Peirce Update

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This update contains information on:

• Meeting Recording: Annual Title I Principal's Meeting & PAC Organizational Meeting
• Quarter 2 Meeting on Remote Learning & Return to School for PK

• Bilingual Advisory Council Meeting
  
• October 29th Family Meeting
  
• IB Behind the Scenes Family Workshop
• Local School Council Elections
• Free ESL Workshop
• Library Tutorial English
  
• Library Tutorial Spanish
• Halloween Spirit Week
  
• 8th Grade High School Application Updates
• Next Years Lottery Process

Greetings Peirce,

All of us at Peirce are committed to improving, growing and learning as we work to create an anti-racist, culturally responsive school. Last week a Halloween Spirit Week Flyer was shared that initially indicated that Monday's theme would be "Monster Hair Day Monday - Crazy Hair Day", the theme/announcement was then corrected to read that Monday would be "Magic Monday - Hat Day (silly or other)".

The original flyer was shared by school staff to Room Reps and Staff on Friday, Oct 16th, several staff members expressed concern about the theme for Monday and the theme was revised and sent on Monday, October 19th. The revised flyer was also included in a Peirce Update that was sent on October 20th.

There are a few points that I want to make about this racialized incident:

• First - I want to apologize that this was not caught before being shared. I recognize the hurt/pain/emotions that are triggered when families and students are faced with these messages. Situations like this re-affirm the need for us as a staff to continue our own learning and re-design of school programs.
• These articles provide a context as to why theme days such as "Crazy Hair Day" are problematic: Theme Days Schools Should Avoid (and what to do instead), On "Crazy Hair Day": A Letter to a Daycare
• One quote to highlight is "The problem is that many of the hairstyles popular on crazy hair day are cultural hairstyles for Black people. In deeming those styles “crazy,” we send the message that there’s something wrong with them. It’s a microaggression, but it’s also part of the hidden curriculum that makes whiteness the norm."
• Themes such as "Crazy Hair Day" are also problematic for students who do not have hair or who wear a hijab or other head covering.
• One of our CIWP Action steps is to "Review/analyze schoolwide programming, partnerships, and messaging, through an antiracist lens including Holiday Concerts, Assemblies, Commonspace throughout the school, etc."
  

Our staff continue to engage in professional learning around identity, bias, microaggressions, anti-racism and culturally relevant practices. We are committed to improving, growing and learning as we work to create an anti-racist, culturally responsive school.

With Regards,

Lori Zaimi

Principal

As a follow up to the Quarter 2 meeting on Remote Learning and Return to School for PK Students, find the following resources?

• Meeting Recording
• CPS Reopening Website
• District FAQ Guide

The next Bilingual Advisory Council (BAC) meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 27 at 3pm. We will be discussing challenges and suggestions regarding remote learning, as well as planning for the remainder of the year. The meeting will be held in Spanish, with live English interpretation. All families are welcome! The Google Meet link, as listed on the Peirce website calendar, is:

meet.google.com/jab-avkj-scd

(US) +1 617-675-4444‬ PIN: ‪400 136 906 0155‬#

Senn High School 48th Ward Family Night
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7-7:30pm
Click here to register

Learn about Senn's various programs, ask questions and get support with the gocps high school application process! We are hosting a 48th Ward Family Night (Swift, Hayt, Goudy, Peirce, McCutcheon, Northside Catholic Academy (NCA), Sacred Heart)

Do you have questions? Contact Assistant Principal Jeneen Hatoum, jhatoum@cps.edu

Join Peirce administrators on October 29th at 8am to learn more about grade level standards and what is expected that students be able to demonstrate understanding of by the end of each grade level.

Meeting Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87528136933?pwd=MWhvSHVEb2ZkdnZPOGtWcXRiL1grQT09

Passcode: 458210

New Families and all interested families, join the Peirce community for a Virtual Behind the Scenes Workshop: Intro to the PYP on Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 2:00pm via Zoom. Please register for this event using this Google Form, and a zoom link will be sent to you the day before the event. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Mrs. Lebovitz at kclebovitz@cps.edu.

Make your voice heard in your school community! For the first time ever, CPS parents, guardians, and staff have the option to vote for the LSC representatives by mail. CPS will be sending families and staff members a mail-in ballot with a prepaid return envelope later this month. Mail-in ballots will need to be received at the school by the end of the LSC election day.

Parents, guardians, and staff can also visit their respective school to drop off their mail-in ballot at their school or vote in-person.

For in-person voting, the district is implementing stringent health and safety measures, including enforcing social distancing, requiring face coverings, and ensuring a health screener and temperature check is completed prior to entering school buildings. The district will also offer curbside voting for individuals with disabilities and virtual voting for students.

Election schedule:

In-person voting for parents, guardians, staff members, and community members:

• Elementary schools: November 18 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• High schools: November 19 between 7 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Mail-in voting for parents, legal guardians and staff members:

• Mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on the date of election (November 18 for elementary school elections, November 19 for high schools)

Virtual voting for students:

• Students will receive electronic ballots from principals on November 16 to vote on November 17.

Learn more about our LSC elections on our blog.

The Northside Parent University Collaborative (Networks 1, 2, and 4) have joined forces with Truman College (go Falcons!) to offer:

FREE English as a Second Language Classes

These classes will happen

January 19 through May 29, 2021

4pm-7pm

There will be in-class and out-of-class learning time.

We'll need 25 parent students to pre-register at:

https://tinyurl.com/PUPreregister

If you know of anyone who could use some help with their English, please recommend these FREE City College courses.

