Peirce School Family Newsletter

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Greetings Peirce Families,

It was great to see our students back in the building this week - the first week is all about structures, routines and developing community, our students and teachers worked alongside of each other for team building activities, setting classroom agreements and creating a safe environment for learning.

• Before school started, we received 1 additional Sp.Ed. teaching position and 2 additional Sp.Ed. Classroom assistant positions from CPS.
  
• 10th Day Budget adjustments will be made based on our enrollment as of September 17th. Please complete this survey to provide input around where you believe additional dollars should be allocated.
• Congratulations to Ms. Thompson for writing and receiving our Out of School Time Grant - $36,000 was allocated to Peirce from CPS to support after school programs. Enrollment applications will go out at the end of September/Early October.
• The turf replacement project will begin on Monday, September 10th and continue for approximately one month. See email sent on Friday, September 7th with more information.

Cheers to a successful 2018-2019 school year!

Lori Zaimi

Principal

I would like to include shout outs to parents and staff that you or your child would like to see recognized publicly. Please submit any shout-outs here to be included in upcoming newsletters. There are always great things happening that often do not go recognized.

Join us on Thursday, September 13th to learn more about Peirce's Special Education Program and our work with Inclusive Practices. A member of the Gust Foundation will join the presentation to talk more about the Gust Foundations support of Peirce School. Almost every classroom at Peirce has a student with an IEP or 504 plan - several classrooms also have a Sp.Ed. Inclusion Co-Teacher for all or part of the day. This year, the following classrooms have a co-teacher for all or part of the day:

Kindergarten: Room 110, Ms. Fabianski & Mr. Cortright

1st Grade: Room 105, Ms. GIbson & Ms. Fitzgerald

2nd Grade: Room 224, Ms. Baumgarten & Ms. Graney

3rd Grade: Room 203, Ms. Lynn & Ms. Wasson

4th Grade: Room 204, Ms. Sweeney & Mr. Trad

4th Grade: Room 209, Ms. Drase & Ms. Frauenheim

5th-8th Grades are Departmental with a variety of co-teaching partnerships

Please help us create a safe space for our students as they enter and leave the building - dogs and pets are not allowed on school grounds.

Open House is scheduled for Thursday, September 27th from 5:00 - 6:30pm. While the Back to School Festival created the opportunity for families to meet the teacher and view the classroom, Open House is a chance to learn more about your child's classroom routine, instructional program, ask teachers questions and meet the specialist team.

7th & 8th Grade families are invited to learn more about the HS Application process/Go CPS at 6pm in the gym. While this is optional for 7th grade families, it is never to early to begin learning about the HS Process.

All parents and community members interested in volunteering at Peirce must complete the CPS process for volunteering and be in touch with Sally Suarez in the main office ebelizario@cps.edu or 773-534-2440. Instructions for completing a volunteer application can be found here. In addition, there are 2 different levels of volunteering - each level requires a different level of clearance. More information on the levels can be found here.

Parent communication is key in developing a strong home-school partnership. With new guidelines put in place from CPS, staff are unable to communicate with parents via personal electronic devices - all correspondence should happen with school email and school phones. Reach out to Ms. Zaimi with any questions.

Peirce families now have the option of paying student fees online by clicking here and then selecting the one time payment option. Fees are $50 per student or $100 max for 2 or more children.

11th - Friends of Peirce Meeting, 6:30pm, Fieldhouse

12th - PSO Sponsored Parent Mixer - Cescas @ 6pm

13th - Special Education & Inclusion Information Session, 8:15am, Fieldhouse

13th - 7th & 8th Grade New York City Travel Meeting, 5:00pm, Gym

14th - PSO Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse

20th - Local School Council Meeting, 6:00pm, Gym

21st - International Day of Peace

21st - Parent Advisory Council Principal's Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse

21st - Parent Advisory Council Organizational Meeting, 8:45am, Fieldhouse

27th - Peirce Day @ Potbellys on Clark, Sponsored by Friends of Peirce

27th - Open House, 5:00 - 6:30pm

27th - 7th & 8th Grade Go CPS Parent Meeting, 6:00pm, Gym

28th - Bilingual Advisory Council Informational Meeting & Organizational Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse

1st Student Council Applications Due

5th Student Council Elections

5th Progress Reports Distributed

5th NYC Travel Scholarship Application Due

5th Small Group Parent Tour, 8:15am

8th No School - Columbus Day

9th & 10th Picture Day

9th HS Information Session @ Senn HS, 5:30pm (7th & 8th invited)

9th HS Fair @ Senn, 6:15pm

9th Friends of Peirce Meeting, 6:30pm, Fieldhouse

10th Peirce Day at Chipotle

12th Parent Advisory Council Meeting: Restorative Practices @ Peirce, 8:15am, Fieldhouse

14th Edgewater 5K

17th International Reading Night, 5:00 - 6:30pm

18th Box Tops Collected

18th Local School Council Meeting, 6:00pm

19th Peirce Service Organization Meeting, 8:00am, Fieldhouse

19th Harbor Night - Friends of Peirce Fundraiser

25th Student Council Installation Ceremony

26th PSO Sponsored Halloween Dance, 5:00 - 6:30pm

31st Halloween Parade, 1:30pm (All students)

My name is Pegeen McGhan, and I am very excited to be joining the Peirce Elementary School staff this year, teaching Diverse Learners in a Separate Setting. My students come from both the PYP and MYP realms, as I have fourth through eighth graders who come to Room 300 for Language Arts and/or Math instruction. Though I am new to Special Education, having received my LBS1 endorsement this summer, I am not entirely new to Peirce. Last year, I taught PYP Art for three months while Ms. Buchbinder was out on maternity leave, and I have subbed at Peirce for a few years now in every grade from Pre-K to eighth grade. I also have two children at Peirce, one who just started Kindergarten and one in fourth grade.

I earned my teaching credential in California in 2006, where I taught third grade, Kindergarten and sixth grade. In 2013, I moved to Chicago from foggy San Francisco with my husband and children to be closer to family-- I grew up in Flint, Michigan and my husband is originally from Chicago. It has been great to have a closer connection to the kids’ grandparents and extended family.

Before going into teaching, I worked for many years as a theater artisan in the Bay Area, designing and building props, sets, masks, puppets and costumes for numerous theater companies, both large and small. Some of the things I love about both teaching and theater include working with people toward a common goal, engaging in creative problem solving, and the multidisciplinary nature of both endeavors.

In my free time, I enjoy dancing, making stuff, being out in nature, exploring Chicago and spending time with my family and friends.

Hello all. My name is Ruben ivy and I am very excited to join the wonderful staff of Peirce Elementary. I am a Chicago native from the north side of the city. I am also an offspring of CPS. I enjoy working with kids and I am looking forward to this school year. I hope that my position this upcoming school year is successful as we strive to assist all students.

My name is Anh Nguyen. I have been serving CPS as a Special Education Classroom Assistant. I have lived in Chicago for 5 years and fallen in love with the city, especially Edgewater neighborhood. I am excited to start my new job at Peirce as a PreK teacher assistant. I hope to bring my philosophy of “love to learn” into my classroom. I am looking forward to working together with teachers, parents and my Preschoolers in the coming school year at Peirce.

The CPS Breakfast and Lunch Menu can be found here, this is updated regularly, so please check back often. These menus are subject to change. Also, please check out the CPS Nutrition Services Website.

The specials schedule can be accessed here - this indicates the class that your child will have each day of the week (Art, Music, Dance, PE, Spanish).

The Parent-Student Handbook can be found here. Please review to become familiar with school policies and procedures.

Peirce School utilizes Restorative Practices which are in alignment with the Chicago Public Schools Student Code of Conduct. This guide provides information on how student behavior is supported in CPS. Click here to access the Student Code of Conduct. Any questions related to Restorative Practices or the Student Code of Conduct can be directed to Shelton Jackson via email sjackson143@cps.edu or by phone at 773-534-2440.

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