Hubbard Woods Family Newsletter

I am excited to invite our families to join us as we celebrate and honor Mr. Wendt for his many years of service to our Hubbard Woods community and his deep dedication to the arts and to our children. This celebration also marks the official announcement of Mr. Wendt’s retirement, as he closes an extraordinary chapter of service and impact at Hubbard Woods. Mr. Wendt's last day will be Friday, December 19th.

For so many years, Mr. Wendt has been a fierce advocate for the arts and for educating the whole child. He has ensured that our students experience learning that is meaningful, enriching, and rooted in creativity, expression, and joy. His work reflects the heart of progressive education and our belief that the arts are not an extra, but an essential part of a child’s growth and development.

One of the most special legacies Mr. Wendt has given our school is our school song, written alongside previous 4th grade students. Each time our students sing with pride, they are living out our shared commitments and expectations of: We Stand with Pride. We Give All We’ve Got. We Respect and Include. These moments remind us that music at Hubbard Woods has always been about far more than singing. It is about coming together as a community in unison and in joy.

As we celebrate Mr. Wendt, we also reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the arts remain a central part of who we are as a school and how we support the whole child.

I hope you will join us for his final Winter Sing and in honoring all that Mr. Wendt has given to our students, past, present, and future. We invite you to join us our Hubbard Woods students for Mr. Wendt’s final Winter Sing as a special way to honor his legacy and the joy he has brought to our school through music.

With gratitude,

Ivory

After 36 years of winter shows/sings, I can safely say that the most important element of any elementary performance is JOY. I could go on and on about their pitch and rhythm, their understanding of form, or their creativity in composing/arranging/curating the songs, but I want to focus on the social-emotional impact of singing together. A great deal of science tells us that singing together impacts both physical and emotional well-being. With this lens, I want to offer some thoughts about our upcoming Winter Sing.

What makes our Winter Sing such a special tradition is you. This is the Sing where you get to sit with your child(ren). This is the Sing where families get to make music together. This is the Sing that brings our community together in a unique way.

This is also the Sing where kids observe your interactions with music and with singing. I encourage you to:

• Sing loudly no matter your pitch.

• Sing happily no matter your mood.

• Sing confidently no matter your self-perception.

Our singing tells a story, not only about the content we share through our creativity and curation but also about ourselves—how we collaborate with and listen to each other. We hope that what you see and hear when you join us for our Sings transcends “Cute!” and brings you to “Wow...”

Sing joyfully!

Mr. Wendt

And now for some practical info:

Schedule:

Last name families N-Z 9:00 AM show

families A-G 10:30 AM show

families H-M 1:00 PM show

Kindergarten families: please go to your child(ren)’s homeroom to pick them up when you attend. They need to sit on your lap due to limited seating.

1st - 4th gr. families: your kids will meet you in the lobby, and we usually spill into the hallways for meetups when we do not have enough space.

What to wear:

Kindergarten - Look nice. No need for bow ties, but clean up and wear something you would wear to a nice family gathering. Add one piece of winter “gear” to your outfit, like a scarf or a hat, or gloves. Your part in the show is about being outside in the snow.

1st Grade - Pajamas! Your part in the show is about being stuck inside on a snow day.

2nd Grade - Like the Kindergarteners, wear something nice, but add one piece of winter gear to your outfit. Your part in the show is about playing snow games in your yard on a snow day.

3rd Grade - Wear anything with patterns on it (if you have it). Plaids, stripes, florals, etc. And if you don’t have any patterns, they go with a blue theme.

4th Grade - Look nice. No sweats or sports clothes. No need for bow ties, but wear something you would wear to a nice family gathering/dinner.

We will be welcoming a long-term substitute music teacher who will be with us for the remainder of this school year. We have a candidate going through the onboarding process and pending Board approval, we will formally announce the teacher to the school community. The projected start date is January. This will provide consistency and continuity for our students.