Pre-Register by December 17

(or, by the December PAC/PLN Meeting!)

Pre-Registration will let us know whether we have enough to host the class.

Pre-Register Now

CPS is hosting virtual training sessions for parents/guardians on various topics, in various languages, to receive updates on future virtual sessions please register at bit.ly.com/FACEPARENT

Who may I contact with questions? | ¿Con quien me puedo comunicar si tengo preguntas?

CPS Command Center at 773-553-KIDS (5437) or email familyservices@cps.edu

The school library is now up and running! Click the link below to learn more about how to reserve a book virtually.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/18aLZDDfs4by1RWkwCHhOkY_qOpUENMrr

Join the Peirce community in celebrating Halloween with this year's Halloween Spirit Week - October 26-30, 2020. Remember to use the #peircestrong if posting to social media.

Monday, October 26th: Magic Monday, Hat Day (Silly or other)

Tuesday, October 27th: Take It Easy Tuesday, Comfiest Clothes/PJs

Wednesday, October 28th: Wacky Wednesday, Dress in mismatched clothes

Thursday, October 29th: Team Spirit Thursday, Wear your favorite team or Peirce gear

Friday, October 30th: Freaky Friday, Wear your Halloween Costume

High School Flyers

Check Here regularly for flyers on upcoming open houses

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qPzbHTfD7TIGFwOmVVgOlrLY7gG5LAb4

GoCPS Application

The 8th Grade high school application is now open until December 1. Please watch the HS Presentation and review the slides before completing your application on GoCPS. Detailed information can be found on Ms. Choe's website at https://counselingwithannechoe.weebly.com/high-schools.html or at go.cps.edu.

Senn High School Tuesday Talks

For prospective families to meet with our program coordinators. We will have representatives present from our International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Senn Arts Fine & Performing Arts Magnet program, and our Major Studies program to give overviews and answer questions. All talks will include a brief informational followed by a personal Q/A. Prospective parents/guardians and students welcome. Times are 9AM-9:45AM. To register, click HERE. Alternately, all the information, including dates and registration can be found HERE.

The upcoming dates are:

• October 20, 2020

• November 3, 2020

• November 18, 2020 (Wednesday)

• December 1, 2020

• December 8, 2020

Selective Enrollment High School Exam Dates

The Selective Enrollment High School exams will be offered on the following dates:

November 14, 2020

November 21, 2020

December 5, 2020

December 19, 2020

After families apply to Selective Enrollment schools, they can schedule their exam. Students who test in November will receive their scores by mid-February. Students who test on all other dates will receive their scores in spring 2021, when the application results are released.

SIS ID Error Message on the GoCPS Application

Generally, when a family receives an error message about the SIS ID, this means that the family is incorrectly answering a question asked when they are trying to perform the Add Student function. You will need to return to the Sign Up page and start the process again. When asked if the student is new to CPS, you should click NO. When asked if the student is applying to 9th grade, you should click YES. This should get you to the page that asks for the student's Activation Code. Once entered, the student's information will be automatically entered, including the CPS ID number. If a student does not have an Activation Code, it's usually because they've already been added to an existing account opened in a previous year. They simply need to go to go.cps.edu, click 'Log In,' and enter the username and password that they created for the account.

Virtual High School Events

Any flyers or information Ms. Choe receives regarding high school events will be uploaded into this folder (linked above). Also check the GoCPS website under “Dates & Events” at https://go.cps.edu/dates-and-events and detailed information can also be found on the high school’s website as well.

The Go CPS Application Period for the 2021-2022 school year opens at 9 a.m. on October 12, 2020, and closes on December 11, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. During this period, families can submit an application, select and rank programs and schools, and schedule any required admissions screenings, if applicable (i.e., admissions exams, auditions, information sessions, and interviews).

• Students who do not live within Peirce's attendance area must apply through the Go CPS Process, this includes siblings.
• Current PK students who do not live within Peirce's attendance area must apply through the Go CPS Process.
• 8th graders who are interested in applying to specialty programs must apply through the Go CPS Process.

October

27th Bilingual Advisory Council Meeting, 3:00pm

29th Family Meeting with school admin, 8:00am

29th IB Behind the Scenes Tour, 2:00pm

October 26th-30th Spirit Week

November

3rd Election day - No School

5th Last day for Quarter 1

6th Professional Development Day - No School

18th Report Card Day - more information to come - no classes for students

19th Local School Council Meeting, 6pm

25th-27th, Thanksgiving Break, No School

Please note the updated CPS Calendar

Thanks to everyone for their support of the fund that we started over the summer. To date, we have raised more than $14,000. So far we have provided payments of $500 to 25 Peirce families. Families have reported using this cash assistance for things like rent payments, paying overdue bills, buying groceries, and getting much needed medical care for their children when they could not find a doctor who would take their insurance. All payments have remained anonymous except to the school staff members who have been helping out with the effort.

Please see this article about the wave of solidarity funds started by educators and community members across the city this summer. Peirce's fund flyer is featured at the top along with flyers from other school communities.

Thank you to the staff and community members who have helped out with the Solidarity Fund in various ways. We are continuing to accept contributions as well as requests for assistance. You can find us on Venmo @PeirceSolidarityFund and on PayPal, at PeirceSolidarityFund@gmail.com. If you are in need, please email us at PeirceSolidarityFund@gmail.com (Spanish or English).

Email: lzaimi@cps.edu
Website: peirce.cps.edu
Location: 1423 W Bryn Mawr Chicago, IL
Phone: 773-534-2440
Facebook: facebook.com/peircecps