Principals' Newsletter - May

Hello Ravenswood Families,

We hope you are all well!

Can you believe that the end of the school year is only four weeks away?! Let's enjoy these last few weeks together and create some lasting memories filled with laughter, learning, and fun!

This past month and a half, the school has been buzzin' with a variety of school and community events that could not have been pulled off without our AMAZING staff, students, families, and FORS!

• The Spring Clothing & Sports Swap took place the week of April 17th. Thank you to our amazing FORS Team for taking the time to plan, organize, and coordinate the event. Families were able to recycle and swap gently used items for future sporting competitions.

• The Quarter 3 Awards Assembly for 5th through 8th graders was held on April 18th. Students received honors and high honor awards along with Citizenship, Leadership, Perseverance, and the RAMbassador awards. We are so proud of our students and their accomplishments!

• The Local School Council (LSC) met on April 22, 2024 to approve the school budget. Principal Guerrero shared his proposed SY 2025 budget with the community along with the new CPS budget formula. We appreciate everyone who joined us at the meeting and to our LSC committee for collaboration.

• Back by popular demand, the Book Fair took place on April 25th and 26th. Huge SHOUT OUT to Mo Garvey, Rachel Jennings, Claire Meiodrith, Melvy Lima, Stephen Garvey, Mike Clark, Dan Barnes, Bill McDougall, and Emily Souza Rutkowski for your coordination and support of the book fair. The event would not have happened without you all!

• The annual Student Teacher Graduation Ceremony took place on April 26th. Students in 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade shared what they have learned from their student teachers. We wish all of our student teachers the best!

• We had a successful Spirit Week April 29th-May3rd. Shout out to our Ravenswood Student Council for coordinating the event. It was a great lead up to our annual Spring block party.

• The annual Spring Forward Fundraiser Block Party was on May 4th. THANK YOU to FORS and our wonderful fundraising team for running an amazing campaign. A special thank you to all of our sponsors and entertainers. We appreciate all of the entertainment. This year's fundraiser will support After School Programs at Ravenswood during SY25.

Thank you for your continued commitment and support to our school. We appreciate you all!

Back by popular demand, Disc Golf Chicago is returning to Ravenswood. Please join us on the turf on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 10:00am. Disc Golf Chicago will have everything you need to play the game. We look forward to seeing you and your family at this free event. Please register HERE.

We want to thank all of our students that participated in our Academic and Enrichment programs. All programs are scheduled to end in May.

Programs scheduled to end in May:

• Tennis
• Chicago Fire Soccer
• Bitty Basketball: Mr. White

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Ms. Mejia at samejia1@cps.edu

We'd like to take a quick moment to remind you of the Chicago Public School's policy regarding dogs. Respectfully, dogs are not allowed on the school premises including the playground. Unfortunately, some of our community members have been using the playground as a dog park on the weekends and excrement has had to be cleaned up on multiple occasions on Mondays.

Kindly, please refrain from from bringing your dogs to the playground. Also, if you see dog owners with their pets on the playground, please call 3-1-1 and request CPD to come to the school to address the situation.

Ms. Paredes and I are requesting your feedback. Please take a moment to provide us with some constructive feedback regarding our leadership thus far. The Google Form is anonymous and will be used to make shifts in our leadership for the remainder of the school year. The feedback form can be found HERE.

Please see the following updates and action items:

• 5/13: LSC Meeting, 6:15pm
  

• 5/13 -5/17: Washington DC Field Trip for 8th grade
• 5/17: Coffee with the Principal, 9:00am
• 5/20: BAC Meeting, 9:00am
• 5/23: White Pines Field Trip for 4th Grade
• 5/27: Memorial Day, School Closed
• 5/31: School Tour, 9:00am
• 6/3: 8th Grade Graduation
• 6/5: Field Day
• 6/6: Last Day of School

Volunteering at Ravenswood

• Interested in volunteering, click HERE

ASPEN Parent Portal

• Aspen Excused Absences: Parents and guardians can now submit and track student absences electronically. Here is more about this new feature: E-Absence Flyer.

Ravenswood Rambler

• Use this LINK to subscribe to the Ravenswood Rambler and stay on top of upcoming school events.

Ms. Paredes and I are requesting your feedback. Please take a moment to provide us with some constructive feedback regarding our leadership thus far. The Google Form is anonymous and will be used to make shifts in our leadership for the remainder of the school year. The feedback form can be found HERE.

Carolina and I are grateful to be part of this AMAZING community of students, staff, families, and community members. We look forward to continuing our work in partnership with you all and supporting, sustaining, and enhancing Ravenswood!