Irving Weekly Newsletter: Nov. 22, 2019

Nov. 22, 2019

IRVING-RELATED: NEW

CANCELED: INCLUSIVE PLAYDATE-EVERYBODY PLAYS

(November 24th 1-2PM)
Due to the unavailability of our adaptive play location, this month's Everybody Plays Inclusive Playdate has been canceled for Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. The next meetup will resume on Sunday, Dec.15, 2019, 1-2PM.

BOOK CLUB/TABLE TALK: THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN
(December 10th 6:30pm) Table Talk Flyer

Join us in a meaningful conversation as we explore “The 5 Love Languages of Children” authored by Dr. Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, M.D.  Limited copies of the book are available inside the school’s main office.  More copies are also available at our local libraries in both hard copy and audiobook formats.  RSVP for this event using this eventbrite link.

 

IRVING RELATED: PBIS, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, & SECOND STEP

 

SECOND STEP

This week our kindergarten students completed lesson eight and our first through fifth grade students completed lesson seven in our Second Step curriculum.  The kindergarten students worked on identifying anger and first grade students continued to learn about identifying feelings.  Our second grade students learned about feeling confident and third grade students focused on handling conflicting feelings.  Our fourth grade students learned about conversations and compliments and fifth grade students learned how to disagree respectfully.  There are home links this week for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

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

SSPK FAMI LY70

None this week

Grade 1

SSP1 FAMI LY71

None this week

Grade 2

SSP2 FAMI LY72

2nd Grade Lesson 7

Grade 3

SSP3 FAMI LY73

3rd Grade Lesson 7

Grade 4

SSP4 FAMI LY74

4th Grade Lesson 7

Grade 5

SSP5 FAMI LY75

5th Grade Lesson 7

 

IRVING RELATED: REMINDERS

WARM CLOTHING DONATIONS FOR LUNCH & CLASS RECESS

If you have any extra hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants, or coats at home that your child has outgrown, please consider donating them to our Irving students to use during lunch and class recess.  Drop off any donations in the office.  We will set up a donation area for students when they are in need of items or have misplaced items and need an item to keep them warm and safe.  

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:                                       March 10th

2nd & 3rd grade                                    March 11th

4th grade, 5th grade, & Chorus:            March 12th

 

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

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

PTO MEETING: DECEMBER 5th

(Learning Sessions: Restorative Practices)

Our next PTO meeting will be held on December 5th at 7pm in the Irving Auditorium.  The learning session for December will focus on Restorative Practices.  Come join us to learn about affective statements, proactive and responsive circles, and restorative questions. 

 

DivInc MEETING: DECEMBER 17TH

The next Diversity & Inclusion Committee meeting will take place on Tuesday December 17th at 7pm.

DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION

SAVE THE DATE: D97 UNIVERSITY

The teaching and learning department is hosting a Parent University on Saturday, Dec.14, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary School. The theme of Parent University is "Cozy Up to Curriculum." The focus is to help families understand more about our curriculum and how to assist their child at home. Families will receive the opportunity to attend three 40-minute sessions of their choice.  A registration link will be available in the beginning of December. 

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/.

 

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

November 24th           Inclusive Playdate: Everybody Plays (1-2pm)
Nov. 27-29th               No School
December 5th             PTO Meeting (Learning Session: Restorative Practices)  (7-8:30)
December 7th             Irving Cookie Crumble/Craft Fair
December 10th           Book Club/Table Talk: The 5 Love Languages of Children (6:30pm)
December 17th           DivInc Meeting (7pm)
Dec. 23rd-Jan 3rd       No School
January 9th                 PTO Meeting (7-8:30pm)
January 14th               DivInc Meeting (7pm)
January 20th               No School
January 30th               11am Dismissal (P/T conferences)
January 31st                11am Dismissal

IMPORTANT LINKS