Puma Update: September 16, 2016

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
9/7 – Wednesday 1pm Dismissal (EVERY WEDNESDAY IS A 1pm DISMISSAL)
9/8 – Fall NWEA testing begins
WEEK OF 9/19 – UNIFORM PICKUP #2  – All orders should have already been placed for uniforms. The next round of orders will be received by students the week of 9/19. As soon as we have an exact date we will let you know.  All students MUST be in full school uniform by the time these uniform orders arrive. Please contact the office or your child’s teacher for information about what is acceptable to wear while you wait for your uniforms.
9/19 – $2 Cubs Dress Down Day (more information to come…)
9/20 – Fall Picture Day (K-7th) (8th Grade will participate in graduation pictures in January)
10/7 – NO SCHOOL – Fall Break
10/10 – NO SCHOOL – Fall Break
OTHER INFO 

• NEW! Fall Sports for grades 5-8 begin this week. Please contact Mr. Herndon with any questions.
• Menu Change – 9/8 breakfast – Regular bagel instead of cinnamon raisin.
• NEW! If you wish to volunteer, please fill out this form online before you come to school. You must fill this out once a year!
• NEW! Tardies and Absences
  • Students are marked tardy starting at 8am. Any student arriving after 8am must see Ms. Santiago for a tardy pass. The robo calls are made for unexcused absences (including vacations.) If your student is home sick or you have a family emergency, please call and leave a message or email Ms. Santiago at ysantiago@distinctiveschools.org.
• $1 per minute LATE PICK UP policy is now being strictly enforced. Families will be charged $1 a minute for every minute after the 15 minute period for dismissals.
  • starting at 3:46pm M/T/TH/F
  • starting at 1:16pm Wednesdays only (EVERY WEDNESDAY IS A 1:00pmDISMISSAL!)
  • starting at 6:11pm for Extended day M-F
  • Fees can be paid with cash or money order only.
• All unpaid registration fees are now PAST DUE!  This can impact your student’s participation in field trips, sports and extended day. Please pay all fees ASAP!! Please contact Ms. Cotrone if you have any questions or need assistance. 
• Family Income Form  
  • This form is directly tied to our federal assistance monies. It is imperative we get one form for every family, and it is filled out completely. Please print and fill out BOTH sides. You can return the form via scan/email to ysantiago@distinctiveschools.org, fax to 773.433.5009, drop it off in the office or through the mail slot by the main entrance doors. 

HARD COPIES AVAILABLE AT MAIN AND NORTH DOORS:

• September BREAKFAST AND LUNCH menus – Remember meals are free for all CICS IP students!
• DISNEY ON ICE VOUCHERS
• NEW! DISCOUNTED INTERNET SERVICES – Access to the Internet is more important than ever for our students. Please click here to see if you family qualifies for discounted internet services.
• The 2016-17 Parent-Student Handbook is available on the website. We have a limited amount of paper copies available in the main office; please ask Ms. Santiago if you would like one.

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PTO UPDATES:

• PTO Volunteer Opportunities
• All-school PUMA PTO meeting dates – Please join us!
  • Tuesday 9/27 – 6-7pm
  • Thursday 11/17 – 6-7pm
  • Thursday 2/23 – 6-7pm
  • Tuesday 5/23 – 6-7pm
• CICS Irving Park Night out with the Chicago Cubs
  • We sold all 225 Chicago Cub tickets for the Monday September 19th game.  If you ordered tickets, please pick them up in the morning of Tuesday September 13th starting at 7:30am.  We will be located outside the front office unless the weather is bad, then we will be right inside the office doors.  Any questions, please email – JoAnne Pepper at peppers56@hotmail.com.

BILINGUAL PARENTS ADVISORY UPDATES:

• NEW! Latin Heritage Month Planning / Bilingual Parents Advisory Committee:
  • Gracias a todos que asistieron la reunión de planificación para el Mes de la Hispanidad. Se reunirá de nuevo el próximo miércoles el 7 a las 8:15am en la cafetería de los maestros. Por favor, haga planes para asistir a la primera reunión de nuestro Comité de Padres Bilingües (BAC). Sería un honor si las familias bilingües de todas las lenguas se unirían: tagalo, albanés, yoruba, vietnamita y español . Hemos arreglado el enlace para la encuesta para seleccionar qué fecha es mejor para que usted pueda asistir. ¡Esperamos verles a todos!
  • Thanks to everyone who attended the planning meeting for Hispanic Heritage Month. There will be a follow up meeting next Wednesday the 7th at 8:15am in the Teachers’ Lounge. Please plan to attend the first meeting of our Bilingual Advisory Committee (BAC).  We would be honored if bilingual speakers of all languages would join: Tagalog, Albanian, Yoruba, Vietnamese, and Spanish.  We have fixed the link to this survey to select which date is best for you to attend. We hope that everyone can attend!

Please check the RESOURCES page on the IP website regularly for updates and quick links. 
Please also check out our FACEBOOK PAGE for updates and communication.Please reach out to Ms. Cotrone or Ms. Santiago with any questions.
Thank you!