Good afternoon,


I hope everyone is doing well on this rainy Friday.  Thank you to everyone who helped with our Earth Day clean up.  (We were rained out in the afternoon, so will work to schedule another clean up day.)  Please read below for a few updates.
Have a great day,
Katie 
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LSC Elections – Thank you to all of our candidates and voters!  Your participation in the elections is appreciated.  Below are the elected members of the LSC.  Their terms will start July 1, 2022.  I look forward to working together with a continuous improvement mindset.
 
Parent
Maneesh Limaye
Danielle Capilla
Yuanying Guan
Zalita Neely

Community
Andrea Martyn

Teacher
Lucinda Ross
Mattea Walsh

Non-Teaching Staff
Gloria Morales

Student
Radhini Panchal

 
*We do have 2 parent and 1 community member positions open.  Please reach out if you have interest. 
 
Principal’s Report to the LSC – Please use this link to access the April Principal’s report to the LSC.


COVID Update - CPS recently changed their policy and  the district has transitioned to only identifying true close contacts, they no longer want to quarantine full cohorts. A true close contact is someone who was directly with the case less than 3ft apart for over 15 minutes.  So, it is possible for a student to be unvaccinated and not be flipped to remote with a positive case in their classroom.  Starting today, the district will also send communication to the homeroom with a positive case to let everyone know there is a case in the homeroom for everyone's awareness.   Close contacts will also receive separate communication.
 
Diverse Needs Committee
April is Autism Acceptance Month
In the United States, 3.5 million people, and one in 44 children are on the autism spectrum. In April, Skinner North staff will share lessons about autism and empathy. Ask your student about what they have learned! Check out the committee website for more details.
Here are a few resources to learn more about autism and how to be an ally:
·  https://www.assistiveware.com/blog/5-guidelines-for-autism-acceptance-month
·  Should We Say 'with Autism' or 'Autistic'? Here's Why It Matters, from Parents Magazine
·  https://youtu.be/UKhg68QJlo0
sDiverse Learners Parent & Caregiver Meet-up
Friday, April 29, 2022, 8:40am (or directly after drop off)
Passion House Coffee Roasters
Goose Island location at Division and N. Branch
1200 N. Branch St, Chicago 60642
 
This is a casual meetup to be connected with other parents and to share experiences and questions regarding our childrens’ diverse learning needs. If you are interested but cannot join, feel free to drop an email to Boyoung, bh785@nyu.edu to suggest a different time/day of the week. We are very open to suggestions!
 
Save the date for our next meet-up, Friday, May 27!

​Good afternoon,

I hope you are doing well.  We are looking forward to Parent-Teacher Conferences tomorrow, Wednesday, May 19.  It is a great time to connect with your student’s teacher and work together to find best ways to support students.  It is also a non- attendance day for students.   Please read below for important updates and reminders.

Have a great day,
Katie
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LSC Elections – Elections are tomorrow (4/20) from 6AM-7PM in the school gymnasium.  Please report to the gymnasium to cast your vote. 

Earth Day – Earth Day is Friday, April 22.  The Earth Day theme is Invest in Our Planet and challenges us all to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably).  To honor this day, we will be doing a park clean up before (starting at 8:00AM) and after school (until 4:00PM) on Friday.  We will have supplies (gloves and bags) at the school.  Help us pick up the grounds and park.  It is also a great time to check out our learning garden and compost bin.  (Please reach out with interest to our Garden Team!  If you would like to help, please contact: Ms. Bergman At: sbergman1@cps.edu.)

We also have 2 standing planters out front that need some love.  Please let Katie (kmagnuson@cps.edu) if you would like to assist in planting those.

Classrooms are doing various activities to learn more about Earth Day this week and next.  (In addition, be on the lookout for more information around National Bike and Roll to School Day, which is on Wednesday, May 4.  We are encouraging families to bike to school that day.)
 
Local School Council Meeting Agenda – See this link for Thursday’s (4/20) LSC Agenda.  The meeting is at 5:30PM.  You can access the virtual meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2520679911?pwd=VTI5NTVheE02SWRzRWY5SnZrcmNQZz09.
 
LSC Meeting to Certify LSC Election Results – The LSC will meet on Friday, April 22 at 8:30AM to certify the LSC election results. Please see this link for the agenda.  You can access the meeting virtually at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2520679911?pwd=VTI5NTVheE02SWRzRWY5SnZrcmNQZz09.
 
