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




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Please see attached documents.
​Crisis Support
Grief Tips for Teachers and Parents
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For families attending the visitation and funeral of Angeline Gutierrez, the family has requested the children wear white and the adults wear black.
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UPDATED 8/24/2018

Dear All,
Please be aware that as we move into the next school year (2018-2019), 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 Central Office. 

Please see this website to learn about how to register to volunteer this fall.  

Welcome back families! It was great welcoming back students this week. I hope you all had a relaxing spring break!  

We are moving into the final quarter of our school year and there are many activities that will engage our school community.  Beginning with our MoTown musical performance, Student Parent Teacher Conferences, LSC elections, Little Big Night, CIWP (Continuous Improvement Work Plan) public input workshops, and Big Night, our annual school fundraiser. I encourage you to join us at all of the activities. 

Along with these activities, I will be hosting a Safety Workshop immediately following the LSC meeting this Tuesday evening.  As you know, staff and student safety is always a priority at Waters. I invite you to stay for an informational session where I will share our safety protocols. RSVP for this session.

Thank you and have a great week!