps, enable an app lock, set device and location rules, etc. All you need is the JAMF Parent App on your device (Apple/Android) and your student's iPad in front of you. Follow the instructions in this brief tutorial from JAMF on how to set it up and interact with the platform. Additional resources can be found here.

Download the District’s app by searching “The Winnetka Public Schools” on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The app will serve as a convenient way to report absences, view and manage your school calendars, and see at-a-glance District news.

Please follow the District via the following social media platforms in order to see day-to-day happenings and more.

Facebook and Twitter: @Winnetka36

Instagram: @WinnetkaPublicSchools

School Hours:

8:30am | Doors open

8:37am | School promptly begins

2:10pm | Kindergarten dismissal

2:45pm | Early Release (MONDAY ONLY)

3:15pm | Grades 1-4 and Stay & Play Kindergarten dismissal

Email: GordonSchreiber@winnetka36.org
Website: https://www.winnetka36.org/greeley
Location: 275 Fairview Avenue, Winnetka, IL, USA
Phone: (847) 446-6060
Facebook: facebook.com/Winnetka36
Twitter: @Winnetka36