Greeley Greeting
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
A Message from the Principal
Dear Greeley Families,
It is hard to believe March is here tomorrow. We have a number of exciting events for families at Greeley in the upcoming weeks, beginning with tonight's Project Rise & Shine event. Please also consider coming to our STEAM Night, hosted by the PTO, on Thursday, March 9 at 6:00pm. We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Joshua Swanner
Principal
WPSF Phone-A-Thon Fundraiser Is Coming Soon!
On March 12th, Winnetka Public Schools Foundation (WPSF) Board members will be reaching out to D36 parents and community members by phone, text and email in order to secure donations for the coming year. Every donation can make a difference in our schools and for our community! Donate online by March 11th to “Beat the Call!” With your support, WPSF can continue to provide our teachers with the resources they need to bring creativity to the curriculum while enhancing the learning experience for all Winnetka D36 students.
What is the Winnetka Public Schools Foundation (WPSF)?
WPSF is a non-profit volunteer organization which raises funds from District families and the community. Those funds are used to provide grants to D36 educators which enable them to go above and beyond what is possible with tax dollars alone. This year, WPSF provided over $111,000 in grants to Crow Island, Greeley, Hubbard Woods, Skokie and Washburne.
What People Are Saying About WPSF
“The Foundation continues to be a vital partnership that supports [our] work, allowing us to consider resources that we may not otherwise have immediate access to, while also continuing to promote the creative and innovative instructional design that our district has historically celebrated. We are immensely grateful to the Foundation for its commitment to our schools, students and staff, and excited about the possibilities in the year ahead.”
Dr. Kelly Tess, Superintendent Winnetka School District 36
WPSF Funded Greeley Grant Highlight: Chick Life Cycle Study
Last year, Greeley kindergarteners studied life cycles through the Chick Life Cycle Study. This project was made possible by a WPSF grant providing each classroom with the necessary equipment to successfully raise 5 - 8 chicks over a three-week period. This year, the program will expand to include the First graders, allowing them to build upon their Kindergarten experience by allowing them a deeper dive into chicken behavior, anatomy, and more.
"The chick study is the perfect way to end a school year. In a way, the chicks remind us that eventually whether we want to or not, we all grow up. Learning about chicks goes beyond the science of life cycles, chick biology and egg development. It allows children to develop a sense of compassion and empathy, which helps shape adults who embody these values in our society.”
Jessy Zaia, Kindergarten Teacher, Greeley School
Acceleration Policy Information
Working in Winnetka 36
Winnetka 36 is always looking for great candidates when there are openings and we appreciate referrals encouraging them to apply. Here’s a link to our current openings: https://www.applitrack.com/winnetka36/onlineapp/default.aspx
We also get questions about the necessary steps on how to become a substitute teacher and thought we would share how to do that on the bottom of the document: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/how-become-sub-teacher.pdfWinnetka Voices Podcast Episodes
Winnetka Voices is a podcast hosted by The Winnetka Public Schools, featuring candid conversations on issues relevant to education and shared resources to support our students and families.
NEW! Episode #4:
Recruiting & Retaining Incredible Educators
In this episode Dr. Kelly Tess discusses the national teacher shortage with The Skokie School Principal, Michelle Cooney; Jeff Knapp, Assistant Superintendent of Professional Learning and Human Resources; and Daniel Walsh, Interim Dean of the School of Education and Associate Professor at North Park University. The guests reflect on the landscape when they initially began their careers in education, the need to enhance recruitment and retention practices, and what makes this a unique era in terms of hiring the next generation of teachers. The guests reflect on how these factors may specifically impact our practices in Winnetka. According to Principal Cooney, "In order to do hard and important work, we need to be in a community where we support one another." Listen the full episode to learn more about this timely topic.
Listen here:
Winnetka Parents Institute
UP NEXT:
From Washburne to New Trier: (Paul Waechtler, Principal)
A D36 Parent's Guide to the New Trier Transition
March 7, 2022 (confirmed)
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Carleton Washburne School, 515 Hibbard Rd.
Paul Waechtler, Principal at the New Trier High School Freshman
Campus, and Lori Worth, 8th Grade Transition Faculty, will discuss the New Trier freshman placement process and the efforts made to ensure a smooth transition to high school. A Q & A will provide an opportunity for parents to learn more about how to best support their child(ren) as they prepare for their New Trier experience.
Interested: RSVP here.
Learning the Mood Meter- District Implementation of RULER
(District 36 SEL Coaches)
March 14, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
The Mood Meter is a tool that helps build awareness of emotions in ourselves and others. This tool aids us in understanding how our emotions influence our thinking and behavior, empowers us to recognize and label our full range of emotions, and assists us in developing strategies to learn how to work more skillfully with our emotions.
Interested: RSVP here
D36 K-8 Math Programming: An Overview
(Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of ITL and District Math Teachers)
March 21, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
During this session Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, alongside a team of math educators from the District will provide an overview of D36 math programming K-8 including an upper grade course map, explain how the approach aligns to progressive education and the portrait of a graduate, and ways to support your student at home. This session will feature a panel of D36 math educators.
Interested: RSVP here
Differentiation: What is it? What does it look like in D36?
Dr. Becky Mathison (Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning)
April 19, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: SK Community Room
During this session Dr. Becky Mathison, Director of Innovation, Teaching and Learning, alongside a team of educators from the District will provide an overview of what differentiation is, how it is implemented in D36 classrooms, explain how the approach aligns to progressive education and the portrait of a graduate, and ways to support your student at home. This session will feature a panel of D36 educators.
Interested: RSVP here
Adventures in Learning Summer 2023
Elementary Math Core Values in Winnetka D36
Flexible Thinking
A flexible thinker can solve problems using different strategies or approaches and is able to persevere when challenged. Flexible thinking is a key part of being efficient, strategic, and accurate, and it demonstrates a strong conceptual understanding. The choice of strategy used to solve a problem is not only influenced by the particular problem, but also by the child. In our classrooms, we want students to see math as a creative subject where they have freedom to choose how to solve a problem. Encouraging students to think in ways that are the most efficient and meaningful for them, is an important part of developing mathematical agency and a positive math identity. Instead of learning one way to solve a problem, we want students to have a variety of tools and solid understandings they can rely on. In our instruction, we celebrate different ways of thinking and honor each student’s process of making sense. This brings richness and depth to our students as individual thinkers and to our math communities. It also fosters the growth of mathematical agency, which is a key element of a lifelong learner.
Parent Education Sessions from District Partner Family Action Network (FAN):
For upcoming events, access FAN’s website here.
FROM OUR PARTNERS AT THE ALLIANCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD:
READ: Alliance’s Fall/Winter Newsletter
READ: Alliance’s Let’s Play Guide 2022-2023 and NEW Let’s Play! Information
Follow us on Social Media!
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
A Message frm the PTO: The Dance Marathon 2023
We are counting down the days to the 2023 Dance Marathon on March 3, 2023 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Washburne Gym. Our community is playing an important role in the advancement of care and treatment at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Through the Washburne/Skokie Dance Marathon program, the students will come together to raise vital funds to support the nearly 223,000 patients that Lurie Children’s treats annually, as well as build awareness for health issues that affect children.
Generous support from Washburne/Skokie Dance Marathon program contributes directly to this mission and to the care and comfort of the children. In 2020, our last in-person event raised over $42,000 dollars for the patients and families at Lurie Children’s.
Registration links will be sent in the upcoming weeks, but here are ways that you can help us help the kids:
- Volunteer with us. Join our Parent Committee to help volunteer at the event and get the community further involved in the dance marathon. For more information, email HERE.
- We invite your student to be involved. Register your student and “JOIN A TEAM” by their advisory class HERE.
- Tues. 2/28: Project Rise and Shine service event; 6:00pm
- Thurs. 3/9: STEAM Night @ Greeley School; 6:00pm
About Us
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