Dear Families,
It’s surreal to think that in just 8 short days, it will be a wrap on the 2020-21 school year. A couple of weeks ago we were able to hear all about your celebrations for teachers. Taking the time to send your appreciation made a positive impact and truly made a difference.
Now, we want to hear about your children! This has been an incredibly difficult year to navigate. It has been full of constant change and our partnership together has been instrumental in helping support each and every child. Regardless of the difficult circumstances, our students and your children have persevered through a year that will be a part of history. They’ve conquered big obstacles and have grown in many ways. Please consider submitting a shout-out for your child(ren). What do you want to celebrate about them and this school year? We would LOVE to hear!
Kindly,
Principal Hanrahan
NEW *IAR Testing*
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) will be administered next week Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning for students in grades 3-5. In order to help administer the assessment, a multitude of staff members will be assisting. Please be advised that related service members may have to cancel various sessions over those three days in order to help administer the assessment.
See below for repeated, detailed information regarding the IAR assessment and timing specifics.
NEW *Beginning Band*
Attention 4th Grade Students and Parents Beginning Band Begins in 5th Grade. This week students will be introduced to the band instruments. We will not be able to have students try the instruments out themselves, but I have included a link here that will lead you to a page where you can find directions on how to find the instrument your student should play, how it can be rented, and how your student can be ready for our first lesson in August. If you have any questions regarding the band, please reach out to Dan Nagle [email protected]
NEW *A Reminder About District Standards for Student Dress*
Appropriately and comfortably dressed students can focus more effectively. As the weather gets warmer and the end of the school year approaches, we remind you of these District standards for student dress that are included in our Parent/Student Handbook. We appreciate your support in enforcing the following guidelines:
- Dress or appearance that provokes or distracts other students or otherwise causes a disruption to the education process is prohibited.
- Shoes must be worn at all times.
- Clothing, jewelry, or accessories may not have writing or pictures that advertise or advocate alcohol, drugs, tobacco, obscenity, violence, or gang activity.
- Pants must be worn at the waistline.
- Hats are allowed on designated hat days only.
- Half shirts, cropped tops, spaghetti straps, and underwear or sleepwear worn as outerwear are not acceptable.
- Undergarments may not be visible.
- With the exception of appropriate jewelry, no chains may be worn.
Students who are not in compliance with the student dress code will be asked to comply either by changing to other clothing available at school or by having their parent/guardian bring them different clothing from home.
NEW *2021–22 School Supply Lists and Kits*
See Info to download grade-level school supply lists or order school supply kits to be delivered directly to your home. (Order kits by July 9 for home delivery by Aug. 13.)
NEW *Student Report Card Access June 3 After 3 PM*
Your student’s report card will be available for you to access online Thursday, June 3, AFTER 3 PM. If you need assistance, please SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VIEW YOUR CHILDREN’S REPORT CARDS, to switch between your children’s report cards and more. Report cards will be available for online access after 3 PM on June 3rd.
NEW *PTO Blog*
As always, please check out our PTO blog for updates
- Farewell to our Outgoing President, Maria Papageorgiou
- Sponsor a sign and Ivy Hall cards your yard
- Footnotes
NEW *5th Grade Parade*
Ivy Hall families on May 27, 2021, we will attempt to have a vehicle parade to celebrate the send-off of our 5th-grade Wildcats. I am attaching detailed instructions HERE regarding the line-up, viewing, parking, and more. Please come out and observe the parade. Participation of vehicles will be limited to 5th-grade families only, but again all are welcomed and encouraged to observe.
NEW *Six Days of Summer*
Ivy Hall Wildcats will celebrate the six days of summer beginnings on May 26, 2021. These are themed days to welcome the summer break. See below for the days and descriptions.
New *Art Pick Up*
Attention all Remote Learners! We would like to get your art back to you from the 2019-2020 school year! If you are a remote learner and would like to arrange pick-up, please fill out the attached form indicating who your teacher was from last year, and when you would like to pick up your work (May 24-26). We will do our best to gather anything that we can recognize as yours!
Repeat *Protocol Update*
On May 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing in any setting–whether indoors or outside.
Consistent with our practice throughout this pandemic, we are in conversation with local health officials at the Lake County Department of Public Health to understand how this announcement from the CDC will affect our learning environments.
Be advised that our current mitigation strategies remain in place as we await local guidance.
