Hubbard Woods Family Newsletter

Dear Hubbard Woods Families,

I want to say thank you to the Month of Service and Learning (MOSAL) committee, which was comprised of PTO and staff members. For this year's MOSAL project, we partnered with Grace Network. This past Thursday, every student at Hubbard Woods had the opportunity to assemble hygiene kits filled with items generously donated by our families. Your generosity made this hands-on service project possible, and we are deeply grateful for every contribution.

This service learning project helped students reflect on how they can begin to understand others' experiences and identify ways to support others that will also honor individuals' dignity with the hygiene kits that were created. My hope is that this annual project inspires a lifelong passion for service and kindness in each of our students.

We wrapped up the week with a joyful sock hop on Friday, celebrating the incredible achievement of surpassing our original goal of 1,000 kits and 1,000 pairs of socks. Thanks to your generosity, we assembled 1,518 hygiene kits and donated an astounding 3,202 pairs of socks.

Thank you for your ongoing support in fostering a spirit of giving within our community.

Warmly,

Ivory Ajavon

Principal

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.

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.

AimswebPlus Math scores for grades K-6 are now viewable by parents in Otus. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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.

Just a friendly reminder about our district’s pet policy: Dogs are not allowed on school property during school hours (8:00 AM – 4:00 PM) or during school events. The only exception is for registered support animals. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school environment safe and welcoming for all!

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:

RSVP here

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

• Understanding the IEP and 504 Processes: From Referral to Eligibility and Services (with Ms. Denise Matthews, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Equity and Inclusion, and Ms. Jackie Schwartz, Director of Student Services, Equity and Inclusion)

• Acceleration Applications Overview with Assistant Superintendent of Innovation, Teaching and Learning Dr. Becky Mathison

• Preschool/Kindergarten Family Information Night (with Winnetka Administration and Sue Stolzer, Early Childhood Assessment Team Lead from TrueNorth)

Dr. Kelly Tess chats with Department of Communications, Safety & Security leaders, Mr. Ray Finnerty (Director of Safety & Security in his first year in the District) and Ms. Kate Hughes (Director of Communications in her tenth year in the District). A retired police officer and former publicist seem to be an unlikely team–and what purpose does this Department serve? Mr. Finnerty shares how he has enhanced safety and security practices with the support of the Winnetka Police and Fire Departments. Ms. Hughes shares how the District’s communication strategies have evolved to align with current best practices, serving as a model for other Districts, as well as garnering six awards from the National School Public Relations Association between 2023-2024 and a record 65 awards from the Illinois School Public Relations Association since 2015.

Winnetka Voices is a podcast hosted by The Winnetka Public Schools, featuring candid conversations on issues relevant to education and shared resources to support our students and families.

Listen here:

Apple Podcast

Amazon

Spotify

iHeart

• Thursday, February 20th - No School for Students/ Parent Teacher Conferences (8:30am-5:30pm)

• Friday, February 21st - No School for Students/ Parent Teacher Conferences (8:30am-12:30pm)

• Tuesday, February 25th - School Board Meeting at Washburne at 7:15pm