Dear Ivy Hall Families,
Brand new this school year is our Ivy Hall Cat Packs. We held an all-school assembly today to roll out the new student-led program and excitement was definitely in the air! Students and staff will be assigned a specific pack for their careers at Ivy Hall. The packs include Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, and Purple. Throughout the school year, students will plan and lead activities for the Cat Packs in order to build student connections within and across grade levels. We are looking forward to Cat Pack activities throughout the school year!
Next week, we'll have the opportunity to come together during the Family Educator Conferences. It's a chance to connect, discuss, celebrate, and collaborate to ensure our students continue to thrive.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mike Senatore
Important Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, October 4th - Fun Run (Ivy Hall Spirit Day)
- October 4th is also National Walk to School Day, students and families are encouraged to walk to school today!
- 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 *Fun Run - Rescheduled for Wednesday, October 4th*
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 is Terry Shulman, the mother of our first-grade teacher Mrs. Levin.
On Wednesday, October 4th, 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 *Yearbook Club*
We would love to have your student help us contribute to this year's school yearbook! Yearbook club will meet one-two times per month after school as well as a few times during student lunch/recess. Students will be tasked with creating pages for the 2023-2024 yearbook. Students will help choose photos and edit stories for the yearbook! Additional days may be added as the deadline approaches. All grade levels are welcome and it is not mandatory that you attend all meetings to be a part of the club. Please sign up to join the Yearbook Club here.
NEW *Book Club for 4th/5th Graders*
Calling all 4th and 5th graders!! Book club will meet every 1-2 weeks to talk about books! Students will vote on the books they want to read, discuss what they have read, and complete a variety of activities that relate to the books. Most books and activities are going to be student led and chosen by students. To learn more about the club and join the club please fill out a permission form here.
REPEAT *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
REPEAT *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 form 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.
REPEAT *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.