February 26, 2021

February 26, 2021

Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe that next week we begin on March 1st. As we approach the anniversary of our schools deviating from what we knew then to be normal, I would like to thank the entire community for your partnership and all the sacrifices that have been made due to this great challenge. 

Please remember that our elementary schools will begin having in-person learners report to school on their pre-assigned Wednesdays. This week on March 3, we will begin our rotation of in-person students with last names beginning with the letters A through L. Procedures for students reporting for in-person learning will remain unchanged for the upcoming week. In-person students will continue our procedures with saliva screening on assigned days and families of in-person students still need to complete daily self-certification through TeacherEase. See you all next week.

Warmly, 

Principal Hanrahan


NEW *Regarding the District 96 Online Family Directory*

We have been informed that an outside organization has accessed our District 96 online Family Directory and has used email addresses contained in that directory for solicitation purposes.

This is a reminder that doing so is prohibited, as clearly stated in the District’s online student registration form.

There is no general public access to the online Directory. To access the online Family Directory, District 96 families must have agreed to include their District 96 student’s information in the Directory.

As a reminder, no parent may distribute copies of the Directory to outside interests, including business or charity organizations. In addition, the information contained in the Family Directory is not to be used for solicitation or commercial use.

NEW *Attention 5th Grade Parents- Twin Groves PTO Positions for the 2021-2022 School Year (Prairie & Ivy Hall)*

The Twin Groves PTO Executive Board would love to have you as part of our team! We need to fill the Co-President and Co-Treasurer positions for the 2021 - 2022 school year and we hope you'll check out these amazing opportunities. 

Please head over to Membership Toolkit to learn more and sign up at https://twingrovesmspto.membershiptoolkit.com/login?r=%2F.

New *PTO Blog*

As always, please check out our PTO blog for updates. LINK: https://www.kcsd96.org/ih/pto/blog

  • Culver's Fund Raiser Today
  • WILLIE THE WILDCAT COOKIES!
  • Ivy Hall PTO has open committees for next year. Please consider signing up via the PTO toolkit.

*** Special thanks to the Ivy Hall PTO Cultural Arts Committee for helping schedule, Yes We Can! with Lloyd Bachrach today. Our students learned all about Lloyds life and his hard work overcoming the challenges of his disability.

New *Yearbook Photo Collection Clarity*

My apologies for the lack of clarity for photo collections for the yearbook. Hopefully, this helps clear up the three different submission sites.

Clarity around photo submissions.

5TH GRADE TRIBUTE PHOTOS AND QUOTES – A baby pic, a pic of your child doing a special activity – along with a personal message (no more than 45 words please) to be featured in a special section of the yearbook for our departing fifth graders.

CANDIDS – photos of your child (ALL GRADES) participating in school activities while remote - learning.  These can be lunch photos at home, Halloween scavenger hunt, PTO sponsored activities (building Olympics, cookie/food kits), etc…

PORTRAITS (ALL GRADES) – if you are NOT participating in the school portrait program and/or have missed both picture dates, but you want your child to have a portrait - you can submit one for the class composite page in the yearbook.

***NO PHOTOS FROM ANY OF THE ABOVE CATEGORY WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER MARCH 27, 2021.  NO EXCEPTIONS.


Repeat: Illinois 5Essentials Survey

Share your thoughts about how your child’s school is doing on the 5Essentials for school success. On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. District 96 will participate in the statewide 2020–21 5Essentials Survey to meet state legislation and the Board’s mandate. District 96 parents may voluntarily participate to complete the survey. Please select the Parent Survey and begin.
 
Beginning in February and through Apr. 2, students and teachers will complete surveys to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. In District 96, students in grades 4–8 will complete their surveys on Mar. 19. 
 
This survey is designed to help school and district leaders better understand the parent/school relationship. All responses are anonymous. Parents are asked to complete a survey for each student attending a Kildeer Countryside District 96 school. The survey will be open through Apr. 2, 2021. Questions? See Frequently Asked Questions and/or contact 5Essentials Client Services 866.440.1874.

Repeat: Spring Parent/Educator Conferences

Spring Parent/Educator Conferences are right around the corner!  The conference will take place on Thursday, March 11th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, March 12th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.  These conferences will be 15 minutes in length and held remotely over Zoom.  We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign-up for conferences.  

Please know that the sign-up link will be sent out in a separate communication on Friday, February 19th at 7:00 pm.  

Meet The Teacher does not require that multiple conferences be made, but it does default to every teacher a student works with being checked.  These individuals include classroom teachers, specials teachers, related service staff, and interventionists that students work with.  Please see the picture below for directions on how to uncheck a teacher/interventionist if you do not need to meet with during conferences.

Repeat: Kindergarten and 2nd Grade Parents Dental Screening Reminder 

The Illinois School Code requires all children in kindergarten, second and sixth grades to have a dental examination by May 15th of each year in compliance with the rules adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health.  If you have not already done so, please submit your 2nd-grade child’s dental exam form to our building nurse. To see a complete list of the health forms required for students, please visit our Student Health Section of our Web page.

Repeat *Ordering Photos*

If you wish to review and purchase photos, you can do so by visiting our new photography companies website. That website can be found HERE.

Online Order Code: 51298H

Repeat *Obtaining Free Meals*

Preorder free meals for in-person students by 6 PM on Thursday for the week ahead. Order at onlineordering.linq.com only for your student's in-person days.

Pick up meal supplies for 5 days for remote students on Wednesdays from 11 AM– 2 PM at Twin Groves or Woodlawn. No preordering needed.

Please direct questions to the public info coordinator [email protected].

Repeat *Dual Language Parent Night for 21–22 Kindergarten Parents*

District 96 Director of Language and Early Literacy Kathryn Sheridan will present a live virtual program for parents interested in the Spanish/English Dual Language program opportunity for their incoming 2021–22 kindergartners.

REGISTER HERE to receive the link to attend the live virtual informational program for parents of incoming kindergartners Wed., Mar. 3, at 6:30 PM.

See the District website to LEARN MORE about the District's optional Spanish/English Dual Language program.

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 *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.