John T. Pirie Fine Arts & Academic Center St. Chicago, IL ...

[Pages:4]John T. Pirie Fine Arts & Academic Center

650 E. 85th St. Chicago, IL 60619

Pirie Panthers' Newsletter

Senalda R. Grady, Principal

December 2018

Marlena Jamieson, P.A.C. Chairperson

Qiana Carr, LSC Chairperson

Dear Parents, The winter break is quickly approaching and we

are now entering the 5th week of the marking period. We have three weeks full of activities planned for our students and parents. Please review the calendar events and we will be sending home an updated December Calendar with some additional events that were not on the calendar that we sent home earlier this week. Students in grades 4th -6th have started presenting their Science Fair projects in their classrooms and students will be selected to represent their classroom in our school wide Science Fair which will be held during the 3rd Week of December. We will inform parents of our school wide Science Fair date in which selected students will present.

Parents we need your support in making sure your child comes to school prepared each day. This means that each student needs to have his/her school supplies each day including homework and the planner signed each day. If any student is absent, he/she must make up all missed assignments or assessments by the due date the teacher assigns. In January our 2nd-6th Grade students will take the NWEA Reading and Math winter assessments. Our K-2 students will take the Winter MOY assessments for TRC/DIBELS and mClass Math beginning in January. All teachers will share the results with parents at the end of January.

In January, CPS is rolling out a new Student Information system called Aspen. Parents we need your help in setting up our new system. We will need your email addresses so that you are able to set up the gradebook portal to monitor your child's progress through the new system. All parents who have a current email address will receive information from Central Office regarding the new Aspen system. Please complete the attached form and return it back to your child's teacher by Monday, December 10th so that Ms. Allen can update your records with your email accounts. Additional information will be sent home regarding the Aspen program.

Thank you for your continuous support and may you enjoy the holidays with your family!

Senalda R. Grady, Principal

Dates to Remember

Monday, December 10, 2018

Money for Picture Orders are due. MONEY WILL NOT BE COLLECTED ON PICTURE DAY.

Wednesday, Dec. 12th ? Friday, Dec. 14th

The representatives from Dental Smiles will be here to conduct cleanings for our students who returned a signed consent form from parents.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Picture Day for all students who returned their picture orders and money. Students may dress up for their pictures. All pictures will be returned to the school by Dec. 20th.

Friday, December 14, 2018

Progress Notices will be sent home with all students.

Monday, Dec. 17 ? Friday, Dec. 21st

School Spirit Week Sponsored by Student Council Members

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Pirie Chorus performs at the Chatham Park Seniors Co-Op at 2:00 p.m.

LSC Meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Library.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Parent Breakfast to celebrate our students who had 100% Attendance Rate for the month of November and to give a special Thank You to parents who made sure their children were in attendance each day. The breakfast will begin at 8:15 a.m. in Rm. 116.

P.A.C. Meeting at 9:10 a.m. in Rm. 204 in the modular building.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Winter Assembly beginning at 1:45 p.m. in the Gymnasium. All parents are welcome to attend. Various classrooms will perform along with the Pirie Chorus and the Drumline.

Monday, Dec. 24th -Friday, Jan. 4th

Winter Vacation - School Re-Opens on Monday, January 7, 2019.

Picture Day Students who purchased a package do not have to wear uniforms on Picture Day. The

last day to turn in All money and order forms is on Monday, Dec. 10th. If you are

sending CASH, please send exact change because we do not have change in the office. If you want your children to take a picture with siblings, you must purchase Package A. Please make sure you note that you want a Sibling Picture on the envelope. You also have the option of selecting the Santa background in which students will be able to take a holiday picture with Santa. There are several winter or

holiday choices for you to select. We will not collect any money on Thursday, Dec. 13th.

Pictures will be returned to the school by December 20th.

