Nov. 8, 2019
IRVING-RELATED: NEW
A NOTE FROM GINA
Dear Irving Families,
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the “diaper party,” has given me well wishes, kind words, advice, and hugs. The kindness and generosity of this community has been overwhelming and I am humbled by it. You are all such wonderful people and my heart is full with love and gratitude.
Thank you!
Love,
Gina
CommUNITY CAFE: NOV. 12TH (8-8:30am)
Mr. Hodge will be holding a CommUNITY Coffee on Tuesday November 12th from 8-8:30am 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.
SAVE THE DATE: SPRING SING
This year the district is changing the format of our music concerts. Instead of a winter concert during the school day, Irving will hold a SPRING SING in the evening in March. These concerts will be under the direction of our new general music teacher, Mr. Deaton, and Mrs. Friesen. So, mark your calendars now:
K & 1st grade:
2nd & 3rd grade March 11th
4th grade, 5th grade, & Chorus: March 12th
CLOTHING FOR 5TH GRADE OUTDOOR EDUCATION TRIP
Do you have any extra winter clothing that you are willing to donate to the fifth-grade outdoor education stockpile? We are looking for larger size coats and winter pants, hats, gloves, sleeping bags and blankets. We would like to have extras on hand for students. Donations can be left in the office until the end of the day on Monday, November 11th.
OCTOBER TARDY 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 October, 392 or 78.7% of our students were on time every day. This means that 106 students had one or more tardies. The 392 students who were on time in October 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 an Amazon gift card.
A TASTE OF IRVING
The Irving Diversity and Inclusion Committee invites you to attend "A Taste of Irving" our community potluck dinner on Thursday, November 21st from 6:30PM-8:30PM.
Families are encouraged to sign up and bring a favorite dish that honors their cultural background or simply attend to celebrate the diversity that makes Irving a great place to be.
Sign up using the link below (More details Inside):
https://www.signupgenius.com/
IRVING RELATED: PBIS, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, & SECOND STEP
SECOND STEP: BULLYING PREVENTION UNIT
This week we finished the final lesson in our bullying prevention curriculum. Our kindergartens, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders learned ways bystanders can help stop bullying. Our 4th and 5th graders learned about Cyber Bullying and how a bystander can help support the person being bullied.
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.
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GRADE |
ACTIVATION CODE |
HOME LINK INFORMATION |
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Kindergarten |
BPU1 FAMI LY00 |
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Grade 1 |
BPU1 FAMI LY01 |
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Grade 2 |
BPU1 FAMI LY02 |
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Grade 3 |
BPU1 FAMI LY03 |
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Grade 4 |
BPU1 FAMI LY04 |
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Grade 5 |
BPU1 FAMI LY05 |
EAGLE'S NEST
Today, Friday November 8th, we held our third 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 families decorated a poster and identified things we are grateful for that correspond to each letter of the available.
IRVING RELATED: REMINDERS
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.
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.
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
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.
DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION
D97 BILINGUAL PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Date: Saturday November 16, 2019 (9am-11am)
Location: Oak Park Public Library Main Branch 834 Lake Street Oak Park, IL Community Engagement Space 1st Floor
Free Childcare! Interpreters are provided for no charge when requested in advance by 11/11/19
The Parent Cafe is organized as an opportunity for parents to connect, learn, be heard, support, advocate and plan. This meet-up is a safe space to share ideas about what parents want and need to support our children in school and build strong families.
This is open to all parents and families of ESL students, parents with limited English, bilingual parents, and all concerned members of the community
To request childcare or interpreter service, sign up at Eventbrite (http://bit.ly/d97-bpac-
Key agenda:
1. Vote on a BPAC Board President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer
2- Registration for adult ESL classes starting in January
الرجاء الحضور إلى اجتماع الـ BPAC
Chinese BPAC
BPAC Korean
BPAC English
BPAC Spanish
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-
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 13th-15th 5th Grade Outdoor Education
November 14th PTO meeting (7-8:30)
November 19th Irving Turkey Trot (2pm)
November 19th Gender Inclusivity Training (7pm-9pm)
November 21st Taste of Irving (6:30p.m. - 8:30 p.m.)
December 5th PTO Meeting (Learning Session: Restorative Practices) (7-8:30)
December 7th Irving Cookie Crumble/Craft Fair