Parent Mixer - December 8th
When: Thursday December, 8 at 6:00 pm
Where: Pork Shoppe
5721 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60660
The PSO would like to invite Peirce parents and guardians, new and “old,” for a fun evening at a favorite local establishment! Come eat, drink, mingle, and learn more about the organizations that help Peirce succeed: the PSO, PAC, and Friends of Peirce.
Light appetizers will be provided at Pork Shoppe, courtesy of Friends of Peirce.
Free babysitting will be available at the Peirce Fieldhouse from 6pm until 8 pm with the option of a cheese pizza dinner for a $5 fee. To register your child for babysitting (and pizza), please visit here.
Talking to your children about school
Throughout our IB Behind the Scenes tours, one of the most common questions is around getting students to talk about their day at school - children often do not communicate to parents what is happening, what they learned, etc and this becomes frustrating for parents who want to be involved.
Check out this article on “15 questions to replace “How Was School Today?” for a few tips.”
IB Behind the Scenes Tours - Kindergarten & 4th Grades
Our first round of IB Behind the Scenes tours have gone very well - parents who have attended have said that these sessions have helped develop a better understanding as to what is happening in the classroom and how to support their children at home.
Our final two sessions are Kindergarten and 4th grade.
Kindergarten - Thursday, December 8th from 8:15 - 9:30am
4th Grade - Monday, December 5th from 8:15 - 9:30am
The focus for 4th grade is on the use of Second Step & Restorative Approaches to Discipline. Kindergarten will focus on their current IB unit.
Peirce’s IB Program of Inquiry
The Program of Inquiry for our PYP IB program can be found on the Peirce website by visiting here and clicking on the POI document at the bottom of the page. The POI gives a big picture overview of the content studied at each grade level.
You can also find more information on our IB program - both PYP and MYP by visiting here.
MAP Testing
Our winter MAP Test session will begin on December 12th and continue through January, a more detailed schedule will be shared later with classroom testing dates. Students in 2nd-8th grade take the test two times a year in Reading and Math and data is used to support differentiated instruction. The end of year test will be administered late May/early June. Please note that student data from the MAP test is currently used to determine our school rating.
Friends of Peirce Fundraising Opportunities
Friends of Peirce has a few events coming up to support Peirce School Programs such as arts integration, sports and afterschool programs.
Be sure to visit Hopleaf (5148 N Clark) and purchase a drink from the Kegs for Kids menu - 100% of the cost of each drink goes to support Peirce School.
On December 7th - Giordano's Pizza, 5207 N Clark will donate 15% of all proceeds to Peirce School. This event will not require a flyer and revenue can be generated from non-Peirce families.
Save the Date - April 30th will be our Peirce Hopleaf Day, 100% of all sales will go to Peirce! Last year over $30,000 was raised in one day!
Save the Date - Babes with Blades performance at the City Lit Theatre on March 11th at 8:00pm, more information on ticket sales to come! All proceeds will go to support the 7th/8th grade trip to Washington DC.
Thank you to Tim Cottini and Fork Restaurant for supporting a food tasting event with proceeds going to Peirce School! Also, thank you to Giordano’s Pizza on Clark for supporting Peirce School with the October/November fundraiser days.
Magnet Lottery
The deadline for families to apply to Peirce through the Options for Knowledge program for the 2017-2018 school year is December 9th. For parents applying to grades K-8 via the Options for Knowledge Application, here is the online link to the application website: https://apply.cps.edu/ Peirce's school code is 5360PI. Please share this information with anyone you know who may be considering Peirce as their school and does not live in the attendance area. Families who have siblings at the school but Peirce not being their attendance area school also must apply through the Options for Knowledge program.
Preschool
For parents applying to our Preschool - please visit the CPS Early Childhood: Birth to Pre-K Programs website at: http://cps.edu/schools/earlychildhood/Pages/EarlyChildhood.aspx and read more about the Early Learning programs and application process. You can also call their hotline at 312-229-1690.
5th Grade Debate
Join the 5th grade students as they demonstrate their work with Argument Centered Education and participate in their first grade level debate of the year. The question that will be debated is “Should the United States substantially reduce immigration”. The event is open to families and will take place at 1:30pm on Friday, December 16th in the gymnatorium.
Peirce School Winter Concert
Students in Kindergarten-5th grade will showcase their talents in our winter concert on Thursday, December 22nd at 9:30am and 1:30pm. All K-5 classrooms will perform in both shows for songs, however only some classrooms will participate for the dance portion of the event. In addition, Peirce Performers will be in both shows.
9:30am - Dance showcase from 3rd grade classrooms 321 & 322, 4th grade classrooms 203, 204 & 208
1:30pm - Dance showcase from 3rd grade classrooms 323 & 324, 4th grade classrooms 203, 204 & 208
4th grade room 209 has worked on a separate project with Loyola University and will have a video showcase.
Join us on Social Media!
Be sure to “like” us on Facebook - Helen C Peirce School of International Studies is Peirce’s official Facebook Site. In addition, the “Peirce School PSO” has a site along with a closed group “Parents of Peirce” there is a lot of information shared on all 3 sites and are great opportunities to share and receive information along with networking with other parents.
Follow us on Instagram at peircecps.
Save the Date!
Upcoming Dates
December
1st No After School All Stars Programs - Teacher PD after school
Bilingual Advisory Council Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse
2nd Small Group Parent Tour for prospective parents, 8:15am
7th Giordano’s Pizza Fundraiser (5207 N Clark) - 15% of all proceeds go to Peirce
8th Volunteer Recruitment Event, Pork Shoppe, 6:00 - 8:00pm
9th Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse
12th MAP Testing Begins, More information to come
13th Friends of Peirce Meeting, 6:30pm, Fieldhouse
15th Box Tops Collection
Local School Council Meeting, 6:00pm
16th Peirce Service Organization Meeting (PSO), 8:15am, Fieldhouse
5th Grade Debate on Immigration, 1:30pm
19th-22nd Classroom Spelling Bees
19th 48th Ward Winter Show, 4:00pm, Senn HS
22nd Winter Concert, 9:30am & 1:30pm
December 26th-January 6th - Winter Break
January 2017
9th School Resumes
Progress Reports Distributed
11th Student Assembly Day - Amazing Africa by Urban Gateways
12th Spelling Bee, 8:30am 1st/2nd grades, 10:00am 3rd-5th grades, 1:30pm 6th-8th grades
13th Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse
Small Group Parent Tour, 8:15am
16th No School - Martin Luther King Jr Day
18th-20th 7th Grade trip to Laredo Taft
19th Local School Council Meeting, 6:00pm
20th Peirce Service Organization Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse
*Please visit our school calendar on the Peirce website for more events happening throughout the year - please note that some dates/events might change throughout the school year.
Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies
Email: lzaimi@cps.edu
Website: peirce.cps.k12.il.us
Location: 1423 W Bryn Mawr Chicago, IL
Phone: 773-534-2440
Facebook: facebook.com/peircecps