November 1, 2019

  • Posted November 1, 2019
Principal's Message Photo

NEW

Ivy Hall School Report Card (New) 

See Our Illinois School Report Card Through its Illinois School Report Card, the Illinois State Board of Education provides a comprehensive view for the previous year of a public school’s progress in the areas of academics, the school environment, finances, staff qualification and retention, and more.

See the Ivy Hall Elementary School State Report Card for the 18–19 school year.

Ivy Hall is designated an Exemplary School.

For more info in a downloadable pdf format, see Ivy Hall At-a-Glance.

IT'S COLD OUTSIDE! (New)

Please remember to send your child to school daily with proper outerwear.  Weather permitting students go outside for recess every day. In winter the temperature and wind chill and weather conditions will be monitored throughout the morning.  The weather website and playground will be checked to determine whether conditions are appropriate for children’s outdoor recess. When the temperature or wind chill is below zero degrees, students will be kept inside for recess.  We weigh options when the temperature or wind chill is between zero to ten degrees, to determine if we have indoor or outdoor recess, such as how damp it is outside. We do try to allow the children to go outside whenever possible, so please help them to come prepared. Thank you!

How is Outdoor vs. Indoor Recess Determined (New)

Weather permitting students go outside for recess every day.  In winter the temperature and wind chill and weather conditions will be monitored throughout the morning.  The weather Website and playground will be checked and outside supervisors consulted to determine whether conditions are appropriate for children’s outdoor recess.  When the temperature or wind chill is below zero degrees, students will be kept inside for recess. When the temperature or wind chill is 0 – 10 degrees, students may go outside for a shortened recess period.  If a student has a doctor’s note or a medical condition, he or she may stay inside the building office for recess.

Determination of whether children will have outdoor recess will be made prior to each recess period, based on the weather at the moment and in the judgment of the principal or his or her designee.  Any request for prolonged indoor recess MUST come from the child’s physician.

Waste Free Friday Lunch (New)

Ivy Hall will have waste-free lunches on Fridays during the school year. Here are some tips to help your child participate in waste-free Fridays and everyday!

How to Pack A Waste-Free Lunch

  • Use reusable containers for food
  • Use real silverware
  • Use cloth napkins
  • Use a water bottle or thermos
  • Buy large bags of chips and put into individual servings
  • Use lunchbox or reusable sack
  • Don’t send too much food

Halloween - Thank You - Pictures - Video (New)

Thank you all for volunteering, donating food and other items, and coming out to see the parade. There are a bunch of photos from the parties that you can view by clicking the link here. You can also view the parade that was held indoors due to inclement weather, by clicking the link here.

PTO News/Blog (New)

PTO Blog: This is always linked in my blog post below. PTO general information. Check out the blog!!! Please no masks, blood, super scary stuff, general iciness, or weapons

Upcoming Events (New)

  • November 4 @ 7:00 pm - Band Concert - Twin Groves Middle School
  • November 5 @ 6:30 pm - New Comer's Evening - Ivy Hall School Mat Room
  • November 7 @ 7:00 pm - Orchestra Concert - Woodlawn Middle School
  • November 14 @ 6:30 pm - IH PTO Executive Board Meeting (Learning Center)
  • November 15 - Half Day - Dismissal @ 11:45am
  • November 21 @ 6:30 pm - Family Reading Night @ Ivy Hall
  • November 25
    • Early Release @ 2pm
    • Conferences 5pm-7pm (Traditional Format)
  • November 26
    • Conferences 2pm-7pm (Traditional Format)
    • No school for students
  • November 27,28,29 - No School (Building Closed)
  • December 2, 2019 - School Resumes

 

REPEATED ITEMS

Car Pick Up & Car Drop Off (Repeat)

ONLY MAKE A RIGHT-HAND TURN ONLY INTO THE SOUTHWEST LOT, please DO NOT MAKE A LEFT INTO THE SOUTHWEST LOT DURING CAR DROP OFF AND CAR PICK UP AT DISMISSAL. 

THIS PROCEDURE IS LISTED IN THE PARENT STUDENT HANDBOOK. THIS PROCEDURE HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR AT LEAST 3 YEARS. HERE

The traffic pattern for the CAR rolling drop off and CAR rolling pick up is clockwise around Ivy Hall. Your RIGHT TURN should be made from Penny Lane into the lot. NEVER A LEFT TURN into the southwest recess lot. 

