Dear Families
It's time to celebrate our staff! Staff Appreciation Week is coming up on May 8-May 12. I know that our PTO has some wonderful things in store to celebrate the commitment of our staff to our students. We appreciate your partnership and all that you do to make our staff and students feel special and valued. Please join me in celebrating our staff by submitting a shout-out HERE! I will personally email the staff during staff appreciation week with your shout-out to thank them for a job well done!
Best,
Mike Senatore
NEW *Not Returning Next Year?*
If you know your child will not be returning to Ivy Hall next school year, please email Mrs. Mackay at [email protected]
We appreciate your help as we attempt to determine class placement and section sizes for the following school year.
This message excludes outgoing 5th graders.
NEW *Upcoming Dates*
Monday, May 1st & Tuesday, May 2nd - MAP Testing
NEW *Fire Drill Next Week*
On Tuesday, May 2nd, Ivy Hall will be conducting a Fire Drill. Students will be evacuating the building during the drill. If the weather does not cooperate, we will reschedule the drill and communicate the rescheduled drill date.
NEW *Dogs on Campus*
As a general rule, dogs are not allowed on the school campus or grounds during school hours when children are present. The exception would be any time the assistance of a dog is required by a person’s disability. In all other cases, written permission must be obtained from the building principal before a dog is allowed on school grounds.
LAST CALL! *Parent Input for Class Placement Survey*
Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a tremendously difficult task that takes many hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, administrators, and specialists. We take this process very seriously. The process for class list creation is as follows:
Teachers think about the social and academic needs of each of their current students while recording pertinent information to assist in the decision-making process.
Grade-level teachers, principals, specials area teachers, and specialists meet together to form class lists that are balanced in terms of academic, social, and emotional needs as well as considering peer dynamics. This is no easy task and often takes several meetings. This team of educators considers each child’s personality, academic needs, friendship patterns, etc. as they make a match for each individual child.
This team of educators creates a draft set of class lists taking into consideration parent input.
Class lists are then revised in August with summer changes for students who move in or out of the district.
Class rosters are never final until they are released to families in August.
This process happens for grades 2-5. Willow Grove creates the class lists for our incoming 1st graders. Our 5th-grade team actively works with Twin Groves to provide data and input related to placement decisions at the middle school level.
We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students. It is a delicate balancing act that takes much consideration and thought by professionals who know and care about your children. Our goal is to create balanced class lists that promote the success of each child. Please know that your child is placed in a classroom for very specific reasons. The process benefits all students. Because of the input and thought given by teachers, specialists, parents, and the principal team, we do not make changes once this process occurs, as removing or moving one child can disrupt the balance of an entire class, impacting all students.
I welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style. I will take into consideration pertinent information received before Sunday, April 30th by 11:55 pm. Please remember, while we welcome your input, specific teacher or friend placement requests will not be honored.
I cannot express enough how important it is that your thoughts are provided through the 2023-2024 Class Placement Parent Input Form. As you can imagine, we receive a lot of parent input, and verbal information is impossible to track. The information you provide in the survey will remain confidential between you, me, and Mrs. Heinrich.
NEW *PTO Blog*
Our PTO maintains a weekly blog that has useful information for opportunities to get involved in the Ivy Hall School community. Their latest blog post can be found here, below are this week’s highlights.
- 2023 - 2024 PTO Board & Committee Chair Opportunities
- Staff Appreciation Week - Donations Needed!
- 5th Grade Spring Fling
- PTO Board Meeting Next Week
- Ivy Hall Family Picnic
- End of the School Year Gifts Made Easy
- Twin Groves PTO Welcome Event for Outgoing 5th-grade Parents
REPEAT *5th Grade Choral Concert*
Dear Parents,
The 5th graders are so excited to put on their music show, I NEED A VACATION! Wed. May 10th at 6:30 p.m.
Some students have volunteered to do an extra part. If your child has an extra part, they may have already brought home a note explaining what their part is. Please try to put together any kind of costume to represent the part.
If your child is not doing an extra part, please have them wear normal clothes, but please nothing with letters or numbers.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Sincerely,
Ms. Jane Coleman
Music Director