Principal Kipp's Blog

November News

11/8/2018

Dear Waters Community,

November brings a month where there are many days of non attendance for students. However teachers are still teaching and it is important that your child be present for the learning. Please do not use this month to schedule family vacations! Did you know that being absent counts against us and our school rating? All absences, excused and unexcused are included in the SQRP (School Quality Rating Policy). Yes! Attendance is 20% of our school rating. Please help us keep our school rating at Level 1+. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Our network chief, Eduardo Cesario, last day was Tuesday, November 6, 2018. He has taken a position with Waukegan Public School District 60. We wish him well in his new position. Dr. Richard Smith is our interim chief. He is a retired CPS principal and district level administrator.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018, the district conducted an Instructional Core visit at Waters. The team was comprised of district level instructional support staff that visited 12 classrooms. The foci for the visit was to observe teaching practices that exhibit instructional rigor, aligned curriculum and enhanced teaching practices that ultimately will impact levels of student growth. Leaders debriefed with our team and shared that they observed students engaged in authentic learning, tasks that were aligned to objectives, and students positively challenging each others learning. All of these task are directly aligned to our CIWP. Congratulations WATERS STAFF!!!

There will be no classes/no school on Monday, November 12, Veteran’s Day and Wednesday, November 14, 2018 which is Student, Parent, Teacher conferences. This day is dedicated for you to meet with your child and their teacher. Your child will share with you what they have learned thus far and if they are on track to meet their growth goals. If you have not signed up for a conference time, please be sure to do so! Conference times are from 11:45 am - 3:00 pm, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

Wednesday evening beginning at 7:00 pm at Mrs. Murphy’s and Son’s Bistro, please join us as we will celebrate the annual Pledge Drive. We thank the energetic team of WT who have been super busy promoting this important work. Did you know that these funds help pay for vital programs at Waters? Thank you to all for supporting our school financially!

On Wednesday, please be sure to stop by the AMAZING offerenda in the main hallway. Thank you to all the parents, staff and volunteers for helping set this beautiful memorial.

November 21-23 will be Thanksgiving Break. No classes/no school for students.

Our monthly LSC meeting is at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, November 27th. We will have a presentation from our staff on the intentional work we are doing in specific content areas. If you haven’t had a chance to join us at one of our meetings, please do! The presentations provide a window into what your children are learning at Waters school. In addition, It is expected that the LSC will vote on the schoolwide dress code at this meeting.

Sincerly,

Ms. Kipp
School Principal

Blog Post- November 1st

11/1/2018

Dear Waters Community,

It has been an exciting week at Waters! Each year, we celebrate school spirit and provide wonderful learning experiences through themed days, a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, Halloween Parade and Dia de los Muertos. We hope your children enjoyed this fun filled week! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out this week!

I am pleased to announce that Waters SQRP data has been released for FY18. Waters is a Level 1+. This is the highest rating that a school can receive in district 299. While our emphasis at Waters is about authentic learning experiences, we are held accountable for student performance. I would like to thank our staff for their dedication to planning, teaching and providing the children with rich learning experiences. I am also grateful that we have a supportive school community where education is a priority!

Our fall volleyball season has come to an end. Thank you Mr. Orlov for coaching our 5-8th grade teams and to all the parents who helped make this season a success!

A special shout out to Forrest Durnbaugh, a 6th grader, for his spectacular run at the City Finals last weekend. He placed 5th in his age group with a mile time of 6:09.18! What a great run.

As a reminder there is no school this Friday, November 2nd. Teachers will be engaged in professional development as it aligns with our CIWP.

There will be no school on Veterans Day, Monday, November 12th. Also, there is no school for students on Wednesday, November 14th as that is Report Card Pick Up day. Look for details from your child’s teacher for scheduling a conference time. Remember to bring your child to the conference! Our conferences are student led and they will be sharing what they are working on with you.

Thank you to all the families who have pledged to Waters Today! The annual drive is underway. Please look for the flyer that was sent home with students and for additional information in the Green Notes so you can join this annual campaign. We greatly appreciate the support for our school!

Sincerely,

Ms. Kipp

Weekly Blog Post

10/22/2018

Dear Waters Parents;

I will be away from the school beginning Tuesday, October 23rd and will return to school on Monday, October 29th. There was a death in my family and I will be joining them during this difficult time. I will not be responding to email during this time. If you have an emergency, please contact the main office at 773.534.5090. I thank you for your understanding.

