Waters Elementary
4540 N. Campbell Ave. Chicago, IL 60625  (773)534-5090 
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Week 24

2/28/2019

 
Dear Waters Families;

Thank you to Pastor Lindsey Mack, Emily Haite and Drs. Stern and Peterson for providing an evening of healing for our middle school students, families and staff this past Tuesday.   We are truly grateful for the offering of space at Luther Memorial, their time and an opportunity to gather together as a community.

If you haven’t already heard, plans are underway for an addition to our existing building!
Please join us on Thursday, March 7 at 6 pm for a community meeting to hear about the exciting plans for Waters expansion.  You can click here  to learn more about our journey to this exciting expansion.  

I would like to formally introduce Ms. Holly Gallegos, as the newest member to our Waters staff.  Ms. Gallegos began her teaching with us on Monday. She is a certified teacher who will be working with alongside our staff providing teaching and learning services for our diverse learners.  Welcome aboard Ms. Gallegos!

Our basketball season is winding down.  Teams will head to the playoffs beginning next week.  Check out our school calendar for dates and times. Thank you coaches for giving of your time and parents for supporting our teams at every game.  

If your child is interested in participating in Track this spring, please have them stop by Mr. Wall’s room to pick up an official form to register.  

IAR (formerly known as PARCC) testing begins next month.  IAR is a robust, common core aligned test that captures students ability levels in Reading, Writing and Math.  It is also aligned to the SAT. This assessment is state mandated and is used to rate each school in Illinois. This assessment will eventually be used within CPS for high school applications, SQRP data,  etc.
For more information on IAR please go to:  ISBE.net/IAR.

Tomorrow,  Emergency Forms will be sent home.  It will be on purple paper.  This is the same form you completed in the fall.  
With Aspen ( a new database system) going live in April, we want to make sure ALL emergency information is current.  Phone numbers(land lines and cell), emails, emergency contacts for pick up, etc. will need to be completed. We will cross check all students information so we will be sure that it is current when we transition to Aspen.  The form is to be returned to your child’s homeroom teacher. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in completing the form.

Big Night is just around the corner!  This is a great community event that benefits the children at Waters!  If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, please do so. It is sure to be a great time with great people!   

Have a great weekend!  
​

Ms. Kipp


February 21, 2019

2/21/2019

 
Dear Waters Families,
 
This week we welcomed the Chinese New Year with our parade.  Thank you to all staff and students who participated in this annual cultural and educational event   This year we celebrate the pig. The excitement and positive energy was felt throughout the corridors!  Thank you Ms. Vecchioni for inspiring the students. Their display of artwork was a welcome sight.


Thank you again for the countless volunteers who helped not only to hang the first semester art show but also who helped to carefully remove it.  You are greatly appreciated!


On Tuesday, we hosted a parent meeting to share our plan for our middle school curriculum needs and to provide some resources so families can begin the healing process.     We want to work together as a community to help one another so we can support the well being of every student. I have attached some resources for you to use as needed. (Thank you to Erica Smith for compiling this extensive list.)  

I am also working to provide families another opportunity to meet together to work through the many raw emotions that we are all feeling. I will update you as soon as I have a confirmed date.  


Please know that I, along with my staff, appreciate you and all of the support that you have given us during this very difficult time.  Your positive messages have been encouraging for all of us.


Our middle schoolers thank everyone for the support you have given to the photo booth and the Valentine’s Dance last week.  We were able to raised just around $2000. As a reminder, all funds will go to help reduce the cost of the annual 8th grade class trip.  ​

Our basketball season is winding down but there is still time to catch a game!  Please refer to the school calendar to see what games you might be able to attend.

As always, please feel free to contact me at tmkipp@cps.edu with any questions that you may have.

Sincerely,
 
Ms. Kipp
School Principal

Special Blog Update

2/18/2019

 
Dear Waters Parents,

Tuesday, February 19th, we will host a parent meeting at 6:30 pm in the gym to discuss supports for our students regarding the recent incident involving a staff member.  We understand that this incident has caused many concerns. We want to work together as a community to help one another so we can begin to heal and support the well being of every student.  

During this meeting, we will also discuss our plan for middle school math for the rest of the school year.  While there will be some adjustments to be made, our middle school staff along with Ms. Alvarez and I, do not feel a substitute is the correct course of action for the students.  

