Dear Ivy Hall Families,
Students have been hard at work this past week and we are truly in the swing of things for the 2024-2025 school year! Please be sure to read all of this week’s Principal’s Message as there is plenty of information on parent involvement opportunities as well as student club offerings. Please remember that this Tuesday, the 17th is an early release day for students.
Have a great weekend!
Mike Senatore
REPEAT *Important September Dates*
- Tuesday, September 17th - Early Dismissal at 2:05 pm
- Wednesday, September 18th - Special Lunch (PTO)
- Friday, September 20th - Fun Run
- Wednesday, September 25th - Fun Run (rain date)
- Friday, September 27th - Frozen Treat Friday
NEW *Morning Announcements Club*
4th and 5th grade students are invited to make the morning announcements come alive through planning, scripting, and delivering the morning announcements to the whole school each day.
If you are excited about broadcasting your voice, public speaking, and want to motivate every Wildcat to do their best every day, then this is the club for you!
Morning Announcement Club will meet two Thursdays a month starting on October 17. If your 4th or 5th grader is interested, please fill out the linked Google Form Permission Slip.
NEW *STEVENSON TUTORING*
Stevenson Tutoring is a tutoring program for those students who are in need of a little extra support. This program is for all grades. The first/second-grade program is strictly a reading program, all materials will be provided for the students. The concentration on this program is reading fluency and comprehension. The upper-grade program reinforces what the child is doing in their classroom. Therefore, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will get support from the students who go to Stevenson and are in the Future Educators of America program. They will receive help with their homework and then do other activities to help support their reading or their math skills. This is not an accelerated program.
NEW *Safety Patrol*
Attention 5th graders... are you ready to be a leader? It's Safety Patrol time! 5th-grade students will be responsible for monitoring the hallways for expected behaviors and assisting younger students who may need help in the hallways 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.
Club Meeting Day & Time:
October 2-May 23
Before and after school every day, except early release days
(8:00-8:15 am / 3:00-3:15 pm)
Schedules will be released each month with your child’s assigned days & times
NEW *Adventures in Art Club*
Are you ready for an adventure in art? 1st-5th grade students will take an art adventure with Mrs. Levin each week! Some of our adventures include guided drawings, building clay and popsicle stick structures, puffy paint, beading, watercolors and so much more!
Club Meeting Day & Time:
October 9-May 28
Every Wednesday from 3:05-4:00 PM
Mrs. Levin's Classroom, Room 2
NEW *Beautify the School Club*
Beautify the School gives Ivy Hall second and third grade students an opportunity to "Beautify the School" by creating and decorating bulletin boards around Ivy Hall for all students and staff members to enjoy!
Sign up soon as this club is limited to 12 students only!
NEW *Cat Pack Shirt Reorder Form*
Need to replace your child’s Cat Pack shirt? Please see this link here to access the online store to purchase a replacement.
NEW *Leaving a Positive Digital Footprint*
As we navigate an evolving digital age, it is important for our children to learn how to use technology safely and responsibly. To best support our students in developing these lifelong skills, KCSD96 will be introducing the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Lessons to our K-8 students throughout the year. These age-appropriate lessons will cover essential topics like online safety, protecting personal information, and recognizing positive and negative online behaviors. It’s important that we set our students up for lifelong success.
Common Sense is a widely-used resource used by school districts across the country, including in our region. We encourage you to review the material with your child and have open discussions about what they learn in class. You can access the resources and learn more by visiting the Common Sense Digital Citizenship website.
By working together, we can help our children become thoughtful, safe, and respectful digital citizens. If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected]
NEW *Parent Engagement Opportunities - GCI and TEP*
KCSD96 is dedicated to fostering strong partnerships with our community, offering a range of opportunities for parent engagement. Through these programs, we empower parents to actively contribute to and enrich the educational environment for all of our students. This information, including meeting dates for the 24-25 school year, will be sent to all families in Friday's E-News. We encourage our teachers to relay this information to families who may be interested.
Guiding Coalition of Interculturalism
GCI is a learning community that reflects and connects the KCSD96 values of diversity and inclusion; aligns parents, educators, and students in cultural and educational experiences; and engages with a wide audience. This year our Bilingual Parent Advisory Council will merge with GCI to create a more cohesive group focused on cultural diversity, inclusion, and language support. We will align their missions to create a unified group that addresses both interculturalism and bilingual education and create one communication platform for parents, educators, and community members. GCI meeting dates for the 24-25 school year are:
October 1st, 2024
November 12th, 2024
January 21st, 2025
February 25th, 2025
April 22nd, 2025
Meetings are at 6:30pm in the Educational Development Center at Ivy Hall Elementary (1072 Ivy Hall Lane). Please fill this Google Form to indicate your interest. For questions, please contact, Community Parent Liaison: [email protected].
Thought Exchange Partnership
TEP offers parents the opportunity to share their thoughts and receive information about instruction, programs, and district initiatives. TEP is a committee that seeks parent feedback in developing student discipline policies and procedures related to the Student Handbook and provides information and feedback to the Board. District 96 values two-way communication, and a deep understanding of parent perception supports district planning and communication. TEP meeting dates for the 24-25 school year are:
October 8th, 2024
December 10th, 2024
January 28th, 2025
March 11th, 2025
May 6th, 2025
Meetings are at 6:30pm in the Educational Development Center at Ivy Hall Elementary (1072 Ivy Hall Lane). Please fill this Google Form to indicate your interest. For questions, please contact, Community Parent Liaison: [email protected].
NEW *PHYSICALS AND IMMUNIZATION FORMS DUE by 10/15*
Please ensure that all physicals and immunization forms are turned in to the school nurse by October 15th.