This week CICS Irving Park has a guest post from sixth grade student, Ava Gates:

Irving Park students are learning to play chess!  We have adopted a program called Chess Ed, which was funded through DCB (Distinctively College Bound). Chess Ed is a great program that has many benefits.  First off, it helps with everyday skills such as problem solving and is shown to improve and develop memory and concentration, which are skills that come in handy with any activity you take part in.  Also, chess is a fun and challenging game that will make you think in many different ways.  This program involves a group of 6th grade students to meet 45 minutes a week for 8 weeks.  In the end of this program we will compete in a Chess Tournament on the 17th of December at DeLaSalle Institute.  I look forward to it and all the experiences that will come after.
– Ava Gates

​Check out some work from photography class, by eighth grade student, Daniel Shkembi: 

This year CICS Irving Park has made an incredible transformation in our middle school! Over the summer, teachers and leaders spent a week in California to learn about personalized learning, and the use of the Summit Basecamp Personalized Learning Platform. We partnered with Summit to enhance our middle school model.

Our students have taken engagement to the next level, and have become more self-directed in their learning.  In order to celebrate their hard work, yesterday our middle schools students were surprised with a pizza party and celebration. Students assembled in the gym for an awesome, powerful community meeting, where they learned that hard work pays off! Students enjoyed pizza, basketball, music and hanging out with their friends.

​Last week CICS Irving Park had visitors from our partners at Summit, who were impressed with the progress our middle school model has made. Summit partners observed sixth through eighth grade classrooms, and shared that the implementation so far may be one of the best they have seen in the nation! Lizzie Choi, Director of Summit Basecamp, said “Irving Park’s rigor and student critical skills were some of the strongest the team has seen in a long time.”

​There is so much to celebrate at CICS Irving Park. We are so proud of our students, staff and families. We are grateful to all of you for your continued support! At the end of yesterday’s middle school celebration…. students participated in the Mannequin Challenge! Check it out: