This week is School Counselor Appreciation Week. We want to thank Ms. Garfinkel and Mr. Renas for all their hard work as our school counselors. We are truly grateful to have the two of them here at Henry! We appreciate the both of you.

3rd Quarter Progress Reports will be distributed on Friday, February 10th. If you have any questions regarding your child's grades, please be sure to contact your child's teacher.

Upcoming February Dates:

6th-10th ~ School Counselor Appreciation Week

7th ~ 8:30 BAC Meeting (Virtual)

7th ~ 9:30 PAC Meeting (Virtual)

8th ~ 100th Day of School

10th ~ Progress Reports Distributed

13th-18th ~ Random Acts of Kindness Week

14th ~ 4:30 LSC Meeting

20th ~ President's Day (No School)

Have a great week!

Mr. Gutierrez and Ms. Reynolds

Juan Gutierrez, Principal

jgutierrez1@cps.edu

Mary Ann Reynolds, Assistant Principal

mamunozmaciel@cps.edu

School Counselor: I'll be there for you (NEW!)

Henry Hawk Basketball Pics (NEW!)

American Heart Association's KIDS HEART CHALLENGE!

100th Day of School! (NEW!)

Covid Testing Signup

Parent Portal (Aspen)

Visitors

Covid Protocol

Henry Student/Parent Handbook 2022-2023

Starting Sunday, February 13th, is Random Acts of Kindness week. The week runs from February 13th to February 18th. Random Acts of Kindness week is a great week because everyone can use more kindness in their lives. Scientific evidence shows the positive effects of doing kind acts for others as well as receiving or even witnessing kindness. Even the smallest act of kindness can change a life.

Here are some ways you can celebrate at home:

Kindness Jar

Start with an empty jar & decorate it however you'd like. Every time you witness an act of kindness, write it down and place the memory in the jar. Collect memories, observations and unexpected surprises of kindness throughout the week.

On the last day of kindness week, Saturday, February 18, 2023, empty the jar and reflect back on the kindness you experienced, witnessed, or perhaps performed yourself.

Keep the jar going and continue to Explore the Good throughout 2023 and help Make Kindness the Norm.


Love Note

Find your favorite pen and two nice pieces of paper.

Write a letter to someone who has changed your life for the better. Tell them how they have helped you. Then send it.

Next, write a letter to yourself. Describe all your strengths, skills, values, behaviors and actions that have gotten you to where you are. Seal it in an envelope and put it somewhere that you’ll find later when you really need to hear those words.



Blessing Bags

Gather items to create a blessing bag for a temporarily displaced resident. Once complete, put in a vehicle you often travel in or your backpack to hand out to the next person who could use a lift me up.

Items to include: Socks, to go wet wipes, travel size tissue, chapstick, face mask(s), travel toothbrush & toothpaste, pads/tampons, small first aid kit, hat, gloves, protein bars, instant oatmeal packets, ready-to-eat cans w/ tab open lids, cash (trust your gut). Place items in a large plastic gallon bag that zips closed or find a plastic water bottle to put items in.

When handing to the recipient don’t forget to make eye contact and smile as human connection helps us all remember to Explore the Good and help Make Kindness the Norm. A few things to consider: don’t include religious literature, please do not throw from your car, and always go with someone else when delivering.

We are also having a kindness challenge through school. Students who complete all the acts of kindness on their bingo board will be entered in a raffle.

Please reach out to the counselors if you ever need anything for you or your students.

Enjoy the warmer weather,

Mrs. Garfinkel and Mr. Renas

Hi families!

The students of Henry Elementary are getting ready for the American Heart Association's KIDS HEART CHALLENGE!

Mark Your Calendars:

Our school is kicking off our Kids Heart Challenge program on February 1st but you can get a jump start TODAY!

Getting started is as easy as 1..2…3…

1. Download the Kids Heart Challenge App or visit http://www2.heart.org/goto/henry to register.

1. Choose your daily health challenge to Move More or Be Kind and earn your own BE THE TORCH wristband so you can help light the way!

1. Get a head start on COMPLETING FINN’S MISSION in your Headquarters, where you and your family can put the power of lifesaving Hands-Only CPR into YOUR hands and help us create a community of lifesavers! Try to do all 8 activities to complete the Mission!

