Dear Crow Island Families,
Last week was a full week of learning at Crow Island. Our second graders wrapping up their Winnetka History Units took a tour of Winnetka on a trolley (A bus this year because of ice). This unit is a connection to communities and second grade spent time learning about Crow Island and then Winnetka with a culmination experience of a tour provided by the Historical Society.
This week, we are looking forward to having our annual Valentine's Day celebration at Crow Island. More information is linked in the newsletter below.
Have a great week!
Luke
February:
- Friday, February 14: Valentine's Day at Crow Island
- Thursday, February 20: Winter Conference (non-attendance for students)
- Friday, February 21: Winter Conference (non-attendance for students)
March:
- Friday, March 7th: Parent Staff Party at Sunset Ridge Country 5:30pm
- Friday, March 14: 4th Grade Immigration Week Lunch
- Thursday, March 13th: Spring Sings, 1st Grade 5:45 pm, 2nd Grade 6:45 pm
- Friday, March 21st: Spring Break Starts
- Monday, March 31st: School Resumes
Monday Spirit Days:
As a reminder, every Monday is considered a Crow Island Spirit Wear Day. Staff and students are encouraged to participate.
Valentine's Day at Crow Island:
We are looking forward to celebrating Valentine's Day at Crow Island. You can learn more about classroom celebrations and other logistics here: VDay 2025.
Winter Conferences:
February 20th and February 21st is an opportunity for families to partner with teachers and better support our students. We look forward to collaborative conversations.
Conferences are scheduled for at least 25 minutes.
Conference sign-up will go out this week through homeroom teachers.
We ask that you prioritize conferencing during those days/times. If you can not meet in person during those days then the teacher will set up a virtual conference on those days.
Families should communicate and make one plan for their family. We want to avoid “splitting” the conference and having one parent in-person and another parent online.
Teachers will prefer an in-person conference so that work samples and a face to face conversation can take place.
All teachers are available for a conference, so if you wish to speak to a non-homeroom teacher for any reason you will want to email that staff member.
Monthly Observances | February | Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society—from activists and civil rights pioneers such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more. At Crow Island, students will engage in classroom activities that celebrate some of the individuals listed above. In addition, families can access the library cultivated collection for Black History Month. You can access the Crow Island Destiny Collection here.
Related Arts Highlight | KW
In recent weeks, we have focused on our hockey, gymnastics and climbing units. We progressed from playing scooter and floor hockey to learning about positional play during the hockey unit. We practiced our cartwheels, somersaults and roundoffs. Some favorites from the gymnastics unit were the rings, swinging ropes and the balance beams. We also worked on various stations in the climbing unit, emphasizing climbing and hand-eye coordination. Some of the students' favorite stations included the climbing wall, the rope, and the cargo net. Watching the students build their strength and confidence while having fun has been exciting. In the upcoming weeks, we will focus on low-organized games and our introduction to volleyball skills.
Math Night Feedback:
Thank you families for another marvelous Math Night! It was a pleasure to see so many students and their families having fun playing games together at Crow Island last week. We hope you were able to get a small glimpse of your student's math experience at school and observe first hand their enthusiasm, joy, and pride. Playing games is an important part of math instruction here at Crow Island. The games we play support our strategy instruction, help students build fluency, grow stronger in strategic thinking, and foster mathematical communities. Playing games at home is a perfect way to support your child's development as a math thinker.
This year for Math Night fourth grade students volunteered to help plan and run the event. They conducted surveys in each classroom and tallied their data to select which games we would have at Math Night. This process gave our student volunteers an opportunity to use their leadership, organization, and data analysis skills in a real life situation. We are so proud of how many student volunteers participated and the dedication and responsibility they showed. A special shout out to our PTO and fourth grade volunteers for doing a fantastic job helping host the event. Thank you for making the night such a success!
