Dear Families,
Today’s edition of the Principal’s Message will be our last of the school year, and what a year it has been. We made it! The 2020-21 school year will be behind us next Thursday. We were fortunate to provide our students with the same quality education that they have always received. I want to thank our teachers for all their hard work in planning engaging lessons for both remote and in-person learners. This was no easy task. I want to thank our support staff for their support of students as well. Ivy Hall families, thank you as well. You were equally supportive of our efforts and served as home overseers to your child’s education. This year was a collaborative effort like no other, and we appreciate YOU! We wish our 5th graders the best as they leave Ivy Hall ready for the new experiences and environments that middle school will bring them.
We have much to be proud of at Ivy Hall! Despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, students and staff adapted and found ways to succeed. Below are just a few activities that were adapted in addition to school from the 2020-21 school year.
We were still able to have wonderful activities like:
- Girls on the Run
- The Virtual Variety Show
- A Virtual Culture Fair
- Stevenson Tutoring
- Virtual Family Educator Conferences
- The Yearbook
- A Fifth Grade Spring Send-Off
- A 5th Grade Celebratory Vehicle Parade
- Breakfast with Your Buddy
- All of our restaurant fundraisers from the PTO
- Hybrid and Virtual Halloween, Winter, Valentines, and end of the year celebrations
...and I’m sure I forgot some things, but it’s clear that we overcame immense challenges together as a community. Please, have a wonderful summer! You all deserve it!
Kindly,
Bob Hanrahan, Principal
NEW * REQUIRED SUMMER READING & OPTIONAL WEEKLY SUMMER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES*
To keep learning going all summer, District faculty developed a 10-week summer curriculum with required reading for incoming students in KDG–Grade 8 AND optional math review activities. In addition, optional fun activities in the areas of STEM, music, writing, and more are also designated by week. SEE SUMMER ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
The SUMMER READING webpage includes Book Lists for optional reading for Early Childhood–Grade 5 as well as the required reading assignment for middle school students entering Grades 6–8. Note that required summer reading for students entering KDG–Grade 5 is found in the SUMMER ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES resource, as described above.
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. I want to take this opportunity to thank Maria Papageorgiou for her tireless dedication and seven years as a president and executive PTO board member. Thank you for your service. You will be missed!
Highlights from the PTO Blog
- Farewell Maria Papageorgiou
- End-of-Year Gifts: If you would like to participate in providing End-of-Year Gifts to staff, please visit https://www.giftcrowd.com/#/event/QZoB80bHlc.
- Yearbook status: We'll update you when the yearbooks are ready.
- Membership Toolkit Credits: Check your email about options for returning or donating the balances on your Membership Toolkit.
NEW *Thanks Ivy Hall PTO, 5th Grade Families, and Village of Buffalo Grove*
We did see a little rain yesterday, however as this year has presented many challenges, the Ivy Hall community did not allow a little rain to stand in the way of our celebration. Our fifth-grade students had a wonderful hybrid celebration during the afternoon yesterday.
This 5th grade annual PTO event “The Spring Fling” was moved from the evening to the daytime so that we could safely and appropriately accommodate all 5th-grade students safely. Students had a dance party, a trivia game, a special lunch (remote students have a voucher from Culver’s), and a closing ceremony. The PTO and the school partnered seamlessly in helping our 5th-grade students feel accomplished and celebrated with both the daytime celebration and the parade.
Thanks to all the families that came out and joined the parade. I am still astonished at the turnout. It was amazing! Special thanks to the Village of Buffalo Grove’s Darren Monico for his addition to our 5th-grade parade yesterday. Darren was responsible for a “First Responder and Public Service” daytime parade that happened last week. During that parade, he and I spoke and he offered to have a fire truck, police vehicle, and plow truck join our 5th-grade parade. It really made the procession even more special. The parade was a little damp, but it was incredible. It was amazing to see many people and smiling faces. Thanks to the PTO for the signage, food, balloons, and so much more! Thanks to all the staff volunteers, teachers, and families that came out to support the parade.
NEW *Celebrations*
Last week we asked families to submit shout-outs for student celebrations. Below we took those celebrations and words of encouragement and created a little celebratory slideshow. The slideshow has a WORDLE in it. A WORDLE takes lots of text and analyzes it for the frequency of words. The words that appear the most are the largest. It is the slide that is has a word collage on it. These words represent all the submissions from all of our Ivy Hall families!
NEW *Beginning Band in 6th Grade*
Some students missed the opportunity to join the beginning band this year because of Covid-19 and the uncertainness around the virus. Please follow this link to see how your student can join the beginning band at the 6th-grade level and not miss out on this great opportunity.
REPEAT *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.)
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.
Link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html
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 * 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 Aug. 1. 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 previously described in the last several blog posts to be brought back to school. Thank you so much for your help with this!