At our meeting, we will have representatives from central office departments,  Student Protections and Title IX Department, Health and Wellness, as well as a representative from the Children’s Advocacy Center.  

In addition to these presentations, we will have time for questions.  Please keep in mind, we are not able to answer questions specific to the investigation as it is an active ongoing investigation.  Please know that we will try to answer all of your questions and if we are not able to do so during the meeting we will get back to you as soon as we have an answer.  

I want to thank the members of our community who have reached out to support our students and staff during this incredibly difficult time.  From providing the staff with lunch to emails and phone calls with encouraging words, these acts of kindness and compassion helped our school community through this past week.  Even though I was away assisting my elderly parents, I was available and in contact with Ms. Alvarez, Network Chief, central office departments, LSC and several members of the school community, to ensure we were doing everything we could for our students.  
​

While this has been a week filled with so many emotions, I know we will move forward knowing we have a community that is actively engaged, supportive and working alongside us.

As always, if you are unable to attend this meeting, please feel free to contact me at tmkipp@cps.edu.  

Sincerely,
Titia Kipp

Week 22 Update

2/14/2019

 
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​Dear Waters Families,

The Photo Booth for the 8th grade trip to St. Louis was a great success today.  A big thank you for the families who purchased photos and a big thank you to our Leadership student and volunteer parents (Hope Wielgopolan, Anna Harris, and Carrie Zacks) who helped Ms. Mendez run the booth.  The smiles on the children’s faces really brightened our day!  We hope the children will be as excited for the Valentine’s Dance tomorrow. 

I want to thank all of you for reaching out to our school family during this very difficult week.
Your support, concerns and thoughts have been heard and are greatly appreciated.

Please know that we are providing supports at school for the children as the requests and needs arise. If you see that your child is struggling with this situation, please do not hesitate to contact us for support.

We are doing our best to continue to provide a learning environment where the children can learn and flourish. Central office and our network team are providing additional supports for our children and staff.

There is no LSC meeting next Tuesday.  In its place, we will host a parent meeting on Tuesday, February 19th at 6:30 pm to discuss how we plan to provide additional social emotional supports for the students and our plan of action for our curricular programming especially in middle school.

Reminder, there is no school on Monday, February 18th, as it is Presidents’ Day.

Don’t forget to have your child wear red as we will celebrate the Chinese New Year Parade next Tuesday morning.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Ms. Kipp
Principal

Week 21 Update

2/7/2019

 
Dear Waters Community,

This week has been a pleasure!  I am so happy to have the students back in school with our staff.   

Earlier this week, I removed the fencing so students could access both playgrounds during recess.  Hopefully the weather conditions will cooperate and beginning Monday, geo drilling will begin. If so, the fences will be put back into their places and the playgrounds will be off limits.  

We are so happy to be back outdoors!  Even though the temperatures are warmer, please make sure your children are dressed appropriately for outdoor activities.

As a reminder, please ask your child for their Report Card, they will be sent home on Monday.  

We have some exciting events  this month:

Photo Booth - Thursday, February 14
Valentine’s Dance - Friday, February 15
100th day - Kindergarten parade
Chinese New Year - February 19

Next Month:
Big Night - March 9
Pi Night- March 14
STEAM week March 25

Please see the flyer for the Photo Booth and Dance.  Please note the activities will take place on separate days.  Remember these are fundraisers for our 8th grade annual class trip and we aim to take all of our students to St. Louis.    

This month, Mauricio Segovia, was appointed as the Chief of Network 2.  Mr. Segovia has served CPS for 25 years and his most recent appointment was Principal at Darwin elementary school.  Welcome Mr. Segovia to our network and school community!

In addition, I am pleased to welcome Anthony Vivit, our security officer to Waters School.  Some of you may know him as he has worked with our students during recess and in our after school programs.  

Please join us at our monthly Local School Council Meeting on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 6:30 pm.  We will have an update on our proposed addition from our Facilities and Grounds subcommittee.

Don’t forget that there is no school on Monday, February 18th in observation of Presidents Day.


Thank you,

Ms. Kipp
Principal

    Principal Kipp

    Waters Elementary School principal, Ms. Kipp, shares noteworthy news and school updates.

    Be sure to also check out Mr. Leki's blog for ecology updates and Green Notes News for detailed school news.
    ​

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