Please see the following schedule for our annual “Spirit Week” which will start this Friday with Country Western Day and ends next Thursday with Pajama Day. I look forward to seeing all of you next week for the Halloween Parade on Wednesday morning at 8:45am Fingers crossed for weather that allows us to hold our parade outside.

Please see our letter that was written last week regarding an expansion of Waters School and our ecology program.

Enjoy these beautiful fall days.

Sincerely,

Ms. Kipp
Principal

Waters Letter to Community

10/19/2018

Dear Waters Community,

Please see the letter below regarding the school addition and Water's School Garden.

Waters Letter to Community

Sincerely,

Ms. Kipp
Principal

October 18th Update

10/18/2018

We had a great turn out at our Local School Council Meeting on Tuesday night. Agenda items included a Growth Mindset five week update, Growth Mindset application in middle school science and an introduction to our work around Math Professional Learning Community. Thank you Mrs. Ballasch, Mrs. Vecchioni and Mr. Gil for sharing!

The proposed dress code was given to the Local School Council for review. The dress code will It will go to vote next month. Thank you to all families for your input and suggestions. You can view a copy here.

There has been a lot of activity regarding the future of our school garden and the proposed school addition. Earlier this week, exploratory drilling was scheduled without any notification to administration. An obvious concern due to physical education, recess and programs in the garden. In a concerted effort and many phone calls, Alderman Pawar and I were able to halt the scheduled work. A meeting has been set with CPS to discuss moving forward and adhering to specific protocols to ensure that a collective community voice is heard.   I, along with Alderman Pawar, are optimistic that there will be positive outcomes from this meeting.

I am working to ensure that we have accurate information as we move forward so that it can be shared with the school community. While I understand there are many opinions about the addition at Waters, I assure you, our growing neighborhood population, lack of Pre-K offerings, our leaking roof, our makeshift classroom spaces, lack of storage, office space for intinerant staff, teachers lounge, limited playground space, programs without designated space, are just a few of the reasons why Waters is on the approved capital improvement list.

Our fall sports season is well underway! I am so proud of our athletes and their enthusiasm!   Congratulations to all of our runners and Coaches Barlow and Herman, who just completed their fifth meet of the season.   18 finalist for City were announced this week and they will proudly represent Waters next Saturday, October 27, 2018 at Washington Park.

Athletes representing Waters are:
5th Graders- Madeline Herman, August McKinney, Jack Ranney, and Hunter Smith
6th Graders- Cecilia Barlow, Miles Barbick, Forrest Durnbaugh, Kelly Rodriguez-Olivera, Maddux Smith, and Timothy Zagar
7th Graders- Mallory Herman, Ismaias Medina, Diego Olivares, and Emmitt Singer
8th Graders- Alejandro Abundis, Nathan Bjurstrom, Ray Reshoft, and Frank Weinstock

Harvest Week begins next Friday with our annual pumpkin patch and petting zoo.  I look forward to seeing many of you volunteering during our Harvest Day Activities.

Thank you to our STEAM team for organizing our 2nd annual Cardboard Challenge. We had over 150 people attend and it was a great day of creativity!

Please note that there is no school for students on Friday, November 2nd as teachers will have a School Improvement Day.

Sincerely,

Ms. Kipp
Principal

October Update

10/11/2018

Dear Families,

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month on Wednesday, The Miracle Center presented a theatrical adaptaion of “There’s a Coqui in My Shoe” an award winning children’s book written by Marisa de Jesus Paolicelli. The story was based on a coqui, Puerto Rico’s national treasure. I am sure your children came home and shared their experience with you! If not, be sure to ask them. This weekend is the final show! Also, TMC (The Miracle Center) has generously discounted the tickets for Waters Famililes for $5.00 each. If you looking for a great family event this Friday evening or Saturday evening, this would be a great family outing.
Tickets are available at www.themiraclecenter.org and the discount code is:
Use the promo code "coqui" for Saturday’s matinee.
Use promo code "coqui5" for any show Friday, Oct. 12th - Oct. 13th to get tickets for $5

2nd and 4th grade parents- we made an adjustment in the entry/exit location for your children. Please be on the look out for an email from your teacher. Due to safety concerns, we made a much needed adjustment.

Volunteer applications update:
Please be sure to follow procedure on approval for volunteering at Waters. Many of you have applied but have not provided your ID in the main office. Some of you provided your ID but have not completed the online application. Please be sure to complete the process in order for you to be approved.

