Earlier this week we were shocked once again by the horrific killing of young children and staff at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. My heart has been heavy thinking about the loss of innocent children and teachers' lives as they went to school like any ordinary day, engaged in learning. Schools should be safe spaces for us to gather, learn and love. This week reminds us of the importance of developing trusting, caring relationships with students while also reminding us of safety protocols for us to keep front and center (ex: making sure that all exterior doors are closed and locked).

As I shared last week....

Please know that the safety of your children is our highest priority. While our children do not go through metal detectors, we do focus on developing trusting relationships with students, centering restorative practices and encouraging students to say something to an adult when there is an issue that may have a negative impact on our school. Through restorative practices, our students are taught ways that they can resolve conflict without using violence.

Please continue to message to your children the importance of speaking up when they see/hear about things that may be problematic so that our staff can intervene as quickly as possible.

Move-a-Thon is back after a 2-year hiatus! On Wednesday, June 1, all Peirce students and staff will engage in a school-wide fundraising walk! Funds raised will support arts partnerships for every grade level.

Move-A-Thon letters, permission slips, and water policies went home in backpack mail.

Attached below you will find the letter that explains everything you need to know about raising funds for Peirce Arts Partnerships and getting involved in the Move-A-Thon!

How to get involved:

To Raise Funds: Go here - bit.ly/peircemove - or use the form you received in your child's backpack and turn in funds on Friday, May 20th or 27th before or after school in front of the Field House.

To Volunteer: Go here - https://bit.ly/Peircemovevolunteer

Or choose one of the other ways to get involved listed in the letter attached.

Prizes!

We will have weekly prize drawings leading up to Move-a-Thon. Each student who has participated by submitting donations (either online or through cash/check) will be entered! We have a variety of prizes available to encourage student participation and to help us reach our goals. We have three goals:

• To have fun moving and celebrating during Move-a-Thon!

• To have 100% participation, which means all students participate with a donation of ANY size!

• To reach $30,000 in funds raised for Peirce!

Check it out!

Preschool Student Asha - Branch Room 101 - received an honorable mention at the All City Visual Arts Exhibition!

Enrollment Forms

The form below is to only be filled out if your child will be entering Peirce School for the first time. Kndg.-7th grade parents that already have their child(ren) attending Peirce do not need to re-register. Someone from the main office will be contacting you via email with enrollment forms.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWbVnShBFmuDH1sL4cKAhpWpi2b_yUpUSFEz7eAgJ4xRcgZg/viewform

Shout Outs to Peirce staff are included in our weekly staff bulletin.

New | 2022 CPS Summer Sports Skills Camps

The Office of Sports Administration (OSA) is excited to announce our programming for the 2022 CPS Summer Sports Skills Camps for students entering grades 5–12! Summer sports skills camps are an opportunity for current elementary and high school students to develop their skills in their favorite sport and/or learn about new sports FREE OF CHARGE. To learn more about the camps and to register your students, please share this family-facing letter and registration link below with your school community.

Family-Facing Letter / Registration Link

COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Now Authorized for 5-11 Year-Olds

We are excited to share the news that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have approved COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for children aged 5-11. Staying up-to-date with your vaccinations is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, especially as newer strains of the virus emerge.

According to the FDA and the CDC, 5-11 year-olds are now eligible for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot five months after completing their initial two-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. CPS’s regional vaccine clinics, our Elementary School mobile events, and our High School mobile events will begin offering boosters to 5-11 year olds next week; use the links above or visit cps.edu/vaccination and click on “Get Vaccinated With CPS” to make an appointment.

12-17 year olds are also eligible for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot five months after completing their initial two-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

For those 18 and older, a booster of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine is recommended five months after the initial two-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, or two months after one dose of the J&J/Janssen vaccine.

People over 50 and anyone over the age of 12 who are is immunocompromised should receive a 2nd booster dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after the 1st booster. Whether it’s your first booster, or your second, if you haven’t had a vaccine dose since the beginning of December 2021 and you are eligible, now is the time to get one.

For complete booster information, visit this page on the CDC’s website.

For all vaccine opportunities through CPS, visit cps.edu/vaccinations. You can also visit vaccines.gov, text your zip code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find an appointment. To request in-home vaccination, which is available to all Chicago households, call the City's COVID-19 hotline at (312) 746-4835. Up to 10 people can be vaccinated at a time, so Chicagoans can invite family, friends, or neighbors to their home to be vaccinated together.

Contact Tracing

With the recent increase in COVID positive cases, the district contact tracing process is delayed in closing cases within a 24-48 hour period. The school is able to share school-wide notification to the community once the case has been closed. While masking is currently optional, CPS has highly encouraged all students and staff to wear masks while at school. We also encourage families to sign children up for the weekly COVID test in order to know if your child has contracted COVID. Masking and testing are two mitigation strategies that we know can help with the spread of COVID.

If your child is demonstrating COVID symptoms, they should stay home and be tested. Complete the CPS Self Report form if your child has a positive COVID test result.

Vaccine Rates Added to CPS COVID Dashboard

In order to provide more data to our families and school communities about the pandemic, CPS is now publishing student vaccination rates on our COVID-19 data dashboard. Vaccine numbers will be available at the District level, and families can also search for vaccine rates by their individual school.

As a result of the update to the district COVID dashboard, the internal document will no longer be updated.

Click here for a COVID Protocols FAQ Document

May

30th No School - Memorial Day

June

1st Move A Thon

2nd Gender Diversity Parent Workshop, 6pm

3rd PSO Meeting at 8:15am

3rd New Family Orientation at 9am

7th Friends of Peirce at 6:30pm

8th Move-A-Thon Rain Date

8th Bilingual Advisory Council Meeting at 3:15pm

13th 8th Graduation

14th Last Day of School

19th Juneteenth

July 6th-29th Summer Programming

August 18th - Tentative Back to School Festival & New Family Orientation from 3:00 - 5:00pm

August 22nd - First Day of School