Irving Weekly Newsletter: Oct. 4, 2019

IRVING-RELATED: NEW

MATH FAMILY NIGHT: THURSDAY OCTOBER 17TH (6:30-8PM)

Family Math Night, “Mystery Math,” is Thursday October 17th from 6:30-8:00 PM.  Please refer to the attached flyer, Family Math Night, for more information. Register online to join us for a great family night with math.

ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE INFORMATION

As we shared in a previous principal update, this year our school improvement plan has a goal focused on student attendance.  Specifically the goal states that Irving will increase the percentage of students who are on time for school 95% of the school days (1 or less tardy a month) from 76% (360 out of 476 students) of the student body to 80% of the student body.  We have put a variety of practices in place to meet this goal including communication, education, reinforcement, incentives, and responses.

In September, 420 or 83.8% of our students were on time every day.  This means that 81 students had one or more tardies, which is 9 less students than September last school year.  The 420 students who were on time in September every day had their names posted on the main bulletin board and entered in a raffle for a prize.  One student’s name was pulled for a prize and he selected a Geppetto’s Toy Store gift card.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT IN AUGUST & SEPTEMBER

Each month we would like to share a brief blurb regarding the staff development our wonderful Irving staff participated in during the previous month as lifelong learners. 

During opening institute days, all Irving staff received training on a variety of topics including:

  • Effective student behavior handbook
  • MTSS-B (PBIS & restorative practices)
  • Health topics (concussion training and food allergies)
  • Student retention
  • MTSS-A (responding to students who are not making the expected academic progress)
  • Word Study (Words Their Way and Phonics Unit of Study)
  • Process for identifying students with a Specific Learning Disability
  • Supporting students with technology Sexual Harassmen

In addition to these trainings, staff have participated in professional development specific to their speciality inside and outside of Irving.  On a weekly basis, our homeroom teachers meet as a grade level to lesson plan and look at student work.  During these meetings, staff have also received training from our instructional coach on assessments, such as BAS, and curriculum, such as word study.  Outside of Irving, our fifth grade teachers participated in professional development with Dr. Yvette Jackson to strengthen their instructional practices to meet the needs of all learners.  Members of the PBIS team attended professional development on how to integrate PBIS and Restorative Practices.  This team will be bringing this knowledge back to the Irving staff and community.  Lastly, a group of teachers and teaching assistants participated in a two day training on de-escalation strategies. 

IRVING’S 5TH ANNUAL HISPANIC HERITAGE WEEK: OCT. 7-11TH

Let's celebrate the Irving's 5th Annual Hispanic Heritage Week celebration! The National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th-October 15th.  At Irving, we have chosen next week to celebrate and have an activity every day.

Hispanic Heritage Activities at Irving

In addition to the activities outlined in the flyer we are having an assembly, “America: The Continent,” on Monday. 3rd-5th graders will attend the assembly at 12:30 and Kindergarten through 2nd graders at 1:30.

CULTURALLY SENSITIVE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Please see the attached letter regarding costume choices that help support our goal to create a positive learning environment where all students, staff, and families feel a sense of belonging.

FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS FOR HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS

Please refer to Nurse Jamie’s letter regarding Halloween for information regarding allergies and the teal pumpkin project.

NEW TO IRVING: CommUNITY Coffee

Mr. Hodge will be holding a CommUNITY Coffee on Friday from 8-9am with coffee and pastries. This will be an informal opportunity for parents & guardians to hear an update regarding happenings at Irving, get to know one another, and provide feedback.

IRVING-RELATED: PBIS, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, & SECOND STEP

EAGLE’S NEST

Today, Friday October 4th, we held our second Eagle’s Nest, which is a social emotional program that meets the first Friday of each month.  During Eagle’s Nest, Irving “Families” get together to complete different activities focused on belonging and inclusion at Irving School.  An Irving Family is a group of students from all different classrooms and grade levels that meet throughout the year.  We have 39 families made up of about 12 to 13 kindergarten through fifth grade students.  Each family is led by a different Irving staff member.  Our goal is for students to stay with the same family during their K to 5 experience, but sometimes there are changes, such as new staff or new sections.

Today during Eagle’s Nest we made sure every family had a name, a secret handshake, had developed a secret silent handshake, and took a group photo.  Families also participated in morning meeting circle activities that focused on community building. 

