Greeley Greeting
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
A Message from the Principal
Dear Greeley Families,
Our Behavioral Health Team is excited to announce our next round of SELf Parent Connection events! These events serve as an opportunity for families and our behavioral health team (social worker, social-emotional learning coach, and psychologist) to connect and discuss the ongoing SEL work in our school. These meetings were well-attended in the first half of the year, and we are looking forward to providing more opportunities to connect in the latter half of the year. This includes one evening event for families that may not be able to attend during the school day. The dates are as follows:
- March 22, 2023; 9:00-10:00am
- April 25, 2023; 5:30-6:30pm
- May 24, 2023; 9:00-10:00am
We hope you will be able to join us for one of these sessions.
Sincerely,
Joshua Swanner
Principal
Winter Service Drive: Project Rise & Shine
This winter the 'Service and Outreach' committee of the PTO is partnering with Friends of the Children Chicago . As a school community, we will be collecting items to provide the 145 kids in this program morning essential kits so that when these kids rise and shine they will have the essentials they need, like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and lotion, to get ready in the morning.
At school, all the children will have a chance to watch the video about the drive and each grade has been assigned specific items to donate. This is the last week to collect donations. For more info on what and how to donate click HERE.
The PTO invites you and your family to join us on Tuesday, February 28th from 6-7pm at the Greeley Gym to put these kits together. Whatever amount of time your family can give we'd love your help! RSVP To Help Us Make Kits Here
If you have further questions please reach out to the committee chairs Carolyn Clark @ cfusfeld@gmail.com and Cheryl Taglia @ taglia.cheryl@gmail.com
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:
Learning the Mood Meter- District Implementation of RULER
(District 36 SEL Coaches)
March 14, 2023
Location: Washburne RC
Time: 10:00-11:00 AM
Interested:
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
Interested:
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
REGISTER: Virtual Parent Series: Attachment and Your Young Child’s Mental Health: How You Can Make a Difference with Kate Blaker and Sarah Eastburg in Conversation with Carly Andrews, February 23, 7pm
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
- Thurs. 2/23: August Birthday Lunch with the Principal (Grades 1-4)
- Fri. 2/24: February Birthday Lunch with the Principal (Grades 1-4)
- 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