Attendance Counts

Congratulations to Rooms 112 & 109 for having a 95% Attendance Rate for the month of November. Our goal this year is to get to 96% by the end of the school year. So far, we have not met our monthly goals which will negatively affect our school rating for the end of the school year. We only had an average of 92% for all students being in attendance for the month of

November which is a 2% decrease from

September.

At the end of the school year we will have a big raffle for any student who has an attendance rate of 97% or higher for the entire year! Parents we need your support in making sure your children are here every day and on time. Thanking you in advance for supporting our school and your children!

Early Dismissals Parents we need your support in making sure our students receive their full instructional minutes each day. We are having several early dismissals which are affecting students' educational learning during the week. In accordance with the CPS school policies, all students must receive 360 minutes of instruction each day. A student is considered tardy when arriving after 9:00 a.m. and they are considered absent for a half-day when he/she arrives after 9:45 a.m. or leaves before 3:45 p.m. Please remember late arrivals and early dismissals disrupt the instructional process for not only the child, but for the entire class. The beginning and end of each day provides your child with some of the most important instructions of the day. Please make sure your children know who is picking them up before they get to school. If students leave before Homework is passed out, they will have to get their assignments on the

following day. Students will not be issued an early dismissal after 3:30 p.m. unless it is an emergency which will be determined by the Principal. Students leaving early from the after school program is also a disruption to the lessons being taught. Excessive early dismissals or absences from after school programs, will result in your child being removed from the extended day activities.

Aspen Program

CPS will be switching to a new student information system beginning on Monday, January 7, 2019. All staff members have been trained on the new system and parents who have a current email address noted in our current system will receive an Aspen Welcome letter at the beginning of January. We would like to have 100% of our parents begin to use this new program to monitor student progress. We need all parents to complete the attached form which is a request to enter your email address in the system. Once the new program begins in January, your current gradebook parent portal accounts will be deleted. You will only be able to review your child's grades in Aspen if you have a current email address entered in the system. Ms. Allen will enter all parents email addresses in the system before January. Please return the attached form by Monday.

Science Fair

All 5th-6th grade students will present their projects during these next two weeks. Students will be selected from their classrooms to participate in the school wide Science Fair which

will be held in the Gymnasium. Please make

sure your child has everything he/she needs to complete the project. All students in 4th ? 6th grade will receive a Science grade for completing their projects. Students not completing a project negatively impacts their final Science grade for 2nd Quarter. Parents, we need your help in making sure your child puts forth an effort in completing a project.

Winter Break

All students will receive homework activities to complete during the Winter Break. We want to make sure our students do not forget what they have learned so far and as soon as they return, we will begin with our Winter assessments for all students. Please make sure your child reads

each day and works on the new Math concepts that have been taught so far. Students in grades 1st -6th will be able to work on the on line Reading and Math programs such as Measuring Up or Learning Odyssey. Kindergarten students can begin to work on the Learning Odyssey programs at home. Please make sure you sign your child's planner once their winter break work has been checked and completed.

Medical Compliance

Parents we still need your support in completing the requirements for medical compliance. We currently have 20 students who are not in compliance. Our nurse will be sending home notices again to those students who need to either complete their physicals or receive immunizations. Students are not able to participate in the extra-curricular programs and activities if they are not in compliance. Please bring in your completed medical documents as soon as you complete the requirements. Thank you.

Happy Holidays and Enjoy

Bringing in 2019 with Your Family

and Friends!

ASPEN PROGRAM

CPS will be switching to a new student information system beginning on Monday, January 7, 2019. Parents will receive a Welcome to Aspen Letter from Central Office by January 1, 2019 which will explain to parents how the system will operate and how parents can set up the gradebook parent portal. If you have a current Parent Portal account, it will be deleted at the end of December. You will only be able to set up a new account if you have submitted a current email address to the school. Please return this portion of the letter back to school by Monday, December 10th so that Ms. Allen can enter your email address in the system. Thank you.

Parent's Name: ________________________________________________

Student's Name: ___________________________________________________ Rm. #__________

Parent's Email Address: ______________________________________________

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download