That is–regardless of whether they have been vaccinated–our faculty, as well as our students, will be expected to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing at school and at a school-sponsored event such as 8th-grade Graduation. As you know, at this time students in our elementary district have not yet been vaccinated.
As local guidance is updated, be assured that we will share it and its implications with you promptly, as we’ve done consistently throughout the year.
Repeat * 41st Consortium 125 Virtual Artfest*
We are pleased to invite you to the 41st Consortium 125 Virtual ArtFest. Please view the exposition of 1-8 student artwork from district 76, 79, 96, 102, 103, 125 CLICK HERE
Repeat *Transition to Middle School Program*
We had our annual program (virtual) for parents of current fifth graders on May 10. It offered information and insights about what to expect in the middle school years ahead. Middle School Principals Jessica Barnes (Twin Groves) and Greg Grana (Woodlawn) discussed academics, extracurricular opportunities, and changes that the middle school years bring. Our current sixth-grade student panelists shared their perspectives. It was a fun and informative evening!
If you were unable to attend, HERE is the recording. Please note that the recording will be available for two weeks only.
Passcode: 3&JcDia.
Repeat * iPad Exchange Info for ALL KCSD96 Students*
Action needed! This summer District 96 will exchange your student's old iPad, charging cable, charging brick, and an iPad case for new equipment. You'll need to schedule an appointment to make the exchange and the exchange must occur before August 1st. READ DETAILS about this process and how it affects ALL District 96 students.
Repeat *Math, Literacy, and Technology Materials Return*
There are only a few materials the district is looking to collect back from those that were distributed throughout the year. We are asking for all of the materials listed below to be returned to schools during the week of May 24th. For those students who are remote, a bin will be available inside the vestibule. Please be sure to bag your materials when possible, and please label materials with name, grade, and homeroom. Thank you so much for your help with this!
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Literacy Books: After Friday, May 21st, we will no longer need any of the ”ReadyGen” Literacy materials as part of our lessons. Please return all books beginning Monday, May 24th. It is important to return these as soon as possible so that we can inventory them accordingly and make purchasing decisions for next year. Some students have already begun to return these materials. for a convenient drop-off. The grade level links below show a complete list of books that need to be returned to school.
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Omni-fix cubes: These were distributed to 5th-grade students in August in a plastic bag. Each 5th-grade student received 30 cubes in a plastic Ziplock bag. The Omni-fix cubes are no longer needed for 5th-grade math. Please return these to schools at your earliest convenience. For a picture of the cubes click HERE.
- Logitech Keyboards: Each student in grades 1-5 received one of these keyboards in September. Middle school students received a keyboard upon request. For a picture of the keyboards click HERE.
- If your child is planning on taking IAR (Grades 3-8), please bring the keyboard to school on May 23-25 for use during the assessment. It will be collected after IAR is completed on Wednesday the 25th.
- If your child is not using the keyboard, please return the keyboard at your earliest convenience. Early returns will help us ensure each student that wants one for IAR has one to use.
Repeat *IAR Dates*
- Monday 5/24: Grades 3-8
- Tuesday 5/25: Grades 3-8
- Wednesday 5/26: Grades 3-8
K-2 Students:
Students in grades K-2 do not take IAR. Kindergarten students will follow a typical schedule.
Students in Grades 1 and 2 will have typical arrival and dismissal times but may have a special schedule during the day.
In-person students in Grades 3-5
These students will have the same arrival and dismissal times as they normally would and complete the assessment as a part of the typical school day.
Remote students coming to test in-person
These students will arrive at the designated time below. Teachers will communicate the appropriate class to log on to after students return home.
- Grades 3-5 Monday Arrival: 8:45
- Grades 3-5 Monday Dismissal: 11:55
- Grades 3-5 Tuesday Arrival: 8:45
- Grades 3-5 Tuesday Dismissal: 11:55
- Grades 3-5 Wednesday Arrival: 8:45
- Grades 3-5 Wednesday Dismissal: 11:00
- Click here for a description of arrival procedures, safety considerations, and needed materials
- Click here for a copy of the self-certification form that all remote students must turn in before entering the building to test.
Remote students
These students will be provided with asynchronous experiences while their grade-level peers are testing. They will log onto the teacher Zooms and resume instruction at the times listed below.
Elementary students in Grades 3-5 log back into teacher Zooms at the times below on Monday and Tuesday.
- Grade 3: 11:20
- Grade 4: 11:35
- Grade 5: 11:30
Elementary students in Grades 3-5 log back into teacher Zooms at 10:35 on Wednesday.