Climate and Culture team will be hosting a few events throughout the day on Wednesday, February 8th.

- Students and staff can dress up like they are 100 years old or represent 100 something on their clothes. This can be 100 stickers, 100 eye balls, 100 pom poms to make a gum ball machine, etc.

- During morning announcements on 2/8, we will be doing 100 exercises! Thanks Mr. Renas!! (:

- 6th-8th Grade students bring in an empty cereal box to participate in a domino chain on February 8 in the gym. You must bring a box to participate.

CPS offers free weekly COVID-19 testing for students and staff in all District-run schools. Sign up for weekly testing for the 2022-23 school year through the ReadyCheckGo Testing Program.

IMPORTANT: Every CPS student or staff member who wants to enroll in weekly COVID-19 testing for the 2022-23 school year MUST complete a new consent form. Consents from last school year or this summer WILL NOT be valid for the 2022-23 school year.

You will need to search "Henry" for the school.

An exciting new feature is coming to the Aspen Parent Portal on October 24, 2022. E-Absence will allow parents and guardians to submit and track your student’s absences online. That means no more making last-minute phone calls or completing paper forms.

E-Absence joins a lineup of features that are already available on the Aspen Parent Portal to manage your student’s school experience. Sign in to your account at ASPEN.CPS.EDU for features including:

• Checking Assignments
• Viewing Grades
• Tracking Attendance
• Paying Fees

To access Parent Portal, you must:

• Be listed as a contact for your student in the Student Information System.
• Have a valid email in the student’s contact records.
• Request and submit the validation code sent via email.

Don’t have an account? Contact the main office to register for an account today. You can also learn more at cps.edu/pages/parentresources.aspx.

Covid Protocols:

• Close contacts will no longer be excluded from school. Any student or staff member who is exposed to COVID-19 in school — regardless of vaccination status — will no longer be required to learn or work from home for five days, but will be required to wear a mask in school for 10 days following exposure, and will be strongly encouraged to test three and five days after exposure. CPS will provide schools with rapid take-home tests to distribute to families and staff members if they are exposed, and we will strongly encourage families to use them in order to prevent spread and ensure a safe in-person learning environment.

• Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days. Cases should continue to be reported to cps.edu/covidresults

• Wearing a mask is still an important way to prevent spreading the virus to others. CPS will continue to strongly recommend masking in school, and masks will continue to be required in the following situations:

• On days 6-10 after testing positive for COVID-19

• If someone is exposed to COVID-19

• If there is a positive case identified in an elementary school classroom

• At the direction of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

• CPS will continue to offer free, weekly in-school COVID-19 testing to students and staff who are interested. Importantly, anyone who wants to enroll in testing this year will need to fill out an updated consent form — regardless of whether or not individuals participated in weekly testing last year. That updated consent form can be accessed here. Parents or guardians must register on behalf of a student under 18 years old. When you’re asked to enter an Organization ID, use your child’s 8 digit CPS Student ID which can be found on Aspen's parent portal or ask your child's teacher.

Visitors

• All visitors, including parents, visiting a school must behave appropriately and adhere to school rules and visitor protocol while on CPS property. Every visitor must check in at the security check-point at the main entrance (Door #2). The security officer will ask for a valid state ID or driver's license from the visitor. If a state ID or driver's license is not available, the security officer will check in the visitor by manually typing their information into the Visitor Management System (VMS). Visitors who fail or refuse to provide valid identification or other identifying information will not be allowed entry into the building.
• Once a visitor has been checked into the VMS, the visitor will receive a badge that must be visibly worn and escorted throughout the building during their visit. Visitors who do not wear their badge must be redirected to the security check-point. If a parent seeks to visit a classroom to observe their child, the parent should request permission from the teacher and/or school staff to discuss appropriate times and days. This notification must be done at least 24 hours prior to their visit.

Principal Juan Gutierrez

A.P. Mary Ann Reynolds

Website: patrickhenryes.cps.edu
Location: 4250 N St Louis Ave, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: 773-534-5060
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PatrickHenryHawks/
Twitter: @PatrickHenrySc1