Washington School 847.965.4780

Upcoming Events

Find out more at Washington’s calendar. Visit www.emsd63.org/Washington for the

link.

February 21, 2020

Wildcat

Newsletter Inside

A Note from the

Principal

Family Literacy Night

Scholastic Book Fiar

Parent-Teacher

Conferences

Kindergarten

Registration

Family Resource

Center

Katharine Anderson

Principal

Find us online!

www.emsd63.org/Washington

Twitter @WashingtonD63

Facebook @EMSD63

Twitter @EastMaine63

Empowering all students to

succeed in a changing world.

Thursday, February 27 Literacy Night & Book Fair 6-7:30pm

Thursday, March 19 Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences 5-8pm

Monday, March 9 Early Release Day 12:10pm Dismissal

Friday, March 20 NO SCHOOL for students Morning Parent-Teacher Conferences 8-11am

Tuesday, March 17 NO SCHOOL: Election Day

March 23-27 NO SCHOOL: Spring Break

Office—847-965-4780

Fax—847-965-4807 Attendance Phone

847-965-1023

With the coldest part of winter still ahead of us, parents start to think about low-cost ways to keep their kids engaged in meaningful activities so they don’t spend too much time watching TV and playing video games. Here are some fun, educational activities you can try as a family. Read together. Kids benefit from hear ing adults read to them., and the text

can be in your native language. Better yet, take turns reading to each other. Kids of all ages should engage in some type of reading every day, even on school breaks.

Cook or bake something together. Measur ing is a great way to reinforce math skills such as fractions (If I need 1 cup of flour, I can use two 1/2 cups, four 1/4 cups etc….) and you get to enjoy eating the results!

Visit the public library to explore new books, magazines or videos. Check out the Niles Public Library at www.nileslibrary.org for information about activities at the library. You can use the library and attend many programs even if you don’t have a library card to check out books.

Hold a family game night. Old-fashioned board games like Monopoly require students to think strategically, and being the Banker reinforces practical math skills like making change. Other favorites like Yahtzee and Scrabble are great ways to practice math and literacy skills.

Bundle up and visit the Zoo. Did you know that the Lincoln park Zoo is open 365 days a year and it’s always free?

Create your own books. Wr ite a story together and let your kids draw pic-tures or cut them out of magazines to illustrate it.

Conduct a science experiment. Did you know you can make your own bubble solution with regular household dish soap? Let the kids research different recipes online, make several batches, and test them to see which one makes the most bub-bles, the biggest bubbles, or the longest –lasting bubbles.

Write letters or thank-you notes to friends and family who visited or gave your children gifts. Not only is it good writing practice, it’s a great lesson in expressing gratitude.

Put together a jigsaw puzzle or build something with blocks

Play outside. Go sledding or build a snowman. If there’s no snow, create your own scavenger hunt or just go to the playground. Even a simple game of tag gets everyone moving.

Wildcat Newsletter Empowering All Students to Succeed in a Changing World

A Note From the Principal

Why You Can’t

Function on Less Sleep

Sleep is crucial to a student’s learning and under-standing. Even minimal sleep loss can take a toll on a child’s mood, energy, effectiveness and ability to handle stress. If they want to feel their best, stay healthy, and perform up to their poten-tial, sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Skipping Sleep

First night of no sleep-can make a person cranky and clumsy. Two nights of no sleep-children and teens may have problems, thinking and performing tasks.

Lack of sleep adds up over time, so an hour less per night is like a full night without sleep by the end of the week. Among other things, sleep deficiency can lead to: decreased attentiveness, decreased short-term memory, inconsistent performance, delayed response time.

A good habit that children should implement is to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning., allowing for at least 8-9 hours of sleep.

Your Brain Needs Sleep, so you can:

Remember what you have learned

Pay Attention, focus and concentrate on important information

Solve problems and think of new ideas

Your Body Needs Sleep so your:

Muscles, bones and skin can grow

Muscles, skin and other parts can fix injuries

Body can stay healthy and fight sickness.

