Hubbard Woods Family Newsletter

Dear Hubbard Woods Families,

As we prepare for the winter break, I want to take a moment to thank you for your continued partnership and support throughout this school year. This season offers an opportunity to reflect, celebrate, and connect, and I hope that you and your family find moments of joy, rest, and togetherness in the weeks ahead.

I also want to acknowledge that this season can bring mixed emotions, especially for those who have faced challenges or the loss of loved ones. Please know that we are here to support your children, and we remain committed to fostering a warm, inclusive environment where every child feels valued and cared for.

December has been a busy and exciting month at Hubbard Woods. Highlights include preparing for the Winter Sing, engaging in festive classroom activities, and participating in meaningful learning experiences. It has been a joy to witness the creativity, collaboration, and enthusiasm of our students as they embrace both academic challenges and community traditions.

Looking ahead, we are excited to build on the wonderful work when we return in January. Thank you for entrusting us with your children and for being an essential part of our school community.

On behalf of the entire Hubbard Woods staff, I wish you a safe, peaceful, and joyous winter break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday, January 6, 2025.

Best regards,

Ivory Ajavon
Principal

We want to ensure a safe dismissal of students. In order to help us have a safe and orderly dismissal process, we ask that you please do the following:

• Stay in your car. Please let your child or the children you are picking up come to you.
• Please have students cross at the crosswalk.
• Please wait your turn, and we ask that you do not cut the car line.
• Please do not park in the bus zone or the crosswalk.

We appreciate your support.

We are very excited for the annual Winter Sing, which is based on the book "Toys Meet Snow," on Wednesday, December 18th! Here are the performance times by last name:
9:00 AM - A-G

10:30 AM - H-M

1:00 PM - N-Z

To expedite this process, please ensure you complete the pre-registration process.

Traditionally, students will sit with their families during the time their families are in attendance for their child's performance. After checking in, we will have parents of kindergarten and first-grade students pick up their children from their homerooms for the performance. Second to fourth-grade students will meet their families in the lobby at the designated time. If you have any questions, please reach out to Gary Wendt at garywendt@winnetka36.org.

The Dimension of Belonging featured in December is “Known” and monthly observances include Human Rights Month, Hannukah, and Christmas. Learn more by reading the Belonging Means… Newsletter which features contributions from The Skokie School and the Department of Communications, Safety & Security.

Benchmark assessments are valuable tools that provide a snapshot of student progress at a point in time. These assessments help teachers to identify areas where students are excelling and where they may need additional support. They can also inform instructional decisions by providing data that can be used to tailor teaching to meet each student's unique needs and strengths. Benchmark assessments are an important component of progressive education, which recognizes that students learn in different ways and at different rates. By using benchmark assessments to inform instruction, teachers can provide a more individualized approach to learning that supports each student's academic growth and personal development.

Academic benchmark assessments for literacy and math will occur three times this year for students in grades K-8. The Winter Benchmark Assessments start on January 6th and conclude on January 24th. There are four platforms the district utilizes to gather student learning information; aimswebPlus, mCLASS, NWEA MAP, and SSIS. Benchmark data will be available in Otus beginning January 31, 2025. In order to allow for the data uploads to take place and to provide parents with consistent access to student data, please be aware that the Otus Parent Portal will be inaccessible January 6-January 30.

Building Data Team meetings to review the Winter Benchmarking data will occur February 3-14.

Otus Parent Resources

To keep everyone informed on what we are seeing around the district, we are sharing that a lot of students are currently getting diagnosed with pneumonia, flu, strep, and GI viruses. Please keep our health guidelines in mind when thinking of sending your child to school.

Everyone needs to be fever/vomiting/diarrhea free for 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school.

January 15, 2024 at 6:00 PM

Location: Greeley School

This informational session is intended for Winnetka parents of preschool students who will be attending The Winnetka Public Schools. Parents will learn more about the support and services that the District provides to current preschool students attending local preschool programming as well as what is available within our schools once a student enters kindergarten. Families will receive a preview of:

• The transition-to-Kindergarten process by Crow Island, Greeley and Hubbard Woods Principals,

• The resources available to families of current preschool students from the Department of Student Services, Equity and Inclusion

• Details on “Kindergarten Connection” which will take place in Summer 2024

• Highlights of a typical kindergarten day in The Winnetka Public Schools

We look forward to meeting new families at this event!

RSVP Link

Kindergarten enrollment: Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2025, are eligible to enroll for Kindergarten.

School Admissions and age requirements are addressed in School Board Policy 7:50 School Admissions and student Transfers to and from Non-District Schools.

2-Step Process to complete registration:

• Step 1: Click here to begin the online new student registration process.

• Step 2: Contact Maria Perez via email marizperez@winnetka36.org or phone 847-446-9400 to schedule a time to drop-in with final verification documents.

• Complete BOTH steps of new student registration BEFORE January 17, 2025 and receive a $40.00 discount applied to your child’s 2025/2026 student fees.

January 15, 2025 at 9:30 AM

Location: Carleton Washburne School RC

Attend this session to understand accelerated programming options for students entered grades 3-8 during the 2025/26 school year. Time will be provided for attendees to begin the application for this process.

RSVP Link

If you missed it, view videos from past sessions:

Insights on K-8 Literacy Programming in The Winnetka Public Schools

What to Know About the Otus Parent Portal

AI Literacy Lessons for Grades 5-8

• Tuesday, December 17th - School Board Meeting at 7:15pm at Washburne

• Wednesday, December 18th - Winter Sing (info. above)

• Friday, December 20th - School wide PJ Day

• Monday, December 23rd-Friday, January 3rd - Winter Break

• Monday, January 6th - School Reopens