September 10, 2021

September 10, 2021

Dear Families,

That was a very quick three-day week! I would like to begin this message with some event reminders for the upcoming week. On Tuesday evening, September 14, 2021, District 96 School Board will have a meeting. Additionally, there will be NO SCHOOL on Thursday, September 16, 2021. In addition to the electronic calendars, District 96 also has an annual calendar for District dates of note. I wanted to take this opportunity to share the aforementioned District Calendar which is posted annually on the District 96 website. THIS LINK will take you to the district website where the calendar information is housed. If the calendar is updated it will be relinked with a revision date listed on the bottom of the document. This District calendar lists all days off, half-days, and early release days for the entire school year and is a great supplemental resource to your individual school calendar(s). That’s enough about calendars, for now, please enjoy your weekend and the contents below.

Kindly,

Principal Hanrahan

NEW *Calendar Reminder*

Again, this is a friendly reminder that we do not have school on Thursday, September 16th.

NEW *PTO Blog

PTO BLOG Contents: https://www.kcsd96.org/ih/pto/blog

  • PTO News from Ivy Hall School
  • BOOK FAIR COMING SOON
  • CHANGE WARS IS BACK!!!  SEPT. 13-17
  • FOLLOW PTO ON FACEBOOK
  • Please check out the: PTO Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/ivyhallpto

NEW *Fall Parent/Educator Conferences*

Fall Parent/Educator Conferences are right around the corner!  The conferences will take place on Thursday, October 7th from 5 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, October 8th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.  These conferences will be 15 minutes in length. We will continue using Meet the Teacher as an electronic sign-up for conferences. A sign-up link will be shared via email on Monday, September 20th at 6:00 PM. Parents and guardians will be able to schedule an in-person or a remote conference with the classroom teacher, specials teachers, and any related service providers seen by your child.

 


REPEAT *Contact Tracing Clarification*

Contact tracing is completed when a confirmed COVID-19 case is reported.  If a student is identified as a close contact, families will be notified.  Contact tracing in District 96 is based on the current IDPH definitions of close contact which are included at the bottom of the D96 Quarantine Decision Making Matrix that has previously been shared with families.  

● In classrooms, hallways, etc., close contacts are defined as being closer than 3 feet with inconsistent masking of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.

● In the lunchroom, close contacts are defined as being closer than 6 feet with inconsistent masking of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes over a 24 hour period.

● In general, individuals who are solely exposed to a confirmed case while outdoors will not be considered close contacts.

As part of the contact tracing protocol, we check with the classroom teachers, specials teachers, and related services staff to ensure that no student was unmasked, for more than 15 minutes cumulatively, within a given setting.  If this is the case, additional close contacts would be identified and notified (i.e. snack, water, etc.).   Please note that this may mean a student who sits 3 feet away from a confirmed positive case in the classroom setting (consistently masked) IS NOT identified as aclose contact, while a child who sits within 6 feet of a confirmed positive case at a lunch table (inconsistently masked) IS identified as a close contact.

District 96 does not define what a close contact is, rather follows the IDPH definition.  Likewise, District 96 does not alter contact tracing or notification protocols, rather strictly follows those provided by the IDPH.

REPEAT *Student Handbook Update - Change to Transportation *

Please note the following update to the Student Handbook.

Changes to Assigned Transportation

A change in a child's typical bus routine must be communicated through a written and signed parent note or email given to school office staff before noon on the morning the parent will be picking up the child after school ~ rather than having the child ride the bus. (Due to the young age of Willow Grove students, all Willow Grove parents must call the main office to make changes.). Otherwise, the child will follow his/her typical transportation routine.

REPEAT *MAP Reports*

MAP reports will be sent to families on Friday, September 17th.

REPEAT *Covid Metrics*

To stay up-to-date this school year on local metrics, please visit the COVID DASHBOARD for District 96. Our priority remains to keep our students safe and follow guidance from the CDC. If your student is identified as a "close contact", you will be notified individually through the contact tracing process. 

https://ecriss.ecragroup.com/strategy/Home/Indicators?Dashboard=KIL096

REPEAT *Simultaneous Student Pick-Up from Willow Grove & Elementary Schools*

Please know that we understand that some families may have concerns related to picking students up from Willow Grove and an elementary school building.  Please know that all principals are aware of this concern, and no child will ever be left unattended.  We appreciate your best effort in picking your children up in a timely manner, and we appreciate your adherence to our current dismissal times.  If when you arrive at a building your child is not waiting outside with an adult, please park and come to the front office.  If you will be well after 3:15 to a specific location, please feel free to call and inform the office of your ETA.

REPEAT *Food Service*

FREE MEALS IN SCHOOL:  Under the waivers to USDA Nutrition Programs currently offered, the District is able to provide free meals to all students.  One reimbursable daily meal will be provided free of charge to each student that chooses to participate on school days.  

SNACKS FOR PURCHASE IN SEPTEMBER: Snacks will start being offered at the beginning of September.  If you wish your child to be able to purchase snacks at that time, please be sure to have their account prepaid on the K12PaymentCenter.  This site will allow you not only to monitor balances but also transaction history.  There are no transaction fees related to this account.  To create an account you will need your student's 7 digit ID number, which will be emailed to you this evening with the subject line of D96 Food Service Information.

ORDERING PROCESS:  Each morning, students will tell their teachers which entree they will order and those numbers will be shared with the food service staff.  Please encourage your students to take the entree they ordered to ensure that all students receive the desired meal.  Menus can be viewed on the District website.

REPEAT *School Hours* 

  • Arrival time is between 8:10 am and 8:25 am

  • The bell that starts the day rings at 8:25 am. A parent/adult must accompany late-arriving students into the office and sign them in using the iPad. You do this if you arrive after 8:25 am.  Do not drop your child off at any door since all doors are locked and secured at this time. Please be aware that while we try to keep clocks on time, they can sometimes run a minute or two fast. If there are no adults outside, please bring your child into the front office.

  • Dismissal: 3:00 p.m.

REPEAT *Arrival & Departure Procedures* 

There are many rules and procedures regarding arrival and dismissal. This can be challenging to get acquainted with and even frustrating. However, these procedures have been developed with student safety as the driving factor. These plans and procedures were developed in conjunction with our Facilities Director (Sam Miranda) and the Buffalo Grove Police Department. The Buffalo Grove police and District 96 appreciate your patience and understanding as we have established these routines in the interest of safety. The first few dismissals can be slow due to staff and students learning their routines. Please be patient. The picture below denotes all the forms of transportation that we have here at Ivy Hall. Please observe the picture and note areas where walkers, bussers, and private transportation arrival and depart from here at Ivy Hall.

REPEAT*Daily Snack*

All students should bring an individual daily snack. It is required that snacks are only from our District Approved Snack List for the safety of students. Please label snacks with your child’s name.

Approved Snacks: What Parents Need to Know

The District has revised the APPROVED SNACK LIST. The items the list includes are free of the Top 8 allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.  This list includes the foods that are approved for students' Daily Snacks.  Daily snacks for your children must be from this list or they will be sent home.  

IMPORTANT: All items for Daily Snacks, with the exception of fruits and vegetables, MUST be prepackaged to allow staff to easily check that snacks meet the approved requirements.  

Director of Educational Services Amy Gluck also has provided responses to FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) about foods approved for daily snacks/special events.

For your convenience, find links to the District 96 Approved Snack List and Approved Snack List FAQs on the homepage of the District 96 website and the homepage of each school.

Lunches packed from home may contain anything and do not need to be from the Approved Snack List.  If your child is bringing in lunch, snacks must be packed separately from lunch. Please label lunch bags and snacks with your child’s name.