Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe that we are winding down the last official days of summer. We sure have lucked out in the weather department. Students have enjoyed playing outside at recess and participating in P.E. outdoors. My hope is that we can keep the nice weather just a little bit longer! As always, it’s been a gift to have our students back in the hallways. I am continually impressed as I walk through the classrooms to see learning in action. Students are working hard not only on academics, yet also on building relationships with each other and focusing on social-emotional learning. In just a few short weeks our staff will have the pleasure and opportunity to update you at conferences! We can’t wait!
ALSO, all are welcome to attend the Book Fair during the Ice Cream Social on Wednesday, September 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. Ice Cream will be available for purchase for $2 each, cash only. Ice Cream will be located in the Southwest parking lot, and the book fair will be inside the Red Cafe Gym. The rain date for the event is Thursday, September 23.
One more fun thing...
Every year Ivy Hall Wildcats participate in the Fun Run to join together for a morning of fitness. But, do you know the origin of this run?
In 1980, a woman serving as the PTO president thought it would be a great idea if there was some sort of run or race around her children’s school as a way to get the community involved as well as lift school spirit. She decided to lay cones around the neighborhood of the school so runners would know the right path to take. All of the neighboring schools came to participate in the Red Oak run. Everyone wore a “Red Oak Run” t-shirt and the day of the race. It was a complete success and the talk of the town! What was once the Red Oak Run turned into a district fun run; now neighboring districts, as well as districts all over the country, have fun runs because of this one special woman. That woman is, Terry Shulman, the mother of our first-grade teacher Mrs. Levin.
Next Friday, Ivy Hall students will participate in a fun run! In the past, we would involve the whole community. At this time, the event will not be public this year due to COVID-19. Kids will run/walk on school grounds. Students have been practicing the route during P.E. class and it really showed. The students will take about 25 minutes to run/walk as much as they can on the course.
Kindly,
Principal Hanrahan
New *Thought Exchange Partnership*
The District 96 Thought Exchange Partnership (TEP) offers parents opportunities to give feedback and receive information about District instruction, programs, and initiatives. Understanding parent perceptions is helpful for planning and communicating. Contact District 96 Community Parent Liaison Lubna Andrabi, 847.459.4260, ext. 8136, with questions. In particular, the District invites parents who have students enrolled at Willow Grove Early Learning Center to consider joining the Thought Exchange Partnership. The first meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2021, from 7:00-8:30 via Zoom.
https://www.kcsd96.org/parent-organizations/parent-review
Questions - Lubna Kahn-Andrabi: [email protected]
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 Tuesday, September 28, 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 *Family Educator Conferences*
Family Educator Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 7th from 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm and Friday, October 8th from 10:00 am - 1:30 pm. Once again we will be using Meet the Teacher as our conference scheduler. Parents will be able to choose an in-person conference or a remote conference. Conferences will be 15 minutes in length for elementary teachers and 10 minutes in length for middle school teachers. Parents will be able to schedule conferences with the classroom teacher (elementary), one core content teacher (middle), appropriate specials teachers, and related service providers. Interventionists will not be an option for fall conferences.
A Meet the Teacher link will be sent to families at 6:00 pm on Monday, September 20th. Parents and guardians will be able to start scheduling at this time. The conference scheduler will be closed on Monday, October 4th at 11:59 pm. After that parents and guardians will need to contact the school office to make changes.
NEW *Upcoming Author Visit*
Please order books for our upcoming author visit using this form! Post-Visit Agent Moose Order Form
Next week, Mo O'Hara (My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish) visits Chicago-area students "virtually" to celebrate her new graphic novel series for young readers, Agent Moose! Mo will be joined by illustrator Jess Bradley for a virtual presentation that incorporates Mo's signature humor and creativity, and an original case to solve during the live broadcast. They'll be coming to you live from the United Kingdom! The new book in the series, Agent Moose: Moose on a Mission, has just been released.
Great for your beginning readers who are into comics and graphic novels!
You can learn more about the Agent Moose series here.
NEW *PTO Blog
PTO BLOG Contents: https://www.kcsd96.org/ih/pto/blog
- MARIA PAPAGEORGIOU BOOK FAIR*, E-WALLET, ICE CREAM SOCIAL
- ICE CREAM WEDNESDAY - REMINDER TO PURCHASE YOUR PUNCH CARD
- ROOM PARENT SIGN UP
- FALL STAFF APPRECIATION DINNER 2021!
- FOLLOW PTO ON FACEBOOK
- Please check out the: PTO Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/ivyhallpto
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 *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 *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 *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.