SECOND STEP

This week our Irving students continued working on our Second Step curriculum. The kindergarten and 1st grade students learned what being assertive meant in comparison to being passive or aggressive. The 2nd and 3rd grade students worked on identifying the feelings of others.  The 4th grade students talked about understanding complex feelings and the 5th grade students learned about taking other perspectives. All students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade have home links this week.

In addition to these emails, you can find information regarding PBIS and Second Step on our Irving Webpage through the PBIS & Second Step link on the left.

As always, if you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to reach out.

GRADE

ACTIVATION CODE

(www.secondstep.org)

HOME LINK INFORMATION

Kindergarten

SSPK FAMI LY70

Kindergarten Lesson 5 Homelink

Grade 1

SSP1 FAMI LY71

1st grade Lesson 5 Homelink

Grade 2

SSP2 FAMI LY72

2nd Grade Lesson 5 Homelink

Grade 3

SSP3 FAMI LY73

3rd Grade Lesson 5 Homelink

Grade 4

SSP4 FAMI LY74

4th grade Lesson 5 Homelink

Grade 5

SSP5 FAMI LY75

5th grade Lesson 5 Homelink

IRVING-RELATED: REMINDERS

In its fourth week, PACERS is going strong.  This week we added landyards for the K and 1st grade students.  This helped tremendously with the transition from lunch to PACERS.  We have also gained support from the Oak Park Police Department. They are providing a police officer to sit on the corner at Ridgeland to help make sure traffic slows down for our runners.   

Pacers is Irving's very own weekly 'running club' when the weather is nice.  The students come out of the school during their lunch/recess time and run around the perimeter of the school [Cuyler to Harvard, Harvard to Ridgeland, Ridgeland to Fillmore, Fillmore to Cuyler and back around].  Three laps around the school equals one mile and a foot charm.

In order for this program to be successful, we need 10 parent volunteers to supervise the students as they run. Sign up here to learn more and help us run this very important program.

FUN RUN (OCTOBER 18TH)

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment and register your student using this link.

The school goal is $15,000 and each classroom goal is $575. The money raised will help support many programs that are not currently funded by District 97 but are necessary to enhance the quality of education for both students and teachers at Irving.

Please note: incentives will be handed out ONLY on Wednesdays after morning announcement.

This year's "incentives" are as follows:

  • Raise $1 and receive a pedometer;
  • Raise $25 or more and receive a school spirit store certificate;
  • Raise $50 or more and receive a Monster squishy;
  • Raise $100 or more and receive an Irving water bottle;
  • The top earner for each grade will receive a Boogie Board Jot 4.5 eWriter;
  • Top earner K-2nd and 3-5th will win a Fitbit Ace 2;
  • Top earner in kindergarten will receive Irving spirit gear;
  • Top earner in fifth grade will receive Julian spirit gear;
  • The highest pledging student and classroom wiith the most participation will get eagle rings and a class party as chosen by the class, the teacher, Mr. Hodge and Ms. Mura.

The FUN RUN is on Thursday, October 18th, and the schedule of run times are as follows:

  • K: 8:50 a.m. - 9:20 a.m.
  • 1st: 9:25 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.
  • 2nd: 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
  • LUNCH/RECESS 11:30 a.m. - 12:25 p.m.
  • 3rd: 12:45 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
  • 4th: 1:20 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
  • 5th: 1:55 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.

A Sign Up Genius for parent volunteers on race day has been created.  If you are available to assist, please visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d44a8a92ba4f85-irving1

FUN RUN SPIRIT WEEK

To build excitement for the Fun Run we have a Spirit Week - October 14 - 18th. Start planning your outfits! Check out the Spirit Week Flyer for more information.

  • Monday, 10/14: Pajama Day
  • Tuesday, 10/15: Fanatic Day
  • Wednesday, 10/16: Class Color Day (K = red, 1st = orange, 2nd = yellow, 3rd = purple, 4th = green, 5th = blue)
  • Thursday, 10/17: Mismatch Day
  • Friday, 10/18: Fun Run/Irving Spirit Day

HEALTH FORMS

This is a friendly reminder that health forms for incoming kindergarten students and students transferring into D97 are due on or before October 15, 2019. Nurse Jamie has been in contact with families who need to submit the required health forms. Please submit these forms to the school nurse by October 15th, 2019 in order to remain in compliance with mandates from the State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health and Oak Park School District 97. Exclusion from school will take place starting on October 16th for students who do not have a Certificate of Child Health and updated vaccination records on file in the health office. A vision exam is required for all kindergarten students by October 15th but will not result in exclusion. Feel free to call with any questions or need for assistance at 708-524-3089 or email [email protected].

