Dear Henry Hawk Families,

This week marks the 4th week of the first quarter. Students are getting use to the routines and are now getting into more of the content of each of the classes. The best way to support your child this school year is to ask them what they are learning about, read to your child or have them read to you at home, and set routines at home that will support their learning at school.

We have been in classrooms on a daily basis and are excited to see the learning happening at Henry.

This Tuesday we will have our Local School Council Meeting at 4:30 p.m. This meeting will be in person in the auditorium and all are welcomed to attend.

Regards,

Juan Gutierrez, Principal

jgutierrez1@cps.edu

Mary Ann Reynolds, Assistant Principal

mamunozmaciel@cps.edu

Upcoming Important Dates

LSC Meeting September 13th @ 4:30 p.m. in Auditorium (New!)

Important Forms

Parent Portal (Aspen)

Counselor's Corner (New!)

Why Attendance Matters

Hawk Sports Corner

Visitors

Covid Protocol

Henry Student/Parent Handbook 2022-2023

September

Tuesday September 13th: Local School Council Meeting @ 4:30 p.m. (Auditorium)

Thursday, September 22nd: 5 Week Progress Reports

High School Information Session for Grades 6-8 Parents @ 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Auditorium)

Friday, September 23rd: No Classes Professional Development Day

Friday, September 30th: Henry Hawk of the Month @ 2:30 p.m.

October

Monday, October 10th: No Classes Indigenous Peoples' Day

Tuesday, October 11th: Local School Council Meeting @ 4:30 p.m. (Auditorium)

Thursday, October 20th: Last Day of Quarter 1

Friday, October 21st: No Classes School Improvement Day

Thursday, October 27th: Trunk or Treat 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

November

Friday, November 4th: Q1 Honors Assembly

Sunday, November 6th: Daylight Savings Time Ends (Fall 1 hour behind)

Tuesday, November 8th: No Classes Election Day

Friday, November 11th: Veterans Day

Tuesday, November 15th: Local School Council Meeting @ 4:30 p.m. (Auditoirum)

Friday, November 18th: Turkey Trot

Monday: November 21st: Parent/Teacher Conferences 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 22nd - Friday November 15th: Thanksgiving Break

December

Friday, December 2nd: Progress Reports

Monday, December 5th - Friday December 9th: Scholastic Book Fair

Tuesday, December 13th: Local School Council Meeting @ 4:30 p.m. (Auditorium)

Wednesday, December 21st: PreK-4 Winter Sing

Thursday, December 22nd: End of 2nd Quarter

Friday, December 23rd: No Classes School Improvement Day

Monday, December 26th - Friday January 6th: No Classes Winter Break

Hello Henry Families,

High school application season is here! The high school applications open this Wednesday, September 14th. We know this can be an extremely stressful time for 8th grade parents, but we are here for you! We will also be having an information night next Thursday, September 22nd at 8:30am and 5pm. Additionally, we will have application sessions to help you apply and will share all the high school information with you and your students. As always, please reach out if you have any questions!

If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to either counselor. The best way to reach us is by email: mgarfinkel@cps.edu or mrenas@cps.edu.

Regards,

Mrs. Garfinkel and Mr. Renas

Students who attend school regularly feel more connected to their school community and are more engaged in the learning process. As a result, they are more likely to earn better grades and test scores, and they have greater chances of graduating and achieving postsecondary success.

It is important to start setting good attendance habits in the child's first year in school. Preschoolers who are chronically absent are likely to continue to be chronically absent as they get older in school.

From pre-K through high school, poor attendance can negatively affect students socially and emotionally:

• They feel out of place
• They fall behind in their work
• They miss important opportunities that can inspire their future
• They have a hard time working with others
• They don't see how school is connected to their future success

Students who are chronically absent or truant are more likely to have low grades and test scores, and they are less likely to be on track for high school graduation. Each week of absence per semester in ninth grade lowers the likelihood of graduating by 25 percentage points.

Attendance Requirements

From age 6 until reaching age 17, a child who lives in Chicago must be enrolled and attend school. Once a child enrolls, even if they are younger than 6 or older than 17, they must go to school regularly.

CPS Attendance Goals

CPS has set ambitious but realistic district-wide attendance goals:

• For schools under 95%, increase attendance to 95%
• Decrease the chronic truancy rate at the district, network, and school levels
• Decrease the chronic absence rate at the district, network, and school levels

Please complete the form below for an interest in participating and joining a sports team at Henry. This will provide Henry information for which teams to form. Teams will likely have games on Saturdays. And practices will be TBD.

Complete el siguiente formulario para dejarnos saber su interés en participar y unirse a un equipo deportivo en La Escuela Henry. Esto le dará a Henry información sobre qué equipos deportivos formar. Es probable que los equipos tengan juegos los sábados y las prácticas quedarán por ser determinadas.

For more information regarding CPS sports, please check the link here:

https://cpsathletics.com/

https://cpsathletics.com/cps-elementary-sports-program-overview-2/

Visitors

• All visitors, including parents, visiting a school must behave appropriately and adhere to school rules and visitor protocol while on CPS property. Every visitor must check in at the security check-point at the main entrance (Door #2). The security officer will ask for a valid state ID or driver's license from the visitor. If a state ID or driver's license is not available, the security officer will check in the visitor by manually typing their information into the Visitor Management System (VMS). Visitors who fail or refuse to provide valid identification or other identifying information will not be allowed entry into the building.
• Once a visitor has been checked into the VMS, the visitor will receive a badge that must be visibly worn and escorted throughout the building during their visit. Visitors who do not wear their badge must be redirected to the security check-point. If a parent seeks to visit a classroom to observe their child, the parent should request permission from the teacher and/or school staff to discuss appropriate times and days. This notification must be done at least 24 hours prior to their visit.

Covid Protocols:

• Close contacts will no longer be excluded from school. Any student or staff member who is exposed to COVID-19 in school — regardless of vaccination status — will no longer be required to learn or work from home for five days, but will be required to wear a mask in school for 10 days following exposure, and will be strongly encouraged to test three and five days after exposure. CPS will provide schools with rapid take-home tests to distribute to families and staff members if they are exposed, and we will strongly encourage families to use them in order to prevent spread and ensure a safe in-person learning environment.

• Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days. Cases should continue to be reported to cps.edu/covidresults

• Wearing a mask is still an important way to prevent spreading the virus to others. CPS will continue to strongly recommend masking in school, and masks will continue to be required in the following situations:

• On days 6-10 after testing positive for COVID-19

• If someone is exposed to COVID-19

• If there is a positive case identified in an elementary school classroom

• At the direction of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

• CPS will continue to offer free, weekly in-school COVID-19 testing to students and staff who are interested. Importantly, anyone who wants to enroll in testing this year will need to fill out an updated consent form — regardless of whether or not individuals participated in weekly testing last year. That updated consent form can be accessed here. Parents or guardians must register on behalf of a student under 18 years old. When you’re asked to enter an Organization ID, use your child’s 8 digit CPS Student ID which can be found on Aspen's parent portal or ask your child's teacher.