Cougar Clips

Happy Friday Kipling Families,

February is Random Acts of Kindness month. Ms. Allam and our SEL Student Leadership Team have put together a calendar of challenges and activities that students across the building are working on each day. If you want to engage your children in more acts of kindness this month, check out the website Random Acts of Kindness. You will find a lot of different resources as well as free lessons you can do with your kids at home. Thank you to Ms. Allam and to our SEL Student Leadership Team for organizing this month of activities for us!

The 2024 Kindergarten and new 1st-5th grade Registration form is now available online! To register your new student please visit our registration page.

If you have an incoming Kindergartener or a new 1st-5th grader for the 2024-2025 school year, it is important that you complete the registration process as soon as possible as our staffing decisions are based on the number of fully registered students. Please share this information with friends and neighbors.

Please note that only those new Kindergarten 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 Super Bowl weekend!

Respectfully,

-Matthew

Mr. Matthew O. Lombardo, NBCT

Principal

Kipling Elementary School

Our 3rd-5th Grade Art Show will be held on Thursday, 2/22 from 5-6pm.

It is time for Young Authors! For those who do not know, Young Authors is a program that encourages students to embrace being an author and write their own creative stories. This is an optional program that has been shared with your child during their LMC time. A packet was also sent home with more information for those who are interested in participating. Attached you will find THIS presentation that walks you through deadlines, logistics, and other pieces of helpful information regarding Young Authors. We are so excited to see what our amazing young authors will create this year. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Kaufman or Ms. Thurman.

Ms. Kaufman (akaufman@dps109.org)

Mrs. Thurman (lthurman@dps109.org)

Again this year, parents across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, it allows you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness. Your responses also help guide district improvement.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey is administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

• Effective Leaders

• Collaborative Teachers

• Involved Families

• Supportive Environments

• Ambitious Instruction

To take the Parent Survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. Your identity and responses will be kept completely confidential and will not be connected to you or your child. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

In addition to parents, 4th and 5th grade students will also be responding to this survey. Per school board policy 7:15, you may opt your child out of any survey. If you would not like your child to participate in the 5Essentials Survey, please contact me by 2/5/24.

The Library Information Specialist team came across this resource and I felt compelled to share it with families in hopes of providing insight, support, and advice in navigating and supporting healthy and productive student use of technology and social media at home.

This week's video: Social Media and Mental Health