Happy 2025!!!! Week 18 Update

Dear Students and Families,

It's hard to believe we are already so close to the mid-point of the school year! As we reflect on the first half of the year, we are incredibly proud of all the accomplishments we've achieved together. Our students, staff, and families have worked hard to support and grow our learners, and we are excited to see what the next few weeks hold as we receive our middle-of-the-year data. This will help us gauge how much progress we've made and whether we are moving the needle in a positive direction.

One area where we still need to focus is attendance. Let me be clear: if your child has a fever or is sick, they should absolutely stay home and take the time they need to get better. However, we are noticing that many students are missing school, especially on Mondays and Fridays, for reasons such as travel, appointments, and other non-medical matters. As a general guideline, students should not miss more than 8 days of school in a year in TOTAL unless there is a medical necessity. Consistent attendance is critical for student success and helps them fully engage with their learning.

To encourage excellent attendance, we will continue to host fun incentives. This month, we are offering another incentive for students with the best attendance by grade level. December’s celebration, with indoor snowball fights, crafts, and games, was a huge hit, and we’re excited to keep the momentum going!

Thank you for your continued support in making this year a success. Let’s keep working together to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive!

The Week Ahead:

• January 14: *K-2 i-Ready middle of the year (MOY) testing
• January 15: *K-2 i-Ready MOY Testing
• January 16: *3-5 Star 360 MOY Testing
• January 17: *3-5 MOY Testing; End of Quarter

*Please ensure students are present, on time, and well-rested for testing. Talk to them about the importance of showing their growth and hard work. While these assessments are low-stakes, they help teachers better understand student progress.

The following Week:

• January 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day-No Classes
• January 21: School Improvement Day-No Classes
• January 23: *Star 360 MOY Testing
• January 24: *Star 360 MOY Testing; Quarter 2 Report Cards Distributed

*Please ensure students are present, on time, and well-rested for testing. Talk to them about the importance of showing their growth and hard work. While these assessments are low-stakes, they help teachers better understand student progress.

Check out our Monthly Calendar for more important dates

Today we are providing an expanded set of resources to families. This information is available on CPS's new webpage cps.edu/NewAdminGuidance.

The information below contains a lot of information about our roles and responsibilities as well as resources and trainings for families. This week, parents, please make sure we have updated emergency contact information! The emergency contacts should be exhaustive of everyone and anyone that can pick up your child. Please see Ms. Moreno in the office if you have any questions or email her at jmoreno83@cps.edu.

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As a reminder, CPS is a District that has strong protections already on the books for our students and staff; you can read about them here. These protections were reaffirmed in a Board of Education resolution in November of 2024.

As a reminder, current federal law protects children’s rights to a free public education, regardless of their immigration status or their family’s immigration status. Current federal policy also places restrictions on the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it relates to schools. Schools are partially public buildings that are considered “sensitive locations,” where ICE is currently restricted from carrying out enforcement actions, with some exceptions.

CPS actively works to protect our students and their families:

• CPS does not ask for our families' immigration status
• CPS does not coordinate with ICE
• CPS does not share student records with ICE, except in rare cases where there is a court order or consent from the parent/guardian.
• In line with the City of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, ICE agents are not permitted access to CPS facilities unless they provide their credentials, the reason they are requesting access, and a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge. CPS will not admit ICE agents based upon an administrative warrant, an ICE detainer, or other document issued by an agency enforcing civil immigration law.

Know Your Rights
CPS is sharing this resource from the National Immigrant Justice Center with critical information that can help students and families protect themselves and defend their rights. We encourage you to share this information with others who may be impacted.

Trainings/Workshops

• Saturday, Jan. 11, 10 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.: Chicago Community and Workers’ Rights is hosting a Know Your Rights workshop at 18th Street Casa de Cultura located at 2057 W 18th St. For more information, reach out to info@chicagoworkersrights.org.
• Wednesday, Jan. 15, 6 p.m.: The Syrian Community Network, in collaboration with various immigrant rights organizations, will be hosting an Illinois Immigration Town Hall at the Edge Theater located at 5451 N Broadway. Please RSVP here.
• Thursday, Jan. 16, 1 p.m.: Northwest Center will be holding a Know Your Rights workshop in collaboration with Alderman Gilbert Villegas (Ward 36) at 6560 W Fullerton Ave., Unit #C118 - Suite A. No RSVP is required.
• Friday, Jan. 17, 10 a.m.: The Southwest Parent Advisory Councils (PAC) Collaborative, in partnership with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, will be hosting a Know Your Rights training at the Network 8 Back of the Yards Parent University located at Richards Career Academy 1435 W 50th Street, Door 14. This session will be in Spanish. Please RSVP here.

