Greeley Greeting

Dear Families,

As we head into September, Greeley will kick off the month with Greeley Safety Week!

As you may have seen in Mr. Finnerty’s newsletter on Friday and on Sunday, each school will dedicate a week to practicing important safety drills. These drills give our students and staff an opportunity to review and practice our safety protocols together in a calm and age-appropriate way.

We’ll wrap up the week on a fun note with one of our favorite new traditions—High Five Friday! Members of the Winnetka Police and Fire Departments (as well as Winnie the Therapy Dog) will join us Friday morning to greet students, strengthen our community partnerships, and, of course, hand out plenty of high fives!

Here’s what we have planned:

• Monday: Shelter Drill (Tornado)
• Tuesday: Evacuation Drill (Fire)
• Wednesday: Lockdown Drill
• Thursday: No Scheduled Drills
• Friday: High Five Friday! 8:20–8:30 a.m.

If you would like to opt your child out of Wednesday’s lockdown drill, please complete the linked opt-out form by 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions. We appreciate your partnership as we help our students learn and practice the safety response protocols that keep our Greeley community safe!

Warmly,
Principal Kopinski

August

• Monday-Friday, 8/31-9/4: Greeley Safety Week (Safety Drills conducted, High Five Friday with Winnetka Police and Fire)

September

• Monday, 9/7: No School (Labor Day)

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

• Wednesday 9/23: Greeley Picture Day

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

• Thursday 9/24: Greeley Go to School Night 6:00-7:30 pm (Parents and Caregivers Only Please)

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

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 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.

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.

When driving around Greeley during arrival and dismissal, please take extra care to keep all crosswalks clear. If traffic is backed up, please remain behind the stop sign until there is enough space for your vehicle to move completely through the crosswalk.

Keeping crosswalks open helps our crossing guards provide a safe pathway for the many students and families who walk and bike to school each day.

Thank you for your patience, attention, and partnership in helping arrival and drop-off run safely and smoothly for everyone!

Ms. Newton and Ms. Frederick are thrilled to offer a fall club opportunity! Please see their flyer below to learn more. Registration is now open! The link for registration is provided below the flyer.

Coming Soon: Mr. Dunafin is looking forward to continuing to host After School Sports Club for students in grades 3 and 4. He will also take over the Pokemon Club for Ms. Cornyn. Flyers with more information coming soon!

In our continued commitment to ensure that our campuses are safe for students and staff to learn and work we are making some adjustments to our daily operations to improve security:

• Outdoor play at all five campuses will be restricted to fenced or otherwise protected areas at the rear of our buildings.

• Decorative safety bollards will be installed in phases to increase traffic safety during arrival and dismissal. Bollards are sturdy, reinforced posts designed to help prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering pedestrian areas while allowing students, staff, and visitors to move safely throughout campus. The bollards selected for our schools have been chosen to complement each building's architecture and historic character, blending seamlessly into the landscape while providing an important security enhancement.

• Supervising staff will be easily identifiable in reflective vests while outdoors with students at any time.

• Food delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats will no longer be permitted to enter our buildings, reducing the number of unidentified visitors to our campuses as well as the time it takes away from our office staff. Parents may drop off of forgotten lunches up until 10:30 a.m. on school days.

We know these changes create periods of adjustment for everyone; however, we have an obligation to prioritize safety over convenience and ensure our campuses are as secure as they can be for our students, staff and visitors. We appreciate your partnership in adjusting to these changes.

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.

We continue to be excited to welcome our students each morning with a short play opportunity and want to share a few reminders so that arrival runs smoothly and safely for everyone.

Playground Supervision
Staff will begin supervising both playgrounds at 8:20 a.m.

Bus Riders

• Buses drop off on Hawthorn.

• Students will enter the Grades 1–4 playground through the Hawthorn Gate.

• K bus riders will be walked to the K playground by a staff member after disembarking.

Walkers

• Please encourage your child to always use a crosswalk when coming to school. Both corners of Hawthorn as well as the corner of Fairview and Elder are staffed with crossing guards.

• Walkers may enter through either the Hawthorn Gate, the Kindergarten Elder Gate, or the Woodland Gate.

Bike Riders

• Bikes should be parked in the racks in front of the school.

• After parking, bike riders will walk to the 1-4 playground.

• Students may not walk through the staff parking lot.

Car Riders

• Drop-off begins at 8:20 a.m. on Fairview Ave only.

• Cars should pull into the four-car cutout area for students to safely exit.

• Students will then walk to the Kindergarten Fairview or Elder Gates to join the playground.

• To keep things moving, drivers must remain in their vehicles.

• If your child needs help getting out of the car, we ask that you use legal street parking and walk your child to the playground.

Classroom teachers will meet their classes on the playground at 8:30am and guide them to their classrooms. Supervising staff will only remain outside until the tardy bell rings at 8:37am. If a student arrives later than 8:37am, they should head to the front of the school and enter at Door 1.

We appreciate your partnership in helping us start the day with a safe and smooth arrival for all of our students!

School Hours:

8:20am | Morning supervision begins

8:30am | School Doors open

8:37am | School promptly begins

2:45pm | Grades K-4 dismissal (Mondays only)

3:15pm | Grades K-4 dismissal (Tuesday-Friday)

Office Email: danarahkhem@winnetka36.org

Location: 275 Fairview Avenue Winnetka, IL 60093
Phone: (847)-446-6060