Cardboard Challenge:
This Saturday is our Cardboard Challenge! If you haven’t already registered, please do so!
Don’t forget to bring your tape and cardboard to the Cardboard Challenge here at school this Saturday from 9 to 12.

SPORTS
Volleyball, Soccer and Cross Country are in full swing! We are so grateful to Mr. Changet, Ms. Okeefe, Ms. Barlow and Mr. Orlov for providing these athletic experiences for our students. Please be sure to check our school website for dates and times for all sports.

5TH GRADE BOYS BASKETBALL (Winter)
Northside League
Anyone interested in playing for Waters’ 5th grade boys basketball team in the Northside Basketball League should attend a tryout/informational meeting in the Waters gym on Nov. 8 at 5:30 pm. For those who played last year, you’ll remember we typically have one practice and one game per week. Games start in January but final rosters are due Nov. 15. Cost, which covers registration, uniforms and referee fees, will be determined by number of participants. We will have 1-2 practices in December before holiday break. Please note this league is in addition to Waters school 5th/6th grade basketball team. You are welcome to try out for one or both teams.

There will also be tryouts for this same league for girls. Grade levels and tryout times TBA.

October LSC meeting:

Tuesday, October 16 at 6:30 pm. Please attend to learn about the work our staff has been doing on Growth Mindset.

Spirit Week:
We are working on the schedule for our annual Spirit Week! Stay tuned for details.
We will host a Halloween parade on October 31, 2018. Students are welcome to come to school in their costumes. Please remember no weapons (real or fake) are permitted on school property.

Holiday Performance Dates:

Save the Date! The Holiday Show will be on December 19th & 20th.

Sincerely,

Ms. Kipp
Principal

October is here!

10/3/2018

Dear Families,

Thank you to the Heneghan family for organizing our 2nd Annual Golf outing last weekend!  If you didn’t get a chance to participate in this event, be on the look out for next year. It was a great time and there were some great prizes!!!
This week Choir auditions were held after school. It was wonderful to see so many singers participate. We look forward to providing you with song and voice throughout the year.

Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE) after school classes began this week. We look forward to the creative designs and ideas that will be shared at our annual expo in late spring.    Thank you teachers and artists for providing this learning opportunity for our students.

Kevin Changet, parent of one of our students, has graciously taken on the role of soccer coach for our 5/6 and 7/8 boys soccer teams. We are grateful that Mr. Changet will provide this sports experience for our student athletes. There will be tryouts Friday, October 5, 2018 after school on the soccer field at 3:30 pm for 5/6 grade boys and 4:30 pm for 7/8 grade boys. All boys interested in playing should come out on Friday.

Last week, the BAC (Bilingual Advistory Committee) held their organizational meeting. Elections were held and the new officers are as follows:

President - Alicia Mayorca
Vice President - Clarisa Medina-Poeliniz
Secretary- Carmen Campoverde
Representative-Rosa Hernandez
Alternate Rep- Hilda Segura

Thank you parents for taking on these leadership roles in our school. BAC meetings are held monthly (please refer to school website calendar for dates) and offer workshops/ guest speakers for all parents to attend.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the online Dress Code survey. Our Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) has reviewed the Dress Code survey. Based on some of the suggestions, adjustments in langauge and intent are being addressed. Further details TBA.

MEDICAL EXCLUSION -date drawing near…...If you have not done so already, please turn in your medical forms to the school. If you child is not in compliance by October 15, 2018, they will be excluded from school until you provide the medical documentation. If you have a doctor’s appointment scheduled, please have the doctor’s office fax (773.534.5087) or email the appointment information to your child’s teacher.
Don’t forget our upcoming Cardboard Challenge next weekend,Saturday, October 13th from 9 am to 12 noon. Please bring tape and cardboard to share. It will be a magical day at Waters.
As a friendly reminder, the Wilson Avenue Bridge has been closed as of October 1st for repairs. The city is estimating it will be closed for approximately 3 weeks so 2 weeks to go.

Remember there is no class on Monday, October 8th. The builidng will be closed.
The ABCDE Schedule will come into play on Tuesday. The children will attend their E class on Tuesday.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Ms. Kipp
Principal

Wrapping up September!

