Thank you all for a great first week! We started our school year by spending time getting to know each other and getting to know the expectations for different areas around the building. We also spent time on the announcements and in classrooms going over our Life Rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Ready to Learn:

Our collective goal is to help student build skills toward independence, and these life rules lay the foundation for that. Through these newsletters, I will continue to share some of the tools that we use here at school to do that so that you could take advantage of them at home as well.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

Sincerely,

Bill Timmins

Principal

• September 2 - Labor Day, No School
  
• September 3 - Fall MAP Begins
• September 9 - River Trails Music Booster Association Meeting
• September 10 - Picture Day/5th Grade Picture
  
• September 10 - Board of Education Meeting 7pm @ RTMS
  
• September 12 - PTC Meeting 7pm
  
• September 17 - Constitution Day
• September 18-20 - PTC Recess with Relatives
  
• September 26 - PTC Monet Night
  
• September 30 - Fall Panorama Begins
  

We are looking for feedback about the new Open House/Meet the Teacher/Supply Drop Off night that we had on August 22. We're not sure what we'll be able to do at the start of next school year with construction, but this will help us plan for all possibilities for next year and beyond. Thank you!

The NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) is administered to all students in grades 2-8. This computerized assessment is aligned to Illinois learning standards in reading and mathematics. You may find additional information about MAP testing at the Northwest Evaluation Association’s website - http://www.nwea.org/.

The District will continue to partner with Panorama, a research-based social-emotional platform, to support the administration of social-emotional surveys to our students and staff.

The Panorama survey will be administered to students in third through eighth grades and provide students an opportunity to reflect and share perceptions of their well-being, connections to staff and approaches to learning. Classroom teachers will complete surveys for students in kindergarten through second grade to better understand how students perceive social-emotional concepts and to reflect on those skills in themselves.

The data we collect will enable us to support social-emotional needs through targeted interventions, as well as an opportunity to celebrate growth across the social-emotional domain as aligned with school improvement plans. The surveys will be repeated in May for data from the beginning of the school year to be compared to data collected at the end of the school year.

Information about opting out of this survey will be shared later this month.

We will be spending time reviewing all of our emergency and safety drill information with students in early September. Teachers will lead students in what to do in the event that we need to:

• Evacuate the building or the bus (fire and bus drills)
• Shelter-in-place (tornado drill)
  
• Secure the school
  
• Lockdown (discussion-based, we will not be acting anything out)

While we understand and appreciate their value in ensuring student safety, students are not permitted to have their cell phones or smart devices (including smart watches) during the school day. Any device brought to school should be turned off and placed in students backpacks during school hours, and we ask that if you need to connect with your student during school hours, please do so by contacting the school’s main office.

This information, along with other helpful information, can always be found in the Indian Grove Family Reference Guide.

Please use the link below to view package options for school pictures. Retakes will be on October 24, 2024.

If you are interested in ordering a Panoramic photo of the class of 2025, please follow the link below for more information.

Paper order forms will be sent home with students on Tuesday.

The following clubs and activities will be starting in September:

Be on the lookout for more information and sign ups coming from club sponsors. For more information about the River Trails Park District activities, click the links below:

• RTPD Chess Scholars
• RTPD Children's' Theater

The Beautification Club is updating our Veterans' Wall of Honor. We would love to include your family or friends who have served in the United States military. Please cut the bottom of the linked page and return your photo to Room 42 Ms. Klawans. If you sent a picture in the past, check out the board and make sure we still have it. A few were damaged when the board was revamped.

Our September PTC meeting will be on Thursday, September 12, at 7pm in the Indian Grove staff lounge. All are welcome!

We are adding an additional Recess with Relatives event this year on September 18, 19 and 20. Look out for an email from Patti Georgias about 2 weeks before if you'd like to volunteer.

The next Indian Grove PTC Dine and Share will be at the Mount Prospect Chick-fil-a on Thursday, September 19th from 4:00pm-8:00pm. A portion of sale will be donated back to our organization. Be sure to mention Indian Grove PTC when ordering.

Please scan the QR code (https://bit.ly/IGMonetNight2024) and complete the Google form to confirm your participation to reserve a spot with your child.

Contact Roxanne Pipitone at roxanne.pipitone@gmail.com with questions.

What does the Board do? How do they operate? Can I attend meetings?

Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about our school board.

Website: http://ig.rtsd26.org/
Location: 1340 North Burning Bush Lane, Mount Prospect, IL, USA
Phone: (847) 298-1976
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndianGroveSchool
X (Twitter): @IndianGroveEdu

• Phone: 847-298-1976
• Email: iginfo@rtsd26.org
• Principal: Bill Timmins, wtimmins@rtsd26.org
• Asst. Principal: Melissa Naples, mnaples@rtsd26.org
• IG Staff Directory