Good afternoon, Ivy Hall Families,
The end of trimester one is in the books! It’s hard to believe that we have completed one-third of the 2024-2025 school year. Please note that student report cards are LIVE on TeacherEase as of 3pm today. For more information on how to view your child's report card, please view the following Principal Message.
Next week is our last full week before the Thanksgiving holiday break. We hope to see you at our Family Reading Night on Thursday, November 21st beginning at 6:30 pm! Please see more information below.
Have a great weekend,
Mike Senatore
*Important Upcoming Dates*
- November 15 - Trimester 1 report cards issued
- November 19 - EARLY RELEASE DAY
- Thursday, November 21st - Family Reading Night
- Friday, November 22nd - Frozen Treat Friday
- Friday, November 22nd - Ivy Hall Spirit Day (Pajama Day)
- November 27 - NO SCHOOL District Holiday
- November 28 - NO SCHOOL District Holiday
- November 29 - NO SCHOOL District Holiday
NEW *Yearbook Club*
Yearbook Club is open to 4th and 5th graders this year.
We would love to have your student help us contribute to this year's school yearbook! Yearbook club will meet 1-2 times per month after school as well as a few times before school or during lunch/recess*. Students will be tasked with creating pages for the 2024-2025 yearbook. Students will take photos, help choose photos and edit stories for the yearbook! Additional days may be added as the deadline approaches.
*before school times and lunch/recess times would be optional
Students will be separated into different groups and not all students will attend each meeting.
NEW *Family Reading Adventure Night - Part 3*
Join us and mark your calendars for Thursday November 21st, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Each week I have featured a new book and session offered at our Reading Adventure Night. This will help inform your decision for which two sessions you would like to attend. There are six offered this year. If you would like to know about previous sessions, visit the last principal’s message or click this Family Reading Night.
Please RSVP in advance with your choice sessions. RSVP here!
BOOK SWAP
We will be hosting a book swap. If you're like me and have read the same bedtime story for the 30th time, or have a tower of books because your shelves are full, it might be time to mix up your child's book selection by donating to the book swap station. A book swap is an easy way to freshen your library collection at home without spending extra money. It's easy, bring some books that you would like to swap to our Reading Adventure Night, and spend some time swapping them out with other books! Please only bring books that are in good condition. Any books that aren't chosen at the end of the night will be donated to Bernie's Book Bank.
Take a look at another book! Take Your Time by Eva Furrow and Donna Jo Napoli
Harriet the tortoise likes to do things slowly. She explores her home on the Galápagos Islands―slowly. She eats―slowly. And when the sun goes down, she slumbers deeply all night long.
When Harriet’s friends tell her to pick up the pace, Harriet decides to journey to a neighboring island to see what there is to see. She parades with penguins and rides with dolphins, encountering adventure at every turn. But is life in the fast lane right for a tortoise who loves to take her time?
The activities for this book are:
- Color ocean animal bookmarks with colored pencils and markers
Can’t wait to see you there! - Mrs. Heimer
REPEAT *Report Cards*
Families: A helpful reminder! Report card season is here! Next week, Friday, November 15th, families will be able to view their child’s report card on TeacherEase at 3pm. Families can find more helpful information about report cards, including how to view them and how to switch between multiple students, here:
We also have a helpful webpage dedicated to helping you understand your child’s report card: If you happen to forget your Teacher Ease password, please click “Forgot Password” on the log-in main page.
REPEAT *Illinois School Report Card*
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) released the annual Illinois Report Card on Oct. 30 at www.illinoisreportcard.com. The Report Card shows the incredible achievements of our schools when it comes to a wide range of educational goals.
Our academic successes reflect a strong tradition of excellence at Kildeer Countryside School District 96. This includes maintaining a strong focus on standards-based instruction and core instruction, continuous improvement targeting content and standards, language acquisition, and more. These areas align to our Board Approved Goals for the 24-25 school year, as outlined here.
One component of the Illinois School Report Card is the annual summative designation – a descriptor of how well our school is meeting the needs of all students. This designation is federally required and is based on 14 indicators of academic and school quality/student success. We are pleased to share that Ivy Hall Elementary received the highest tier, an Exemplary designation. That classification measures areas including academic growth and proficiency, chronic absenteeism, and a school climate survey.
At Ivy Hall, we hold high expectations for all students and believe every student can meet our expectations. This designation gives us the opportunity to reflect on our goals to further enhance instruction and supports for our entire student community. We welcome this opportunity to dive into our data and to talk about continued investments we can make to support every student in reaching their fullest potential.
The Illinois School Report card is just one of many pieces of data that we as a District analyze and use to drive school improvement efforts. Soon, you will receive information to participate in the online 5-Essential parent survey. We encourage all of our families to spend a couple minutes to take this important and insightful survey.
This is a great time to remind parents to encourage their child(ren) to take the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) if they are able to do so. We want to receive the most accurate snapshot of our school, by making sure our test score data reflects as many students as possible.
Thank you for your continued partnership to ensure every child at Ivy Hall is thriving. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Principal Mike Senatore directly at [email protected]. You can also find this information on our website at any time, at https://www.kcsd96.org/curriculum/school-report-cards.
REPEAT *Human Growth & Development*
Illinois State law requires all school districts with a comprehensive health curriculum to provide instruction on specific health topics including human growth and development. The Illinois State Board of Education indicated that districts “may still teach sexual health aligned to the Illinois Physical Development and Health Standards.” Therefore, during the 2024-25 school year, District 96 will continue to cover the same topics that were previously taught in grades 4 and 5. These topics align to the Illinois Physical Development and Health Standards.
District 96 recognizes that parents/guardians are the primary educators for their families on these topics.
As parents, you may elect to excuse your child from instruction on this topic. If you choose this option, please submit a specific request, in writing, to the school principal, asking that your child be excused from the class during that specific period(s) of instruction, and we will provide an alternate assignment.
For questions about the 4th grade program, please consult the links below. If you still have questions, please contact the school’s principal or assistant principal.
For specific materials, please see below.
Fourth Grade
This year Kildeer 96 will be hosting Candor Health Education (formerly Robert Crown Center) on November 18th. Candor Health will provide the learning to 4th grade students, and 4th grade teachers will be present during this learning experience. As in the past, students will not be separated by gender during the presentation by Candor Health.
Please click on the links below for an overview of the program. The letter contains tips for parents to start conversations with children. The video will show you everything the students will see during the presentation.
School Program Overviews for Parents – Candor Health Education VIDEO
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