Crow Island Parent Newsletter

Dear Crow Island Community,

What an incredible first week of school! The energy in our building was contagious, and the excitement could be felt everywhere. Students enjoyed the sunshine at recess, meals in our beautiful new cafeteria, time in the updated related arts classrooms, and plenty of fun in the amazing new gym.

We’re eager to keep this positive momentum going as we head into the next week. Thank you for the warm welcome—it has been such a joy meeting many of you these past few weeks.

Sincerely,
Anna

September

• Wednesday, September 10 | Fire Drill
  

• Wednesday, September 17th | Picture Day

• Wednesday, September 24th | Fall Benchmark Assessments Start for K-4 students

• Thursday, September 25 | Practice Lockdown Drill
  

• Thursday, September 25th | Go to School Night, 6pm

• Tuesday, September 30 | MAP Test – Reading (3rd & 4th Grade)

October

• Wednesday, October 1 | MAP Test – Math (3rd & 4th Grade)
• Thursday, October 2 | No School – Yom Kippur
• Monday, October 6 | Safety Week Begins
• Tuesday, October 7 | Fire Drill
• Wednesday, October 8 | Vision & Hearing Screening
• Thursday, October 9 | Lockdown Drill
• Friday, October 10 | Tornado/Shelter Drill
• Thursday, October 16 | PTO Runathon
• Wednesday, October 22 | Picture Retakes
• Friday, October 24 | Kindergarten Butterfly Migration & Outdoor Performance, 1:30pm
• Wednesday, October 29 | Halloween Parade & Ghost Walk
• Thursday, October 30 | Fall Conferences
• Friday, October 31 | Fall Conferences

Crossing Guard Updates

To Winnetka families,

We are writing to share information with you regarding a forthcoming change to traffic management at specific crosswalks within the Village this school year. Currently, the Winnetka Police Department staffs crosswalks for morning arrival and afternoon dismissal at Willow and Glendale Ave for Crow Island families and at Tower and Gordon Terrace for Hubbard Woods Families. Starting this school year the Winnetka Police Department has contracted with Crossing Guard Services, which operates in eight states and many different school districts. The Winnetka Police Department has vetted this company very carefully and found them to be a reliable and trustworthy company which prioritizes the safety of students.

This change has been made in an effort to better serve the Winnetka Community by availing police officers to serve in a greater capacity. During the first few weeks of school a member of the Winnetka Police Department and Mr. Ray Finnerty, Director of Safety and Security, will help train new staff from Crossing Guard Services in order to maintain consistency of support at these locations. We look forward to this partnership and are confident that you will receive the same confident and safety-oriented crossing as you have always received.

Dr. Kelly Tess, Chief Brian O’Connell , Mr. Ray Finnerty

Welcome Back Assembly

On Friday, our school came together for a Welcome Back Assembly. Nine of our fourth graders led us through school-wide expectations, we welcomed new students and staff, shared fun throwback photos of our teachers, and of course ended with "Good Old Crow Island!" You can find photos and a video from the assembly below.

Monthly Observances:

As part of The Winnetka Public Schools' ongoing commitment to equity by fostering connection and belonging, our schools will take time each month to recognize the contributions of people of diverse backgrounds. 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.

For the month of September we are celebrating Latin X Heritage Month as well as Patriot’s Day. More information is included below.

In September, we celebrate LatinX Heritage Month in the United States each year. This tradition began in 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a proclamation to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Week. The dates for LatinX Heritage Month were chosen to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations of many Latin American nations when they declared independence from Spain.

During LatinX Heritage Month, we celebrate the countless contributions that Hispanic Americans have made to our nation. We also take this time to recognize the trailblazing individuals who fought for progress and equity for their communities. Throughout this month, teachers will incorporate this into their classrooms with age and grade appropriate materials. In addition, our library will be sharing some resources for families at home. You can access two of the resources here:

• Families can learn more about LatinX Heritage Month here.

• You can access our library collection via Destiny here: Destiny Collection

As a school, we will also celebrate Patriot’s Day on September 11th. Patriot’s Day is a national day of remembrance for those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. In the morning, our school will take a moment of silence when we complete the Pledge of Allegiance as a school community.