Family Literacy Night & Scholastic

Book Fair

Thursday, February 27th 6:00-7:30pm

Everyone is welcome to join us next week for our Spring Literacy Night and the Scholastic Book Fair. Bring your family and enjoy arts and crafts, literacy activities, games and shopping at the Scholastic Book Fair. You can make a bookmark, decorate a tote bag or whip up an easy snack. We look forward to everyone coming out and enjoying time together with family, friends and Washington Staff.

Spring 2020 Parent Teacher Conferences

Washington School will hold their Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences in March.

The dates and times are:

Thursday, March 19: 5:00-8:00pm

Friday, March 20: 8:00-11:00am

These conferences are optional to attend. Parents are al-

ways welcome to schedule a time to meet with your child’s teacher. Appointments are 20 minutes long. Teachers may

contact you directly to request an appointment with you and your child.

Parents can book appointments online starting Tuesday,

February 26 at 5:00pm. The deadline for online appointments is Monday, March 16th at 10:00pm. After

that time, you may contact the office directly at (847) 965-4780 to make an appointment. It is recommended that the

earlier you book an appointment, the easier it will be to coordinate the limited time slots that are available.

Book your appointment HERE

When to Keep a Child Home from

School As a parent or guardian, it can often times be difficult to

determine if a student should miss a day of school due

to illness. But it’s important to keep in mind; your deci-

sion will impact not only your child, but other students

at school as well. Here are some basic guidelines to

keep in mind when making your decision.

Fever—Your child should NOT go to school if his temperature is above 100.0 F. Your child’s tem-

perature should be normal for 24 hours before sending a child to school. If your child has a fever in the

evening they should not come to school the next morning; fever may occur again in the afternoon. Your

child should be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications before they return

to school.

Vomiting—If your child vomits during the night, do not send him to school the next day. He should

rest and be put on a liquid or soft diet. They should be free of any of these symptoms for 24 hours be-

fore they return to school.

Diarrhea—Loose stools have many causes. Children should not come to school until bowel move-

ments have normal consistency. They should be free of any symptoms for 24 hours before returning

back to school. If diarrhea persists or is accompanied by other symptoms, consult your physician.

Colds—If your child is exhibiting excessive cold symptoms (sneezing, coughing, runny nose, sore

throat, etc.) they should also be kept at home despite absence of fever. Frequent coughing and copious

nasal drainage are a distractor to your child being able to learn and increases the incidence of spreading

illness.

Earaches—Hearing is an important sense for learning. Earaches should never be ignored. Keep your

child home and contact a doctor. If there is ear discharge, with or without pain, notify your doctor for

evaluation.

Strep Throat—A child with strep throat who has been on antibiotics for 24 hours may return to

school.

Remember—School is a child’s work. It is important for normal development. If your child is absent

often, it may be harder to keep up with class. It is important your child does not miss more than a few

days of school a year due to illness.

If you have any questions regarding return to school after illness, call the school nurse, Mrs. Bauer, at

847-965-4780 x6302.

Wildcat Newsletter Empowering All Students to Succeed in a Changing World

Kindergarten Registration for the 2020-2021 School Year is coming…. before you know it!

If you, or someone you know has a child who will be 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2020, please let them know that registration for next

year begins the first full week of April. Here are the dates and times: Registration will take place at their local school building. If they are not sure of which school they are districted for, please have them check the

School Locator tool located here. Here is a link to our Kindergarten Registration Page where you can find out what you need to do/bring to be

ready for the big day! Dates and times: Wednesday, April 8th 9:00-11:00am & 1:00-3:00pm Thursday, April 9th: 1:00-3:00pm & 5:30-7:30pm

If you miss either of these dates, you can still register afterwards at your local school building.

There are so many awesome things going on at the new Family Resource

Center! Classes and events for all ages and stages. Take a look and see

what we have to offer!