Right at School Summer Camp at Skinner North Registration Open - Summer is right around the corner and we are looking forward to sunshine, warmer weather, and enjoying more time outdoors.  With that said, don’t forget that registration for our Right At School Summer Camp is now open!  With fun field trips, swimming, and so much more planned for our camps this year, we look forward to having your child/ren part of the FUN!  Our weekly pricing already included all field trip, activity, and transportation fees. For more information and to register today to ensure your spot in our Summer Camp please use the link below:
https://rightatschool-skinner-north-classical-school.jumbula.com/#/summer-camp


SY22 SEL Skills Inventory (5th-8th Grade) - As you may recall, Skinner North has partnered with the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Social Emotional Learning (OSEL) this school year to explore strategies for understanding and supporting students’ development of social and emotional (SEL) skills. In December, students in 5th through 8th grade took Cycle 1 surveys about their SEL skills from their own perspective. The data from Cycle 1 was used by our school to strategically prioritize practices and strategies to support students in developing SEL skills. On the dates of April 25-May 6, we will administer Cycle 2 of the same survey to students as a means of evaluating whether or to what degree the priority practices and strategies were effective.  Learn more about the inventory at this link.


Lost and Found – The lost and found is located at the main entrance for families to pick up items.  The items remaining at the end of this week (4/22), will be donated to Cradles to Crayons. 

Diverse Needs Committee
April is Autism Acceptance Month
In the United States, 3.5 million people, and one in 44 children are on the autism spectrum. In April, Skinner North staff will share lessons about autism and empathy. Ask your student about what they have learned! Check out the committee website for more details.
Here are a few resources to learn more about autism and how to be an ally:
·  https://www.assistiveware.com/blog/5-guidelines-for-autism-acceptance-month
·  Should We Say 'with Autism' or 'Autistic'? Here's Why It Matters, from Parents Magazine
·  https://youtu.be/UKhg68QJlo0

Diverse Learners Parent & Caregiver Meet-up
Friday, April 29, 2022, 8:40am (or directly after drop off)
Passion House Coffee Roasters
Goose Island location at Division and N. Branch
1200 N. Branch St, Chicago 60642

This is a casual meetup to be connected with other parents and to share experiences and questions regarding our childrens’ diverse learning needs. If you are interested but cannot join, feel free to drop an email to Boyoung, bh785@nyu.edu to suggest a different time/day of the week. We are very open to suggestions!


Save the date for our next meet-up, Friday, May 27!


Please read below for a message from FoSN –
 
Skinner North Needs Your Help!  FoSN Needs Volunteers! - As you may have heard in the recent LSC meetings, the annual school budget for next year provided by CPS was cut by more than $160,000.  Our administration has worked tirelessly to ensure staff positions would not be affected by these changes, but other cuts in other important areas are inevitable.  As such, our FoSN community, which includes every parent and guardian of Skinner North, is being called upon to help fund lunch and recess coverage, instructional materials, classroom materials, and security staff, to name a few. 
 
Due to the last couple of years with limited volunteers and fundraising, we have not raised enough funds to cover these necessities.  Without volunteers in the leadership positions of FoSN, we will not be able to provide for the school in the ways needed for next year or future years.  We need you more than ever, our children and staff need you more than ever.  
 
FoSN will hold elections at our zoom meeting on Wednesday, May 4th.  To get involved, please read this and fill out this form by Friday, April 29th.  Positions range from bite-sized to as large as you want to make it.  
 
This will be my last year as President of FoSN.  I've served 6 rewarding years, and in doing so have made friendships with parents and staff that will hopefully last my lifetime.  Our community is truly amazing and I'm blessed to have led such a great team!
 
It's now time to GET INVOLVED - not only will your child's experience benefit, but as a member of the Skinner North community, yours will as well (I promise!).  
 
Adriane Schwager
 
If you'd like to donate today, you can zelle to Fosnfundraising@gmail.com or click here for other options. 

Good morning,
We will have a special meeting to discuss and approve our 2022-2023 school budget.  The meeting is Tuesday, April 5 at 7AM.  Please see the full agenda at this link.  You can access the virtual meeting at:  * https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2520679911?pwd=VTI5NTVheE02SWRzRWY5SnZrcmNQZz09.
Have a great day,
Katie