NEWS FROM THE PTO

NEW: PTO CO-PRESIDENT VACANCY

There is a vacancy for the PTO co-president position. This position would only be through the end of this school year.  For more information or if you are interested in being nominated please email [email protected] prior to November 14th.  The vote will be held at the November 14th PTO meeting.

PTO MEETING: NOVEMBER 14TH @ 7pm

(LEARNING SESSION: RESTORATIVE PRACTICES)

Our next PTO meeting will be held on November 14th at 7pm in the Irving Auditorium.  During our lesson session, staff will be presenting on Restorative Practices, which is an approach to discipline that focuses on repairing harm through inclusive processes that engage all stakeholders.  This is a shift in focus of discipline from punishment to learning and from the individual to the community.  This learning session will include information regarding what Restorative Practices is and where we are in implementation at Irving.

Join us for this great learning session at the PTO meeting! 

SAVE THE DATE: GENDER INCLUSIVITY TRAINING

IMPORTANT: NOTE CHANGE OF DATE!!!

Tuesday November 5th 7-9pm and Tuesday, November 19 7-9pm 

Join us for a collaborative training program for parents, teachers, staff, and community members on gender and inclusion provided by the PTO and DivInc.  A flyer and registration information coming soon!

DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION

NEW: ATTENDANCE OF CHILDREN AT OPRF SPORTING EVENTS

Oak Park and River Forest High School recently implemented a new rule for athletic events that we have been asked to share with our families. Effective immediately, children ages 11 and younger will not be allowed to attend athletic events at OPRF unless they are accompanied by an adult age 18 or older. Please click here for the full message from the high school.

D200 COMMUNITY INFORMATION SESSION

Oak Park and River Forest High School will be hosting a community information session on their freshman curriculum restructuring on Wednesday, Oct. 9, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Julian Middle School, 416 S. Ridgeland Ave.

SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT/GUARDIAN NIGHT: OCTOBER 7TH

The district's student services department will be hosting a special education parent/guardian night at Beye Elementary School on Monday, Oct. 7, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Learn more >

SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT WORKSHOP

The Student Services Department is excited to announce a Saturday parent/guardian workshop exploring curricula used in D97 and the tools your students use each day on October 19th from 9am to 12pm. The topics covered will be Literacy, Math, Assistive Technology, Augmentative/Alternative Communication, Assessments, and Social-Emotional Learning.  Please complete this Google Form if you are interested in attending.  Childcare is available.  

DISTRICT 97 SCHOOLS OPEN MONDAY OCTOBER 14TH

All District 97 schools and offices will be open on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. In accordance with school code, we will recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day (also known as Columbus Day) through instructional activities. More information is available at https://bit.ly/2m9f7Mb.

INTERNET FOR ALL

District 97 is now accepting applications for our Internet for All program. Through the program, which we launched two years ago, we are able to offer free home Internet service to students in grades three through eight who do not have access to this critical resource. You can access a video about the program by clicking here, a flyer about the program in English and Spanish by clicking here, and a web page featuring the flyer, the video and additional information about the program by clicking here.

EARLY CHILDHOOD SCREENINGS

District 97's student services department is offering free early childhood screenings for children ages 3 to 5. You can access additional information about these screenings, which are by appointment only, by visiting https://bit.ly/2md3FPH.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

  • October 10th               Fifth Grade Outdoor Education Parent/Guardian Meeting (6:30)
  • October 11th               CommUNITY Coffee with Mr. Hodge (8-9am) (lunchroom)
  • October 14th               Indignious People Day: School is in session!
  • October 18th               Irving Fun Run
  • October 17th               Math Night (6:30-8:00)
  • October 21-24th          Book Fair (Scholastic)
  • October 22nd              Irving DivInc Meeting (7-8:30pm)
  • October 24/25th          Student Attendance Half Day (P/T conferences)
  • October 24th               Staff Soup Luncheon (11am-1pm)
  • October 31st               Halloween Parade (1pm)
  • November 1st             No School (Institute Day for staff)
  • November 5th             Gender Inclusivity Training (7pm-9pm)
  • November 7th             Trivia Night (7pm)
  • November 13-15         5th Grade Outdoor Education
  • November 14th           PTO meeting (Learning Session: Restorative Practice) (7-8:30)

IMPORTANT LINKS

Helpful Links

Below are links that feature important school and district-related information and resources.

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