Dear Families,
Well, this week certainly had it all! Students reporting in-person, saliva screenings, hybrid learning, and a snowstorm. I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks to all of our Ivy Hall families for your continued support while we continue to navigate the many challenges that each week brings. Your partnership and mutual support of our students truly make Ivy Hall a model partnership. Please take a few moments to review the contents of this week’s principal’s message.
Regards,
Principal Hanrahan
NEW *ERIN’S LAW*
An Illinois law known as Erin’s Law requires schools to implement an age-appropriate sexual assault and abuse awareness/prevention curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 12.
Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 researched and observed best practices and programs for delivering this instruction, selecting Victor Pacini to present Be Seen & Heard ©.
The focus of this developmentally appropriate and interactive program is to teach children skills to keep them safe from danger or abuse. Concepts discussed will include distinguishing safe from unsafe touches, safety rules at home and school, saying NO, safe/unsafe secrets, and telling a trusted adult, as well as reinforcing that an adult’s touching him or her is not the child’s fault. For more information about this presentation please go to www.victorpacini.com/peace-of-mind-2
The presentation to Ivy Hall students will be during the school day on February 19, 2021
If you prefer that your child does not attend this prevention education session, please submit your written request - or your questions - to me at [email protected]
NEW *Girls on the Run Interest Form*
The goal of Girls on the Run is to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, and physical development. At the end of the season, the girls participate in the Girls on the Run Chicago 5k. The program is open to girls in Grades 3-5. Running experience is not required.
This year, Ivy Hall is offering Girls on the Run Virtually. GOTR took the summer to create a great virtual program, and we believe it will provide an incredible experience for the girls. Even though Ivy Hall is currently in hybrid, due to guidelines from the district, GOTR will be FULLY VIRTUAL. Meetings will be 45 minutes online after school twice a week (on Wednesday and Thursday) and include 20-30 minutes of offline independent practice. The season will start in early March and go through early May and culminate with our own small-scale 5k or a GOTR virtual movement challenge (depending on health and safety conditions).
The fee for GOTR is determined on a sliding scale by GOTR and scholarships are available.
This year we may only include 12 girls due to GOTR and health and safety guidelines.
Please submit this form by Friday, February 12, 2020, if your student is interested in participating in Girls on the Run at Ivy Hall. Please understand that by submitting this form, you have not registered for Girls on the Run. Due to the nature of this year's program, we are limited in the number of participants we can allow this year. Depending on interest, if we receive more applications than slots, we may need to utilize a lottery system. Please have a conversation with your daughter that there is a possibility that she may not be able to participate this year. We encourage all interested girls to submit an interest form.
If you are interested in having your girl participate in the Spring Virtual 2021 Season, please fill out this interest form by February 12.
Also, regardless of whether continue in a hybrid model, unless our region moves to phase 5, GOTR 2021 will be fully virtual.
Please don't hesitate to email with any questions.
Coaches Jarrett, Litvan, and Pawlow
**depending on the number of applicants, we may need to utilize a modified lottery system to select girls for this year's program.
NEW *IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PARENTS OF IN-PERSON LEARNERS*
Parents who have children coming in must do their daily self-certification. It significantly slows down our arrival procedures when students don't have this.
Likewise, parents whose students do not bring their saliva samples will be called to come to the school and bring their student’s sample collection vial, barcode label, and plastic baggie and assist their student in collecting the sample.
Please remember that completing the daily self-certification and providing the weekly saliva sample is a commitment you made for your child to attend in-person. If there are repeat incidences for the daily self-certification and/or saliva collection, the student may need to go back to remote learning. Please set alarm reminders for yourself. I do not want anyone to have to move back to remote learning for this reason.
The schedule for saliva sample collection for EC–Grade 2 is as follows:
- Monday: Ivy Hall Grades 1-2 (Last names A-L)
- Thursday: Ivy Hall Grades 1-2 (Last names M-Z)
See MORE INFO regarding saliva samples and collecting them.
To access the required Daily Self-Certification Form, you need to log into TeacherEase each day your student will attend in person to submit self-certification.
This VIDEO gives instructions, including how to access the daily self-certification form using your cell phone (iOS or Android).
If you will be using your home computer to send daily self-certification, we suggest that you bookmark the TeacherEase website. The link is: https://www.teacherease.com/common/login.aspx
NEW *News from the Library*
I, Mrs. Heimer, am pleased to announce the purchase of over 1,500 e-books for our students to check out directly from home onto their iPads. Most of the classrooms have been introduced to a new app, called Sora by Overdrive. Children are allowed to check out one book at a time. They can also place one book on hold at a time.
Many of our books have a limited number of checkouts before they disappear forever. Because of this, we strongly encourage children to read a sample of the book before borrowing it. This way they can decide whether the book is a good fit and it will help our books last longer. In addition, we are asking students to return books as soon as possible so others may check them out.
Finally, If you have a public library card, students can add their public library and have thousands of more books to choose from. All you need is a library card. See this video for instructions on how to add a public library to the Sora app.
NEW *Picture Day # 2 - February 26 1pm-6pm*
Please mark your calendar for the second picture day to take place on Friday, February 26, 2021, from 1pm-6pm. There will be more details coming regarding safe distancing and other logistics in the very near future.
REPEAT *Classroom/Specials Classes Materials Needed*
Please remember to check the IVY HALL MATERIALS SHEET to see which materials your child will need for class. If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate teacher.
REPEAT *PREORDERING FREE MEALS FOR IN-PERSON LEARNERS*
If your child is participating in in-person learning next week and you would like your student to receive free meals in the building on those in-person days, please pre-order using the Linq website (onlineordering.linq.com). Find more information about how to create your account and how to order HERE.
Please place your orders by 6 p.m. Thursday for the week ahead. (For example, be sure you have placed your preorder for the week of Feb. 1–5 no later than Thurs., Jan. 28 at 6 p.m.)
These meals are free to all students through the Summer Food Service Program of the USDA. This program is anticipated to be in place through the end of this 2020–2021 school year.
REPEAT *In-Person Learning Protocols*
Parents whose hybrid in-person students will be learning in person, please be sure to review the Revised IN-PERSON LEARNING PROTOCOLS for information about health and safety protocols and expectations for families and their students who will be learning in-person in our schools.
REPEATING *Tech Hub*
KCSD96 Family Technology Hub! The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools related to Enhanced Remote Learning. On this site, you can find links to the recordings and the corresponding Slides decks for the parent/family informational sessions from last week. You can also find tutorials on how to use ZOOM, Schoology, Seesaw, Clever, Notability, and other iPad essential tools for student learning. Additionally, there is a link to email the technology support desk. Please save or bookmark this site. It will be updated with tools, resources, and tutorials through remote learning to better support your family.