Blog Archives

Free After School CAPE Programs

9/27/2015

Dear Parents,

We are looking forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday at our annual Curriculum Night. This evening is an opportunity for you to learn about the curriculum that your children will be exploring this year. Teachers will present syllabi as it pertains to the individual grade levels. The syllabi will be available on our school website and hard copies will not be available as we honor our efforts to be a green school. While opportunities for questions pertaining to classroom instruction will be available, please note that curriculum night is not meant for individual parent/teacher conferences. You may always schedule an appointment with any staff member so we can give you individual attention.

Our after school arts partnership with CAPE is about to begin. Information is included below. Please note that due to an overwhelming response, students will be selected by lottery for acceptance into the program offerings.

Coffee with Crespo/Espresso with Crespo will begin in October. This year I will alternate times to accommodate parents who may be unable to attend morning coffees. I will host a morning and an evening coffee on alternating months. Please be on the lookout for sign up dates in the coming days.

On a completely different topic, I am asking for your help. We are a community school and we want to respect our community. Alderman Pawar and I have received complaints from our neighbors that drivers are honking their horns and speeding down the streets that surround our school in the morning and cutting through alleys to get to school on time. Alderman Pawar and I respectfully ask that you refrain from these types of disruptive activities.

I look forward to seeing all of you on Wednesday.

Join Us for Curriculum Night

9/20/2015

Dear Parents,

It's hard to believe we are already in our 4th week of school!

A very special thank you to the 5/6 grade teacher team. On Monday, September 14, teachers, chaperones and 150 students went to Camp Duncan in Ingleside, IL for an educational outing to work on various team building exercises. It was a day filled with new learning experiences and getting to know each other. Thank you Mrs. Del Campo for organizing this annual trip. Check out the photo!

Thank you to Mr. Raman for presenting on Executive Functions this pastweek. The workshop was informative and provided helpful tips on how to manage time and organize oneself. Students are utilizing these tools in grades five to eight to develop organizational skills that will help not only with their daily academic routine but with life. The top three takeaways from the workshop are highlighted in an article below.

Please join us at our annual Curriculum Night, next Wednesday evening September 30 at 6:00 pm for new families in the Gym. And for returning families, please go directly to your child's classroom at 6:30pm. This is a PARENTS ONLY event. Come and hear what your child will be learning this school year. Childcare will be available (if needed) at $10 per family. Please see below for more details.

If you have not already done so, please turn in all medical forms. Remember October 15 is the deadline. All students whose medical information is not current WILL BE EXCLUDED from school per CPS policy. Do not let this happen to your child.

CPS has unfortunately cut all elementary school sports funding. The Waters administration is committed to funding and continuing the sports program at Waters as best we can. After school electives are extremely important and beneficial for children. Waters will continue to keep athletics as a priority after school program. More information will available soon.

CPS is in the process of developing the fall season schedule for all sports. Not all CPS schools will be involved so creating the schedule has been challenging. More information to follow.

The First Week of School

9/13/2015

Welcome to a new year! Welcome back parents and a special welcome to all our new families. We had a great first week of school. Our classrooms look wonderful and the learning that took place this week, looked even better!

A huge thank you to our summer custodial staff for preparing our beautiful school for opening day – Gerardo, Reinaldo and Pete! You guys are the best team to have in a school. Thank you for all that you do.

We would like to officially recognize and welcome:

Mr. John Gaytan as our Office Manager
Mr. Gerardo Servin as our Security Officer
Ms. Laura Mota as our Lunch Room Manager

and say Best Wishes:

Ms. Taureen Whiteman, who secured a teaching job in another CPS school
Ms. Amanda Carson who also secured a teaching job
Mr. Jorge Gonzalez who was promoted to Manager in another CPS schoo
Mrs. Cecibel Amerson who moved to St. Louis, MO with her family

Welcome Packets went home this week. There are multiple forms that need to be returned to your child's classroom teacher. Please return them Monday, September 14.

Please join us this week Wednesday at 6 pm- 7pm for a workshop on "Executive Functions" led by Mr. Raman, one of our middle school teachers. He will share with you so valuable techniques for your child and their organizational skills. These are tips that will benefit your child for life.

Waters created a scholarship fund this year. This fund is to help provide resources for students whose families may not be able to afford the fees that are requested at Waters. This includes but is not limited to the annual student/family fee. This fund can help to pay for a student’s field trip, supplies and materials, etc. If you are able, please help all of our students at Waters. Thanking you in advance for your generosity.

We are monitoring our attendance and registration closely. As you may know, every student's absence impacts our school rating. If your child is absent from school, please follow the absence protocol found in the welcome packet. Also, every student in attendance counts towards financial resources for FY16. If you are planning on your child attending Waters but your child has not been in school yet, please contact the main office to inform them. If you know of anyone who still has not registered at Waters and lives in the attendance boundaries, please let them know that school is in session.

All students must be in compliance with medical exams per CPS policy prior to the deadline of October 15, 2015. Parents were notified of required immunizations last spring prior to school dismissing. If you have not already done so, please schedule your child for their appointment with the doctor. Any student that does not have the required documents on Oct.15 will be excluded from school. Students who are not in compliance will receive a letter in the coming weeks.

An important reminder: School does not begin until 8:15 am. There were many students this week on the playground early in the morning with no supervision. If you are in need of early morning care, please inquire about our supervised early bird program. You can find information on our website or inquire in the main office. During inclement weather days this is even more of a concern. Please do not leave your children outside in the rain and cold before the school day begins. Students are getting wet (especially with no umbrella) which then can lead to them getting sick. Safety is a big priority for us at Waters.

Thank you and have a beautiful week!

Welcome to the New School Year

9/7/2015

Dear Waters Parents and Guardians;

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! During the summer months, Waters staff has been hard at work preparing the building for tomorrow’s first full day of school. As I enter into FY16, my passion for working with you, your children and our staff to create the best learning environment — that allow our students the opportunity to grow and develop both academically, socially and emotionally —continues to grow.

As we begin this exciting year, I want to say thank you for believing in us. After a challenging budget season, I am happy to report that we secured additional funding to provide a third kinder and third first grade classroom!

If you haven’t seen it already, be sure to stop by the main entrance of the school. A beautiful mosaic welcomes you! The entrance was transformed this summer during our Arts Camp, which was funded through Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE).

I’m looking forward to seeing all the children on Tuesday!

Free After School CAPE Programs

Join Us for Curriculum Night

The First Week of School

Welcome to the New School Year

Principal Kipp

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