Dear Henry Hawk Families,

Welcome back to school everyone! We are excited to begin this new school year can look forward to educating your child at Henry. Thank you for those families that have attended the Back to School Bash on Friday, August 19th. It was great seeing the smiles of our students.

Attached in this newsletter is the Student and Family Handbook. Please review this handbook as it has all the information you need regarding the policies here at Henry and in CPS. We will highlight a few important information below:

Attendance

• Absences: If a child is not in school, they cannot learn. School begins at 8:15 a.m. Tardy is at 8:20 a.m.

• Chicago Public Schools accepts only the following four reasons for excused absences:

1. Illness
2. Death in the family
3. Family emergency
   
4. Observation of a religious holiday

• Following a student’s return to school after an absence, he/she must bring a note signed by a parent/guardian indicating the date(s) and reason for the absence. All absences without the receipt of a note will be considered unexcused. Telephone calls, while appreciated, do not replace the absent note. Lengthy visits to other countries or states during the school year and early end of the year dismissals are discouraged. Please notify the office if you are planning an extensive stay outside the U.S.

Entry and Exit Procedures

• 8:15 a.m. Entry Bell: Teachers report outside and escort students to classrooms. They are lined up by their room numbers. Kindergarten and 1st grade students in the Annex building should line up behind the Annex building along Drake Ave. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students must line up on the north side of the courtyard. 4th through 8th grade students must line up on the south side of the courtyard.

• 8:20 a.m. Tardy Bell: Students report to the office to receive a tardy slip and report to their classrooms. Student in the annex will be able to receive their tardy slip from the security in the Annex.

• 3:15 p.m. Dismissal Bell: Teachers and students remain in their classrooms until the 3:15 p.m. bell. Teachers walk with their students to their designated exit door (same as entrance door). Teachers in grades preschool through third grade ensure that each child is picked up by a parent or guardian.

Cell Phone Policy (All Grades)

• Students are not allowed to use personal cell phones at any time during the school day. It is important that students are able to focus on their studies and not become distracted by their phone.

Dress Code

• Patrick Henry Elementary School students are required to wear maroon tops and dark bottoms to school each day. Students must wear closed-toe shoes or gym shoes.

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.

We are excited to partner with you on your child's education during this school year! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Regards,

Juan Gutierrez, Principal

jgutierrez1@cps.edu

Mary Ann Reynolds, Assistant Principal

mamunozmaciel@cps.edu

Patrick Henry Spirit Wear Webstore is NOW OPEN Until Friday, September 2nd

Henry Student/Parent Handbook 2022-2023

Counselor's Corner

Henry's Curriculum Night

Back to School Bash Photos

Happy First Week of School!

We are so excited that this year there are 2 counselors to support you and your students! We understand that starting school can be both an exciting and stressful time for students and families. One way to ease these feelings is to create routines and structures to help you and your students be successful. Every family and child is unique so what works best for you may be different from another family. Here is an article to help you create routines that work for you and your child: https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/back-to-school-routine/. Also PBS Kids has great resources for getting you and your child ready for the first day of school: https://www.pbs.org/parents/back-to-school

If you or your child needs anything, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact Mrs. Garfinkel at mgarfinkel@cps.edu and Mr. Renas at mrenas@cps.edu.

Have a great week,

Mrs. Garfinkel and Mr. Renas