Cougar Clips
14 March 2025
Happy Friday Kipling Families,
Thank you to all of our 5th grade families for attending our Inquiry Fair this week and for supporting your students with these projects along the way. Our students worked incredibly hard on these projects and they were beyond excited leading up to Wednesday. Shout out to our 5th grade teachers and to Ms. Thurman for helping to instill this passion for inquiry and curiosity into our students.
Thank you to all the families who have completed the Panorama survey for us. We appreciate your time and support. If you have not yet done so, please help us by completing this quick survey.
We need everyone’s help with Kindergarten registration. Please share this information with friends and neighbors. It is important to complete the registration process as soon as possible as our staffing decisions are based on the number of fully registered students.
The 2025 Kindergarten Registration online form is available! To register please visit our registration page.
Please note that only those students who are fully registered will receive an invitation for our spring Kindergarten Round-Up.
After completing the online application, you will need to provide all required documents (listed on the registration website). Please reach out to our registrar, Rosa Castillo (rcastillo@dps109.org) with any questions.
All my best to you and your families over the weekend!
Respectfully,
Mr. Matthew O. Lombardo, NBCT
Principal
Kipling Elementary School
Kipling PTO
Don't forget to log in/sign up at the PTO site. Visit https://kiplingpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home to get started.
Don't forget to stop by the Scholastic Book Fair next week!
Kipling McTeacher's Night is April 2nd!
BECAUSE KIPLING TEACHERS ARE SO AMAZING... Come see SO MANY of them work the cash registers, drive through, fry station and more... when you stop by for an after-school snack! Mark your calendars now! It's going to be such a fun event!
BINGO Night
Join us at Potbelly's following the 5th-grade music show and choir concert.
Please feel free to email ptokipling@gmail.com for any questions!
Bernie’s Book Bank
Hi Kipling Families! The LMC Leadership Team is excited to announce that we will be hosting a Book Drive through Bernie’s Book Bank! Simultaneously occurring with our Spring Book Fair, this is the perfect opportunity to clear off your bookshelves to make room for some new books! The Book Bank will take place from March 10th - March 20th, and the donation bins will be located on Main Street. Please see the attached flyer and letter for more specific information and donation guidelines. Thank you for your support!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Molly Walzer (mwalzer@dps109.org).
Parent Teacher Conferences
Mark your calendars! Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, March 20 from 1:00-4:00pm & 5:00-8:00pm and Friday, March 21 from 8:30-11:30am. All DPS109 schools will hold in-person parent-teachers conferences this year with a virtual option for parents/guardians who are not available for an in-person conference.
Parents will sign up for a conference using Sign-Up Genius. The links for all teacher sign-up forms can be found here.
It is best practice to hold one parent conference per child, to ensure that both parents receive the same information regarding their child’s strengths and needs. Therefore, I ask that parents sign up for one joint conference per student.
Conferences are a discussion between parents and teachers. At this time elementary conferences do not include students and therefore we ask that children not attend the parent-teacher conference.
Seeking Cultures to Showcase
Thank you to the Strobel family for filling our Cultural Collection case with your beautiful and rich Chilean artifacts. Thank you for taking the lead this year for our school community. We all have so many unique and special cultural perspectives and lived experiences to share with each other and I am very proud and eager to learn about each of yours.
In an effort to ensure inclusion of diverse populations and perspectives, we are looking for other Kipling families to use the Kipling Cultural Collection to teach the Kipling community about your culture! Display objects may include 6-8 traditional or cultural objects, a family video describing the significance of each object, recipe, flag, map, music, etc - anything to bring your vibrant culture to life!
Volunteering at Kipling
Composting
We need volunteers to help compost during lunch periods. This is a great chance to help the planet and see your kids in action!
LMC
The LMC is looking for volunteers every day between
8:50-11:20am and 12:50-3:25pm (Wednesdays 12:50-2:25pm)
Sign up for a slot and come in any time you are free.
DPS109 Info
Attendance Alert Emails
Our goal in District 109 is to work together to ensure the success of every child. As we head into the last few months of the school year, we want to remind you that regular attendance at school is vital to your child’s success.
If your child has been absent for 12 or more days so far this school year, you will be receiving an attendance alert email from us early next week. The email is solely for notification purposes as we want to make sure you are aware that your child is at risk of being considered chronically absent by the end of the school year.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as absences totaling 10 percent or more of school days—including absences with or without valid cause—during the school year. If a child is absent for 17 days or more during the school year for excused or unexcused reasons, that child is considered chronically absent.
We are committed to supporting your family with any concerns regarding student attendance. There are many people in our building ready to help address any challenges in getting to school regularly or on time. We can also help identify barriers to regular attendance and implement key resources to support your family in these efforts. If you receive an attendance alert letter next week, please do not hesitate to reach out so that we can discuss how to best support your child moving forward.
We want to hear your great ideas!
Just a few months ago, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning about the mental and physical toll of parenting, and we’re seeing those challenges right here in Deerfield. This growing problem requires a local solution.
Join us next Tuesday, March 18, at Caruso Middle School as we:
Hear from medical professionals about the trends and behaviors they are observing related to dependence on technology—for both adults and children.
Collaborate on ideas our community can implement to foster greater independence.
This important discussion will take place in the Caruso Auditorium from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP.
Reminder: There are no enrichment classes the entire week of March 17
Due to conferences and a shortened week, there will be no enrichment classes from March 17 - 21. Additionally, there will be no ASC on Thursday, March 20.
Missed a Tech Tip? We got you covered!
In October, we began sharing weekly tech tips in our newsletters to encourage digital safety. If you missed a tech tip or just want to review them, we have a Digital Hub for you to view them at your convenience. Make sure to keep your eyes open for more tech tips to come in the following weeks.
Upcoming Important Dates
-Wed 3/19-Fri 3/31: LMC Book Fair
-Thurs 3/20: 1/2 Day for Students, 11:40am Dismissal
-Thurs 3/20: Parent Teacher Conferences: 1-4pm, and 5-8pm
-Fri 3/21: No School for Students
-Fri 3/21: Parent Teacher Conferences: 8:30-11:30am
-Mon 3/24-Fri 3/28: Spring Break
-Mon 3/31: School Resumes