Here’s a list of monthly observances for you to reference below.

Open House:

The Winnetka Community is Invited to Open Houses at all Campuses on Saturday, September 20th from 9:00-11:00 AM!

Referendum-funded construction is complete at all five campuses, the highlights of which include a new gym and classrooms at Crow Island, a beautiful multi-purpose room at Hubbard Woods, and many more essential improvements to our historic schools. Please join us for community open houses at all campuses on September 20 from 9 a.m.-11:00 a.m. A ribbon cutting will take place at 9 a.m. at the new Crow Island gym!

Fire Drill:

We are having our first Fire Drill this week, following the "I Love You Guys" protocols. We also call it an Evacuate drill. The following description is taken from the "I Love You Guys" website. During this first drill, the fire department will not be present. More information on our other drills for Safety Month will be coming in an email next week.

Evacuate is called when there is a need to move people from one location to another for safety reasons. Evacuation preparation involves the identification of facility evacuation routes, evacuation assembly points. Common reasons for evacuation are Fire Alarms. During this drill Winnetka Public Schools work closely with the Winnetka Fire Department to ensure that these drills are done following the most up to date protocols. Your child may tell you that they saw fire personnel and fire trucks at their school during this drill. The role of the fire department during the drill is to walk through the building with administrators, ensure all classrooms are evacuated and that alarm systems are working properly.

Improving Parent Communication of Student Learning:

In response to parent feedback, District 36 is enhancing how families access student information through the integration of three tools designed to improve communication, transparency, and ease of use.

PowerSchool: Digital Document Delivery & Parent Portal Library
The PowerSchool Parent Portal now delivers official school documents such as PDFs of assessment results that were traditionally mailed home directly. Families will receive email notifications when new files are posted for viewing download.

Within the new Parent Portal Document Library tab, documents and student-specific resources will be stored throughout the year. We will build out individualized folders over time to ensure easy, centralized access to important information related to your student.

Otus: Student Data Dashboard
Otus allows families to view academic and social-emotional assessment results (e.g., MAP, DIBELS, aimswebPlus, SSIS, IAR, ISA) in a clear, visual format. This platform supports richer conversations with teachers and provides ongoing insight into student growth. Parents will receive student access codes via email on September 8. These codes will also be stored in your student’s Document Library in PowerSchool.

Parents Meeting: Simplified Conference Scheduling
Launching this fall, Parents Meeting will allow families to book conferences, view meeting details, and attend virtually if needed through one platform. Account setup instructions will be shared the week of September 22 in preparation for fall conference sign-ups opening up on October 3 at 12 p.m.

Please review the attached image for a detailed view of important parent communications dates throughout this school year

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. 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.

Health Forms:

Kindergarten Parents- Please upload your child’s health documents HERE. As a reminder, these forms were due by the first day of school (September 2nd).

2nd Grade Parents- As a reminder, all second grade students are required to provide a copy of their most recent dental exam. Please see the attached link for form and additional information. Please use the following link to upload your child's dental form.

You can find more information about district health policies here.

Spirit Day:

Crow Island Spirit Day will be on FRIDAYS this year! Our first Crow Island Spirit Day will be on Friday, September 5th. Get your Crow Island Spirit wear from our PTO Store here!

After-School Programs:

Right At School

The District has partnered with Right At School, headquartered in Evanston, to provide after-school care for students. The Right At School Program will be offered all days school is in session. After School programming is available until 6:00 P.M. Registration is now open.

Discovery Clubs by Right at School

Crow Island's PTO, in partnership with the District, offers extracurricular activities called Discovery Clubs, specialty programming for Crow Island students after the school day ends. These seasonal Clubs are offered in three sessions - fall, winter and spring. Crow Island PTO works with the Discovery Club provider, Right at School, to offer an array of programming focused on STEM, arts and movement with offerings across age groups. The fall session begins on September 22 and runs through December 5, and registration opens Monday, September 8. Preview the activity offerings here on the PTO website.

After School Sports

Crow Island After School Sports is live on the District Web Store. Registration opened at 9am on Tuesday, September 2nd. This is open for 3rd and 4th grade students.

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