Friday, September 22nd, 2023

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

Dear Families,

Please see the important upcoming dates for the end of September and October. There are many exciting events taking place at Ivy Hall and we want you to be sure to save the date. In addition, conference information is detailed below. Be sure to scroll through the entire message as there are two club opportunities that are offered on a first come first serve basis.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mike Senatore

*Important Upcoming Dates*

  • Monday, September 25 - No School - District Holiday
  • Wednesday, September 27th - Fun Run (Ivy Hall Spirit Day)
  • Thursday, September 28th - PTO Ice Cream Social and Book Fair @ 6pm
  • Thursday, October 5 & Friday, October 6 - No School 
    • Family Educator Conferences (see below) - 10/5 - 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm
    • Family Educator Conferences (see below)  - 10/6 - 10:00 am - 1:30 pm
  • Monday, October 9 - No School - District Holiday
  • Wednesday, October 11th - Picture Retake Day
  • Tuesday, October 24 - Early Release
  • Friday, October 27th - Ivy Hall PTO Halloween Event in the evening
  • Tuesday, October 31st - Halloween Classroom Parties @ 2pm

NEW *Fire Drill Next Week (RESCHEDULED)*

Our previous Fire Drill was postponed due to inclement weather. On Friday, September 29th, 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 *Fun Run - Wednesday, September 27th*

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 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 on 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 was Terry Shulman, the mother of our first-grade teacher Mrs. Levin.

On Wednesday, September 27th, Ivy Hall students will participate in a fun run! This event is for students only and is not open to the community. Students 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. Students are encouraged to wear Ivy Hall spirit wear during the Fun Run!

NEW *Fall Family/Educator Conferences*

Fall conferences will open at 6:00pm on Tuesday, 9/26. They will close at 4:00pm on Wednesday, 10/4. You will receive an email from School Messenger with the link to Meet the Teacher that will allow you to access the scheduling platform. After scheduling the conference, you will receive a confirmation email from Meet the Teacher that contains the link you will use to access the virtual conference. If you wish to have the conference in-person, you must notify the teacher by October 3rd. If the teacher does not receive notification, he/she will expect the conference to take place virtually.

The conference dates are Thursday, October 5th from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM and Friday, October 6th from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM.

Elementary availability:

  • classroom teacher 
  • related service providers (if applicable)
  • Music/PE teachers (Grades 1-3), 
  • Art/Expo Lab teachers (Grade 4-5), 
  • Band/Orchestra teachers (current rosters)

If you are unable to schedule a conference with a specific teacher, please remember that conferences are not the only time to communicate with teachers. Please feel free to reach out any time.

REQUESTING AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE

If you want to have an in-person conference with the teachers, you must notify the teachers via email by the end of the day on Tuesday, October 3rd. 

NEW *Halloween Costumes* 

Our Halloween festivities will be here before we know it.  We look forward to students dressing in their Halloween costumes for our Halloween Parade and classroom parties on Tuesday, Oct. 31st.  Please help us with the following costume guidelines. Students will change into their costumes after their lunch period at school. Please ensure that your child can get the costume on with no or minimal help.  

Costumes must be appropriate for school.  If costumes are not school appropriate the student will be asked to remove their costume.

  • Please no masks, blood, super scary stuff, general ickiness, or weapons
  • Please no cigars or cigarette items
  • Please no bare tummies
  • Please keep hair coloring and make-up simple

NEW *Tabletop Game Club Session #1*

The Tabletop Game Club will meet after school on Thursdays beginning on October 12th and will run through November 9th . Students will play tabletop games such as "old fashioned" board games, games involving building such as dominoes, Jenga, and games such as card games.

Students will build peer relation skills, sportsmanship skills (handling losing, taking turns), critical thinking/strategies, language, eye hand coordination, but most of all, they will have fun. 

This club is open to all students, please register here.

REPEAT *Safety Patrol*

Calling 5th Grade student leaders! In this club, 5th grade students will be responsible for monitoring the hallways for expected behaviors before and after school. They will be leaders in the building and will be expected to communicate with Ivy Hall staff to ensure everyone’s safety.

If you are interested in having your 5th grader join this club, please fill out this permission slip.