• Saturday, Jan. 18, 9:30 a.m.: The United African Organization will be hosting a Know Your Immigrant Rights Workshop and Breakfast at the Dawson Tech Institute (Cafeteria) located at 3901 S State St. Please RSVP here. Resources in French will be available.
• Weekly, Starting Tuesday, Jan. 21, 9:30 a.m.: Enlace Chicago will be hosting weekly Know Your Rights workshops through the CPS Network 7 Pilsen/Little Village Parent University located at Perez Elementary at 2001 S Throop St. For more information and registration, please contact 773-379-5669. These sessions will be in Spanish.

Legal Resources
The Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has created this list of dozens of local non-profit agencies providing free or low-cost assistance with immigration matters and forms, including:

• Family Visa Petitions (I-130)
• VAWA - Battered Spouse Self-petitions (I-360)
• Adjustment of Status/Residence/Consular Processing (I-485, OF-230)
• Waivers of Inadmissibility (I-212, I-601)
• Conditional Residence (I-751)
• Green Card Replacement (I-90)
• Naturalization (N-400)
• Acquired/Derivative Citizenship (N-600)
• DACA (I-821D)
• Asylum (I-589)
• Deportation Defense

Please visit the ICIRR website here for additional information

The Quarter 3 Google Form for sign-ups will be sent out this week. If you received an email from Mr. Alvarez regarding payment, please make sure your Quarter 2 payment is up to date before Friday, January 17th.

Invites will go out on Monday for Math After School Programming! Keep in mind that the focus of this programming is based on student needs. An invitation to this program does not mean that your child is failing or falling behind. An invitation to this program means that based on their assessment data, classwork, etc, they could benefit from the topics that will be covered to push them more.

The invitations are also a first-come, first-serve! These after school programs will have small class sizes.

If you have questions, please reach out to Ms. McKittrick at cmmcnamara@cps.edu

We are so proud of our Lego Leaguers this year! After a series of wins, they came up just short of advancing to the State Tournament this past weekend at Horizon Science Academy in McKinley Park! In true Eagle fashion, our students and coaches, Ms. Vahey and Ms. McKittrick found their silver linings and can't wait to get started on next year's challenges!

Parents we need your help! This week our attendance was terrible.

There is no push to have your child come to school sick, but we have to push every single day that they are not sick to be in school, on-time, ready to learn.

Ms. Luzzi's has a perfect attendance challenge for the month of January:

3 grades, one from each grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8), will be awarded with an invite to the

Winter Games!

Winter Games is a festive and fun time for students to explore an art and craft, play holiday inspired games with friends or join a dance party.

End of the week leaderboard:

Every class is catchable! You have to be here to help your class win!

This year, we are closely monitoring student attendance with the goal of reducing the rate of chronic absenteeism from its current 39%—which is 10% above the state average—down to 15%.

If your child is having issues with attending school regularly, please reach out to Ms. Sarah VanWolvelear at sevanwolvelear@cps.edu immediately to discuss supports and a plan!

Dear parents/guardians: In an effort to increase family engagement and involvement, we will continually share upcoming volunteer opportunities through the family bulletin.

To volunteer to support, parents/guardians must be CPS-Approved volunteers. Below, please find the application to become a CPS-approved volunteer. If you click on the button above you will have access to see and sign up for the different volunteer opportunities.

CPS Volunteer Application Link (English): https://chicagopublicschools.civicore.com/index.php?action=english

CPS Volunteer Application Link (Spanish): https://chicagopublicschools.civicore.com/index.php?action=spanish

Parents we need your help and your voice to help make our school a better place! This year, we are working to increase our parent presence in our school! Please read below for a few of the ways you can help!

Local School Council: Next Meeting is January 13, 2025 at 2:45 PM

• Comprised of parents, community, educational, and student members, LSCs serve as an important vehicle for participatory democracy, providing a wide variety of stakeholders an opportunity to make important decisions about how students in their communities will be educated.

Parent Advisory Committee (PAC): The next PAC meeting will take place on Friday, February 14th at 8:00am.

• Each academic year, schools establish Parent Advisory Councils (PACs) to bring together parents/legal guardians, teachers/staff, and community stakeholders to work with their school principal in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of the Title I Program. PACs empower parents to inspire and assist their children in achieving educational goals and graduating from elementary and high school.

Bilingual Advisory Committee (BAC): The next PAC meeting will take place on Friday, February 14th at 8:00am.

• Bilingual Advisory Committees (BACs) empower parents of English Learners (ELs) to participate in their student's education and advocate for the academic, social, and cultural development of all ELs.

The Eagle Alliance Movement (TEAM): Next Meeting is Wednesday, February 5th at 8:15 am

Upcoming Events/Fundraisers:

• Penny Wars from 2/20-3/14/2025
• March Madness
• Final 4 Parents Night Out 4/5/2025
• Double Good Popcorn fundraiser.