29th Annual Schoolyard Scamper Fun Run. A special congrats to Mrs. Lehtman on a successful last Scamper!
Good afternoon Prairie families,
What a fun week! Today we celebrated our 29th annual School Yard Scamper. A huge thank you to Mrs. Lehtman and Mr. Nickle for all the planning and organization that went into this schoolwide event. This also marks the final Scamper for Mrs. Lehtman who is retiring after this year! Thank you also to all of our staff who joined in the fun and cheered on our students. Everyone had a fantastic time!!
In just a few short weeks you will have the opportunity to meet with you at Family Educator Conferences. The conference dates are Thursday, October 9th and Friday, October 10th. Please keep an eye out for more information about conference times and sign ups
Have a wonderful weekend,
Ms. Lauren Delahanty
Upcoming Dates & Helpful Resources
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Thursday, October 3 - NO SCHOOL - District Holiday
2024-25 School Year Calendar & Hours
NEW *29th ANNUAL SCAMPER MEMORIES*
NEW *Virtual Backpack*
I want to highlight an invaluable resource available to you: the Virtual Backpack. The Virtual Backpack provides easy access to information and resources from our school, PTO, District, and community.
To help you stay connected, I’ll include a link to the Virtual Backpack in future messages and you can always access it from our website. There is a screenshot of the Prairie homepage below. I encourage you to explore this helpful tool!
Take a look, HERE!
NEW *IMAGINATION STATION SIGN-UP IS CLOSED!*
Thank you to all families that reached out to us about enrolling in the club. We received over 100 submissions to the sign-up link. Due to the unexpected popularity, we are going to email families with the specific dates that their child will be attending the club. Instead of two sessions, we will be dividing the dates among several groups. Please keep an eye on your email inbox because there is more information to come.
Please contact Ms. McHugh [email protected] or Miss Kotsonis [email protected] with any questions!
NEW *Puma Pals SIGN-UP IS CLOSED!*
Puma Pals sign-up is now closed. We will be sending out information to families who we were able to accept on a first come first serve basis. Again we can only take a limited number of students, but we will be running the club again next year and will start a waiting list.
Please contact Ms. McHugh [email protected] or Miss Kotsonis [email protected] with any questions!
REPEAT *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.
https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/curriculum
By working together, we can help our children become thoughtful, safe, and respectful digital citizens. If you have any questions, please reach out to Principal, Lauren Delahanty at [email protected].
REPEAT *Family Tech Talk*
Technology plays an important and evolving role in your child's education. It's critical that you and your family have open discussions about your use of technology. KCSD96 is hosting its annual "Family Tech Talk” in the Educational Development Center (downstairs of Ivy Hall Elementary at 1072 Ivy Hall Lane, Buffalo Grove). This discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, September 24 at 7pm. Presenters are Director of Information Technology Services Bob Hanrahan and School Resource Officer Edyta Zuk. Mr. Hanrahan will talk about the district and its technology initiatives. Officer Zuk will discuss online safety awareness and tips.
If you have questions, contact the Community Parent Liaison, Lubna K. Andrabi, at [email protected]
REPEAT *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].
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDk4k-xHYTEr3jhAo6zZpPQzwGq84g__oqzfU2mEogqnRY8Q/viewform
REPEAT *PHYSICALS AND IMMUNIZATION FORMS DUE by 10/15*
Please ensure that all physicals and immunization forms are turned into the school nurse by October 15th.