Peirce School Family Newsletter
November 2018
Principal's Message
Greetings Peirce Families,
I am happy to announce that Peirce achieved Level 1+ status according to CPS' rating policy - an improvement from the Level 1 status achieved last year and we continue our "good standing" status with CPS. We just made the 96% attendance cutoff (96.1%) which is 20% of the school's rating and helped push us from level 1 to level 1+as. I will provide a state of the school presentation to the Local School Council on November 15th at 6pm, reviewing last years data, our SQRP rating and share our goals for this year, all parents are invited to attend and translation is provided.
Budget Update
During the October LSC Meeting, the council voted to approve the opening of 2 additional teacher positions, 1 half time music position and the purchase of additional technology. The additional teacher positions will not be used to open additional classrooms (as the school is out of space) but will be used to support classrooms with high numbers of students through push in supports.
Turf Update
Work on the turf is close to being completed (possibly this week!) - thank you for your patience as we have adjusted the use of the space for morning entry, dismissal and recess.
Unity Month
November will be noted as Unity Month at Peirce School with the tag line of "United We Stand Against Bullying". Teachers will provide instruction from the Second Step Bullying Prevention Kit along with a series of lessons and activities which focus on unity. The Positive Behavior Supports Committee has organized a student assembly on November 26th where Matt Wilhelm will be our guest speaker. Check out this site to learn more about Matt Wilhelm. Also, thank you to Friends of Peirce for funding this assembly!
Race, Culture & Equity
As CPS examines how race currently serves as a predictor of student performance across the city, racial equity has become a district-wide priority. At Peirce, we are honored to be collaborating with a community of equity experts at Chicago United for Equity (CUE). Peirce parent Megan Brand has volunteered to coordinate our Parent Resource Group on Race & Culture this year. Megan has been selected to receive a prestigious Equity Fellowship from CUE. Through this fellowship, she will be receiving 72 hours of training and support for her work on equity and inclusion in parent engagement at Peirce. If you are interested in participating in Peirce’s racial equity and inclusion efforts, please reach out to Megan at holmbergmegan@yahoo.com.
As we seek to build an authentically inclusive and equitable school community, we welcome everyone to join us on this journey. We understand that this work will be messy. Mistakes are inevitable and we are looking to learn and grow together rather than to place blame and provoke division. We hope to lean into our differences and find common ground in a way that leads to meaningful relationships throughout our diverse community and equitable outcomes for student learning and parent engagement.
Sincerely,
Lori Zaimi
Principal
Student Fees - Pay Online
Parent OR Staff Shout Outs
There are always great things happening that often do not go recognized. Send a shout out to a fellow Peirce Parent or Staff Member to be included in upcoming newsletters! Please submit any shout-outs here.
Below are a few of the shout-outs that were submitted over the last month from fellow Peirce Parents:
- Friends of Peirce and the Harbor Night Planning Committee for their hard work and dedication, raising over $27,000!
- Thank you Mr. Melvin (Custodian) for bringing smiles to children's faces in the hallways and promoting a positive school climate!
- Emily & Christina for organizing the Family Halloween Dance!
- Ms. Hopkins & The Peirce Staff for supporting Family Literacy night!
- Chad Curry for helping to get parents registered as volunteers and bringing in accu-biometrics to Peirce for on-site registration!
Picture Day Re-Takes
Unhappy with your students pictures? No worries - picture day re-takes will be available on Monday, November 5th.
Math Parent Workshops
Attendance
Book Fair
Cold Weather
Report Card Day & Student Led Conferences
While we value student involvement during conferences, we also encourage parents to have discussions with teachers as needed. If a private conference time is needed, please make arrangements with your child's classroom teacher.
Friends of Peirce
There are many ways for Peirce Families to support Friends of Peirce and their fundraising initiatves - all money raised goes directly to support student programs. Over $90,000 was approved during the September FOP meeting to go towards student programming and school initiatives including Arts Partnerships, Sports Programming, Teacher Stipends, Student Assemblies, Field Trip Subsidies, and more!
Visit https://www.friendsofpeirce.org/ to learn more!
Join FOP for the following upcoming events:
- November 9th - Date Night! Drop off your kids (Pre-K through 6th grade) with the FOP Babysitting Team (Middle School Students and Adult chaperones - all adult volunteers are level 1 CPS approved) and enjoy a night out from 6:00 - 9:00pm. Register here.
- Click here to learn more about the new Parent Basketball League.
November 2018
Unity Month - United We Stand Against Bullying
1st - End of Quarter 12nd - No School
5th - Picture Re-Takes
6th - Election Day
7th - Student of the Month, 8:15am
8th - Race & Culture Parent Resource Group Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse
9th-16th Book Fair
9th - Parent Advisory Council Meeting, 8:15am
9th - Parent Date Night, 6:00 -9:00pm
9th - Parent Basketball League, 6:00 - 8:00pm
10th - Friends of Peirce Fundraiser, Chicago Wolves Game
12th - No School
13th - Friends of Peirce Meeting, 6:30pm
14th - Report Card Day (11:30am - 3:00pm & 4:00 - 6:30pm)
15th - Local School Council Meeting, 6:00pm
16th - Peirce Service Organization Meeting, 8:00am
16th - Parent Basketball League, 6:00 - 8:00pm
20th - Math Parent Workshop, 8:15am
21st-23rd - No School, Thanksgiving Break
26th - Bullying Prevention Assembly
27th - Friends of Peirce Fundraiser @ Wooden Spoon
28th - Fall Open House for Prospective Parents, 8:30am
29th - Box Tops Collection
29th - International Dance Night, 5:00 - 7:00pm
30th - Bilingual Advisory Council Meeting, 8:15am
30th - Parent Basketball League, 6:00 - 8:00pm
December 2018
5th - Student of the Month Celebration, 8:15am
6th - Peirce Day at Edge of Sweetness
7th - Parent Date Night - Friends of Peirce Fundraiser
7th - Parent Basketball League - 6:00 -8:00pm
10th-21st Middle of the Year MAP Testing for 2nd-8th grade students
11th - Friends of Peirce Meeting, 6:30pm, Fieldhouse
12th - 5th Grade Parent Meeting on Exhibition, 5:30pm
13th - LSC Meeting, 6:00pm, Gymnatorium
14th - Progress Reports Distributed
14th - PSO Meeting, 8:15am, Fieldhouse
14th - 4th Grade Barrel of Monkeys showcase, 10:00am
14th - Parent Basketball League - 6:00 -8:00pm
19th - Classroom Spelling Bees
19th - 48th Ward Holiday Showcase at Senn HS, 4:00pm
20th - Winter Concert, 9:00am & 1:30pm
December 24th - January 4th
Winter Vacation
Key Contact List
Recurring Information
No Dogs (Pets) on School Grounds
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
Daily Specials Rotation
Parent-Student Handbook
Student Code of Conduct
Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies
Email: lzaimi@cps.edu
Website: peirce.cps.edu
Location: 1423 W Bryn Mawr Chicago, IL
Phone: 773-534-2440
Facebook: facebook.com/peircecps