We have and will continue to have the Buffalo Grove police helping us enforce this procedure. This procedure was developed with the Buffalo Grove Police Department for student safety. Thank you for helping keep kids safe.

Car Drop Off  *** Students must be signed in via the front office after 8:25am. Please DO NOT drop students off in the east lot, without walking them into the office and signing them in. 

Car Pick Up *** There are a few commercial vehicles that are permitted to make a left into the south lot. These vehicles do not participate in the rolling car line, but we have no other avenue to load these vehicles. This only occurs during CAR pick up. Thank you for your continued help allowing these vehicles into the lot. They will not join the line in front of you, they will pass on the right side of the line. We also stop the line to allow these vehicles to exit.

Car Pick Up area for Ivy Hall

*** Only students that are being picked up in the southwest lot are permitted to be in the lot.

IF YOU ARE WALKING TO THE SOUTHWEST LOT, MEETING A STUDENT, AND THEN WALKING AWAY … 

YOUR STUDENT IS A WALKER NOT A CAR PICK UP. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER AND MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT ACCORDING (SO YOUR STUDENT IS DISMISSED OUT THE NORTH EXIT). 

YOUR STUDENT WILL BE DISMISSED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING BY THE OFFICE. THIS WILL REDUCE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT NEED SUPERVISION IN THE SOUTHWEST LOT AND INCREASE SAFETY.

Picture Retakes Rescheduled to Monday, November 11, 2019 (Repeat)

Dear Ivy Hall Elementary School - Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for trusting Lifetouch to photograph your child this Fall. We consider it a privilege to serve you and strive to provide the highest quality service and products. 

Unfortunately, your experience with Lifetouch has not been up to our normal standards, and there is a delay in the delivery of your child’s school portrait packages and proofs. We sincerely apologize - this is not the delivery time frame that our customers should expect nor deserve from Lifetouch. With this delay, we are moving back retake day to Monday 11/11/19. 

This will give the families enough time to decide if they want to take a retake or not. This year, as part of our new relationship with Shutterfly Inc. we made an investment in infrastructure and manufacturing updates that will enable Lifetouch to provide even better service and products to our customers in the future. With this transition, in some instances, we are experiencing unexpected technical issues, and this has created an extended delay for your school. We are working diligently to improve the process and our technology team is working around the clock to resolve these issues. We value the relationship we have with our schools and customers. Thank you for the trust you place in Lifetouch to capture and deliver your child’s school memories in a timely manner. We appreciate your understanding and are making every effort to get your portraits to you as quickly as possible.

Sincerest apologies,

Johnny Grant - Vice President of Sales | Lifetouch School Photography

Family Educator Conferences (Repeat)

Our fall Family Educator Conferences will be held on Nov. 25th from 5pm-7pm and Nov. 26th from 2pm - 7pm.  Sign-ups for conferences will be sent via email on Nov. 5th. An approximate time for the receipt of the Nov. 5th email will be shared in an upcoming Principal’s Message.  The format of our fall conferences is teacher-led. In the spring, students will lead the conversation about their learning. Please know that if you cannot attend a conference during the scheduled days, your child’s teacher will work with you to set a time for a 15-minute phone conference.  

Vacation Homework Requests (Repeat)

Though removing students from school for vacations is generally discouraged, we recognize the importance of family vacations and the experiences they provide for students.  Please know that specific assignments replicating classroom instruction are not provided. Students are encouraged to read and journal while away from the classroom. Please read the Student Absence Due to Vacations section of our Parent/Student Handbook for full details.

Family Reading Night (Repeat)

Family Reading Night is Thursday, November 21st from 6:30-7:30. The theme for this year is SHOWTIME! Families will enjoy quality time reading with their children! We will also have teachers reading aloud with fun activities to go along with each book!  

Please keep in mind that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.  There will be two sessions. Your family will decide which stations to attend. Once a choice is made, we ask that you remain with your child inside the classroom for the entire session. We look forward to seeing you there for this community event to celebrate READING!   ~Julie Heimer email: [email protected]

Blue Ribbon Ceremony (Repeat)

On Thursday, December 5, 2019, Ivy Hall will hold a community celebration for their recognition by the United States Department of Education. Ivy Hall was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award. If you intend to celebrate with us please respond no later than November 29, 2019, at 11:59 pm (this form will stop accepting responses at that time) using this FORM.