The Hubbard Woods Wire

Although the school year has only just begun, Hubbard Woods is most certainly in full swing. Our hallways are once again alive with the joyful sounds of children’s voices, laughter, curiosity, and connection. Each day, students are settling into new routines, building relationships, and beginning the meaningful work of learning together.

There is something special about these first weeks of school: classrooms become communities, familiar faces reconnect, and new friendships begin to take shape. We are energized by the enthusiasm our students bring each day and grateful for the partnership of our families as we begin another year of growth.

We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to the Hubbard Woods PTO for their kindness and generosity. We especially appreciated the care they showed in ensuring that staff members were so well fed during Institute Day. Their thoughtfulness helped our team feel welcomed and ready to begin the school year together.

At Hubbard Woods, we are committed to creating a place where every child feels known, supported, challenged, and excited to learn. We look forward to all that this year will bring and to the many moments, big and small, that will help make it a memorable one.

Sincerely,

Emily

I want to acknowledge that arrival and dismissal on the first day of school felt clunky, to say the least. We recognize that transitions at the beginning and end of the school day set the tone for families and students, and we know the experience did not reflect the smooth, welcoming, and safe process we want for our community.

Following the first day, our staff came together to debrief, reassess our procedures, and make adjustments to both staffing and traffic flow. As the week progressed, we saw meaningful improvement, and we appreciate your patience, flexibility, and partnership as we worked through the learning curve of a new school year.

Please remember the following:

• The A–L and M–Z lanes are designated car lanes for students who are dropped off and/or picked up by car each day.

• When dropping off students in the morning or picking them up at dismissal, please remain in your car and do not leave it unattended. A staff member will be available to help your child enter or exit safely.
• Students who walk or ride bicycles to school may enter through Door 1 on Chatfield Road.

• For everyone’s safety, students riding bicycles must dismount and walk their bikes when crossing the street and while traveling along the sidewalks surrounding the school perimeter.

We will continue refining these systems in collaboration with Mr. Ray Finnerty, our Director of Safety and Security. Our shared goal is clear: to ensure that every student begins and ends the day with an arrival and dismissal process that is safe, efficient, and respectful of families' time.

September

• Monday, 9/7: No School (Labor Day)

• Tuesday 9/8: Hubbard Woods Picture Day

• Monday-Friday, 9/14 - 9/17: Hubbard Woods Safety Week (Safety Drills conducted, High Five Friday with Winnetka Police and Fire)

• Thursday 9/17-Wednesday 9/30 Fall Benchmark Assessment Window Open

• Monday, 9/21: No School (Yom Kippur)

• Thursday 9/24: Hubbard Woods Go to School Night 6:00-7:30; Parents and Caregivers Only Please.

As part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe, secure, and student-focused learning environment, food delivery services (including DoorDash, Uber Eats, local restaurants, and similar providers) are not permitted to enter Hubbard Woods School. This helps us limit the number of unidentified visitors on campus and allows our office staff to remain focused on supporting students, families, and the school day.

If your child forgets a lunch, families are welcome to drop it off in the school office by 10:30 am on school days. Please clearly label all items with your child's name and classroom or grade level so we can ensure they are delivered promptly.

Thank you for your partnership in helping us keep our school safe, organized, and centered on learning.

Welcome, 3rd graders! We are happy to announce that Mr. Klip and Coach K will continue to offer After School Sports. This year, the activities will include Kinetic Wellness's favorite games, as well as new and exciting activities specifically designed for this class. We will meet each group once a week after school for ten weeks. This class will run on Tuesdays, for 3rd grade students only.
Additional details:

• Session runs from 9/15-11-17, 3:15-4:00 pm
• Registration opens on Tuesday, 9/01 at 9:00 am through the District Web Store

Welcome, 4th graders! We are happy to announce that Mr. Klip and Coach K will continue to offer After School Sports. This year, the activities will include Kinetic Wellness's favorite games, as well as new and exciting activities specifically designed for this class. We will meet each group once a week after school for ten weeks. This class will run on Wednesdays, for 4th grade students only.
Additional details:

• Session runs from 9/16-11-18, 3:15-4:00 pm
• Registration opens on Tuesday, 9/01 at 9:00 am through the District Web Store

As part of The Winnetka Public Schools' ongoing commitment to equity by fostering connection and belonging, and in alignment with our progressive tenet of building a collaborative community, our schools will take time each month to recognize the contributions of people from diverse backgrounds. Observances will look different across schools and grade levels, and may include activities such as art, music, book studies, research projects, sharing cultural holidays and celebrations, and other school activities.

In September, we are celebrating Latinx Heritage Month as well as Patriot Day.

• Families can learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month here.

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

• To see what is coming up each month, you can refer to our monthly observance calendar here

Parents/guardians of students receiving special education services are invited to complete this survey.

