Cougar Clips

31 January 2025

Happy Friday Kipling Families,

Next week marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time to celebrate and honor the achievements, contributions, and rich history of African Americans. Black History Month is not only a time to reflect on the past but also an opportunity to celebrate the present and future achievements of the Black community. Let's make the most of this month by fostering understanding, appreciation, and unity within our school community.

All my best to you and your families over the weekend.

Respectfully,

Mr. Matthew O. Lombardo, NBCT

Principal

Kipling Elementary School

Kipling PTO

Don't forget to log in/sign up at the PTO site. Visit https://kiplingpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home to get started.

ONE WEEK LEFT TO ORDER! Send a Valentine to someone special, and the PTO will deliver it right to their door! CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Movie Day

Join us for an afternoon at the movies. Purchase your tickets today and take advantage of our combo option while supplies last.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Yearbooks

We would like to send a reminder to purchase a Kipling 2024/25 yearbook before today's deadline!

Please place your order on our PTO website Kipling PTO Yearbook!

If you are not sure if you have ordered a book, please check your order history before ordering a duplicate book.

Please email lauren.h.stein@gmail.com if you have any questions.

See's Candies - Last call to order in time for Valentine's Day!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Please feel free to email ptokipling@gmail.com for any questions!

4th Grade Illinois Flag Fundraising Opportunity

Please see the message below from a group of our 4th graders. They have taken this current event, which is tied to what they are learning about the state of Illinois, and have seized upon an activism and fundraising opportunity. Like we do for the Superbowl every year, please send coins with your students next week so they can “vote with their wallets” to pick their favorite new flag for the state of Illinois. The winning flag (the current flag is one of the options) will be announced and shared with all staff and families so we can all go to https://www.ilsos.gov/special/IFC/home.html and vote for the Kipling choice by 2/14. We will collect the coins from 1/27-2/7.

This year Illinois is voting on a new flag, and we want Kipling to vote on what flag should be chosen. We will display all the flag choices and you can bring coins to vote for your favorite flag. These coins will go to a good cause. This is a good way to engage in your rights as a citizen.

Young Authors

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.

Best,

Ms. Kaufman (akaufman@dps109.org)

Mrs. Thurman (lthurman@dps109.org)

5th Grade Families - World Language Options for Middle School

Please join us online February 20, 2025 from 6:30 to 7:00pm for a middle school World Language night, where members of the DPS 109 World Language Team will share information about the middle school language offerings. Link to Zoom.

Following the meeting, a copy of the presentation will be emailed along with a form to submit your student's first and second middle school language choice. Please be advised that minimum enrollments are needed to run 6th grade sections. Language selections will be due by Wednesday, March 5 at 8 a.m.

Also, on February 20 your 5th graders will have the opportunity to see our current middle school students perform skits and answer their questions about taking French, Hebrew, and Spanish in middle school.

Seeking Cultures to Showcase

Thank you to the Strobel family for filling our Cultural Collection case with your beautiful and rich Chilean artifacts. Thank you for taking the lead this year for our school community. We all have so many unique and special cultural perspectives and lived experiences to share with each other and I am very proud and eager to learn about each of yours.

In an effort to ensure inclusion of diverse populations and perspectives, we are looking for other Kipling families to use the Kipling Cultural Collection to teach the Kipling community about your culture! Display objects may include 6-8 traditional or cultural objects, a family video describing the significance of each object, recipe, flag, map, music, etc - anything to bring your vibrant culture to life!

If you and your family are interested in sharing your culture with the Kipling community, please complete this brief form. If you sign up, a member of our committee will be in contact about next steps. If you have any questions, please email Lisa Pfeffer @ lpfeffer@dps109.org.

Volunteering at Kipling

Composting

We need volunteers to help compost during lunch periods. This is a great chance to help the planet and see your kids in action!

SIGN UP HERE

LMC

The LMC is looking for volunteers every day between

8:50-11:20am and 12:50-3:25pm (Wednesdays 12:50-2:25pm)

Sign up for a slot and come in any time you are free.

SIGN UP HERE

DPS109 Info

Minute with Maldonado: School Zones

As the temperatures drop and the days grow longer, it’s easy to feel rushed and impatient, especially at the end of the day. However, to ensure everyone's safety, we kindly ask all our families to respect and follow school procedures during arrival and dismissal. To help us all stay on track, we spoke with our School Resource Officer, Officer Maldonado, who shared some important reminders.

Here is the link to the video

Social Emotional Learning Survey

Building students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is important at Kipling. As a part of the learning process, we will be asking students in grades K-8 to reflect on skills related to social-emotional learning and the school environment. The survey will be administered to all students in grades K-8 between February 18 and February 28, 2025. Per policy, if you would like your child to opt out of taking the survey, please contact me no later than February 13.

Missed a Tech Tip? We got you covered!

In October, we began sharing weekly tech tips in our newsletters to encourage digital safety. If you missed a tech tip or just want to review them, we have a Digital Hub for you to view them at your convenience. Make sure to keep your eyes open for more tech tips to come in the following weeks.

Upcoming Important Dates

-Fri 2/7: PTO Meeting, Staff Lounge 10am

-Wed 2/12: Winter data mailed to families

-Thurs 2/13: Valentine’s Day Classroom Parties, 2:30-3pm

-Fri 2/14: Teacher Institute Day - No School for Students

-Mon 2/17: No School

-Thurs 2/20: Conference sign-ups sent to parents

-Wed 2/26: 1st Grade music show, 5:30pm