Knights of Innovation at KIPLA

Field Day is the official last day of school and one that will be filled with fun and making great memories while continuing to build a cornerstone of KIPLA, which is a strong sense of community. KIPLA opened last year with a balloon drop, and we would like to close this part of the program with a GLOW Party. Our students have learned a lot about themselves, academic learning and the world, and we want them to continue to shine - so we are having a GLOW UP and GLOW ON party. Parents are invited to join in the festivities.

8:30 - school picture

8:45 - Teachers kick off Field Day

9:00-11:00 - Field Day - activities will be indoor due to weather

11:00-11:30 - PTO sponsored lunch for students - picnic style in the gym

11:30-12:15 - Students in classrooms; parents set up Glow Party in Cafeteria

12:15-1:20 Glow Up, Glow On party in cafeteria with silent DJ (parents welcome to join)

1:20 - Clap out - We will clap out our 8th graders, then our 5th graders, and then the rest of the school. Parents can stand in front of the school along the sidewalk to clap out our students.

The Clap Out will be in front of the school. We will have parents line up on the sidewalk in front of the school. Students will come out of the Walker door and walk north along the front of the school towards the main entrance. We will have our 8th graders go first, then our 5th graders, and finally the rest of the school. Students will go back inside to get their belongings and be dismissed.

If weather does not permit, we will have parents line up in the hallway by the front office and follow the same plan.

Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers for helping with KIPLA games and packing library books - we are SO grateful. Thanks to our volunteers who are helping with Field Day tomorrow - it really does take a village and we are so lucky, THANK YOU!

May 22 - Field Day and last day of school, Dismissal @ 1:30

KIPLA Calendar Link District-Wide Calendar Link

2025-2026 School Year—Tuck this away for the fall.

August 4 - INSPIRE Open House at KSS 5:00-6:00

August 5 - EMPOWER Jump Start at HMS 8:00-10:00

August 6: EMPOWER - Middle school Open House 9:30-11:00 and 4:00-7:00

August 13: first student attendance day of 2025-2026

After July 1, parents will begin getting emails from either Shields or Harter depending on if your child is enrolled in Empower or Inspire. Please assume most communication applies to KIPLA

The middle school track team has the largest group of IESA state qualifiers in many years. Join us in cheering on the track team and KIPLA's own Theo S. who is competing at the IESA track meet in Peoria this weekend!

This is your final opportunity to enroll in summer school if you haven't already. You will register your child through Infinite Campus. Directions on how to register can be found in the course book.

Summer School Course Book - The course book is here in both English and Spanish.

Please email Stacey Gacek, Summer School Principal @ stacey.gacek@kaneland.org with any questions.

The food service department is helping prepare students for next school year.

Harter:

Students who will be attending Harter will find it easier to carry their student ID to lunch. The student ID has a barcode that is synced to the student's lunch account; it is faster to swipe the ID than to punch in the student ID number. For this reason, Harter asks students with IDs to go through the line first; anyone who forgets goes last . Our lunchroom staff have been reminding kids of these rules so they can get in the habit. Nothing has changed; we are just trying to prepare them for next year.

Shields:

Students who will be attending Shields do not have a hot lunch program. They are being told the same information about Harter, so when they eventually get there, they will know. However, because there is not a lunch program, students are not being allowed to go into a negative balance on their lunch account.

I can assure you all students will have something to eat from the hot lunch program regardless of their lunch account balance; however, students may not be getting access to all of the à la carte options if their balance is 0 or negative. Please use the month of May to work on having a 0 balance, or if your child is going to harter any positive balance would remain and be applied to the next school year.