Irving Weekly Newsletter: Nov. 1, 2019

  • Posted November 12, 2019

Nov. 1, 2019

IRVING-RELATED: NEW

GAGA BALL PIT

Thank you to the PTO and the class of 2019 for our new GaGa Pit.  A GaGa Pit is an octagon enclosure that is used to play GaGa Ball.  The object of the game is to hit the ball at or below the opponents' knees to eliminate them from the pit.  One Monday all classroom teachers will review the rules of GaGa Ball with their students and show a video demonstrating how to play.  Thank you Sandi Carr and Stacey Belmont for assemblying and installing the GaGa pit!!! 

SENSORY PATHWAY

This year we are installing sensory pathways on each floor to support our students.  A sensory pathway is a colorful, creative, and playful way for kids to build sensory pathways, connections in the brain that are responsible for sight, touch, and sound, which enable kids to complete complex, multi-stage tasks.  A sensory pathway is a great way for kids to develop motor skills, such as balance, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. The high-energy nature of many of these exercises, which require kids to hop, step, and jump, can also be a great “brain break” throughout the school day.  This weekend we installed the sensory pathway on the first floor and are excited for students to benefit from this support. Thank you PTO for helping provide this tool for our students.

ANNUAL SCHOOL REPORT CARD

This week the Illinois State Board of Education released our annual School Report Card, which shows how well our school is progressing on a wide range of goals. The report cards are available at http://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

Each School Report Card includes a summative designation—a descriptor for how the school is meeting the needs of all students. These designations fall into four categories (Exemplary, Commendable, Underperforming and Lowest-Performing), and are based on eight indicators of academic success and school quality.

We are proud to announce that Irving earned a summative designation of EXEMPLARY this year!  A designation of Exemplary means that we are among schools performing in the top 10% with no underperforming student groups.

Thanks to all of our families for commitment to the success of our students.  We are very proud of our students and staff.

 

IRVING RELATED: PBIS, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, & SECOND STEP

SECOND STEP: BULLYING PREVENTION UNIT

This week was our third week of the bullying prevention units.  Our kindergarten through third graders learned how to refuse bullying and our fourth and fifth graders learned the responsibility of a bystander in a bullying situation.

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.second step.org)

HOME LINK INFORMATION

Kindergarten

BPU1 FAMI LY00

 K BPU Lesson 3

Grade 1

BPU1 FAMI LY01

 1st Grade BPU: Lesson 3

Grade 2

BPU1 FAMI LY02

 2nd Grade BPU: Lesson 3

Grade 3

BPU1 FAMI LY03

 3rd Grade BPU: Lesson 3

Grade 4

BPU1 FAMI LY04

 4th Grade BPU: Lesson 3

Grade 5

BPU1 FAMI LY05

 5th Grade BPU: Lesson 3

IRVING RELATED: REMINDERS 

IRVING TRIVIA NIGHT

Don’t miss Irving’s annual school Trivia Night, sponsored by the Irving PTO. This event raises funds for 5th grade Outdoor Education scholarships and 5th grade Send-Off festivities.  Register for Trivia Night by visiting this link. 

ESSENTIALS SURVEY GENERAL INFORMATION


District 97 will be administering the Illinois 5Essentials Survey again this year to certified staff and parents/guardians from all 10 of our schools, as well as students in grades four through eight.

The online survey was developed by the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research and is derived from the Five Essentials for School Success, which is an evidence-based framework that identifies five factors that can lead to important student outcomes such as improved attendance and significant gains in test scores. These five factors/essentials are: 

  • Effective Leaders

  • Collaborative Teachers

  • Involved Families

  • Supportive Environment

  • Ambitious Instruction

5ESSENTIALS PARENT SURVEY

The parent survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You may skip questions you do not wish to answer, but the survey must be completed in one sitting and cannot be retrieved once it is submitted. If you have more than one child enrolled in a building (i.e., two students who attend the same school), you have the option of completing multiple surveys for that building. In addition, if you have children enrolled in multiple schools (i.e., a District 97 elementary school and middle school), you may participate in the survey for each school.

However, only one parent/guardian per household may fill out the survey.

As with the student and teacher surveys, your identity will be kept completely confidential and your responses will not be linked to you. In addition, school-level reports will only be generated if at least 20 percent of our parents/guardians complete the survey, which can be accessed until Friday, February 14, 2020 by visiting http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/. This percentage will be based on the total number of students enrolled at each school.

 If we successfully meet this requirement, we will receive our reports in Spring 2020. The results will also be made available to the public via the Illinois School Report Cards, which will be released in the fall.

You can access general information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey by visiting https://illinois.5-essentials.org/.

Thank you for participating in this important endeavor, and for your continued support of our schools and the children we serve.

NEWS FROM THE PTO

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: SATURDAY NOV. 2ND 

Please join the D97 community at Beye School (206 N. Cuyler) on Saturday November 2nd from 11am-2pm for Dia De Los Muertos.  Enjoy live music, food, story time, and crafts. See attached flyer for more information.  

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
(IMPORTANT: CHANGE IN TOPIC)

Our next PTO meeting will be held on November 14th at 7pm in the Irving Auditorium.  There will not be a learning session for this PTO meeting. The Restorative Practices presentation will be in December.  

SAVE THE DATE: GENDER INCLUSIVITY TRAINING 
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. Gender & Inclusion Training Flyer 

All parents/grandparents/caregivers are welcome (and encouraged) to attend.  We provide childcare. Parents can RSVP here, especially if they need childcare so we can ensure adequate caregivers are provided:  https://tinyurl.com/yy9drbx8

The trainings are presented by the PTO and DivInc.  Our purpose is to support our community members with transgender and gender-expansive children (children who do not feel like they are the gender they were assigned at birth, who do not want to dress or act in ways that are typical with their assigned gender) and promote a culture shift at Irving towards gender inclusiveness. 

DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION

FREE MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS

The Oak Park Public Library, in partnership with Rush University Medical Center, is offering free mental health assessments (through pre-scheduled appointments) for children and adults on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Main Library. A Rush psychologist will conduct the onsite assessment. 

For more information, please visit https://www.oppl.org/news-events/announcements/free-mental-health-assessments-available/.

SUPER STEAM SATURDAY

Please join the Oak Park Education Foundation for a free fun morning of crafting, collaborating, and creating. Build a robot, design a skyscraper, unleash your inner artist and learn more about OPEF with great activities for kids ages 5-12. Join us Saturday, November 9th from 10am-12pm at Longfellow School. You can learn more about the event on OPEF's website or Facebook page.

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

November 5th Gender Inclusivity Training (7pm-9pm)
November 7th Trivia Night (7pm)
November 13-15 5th Grade Outdoor Education
November 14th PTO meeting (7-8:30)
November 19th Irving Turkey Trot (2pm)
November 19th Gender Inclusivity Training (7pm-9pm)
December 5th PTO Meeting (Learning Session: Restorative Practices)  (7-8:30)
December 7th Irving Cookie Crumble/Craft Fair

IMPORTANT LINKS