Cougar Families,

Holy Pumpkinfest! It was so rewarding seeing the community come together to have fun and celebrate with each other. The expansion of the event and the bonus of having food available in the MPR were wonderful additions. I loved being able to continue to meet more Kipling families and seeing students get so excited while participating in all of the activities and waiting in suspense for the raffle winners to be announced. My wife, Danielle, and our boys had a great time. Thank you for welcoming them and for making them feel just like a part of the family.

A big thank you to everyone who made Pumpkinfest possible! Thank you to the PTO and all of the parent volunteers - without all of your support Pumpkinfest would not have been what it was. A special shout out to Ms. Rubin and Ms. Grossman for all of their leadership spearheading the event! I cannot wait for next year!

As a reminder, next week is Parent-Teacher Conferences. On Thursday, students are dismissed at 11:40am and there is no student attendance on Friday. All my best to you and your families over the weekend.

Respectfully,

-Matthew

Mr. Matthew O. Lombardo, NBCT

Principal

Kipling Elementary School

Please visit https://kiplingpto.membershiptoolkit.com/home for all things PTO. Please also note these important upcoming dates:

11/3: PTO Meeting @ Kipling, 9:30-10:30 in the Lounge

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 26th from 1:00-4:00pm & 5:00-8:00pm and Friday, October 27th from 8:30-11:30am. All DPS109 schools will hold in-person parent-teachers conferences this year with an option to use Zoom or Google Hangouts for parents/guardians who are not available for an in-person conference.

Parents will sign up for a conference using Sign-Up Genius. The links to sign-up are included here.

It is best practice to hold one parent conference per child, to ensure that both parents receive the same information regarding their child’s strengths and needs. Therefore, I ask that parents sign up for one joint conference per student.

Conferences are a discussion between parents and teachers. At this time elementary conferences do not include students and therefore we ask that children not attend the parent-teacher conference.

Halloween is coming to Kipling on Tuesday, October 31st! We want to remind families to be cautious when helping your child select a costume for Halloween. Using another's culture as a Halloween costume can be viewed as insensitive or offensive. In addition, we encourage students to be as inclusive as possible when dressing in group costumes so that students do not feel excluded during the Halloween festivities. P.E. classes will be run as close to normally as possible so please have your child wear gym shoes if they have P.E. on Tuesdays.

Below are some additional reminders about wearing costumes at school.

-Please do not send students with accessories (e.g witch’s broom).

-Toy weapons are strictly prohibited.

-Students should either wear costumes to school all day or have the ability to change into costumes in the classroom. Students will not be permitted to change clothes in the bathrooms.

-Masks that cover the face as a costume accessory can be worn during the parade and party, not during class time as it may be a distraction during learning.

Parade

-Students will exit out the main entrance, walk around the entire school, and enter back through the main entrance

-If there is inclement weather the parade will take place inside the school. Parents and guardians will not be allowed to enter the school if the parade is indoors.

Timeline

-2:05-2:30 - Costume Parade

-2:30-3:05 - Class Party (Party helpers and volunteers must come to the office to lobby guard before noon on 10/31 to expedite the process of entering to volunteer for the parties.)

-3:05-3:15 - Clean-up + Dismissal

Families who are not comfortable sending their child in costume, please reach out to your teacher so we can be sensitive to you or your child's feelings about dressing up for Halloween. We want everyone at Kipling to feel comfortable.

Calling all grandparents, aunts, uncles, and caregivers! Please join us on Thursday, November 16th or Friday, November 17th for an exciting day at Kipling Elementary School. Each student will be able to have a special visitor come to school to see what they are learning about and stop by our PTO Book Fair! Special Someone Day will look a little different this year:

-Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, and 4th Grade will have their day on Thursday November 16th

-1st Grade, 3rd Grade, and 5th Grade will have their day on Friday, November 17th.

-Limit 1 Special Someone per student due to space issues.

-Only Pre-registered Special Someones with a valid Driver’s License or State ID will be allowed into our school and you must scan your ID through our Visitor Management system before the time of the event.

We are looking for daily parent volunteers to help students as they learn our new routine. Parents can sign up for a once a week, once every other week, or monthly slot. If you aren't familiar with composting, we promise it's easy. We will provide training and the kids are catching on quickly. This is a great chance to help the planet and see your Kipling kids in action. Please email Sandra Merrill at SandraKMerrill@gmail.com or Jessica Lorber at Jzindell@gmail.com or Jessica Cohen at

jessicabrody12@gmail.com for more information about volunteering. Sign up to volunteer here.

Schedule Reminder!

Thursday, October 26th is a ½ day of school and Friday, October 27th there is NO SCHOOL due to parent/teacher conferences!

Referral GPS

ReferralGPS is a web-based service focused on assisting our community in finding local mental health and substance use-related treatment. You are invited to use this interactive tool at https://referralgps.com/find-help/D109 to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously. The platform has the ability to filter by mental health concern, clinician gender/specialty, location, and insurance acceptance. The service is available for all types of private and public insurance options including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, and families that are uninsured or underinsured. ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely confidential and securely stored. Please note, this service is an optional resource available by choice and is not mandatory in any way.

Upcoming Fundraiser at DHS

October 26th marks the first official day of School Chest 2023! School Chest is Deerfield High School’s annual three week long charity fundraiser where the community unites to raise money for a worthy beneficiary. This year's non-profit beneficiary is GiGi’s Playhouse Deerfield located right down the street from DHS.

Come for TRUNK OR TREATING at 5pm on Friday, October 27th in the back parking lot of DHS! Admission is free with a suggested donation to benefit Gigi’s Playhouse!

Directly following Trunk or Treating on October 27th at 6:15pm is our Family Friendly DRIVE IN MOVIE. Come with friends and family, bring blankets, and enjoy treats like Shookies Cookies! Admission is $20 per car. Purchase tickets on schoolchest.org now or pay when you arrive!

For more information on how to become involved in this year's School Chest, please visit our website schoolchest.org or email us at Schoolchest@gmail.com or mkaufman@dist113.org. We hope to see DPS 109 families at these events!

Park District Before and After Care

The Deerfield Park District runs all of our before and after school care programs. Please contact the Park District, 847-945-0650, if you have questions.

Park District After School Enrichment Information

Sharing on behalf of the Deerfield Park District: registration is open for fall enrichment programs. To see a brochure of programs and get more information, visit https://www.deerfieldparks.org/programs/youths-teens/.

If you have any questions, please contact the park district directly as they run the programs.

-Thurs 10/26: ½ Day of School Student Dismissal at 11:40am

-Thurs 10/26: Parent Teacher Conferences, 1-4pm and 5-8pm

-Fri 10/27: No School - Parent Teacher Conferences

-Fri 10/27: Parent Teacher Conferences, 8:30-11:30am

-Tues 10/31: Halloween Parade and Class Parties

-Fri 11/3: PTO Meeting @ Kiping, 9:30-10:30 in the Lounge

-Wed 11/8: 4th Grade Music Show

-Fri 11/10: No School - Veterans’ Day

-Tues 11/14: Picture Retake Day

-Wed 11/15-Fri 11/17 - PTO Book Fair

-Thurs 11/16: Special Someone Day for K, 2nd, and 4th Grade

-Fri 11/17: Special Someone Day for 1st, 3rd, and 5th Grade

-Wed 11/22-Fri 11/24: No School - Happy Thanksgiving!