9/27/2018

Dear Families,

It was great to see so many of you last evening! I trust you found the event informative and you have a clearer understanding of what your child(ren) experiences during the day at Waters. All syllabi are posted on the school website if you would like to review any copies.

I saw many of you talking with Mr. Mark Williams, our lunchroom manager, at Curriculum Night. He had a table set up with snacks and was on hand to answer questions regarding our cafeteria offerings here at Waters. Did you know that breakfast and lunch is free for your child? There are many healthy options for your child to choose from. Any child may select one of two options when they enter school in the morning for breakfast and there are a variety of lunch options as well. Additionally, you can fill your lunch by adding a milk, veggie, and a fruit to a lunch a student has brought from home. We are happy to have Mr. Williams on our team. If you have any questions for him, please email him at <mewilliams302@cps.edu>

I can’t believe we are in the final week of September already! That being said September is “Safety Month” and we practice our safety drills. Safety drills include but are not limited to fire, bus evacuation, lockdown, shelter in place, tornado, and allergen drills. This is standard procedure for all CPS schools and our staff does a great job at explaining each scenario to the children. Please be aware that most drills are practiced throughout the school year.

MEDICAL EXCLUSIONS!!!
If you have not done so already, please turn in your medical forms to the school. If you child is not in compliance by October 15, 2018, they will be excluded from school until you provide the medical documentation.
If you have a doctor’s appointment scheduled, please have the doctor’s office fax (773.534.5087) or email the appointment information to your child’s teacher.

Special Event:
Global Cardboard Challenge!
October 13, 2018
9 am- 12 noon
Check it out the flyer in Green Notes!

Please be aware the Wilson Avenue Bridge will be closed starting October 1st for repairs. The city is estimating it will be closed for approximately 3 weeks. Pedestrians will be able to to walk on one side of the bridge but it will be closed to vehicles.

Thank you for your patience while waiting for your volunteer approval emails. This process is new for all of us! We are grateful for all the volunteers that have registered. Please be sure to spread the word that all parents must be approved as volunteers before they are permitted to participate in any school trips. The first step is to apply online at cpsvolunteers.org.

Have a great week!

Ms. Kipp
Principal

Busy Week at Waters!

9/20/2018

Dear Parents,

It was lovely to see many of you at the Local School Council meeting this week. Our Instructional Leadership Team opened our meeting with a presentation on “Growth Mindset”. This is one of many topics that will be presented at our LSC meetings this year, to connect our CIWP with the work we are doing in the classrooms. I strongly encourage you to attend one or more of our meetings as they are very informative! Our staff is thrilled to hear that their proposed budget was approved! We are excited to proceed with expenditures for much needed resources that will support programming at the school level. We are thankful for Waters Today and our supportive school community! For more information on approvals, please click here.

An agenda item at the LSC was a school wide Dress Code. While there were questions and suggestions at the meeting, I would like to invite all of our school families to particiapte and have a voice. A survey has been created and my staff and I would like to capture feedback from the entire school community. Here is a link to the dress code (English followed by Spanish) that was proposed to the LSC. We are accepting comments on the dress code via a survey. The survey will also be sent via email from each homeroom teacher. Please note: We are NOT advocating a school uniform.

Did you know Waters is graded on attendance? In an effort to remain a school that reflects a high level rating,, I am reaching out to encourage timeliness and great attendance for your child(ren). School begins at 8:15 am and dismisses at 3:15 pm. Please make every effort to arrive on time. While we are aware emergencies happen, patterns of tardies and absences are being monitored by the district. Please keep in mind that Chicago Public Schools uses this information and captures this data in our annual SQRP report. Please help us achieve our LEVEL 1 + status again by making sure your children are in school. Appointments, vacations and other activities should be scheduled outside of school hours or when school is not in session.

We are incredibly grateful to have so many parents who are able to volunteer at Waters School. Have you heard about the updated Volunteer Policy that we must adhere to?
ALL volunteers at Waters must go through the volunteer approval process. If parents are NOT on the approved list, they will not be allowed to accompany children on field trips, field day, walk-a-thon, etc. This is a mandate that has been set forth from the Board of Education. Please see the CPS Volunteer Programs Website to learn more about volunteering and how to register.

Upon completion of the online form, you must bring your photo ID to the main office at Waters.   At that time, your ID will be photocopied. Wait! You are not done yet. Once we have your photo ID, school staff have to approve the request online. Once you have been approved, you will receive an email from CPS confirming your approval. If you have not received this email, you will not be permitted to chaperone field trips or any other school related activities. Please get your application in and bring in your ID!