Looking ahead, we plan to begin the hiring process for a permanent, full-time music teacher in March/April of 2026 for the 2026–2027 school year. Beginning the search at this time will allow us to generate a larger pool of candidates and engage in a thorough process to ensure the best possible fit for our students and school community.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we remain committed to providing a high-quality, enriching music program for all of our students.

A friendly reminder to please review the traffic flow map to support safe and efficient arrival and dismissal. Thank you for continuing to be mindful of our neighbors by not using or blocking their driveways during drop-off and pick-up times. Additionally, please pay close attention to the posted signage around the school, as there are designated areas for no parking, standing, or stopping. These guidelines help ensure that our crosswalks remain clear and safe for students and families.

Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our children safe and maintaining positive relationships within our community.

In March 2021 the District began providing state-mandated sexual abuse prevention education for all students in compliance with Erin’s Law. Erin’s Law is prevention-based, bringing sexual abuse education into public schools using age appropriate curriculum. Thanks to Erin’s Law, children are being taught to recognize abuse and learning what to do if they need assistance. Erin’s Law requires all public schools to provide education on sexual abuse prevention for all students, early childhood through 12th grade, annually. This law also requires educators to take part in training classes that cover sexual abuse and how to recognize warning signs.

The Erin’s Law curriculum will be taught in your child’s regular classroom or advisory by a school social worker and/or their classroom/advisory teacher. Elementary students will take part in three to four lessons, each lasting 20–30 minutes, over the course of a few weeks starting in January. All materials and activities are developmentally appropriate for each grade level. Middle School students will participate in one lesson taught by their advisor and/or social worker in March. For more information about the curriculum, please visit the District website.

We understand this can be a sensitive topic for some families and we have resources for you, as parents/guardians, to learn more about this program.

Our elementary school social workers will be holding open office hours on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 from 10-10:30am. The meeting link can be found here; Meeting ID: 819 7168 4256/Passcode: 655079. You may also reach out individually to your school’s social worker if you have specific questions about the program.

Parents have the option to opt their children out of the program as they deem appropriate. The opt-out form must be completed and returned to the building principal by January 9, 2026. Please feel free to contact Dana Ruecker, Assistant Director of Student Services, Equity, and Inclusion, with additional questions or concerns about Erin’s Law.

December is National Human Rights Month, a time to reflect on the importance of treating all people with dignity, kindness, and respect. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the values of fairness and equality that help create welcoming communities for everyone.

Welcome 3rd and 4th graders. We are happy to announce that we will continue to offer After School Sports. This year, the activities will include Kinetic Wellness's favorite games and new exciting activities specific to this class. We will meet each group once a week after school for ten weeks. This class will run on Tuesday for 3rd grade and Wednesday for 4th grade from 3:15-4:00 p.m. We look forward to another fun session.

HW After School Sports is live on the District Web Store. Registration opens at 9am on Tuesday, December 9th.

Two of the Winnetka Parent Institute offerings so far this year have been focused on the tenets of Progressive Education. If you missed it, check out the following presentations to learn more about instructional philosophy that roots our work and shapes the opportunities we design for our students.

• Experiential & Meaningful Learning presentation and video.

• Whole Child Approach presentation and video.

Join us for the third installment focused on Collaborative Community:

December 10, 2025

9:30 A.M.

https://winnetka36.zoom.us/j/87477059974?pwd=LaBSpD0VjkfHeEnEFP5RqzzgacBqHy.1

Meeting ID: 874 7705 9974

Passcode: 328845

RSVP for this event here

• Tuesday, December 16th - School Board Meeting at 7:15pm at Washburne
• Wednesday, December 17th - Winter Sing - Please plan to attend based upon your child's last name as follows:
• A - G: 10:30 AM
• H - M: 1:00 PM
• N - Z: 9:00 AM
• 12/20-01/04 Winter Break (No School)
• Monday, January 5th - School Resumes