As a part of the district's focus on strategic planning for the future, we are engaging with The Ability Challenge to complete an analysis that will help us better understand the strengths and growth opportunities related to how we serve students with disabilities in Winnetka. Your perspective is very valuable to us because we want to understand how all members of the community experience the support we provide.

We invite you to complete this anonymous survey. Your responses will be available only to our partners at The Ability Challenge. They will provide the district with updates about completion rates, and the overall trends will help inform findings of their analysis. Individual responses will not be identifiable or able to be attributed to any single respondent.

We thank you for your participation and partnership in helping us serve all students equitably and well in Winnetka.

This year, students in Kindergarten through Grade 4 are using Innovamat, our new core mathematics resource.

Innovamat is designed to help students develop strong mathematical understanding through problem-solving, discussion, exploration, and opportunities to revisit important ideas over time. Families may notice that concepts are intentionally revisited throughout the year with increasing depth and complexity.

As students begin their first “Stretch” (unit of study), Innovamat provides an Info for Families resource that offers a helpful look at the mathematics students will explore and ways families can better understand the learning taking place in class.

Select your child’s grade below to view the first Info for Families resource:

• Kindergarten: [Link]

• Grade 1: [Link]

• Grade 2: [Link]

• Grade 3: [Link]

• Grade 4: [Link]

We encourage families to use these resources as a window into classroom learning and as a starting point for conversations with your child about the mathematics they are exploring.

We also hope you will consider joining us for our WPI on October 7, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Exploring Innovamat: A Fresh Approach to K–4 Mathematics. This will be an interactive introduction to Innovamat, our new K–4 mathematics resource. Parents will experience math learning as our students do—exploring problems, sharing strategies, and building understanding through discussion and discovery, all while learning how Innovamat’s spiraled approach develops confident, flexible mathematical thinkers.

RSVP here

Beginning in the Fall of 2024, The School Board approved the introduction of Yondr Pouches in grades 5-8, eliminating the use of personal technology on our middle school campuses. Personal technology includes items such as cell/smart phones, airpods/earbuds, smartwatches, etc. While our K-4 schools do not utilize Yondr Pouches, access to personal technology is not allowed on any of our school sites during school hours and will be enforced. Students are not to engage with personal technology during instructional hours and will be subject to disciplinary consequences for using personal technology, including but not limited to parents reclaiming devices in the main office, and/or loss of privileges. Parents may call the main office of their child’s school to relay any messages during the school day.

When it comes to instructional technology, these are tech devices that are issued by the District for student use. While we have an educational obligation to ensure our students are appropriately exposed to technology to equip them with the skills and discernment to be responsible users, we are also a school district rooted in a deep history of progressive education, which places a high value on experiential and meaningful learning through hands-on, imaginative, social and highly engaging learning experiences. We are committed to ensuring that these two educational responsibilities (technology and progressive education) co-exist in our classrooms. As a result, we will be seeking staff and family feedback on the use of instructional technology. We will use this information to help us shape clearer guidelines and communication for staff and families on the use of instructional technology in the classroom. Keep an eye out for opportunities to learn more and share your feedback.

Volunteers play an important role in supporting our students, staff, and schools. It is important that we take every reasonable step to ensure that visitors to our campuses and anyone engaging with our students (this includes field trips) are safe to do so. The Winnetka Public Schools will be using Raptor VolunteerSafe to manage volunteer applications, approvals, and background screening requirements across the District in order to ensure safe engagement of volunteers on our campuses and with our students. All those interested in volunteering for the schools in some capacity this school year, must engage with VolunteerSafe before they are approved to volunteer.

This new system will help us streamline the volunteer process, continue to follow The District’s Volunteer and Chaperone Guidelines and maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone on our campuses.

• Receive approval notifications electronically

• Complete required background screening requirements

• Manage volunteer information in one secure location

• Be approved for the school year to volunteer to support school events, field trips, or other volunteer opportunities

All volunteers, regardless of when you plan to volunteer in the district, will need to complete the volunteer application process and pay a $6.30 processing fee (paid during the registration). If you do not complete the Volunteer Safe application prior to September 1st you will not be cleared to volunteer in our buildings during the 26/27 school year. If you have an interest in volunteering this year, please complete the VolunteerSafe form.

The Village of Winnetka regulates the use of e-bikes, e-scooters, e-dirt bikes, and other motor-driven vehicles with the goal of sidewalk and roadway safety for all residents. These regulations apply to all village-owned or village-maintained property. Violations may result in a fine of $100 for both the operator and the parent/legal guardian (if applicable).

PLEASE REMEMBER:

Any person operating a device on a public road or public sidewalk must follow the rules of the road, including traveling below the posted speed limit. It is illegal to operate a vehicle with more passengers than the number it is designed/equipped for.

• Please walk all bikes in the downtown area
• It is illegal to modify a device from its original design to change its speed, method of propulsion or braking, or to remove pedals, chains, or add a throttle.
• All individuals riding e-bikes must wear a helmet at all times.
• The person operating the device must be able to keep both hands on the handlebars/steering device at all times.