Leadership Rounding Feedback:
In the fall, Dr. Livingston and Dr. Tess met with parents in a leadership rounding format. One of the places that the parents indicating needing clarity was around homework practice at Crow Island. As part of the outcome, Dr. Livingston shared that the team would share back out around homework practices at Crow Island. In short, there is a consistent practice by grade level that builds from kindergarten through fourth grade. You can find the homework expectations K-4 at Crow Island 2024-25.
Contagious Illness Update from the Nurses:
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 influenza, strep, and GI viruses. Please keep our health guidelines in mind when thinking of sending your child to school.
If your child is not feeling well and you are uncertain about sending him/her on any given school day, it is best to keep him home and observe him for further symptoms. If a child is too ill to attend school in the morning it is recommended that he/she stay home all day.
Everyone needs to be fever/vomiting/diarrhea free for 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school.
Winnetka Parents Institute Sessions
The District offers regular sessions for families to learn more about a variety of topics. View the entire 2024/2025 schedule here.
Up Next:
From Washburne to New Trier: A D36 Parent's Guide to the New Trier Transition
February 12, 2025
9:30 A.M.
Location: Carleton Washburne School RC
Join Paul Waechtler, Principal at the New Trier High School Freshman
Campus, who will discuss the New Trier freshman placement process and the efforts made to ensure a smooth transition to high school. A Q & A will provide an opportunity for parents to learn more about how to best support their child(ren) as they prepare for their New Trier experience.
Interested:
If you missed it, view videos from past sessions:
Otus/aimswebPlus Update (K-6 only)
AimswebPlus Math scores for grades K-6 are now viewable by parents in Otus. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Kindergarten Registration:
Registration for incoming kindergarteners and students new to The Winnetka Public Schools in 2025/2026 will begin November 18, 2024. Children who will be five-years-old on or before September 1, 2025, are eligible to enroll. Questions related to School Admissions and age requirements are addressed in School Board Policy 7:50 School Admissions and student Transfers to and from Non-District Schools.
Safety Protocol: Before/After School:
We are grateful for your cooperation as we’ve worked to improve safety and security practices at our schools. That said, I would like to give some reminders when dropping off or picking up your children from before and school after school programs.
For before and after school care/activities:
When parking your car or waiting in your car for your child(ren) please remember to not block any driveways in and around the school if you park on the street.
Please follow their instructions involving pickup. i.e., sign in and out protocols.
Do not leave your vehicle running when you come inside, even leaving your vehicle momentarily is a safety hazard and provides opportunities to thieves.
Please use the designated parking spots to avoid blocking the lane of traffic when parking in the school lot.
If you need to walk your chil(dren) to the building please use the designated door that after school staff have identified as the pickup dropoff location.
It is strictly prohibited to enter school buildings outside of regular school hours without a staff member escort. This includes going to the RC or the child's classroom to pick up something they may have forgotten.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school as safe as possible.
Powerschool Data Breach Update
In early January, the District notified families of a recent data breach impacting many of the 18,000 school districts that use PowerSchool globally.
The Winnetka Public Schools has been working with PowerSchool leadership regarding this data breach, and they have informed us that they plan to offer credit monitoring to anyone whose data was involved in the breach, regardless of whether it included “personal information” that could be used for identity theft purposes.
In the coming weeks, PowerSchool plans to reach out directly with information on accessing this credit monitoring offer. Whether or not you receive an email or letter, you may also visit PowerSchool’s website to learn how to activate the offer from Experian: http://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/.
We encourage families and staff to take advantage of this complimentary credit monitoring service.
Follow us on Social Media!
Please follow the District via the following social media platforms in order to see day-to-day happenings and more.
Facebook and Twitter: @Winnetka36
Instagram: @WinnetkaPublicSchools
Contact Us
Email: christinedemas-hall@winnetka36.org
Website: https://crowisland.winnetka36.org/
Location: 1112 Willow Road Winnetka, IL 60093
Phone: (847)-446-0353
Twitter: @CrowIslandD36