This week, our preschoolers explored themes of friendship, love, and caring for one another through hands-on Valentine’s Day activities. They created colorful tissue paper hearts, transformed their handprints into beautiful flower “bouquets” for someone special, and worked together on a collaborative art project using paper towel rolls to stamp and paint bright hearts. A highlight of the week was listening to the story Love Monster, which sparked meaningful conversations about kindness and belonging. The week wrapped up with lots of smiles as students joyfully passed out valentines to their friends.

Winter parent/teacher conferences were today and will also be on February 19. Parent/teacher conferences on February 19 will be in-person and will be from 3:30-7:00 p.m. in your child’s classroom at the ECC.

You will sign-up for conferences using Parent Square. Your child’s teacher sent you an invitation to do this on Wednesday, January 28.

If you need an interpreter, please let your child’s teacher know as soon as possible.

This is a reminder to participate in the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey before March 13.

This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

 

A parent survey report will be generated if at least 20 percent of parents/guardians at the Early Childhood Center's and Old Orchard Junior High complete this survey. The parent data will not be included on the State Report Card.

  

To take the survey please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. Because the Early Childhood Center is part of Old Orchard Junior High, please type in and select Old Orchard Junior High School in the School field when you log in.

 

For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ Reports, please visit https://www.5-essentials.org/illinois. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact UChicago Impact Survey Support at 1-866-440-1874 or impact-surveys@uchicago.edu. 

Last Thursday, we sent home a Ziploc bag full of materials in the event the District needs to have an E-Learning Day because of inclement weather. Please remove the bag from your child's folder and backpack and keep it in a safe place at home. Please do not open the bag of materials at this time. If the District closes schools for an E-Learning Day, your child's teacher will send a message with instructions about what to do with the materials either on the E-Learning Day or the day before the E-Learning Day. 

We have a very limited number of extra sets and will not be able to send replacement bags of materials.

It is winter in Skokie. Please be sure to dress your child appropriately for the conditions. We will continue to go outside for gross motor activities when the feels like temperature is at or above 15 degrees Fahrenheit and the playground is not too wet.

To help your child stay comfortable and safe outdoors, please send them to school with:

If your child has a set of extra clothes at the ECC, please send us a pair of pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and socks.

Please also make sure to label all clothing and personal items with your child’s name to help prevent them from getting lost or mixed up with others.

Morning students attend school from 9:00-11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday. Drop-off time is 8:55 a.m.

Afternoon students attend school from 12:15-2:45 p.m. Monday-Friday. Drop-off time is 12:10 p.m.

Please arrive on time because our staff is unavailable to watch your child before or after sessions. Once school starts at 9:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., you will need to walk your child to our main entrance and sign your child in.