Crow Island Connections

Dear Crow Island Community,

We have a busy couple of weeks ahead at Crow Island! This week, we're recognizing Unity Week, a time to focus on kindness, inclusion, and making sure everyone feels a sense of belonging in our school community.

Parent Teacher Conferences are also coming up this Thursday and Friday. This is a great opportunity to connect with your child's teacher, celebrate their growth, and discuss goals for the rest of the year. As a reminder, there will be no school for students on Thursday or Friday due to conferences.

Looking ahead, we're excited to celebrate Halloween next Friday! Halloween is always such a fun day at Crow Island, and we look forward to seeing all of the creative costumes and enjoying this special tradition together. Please be sure to review the Halloween information below for details about the day's festivities.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Sincerely,
Anna

October

• Thursday, October 22th and Friday, October 23th | Fall Conferences- no student attendance
  
• 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 our wonderful Crow Island traditions is our 4th Grade Recess Leaders program! Each year, our 4th graders have the opportunity to take on a leadership role by supporting our kindergarten and 1st grade students during lunch and recess.

Our Recess Leaders help younger students learn new games, make friends, solve problems, and feel included. Whether they're inviting someone to join a game, helping work through a disagreement, or simply being a friendly face on the playground, these students make a big difference in the daily experiences of our youngest learners.

With guidance from Mrs. Botsis, our SEL Coach, and other staff members, our 4th graders are developing important leadership skills while modeling kindness, responsibility, and teamwork. It's wonderful to see our oldest students looking out for our youngest, and we're so proud of the positive example they set for our school community!

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.

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!

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.

Reminder: Prepare for Fall Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Up

Fall Conferences will be held on:

• October 22 - 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

• October 23 - 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

What is ParentsMeeting?

Parents Meeting is the online scheduling system used by The Winnetka Public Schools for parent-teacher conference registration. Through Parents Meeting, families can view available conference times and select appointments with their child’s teacher(s).

When can I sign-up for conferences?

Fall conference sign-up opened on Thursday, October 1 at 12:00 p.m.

School-Specific Links

• Crow Island: https://crowislandelementary.schoolcloud.co.uk/

• Greeley: https://greeleyelementary.schoolcloud.co.uk/

• Hubbard Woods: https://hubbardwoodselementary.schoolcloud.co.uk/

• Skokie: https://theskokieschool.schoolcloud.co.uk/

• Washburne: https://carletonwashburne.schoolcloud.co.uk/

  
  

When logging in, please enter your information exactly as it is in PowerSchool. You can check this by logging into the PowerSchool Parent Portal and clicking on “Account Preferences” to view your information. This includes using the email address registered in PowerSchool.

If you experience difficulty logging in, please complete a Help ticket.

Add the Notification Email Address to Your Contacts

To ensure you don't miss any communication regarding your conferences, please add the email address noreply@schoolcloud.co.uk to your email contacts.

Important Dates

• October 1 at 12:00 p.m.: Fall conference sign-up opens

• October 21 at 12:00 p.m.: Fall conference sign-up closes

Additional information about conference scheduling, including school-specific details and instructions, will be shared as we get closer to October 1.

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