I look forward to seeing you at our annual Curriculum Night on Wednesday, September 26, 2018.   If you are new parent to Waters, please join us in the gym at 6:00 pm for a State of the School address. Here you will meet staff, LSC and Waters Today members. Returning parents, please arrive at 6:45 pm to join your child’s teacher in their classroom.

If you are in need of child care( students who attend Waters only) for this evening, please complete this form by the end of the school day Monday, September 24th.
The evening will wrap up around 7:30 pm.

Student fees: Please log on to our school website at www.waterselementary.org and click on the “pay fees” button to pay for your child’s student fees. Information about our Student Fee will also be available at Curriculum Night. This fee is essential for purchasing school-wide curriculum materials, such as planners, textbooks, consumable workbooks, and technology supplies (like ink and toner)—materials that are not covered by our limited school budget.
We strongly encourage online payments!   (http://tinyurl.com/jhn62au). We ask that this fee be paid by Friday, October 5th. If paying on-line is not an option, please stop in the main office. Payment plans are available, and a fee waiver form is available in the office if you cannot afford the fee.

Our BAC (Bilingual Advisory Committee) will hold its first meeting in the teachers lounge from 8:30 am to 9:30 am on Wednesday, September 26th. This will be our annual organizational meeting.

Picture Day is also on Wednesday the 26th. If you wish to order pictures, you may do so on-line.

It has been great to see our Volleyball players and Cross Country Runners getting ready for the upcoming season.   Please come out and support our athletes!

Our 2018-19 Recycling Captains have been selected and have been busy keeping our school green.

It has been a very busy month thus far and October is just around the corner! Be on the lookout for our annual High School Information Night, Cardboard Challenge, Hispanic Awareness Month activities, Spirit Week, Harvest Day, Dia de Los Muertos, and other exciting events!

I hope that you have a fantastic week!

Sincerely,
Ms. Kipp
Principal

Sailing into September

9/12/2018

Dear Families,
It was wonderful to hear our school buzzing with the noise of our learners back to work. We welcome many new families to our school this year as well as all of our new kindergarten students.
Last week, we kicked off our Grade Level Team Meeting (GLTM) Professional Learning Community (PLC) Staff Professional Development which is being led by the teachers on our Instructional Leadership Team (ILT). This year’s members include Ms. Aguilar, Ms. Bricker, Ms. Collins-Gonzalez, Mr. Gil, Ms. Herman, Ms. Nunoz-Johnson, Mr. Orlov, Ms. Rivadeneria, and Ms. Vecchioni along with Ms. Alvarez and myself. The ILT met for two days over the summer at our ILT Retreat to plan this Professional Development. At our upcoming Local School Council (LSC) meetings, you will learn more about the professional learning our staff is engaged in.
I am thrilled that staff are in their classrooms and engaged in learning with students. Staff has come back energized and ready for the new school year. Our teachers patience during enrollment season has been exemplary! They have shown flexibility and understanding as it pertains to new classroom assingments and grade levels. As many of you know, as a neighborhood school our enrollment window never closes. Students enroll throughout the school year. This can present a challenge. As we prepare every year, many factors are taken into consideration, teachers grade level requests, interests, endorsements and certifications are included in this equation.
Upcoming events where I will be:

Local School Council Meeting, Tuesday, September 18th at 4:00, School Gym
School Curriculum Night, Wednesday, September 26th, 6 pm for new parents in school gym and 6:45 for returning parents in childrens homeroom
Waters Today Golf Outing, Sunday, September 30th at 8 am, Robert A. Black Golf Course

We have our first Local School Council (LSC) meeting next week Tuesday. I strongly encourage you to attend these meetings. Our goal this year is to present information on learning in the classroom that is directly related to our CIWP. All community is welcome to join us for these meetings.
School Curriculum Night is a parents only event where you can meet your child's teachers and learn more about “a day in the life of your child at Waters”. We invite those parents new to our community at 6:00 pm so you can learn more about our school before heading to your child's homeroom at 6:45 pm. We will complete the evening by 7:30 pm.
Right At School has generously offered FREE childcare for Waters students K -8. Stay tuned for details on sign up/drop off information.
Attendance is extremely important at our school! We appreciate everyone being prompt in dropping off their children so they are ready to enter the building at 8:15 am.

Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ms. Kipp

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