August 9, 2019
 
Dear Ivanhoe Families,
 
Every summer I take a week to fill my teaching and learning sails.  For the past six years I have journeyed to New York to spend a week at the Reader’s Workshop Institute, a workshop sponsored by the Teacher’s College at Columbia and Lucy Calkins, a revered voice in reading and writing education. The Institutes are generally centered around an organizing idea, this year the general theme was reflecting on our lives as readers and how those reading experiences influence and help define our identity. Most of the keynote speakers spoke of growing, through reading, to be compassionate observers of the world. Such a timely topic.  What do our children already feel compassionate about?  Do they wonder about animal rights, or natural disasters, or simply just fitting in? Through their eyes, there are things to be discovered and identities to be formed. For us, this year is about that discovery. 
 
This year our enrollment is, once again, full. Add to that the construction that will surely intensify the complexity of our morning and afternoon routines. Please know that all summer we have undergone changes and are strategizing on how to adapt to new routines.  Also know that our neighbors have endured a summer of construction from early morning into the evenings. If there are ways to incorporate walking to school or parking a few blocks from school and the walking over, those efforts will be sincerely appreciated and will help to reduced traffic and maintain civility with neighbors and on the valet line. I ask your patience and trust as we workto be as creative and flexible as we can. Thank you in advance for your support.

I welcome back Ms. Gemma Wenger, who will serve as our Assistant Principal/Elementary Instructional Specialist. Ms. Wenger will be working primarily with our Special Education program, aswell as providing administrative support for our school on Tuesdays throughout the year. If you have any questions regarding your child’s Individualized Education Plan (I.E.P) or about services offered through SpecialEducation, please do not hesitate to contact her.

We look forward to the first day of school on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, when the school will come alive with the presence of children. For our kindergarten students, we will have a one-day phase-in period. The kindergarten teachers will welcome their students and their families in the school auditorium at 9:00 a.m. and classroom assignments will be announced at that time. Parents and students will attend an orientation session from 9-10:30 a.m. in their respective classrooms, and return that evening, Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. for Kindergarten Back-To-School Night. Our PrimeTime program will not begin for kindergarteners until Wednesday, August 21, 2019. 

For our Grade 1-5 students the playground will be open at 7:40 a.m., and families may enter from the main Herkimer school gate or the office entrance. Classroom assignments for Grades 1-5 will be posted on boards located on the playground, and teachers will be there to greet the children on the yard. The first day of school is a Minimum Day; classes will start at 8:10 a.m. and will be dismissed at 12:39 p.m. Beyond the Bell Youth Services will provide supervision on the lower yard until 6:00 p.m. for students in grades 2-5. Our PrimeTime program provides aftercare for students in kindergarten and grade 1, as well as students grades 2-5. Please contact them with any questions about their program.
 
Please calendar the following upcoming events:

Wednesday, August 14     New Family Q & A (6:00pm)  Parents/Caregivers Only                                                                       Ivanhoe Courtyard   
                          
Sunday, August 18           New Family Picnic-Silver Lake Rec Center  Tuesday, August 20         First Day of School  Friday, August 23             Back to School ‘Quest’ival  (5:30-8:00 p.m.) Tuesday, August 27          Minimum Day (12:39 p.m. dismissal) Friday, August 30             Admissions Day (School Closed)
 
Monday, September 2      Labor Day (School Closed)
 
 
As with every year, I am thrilled to get things started, to greet those timid kindergarteners, those accomplished 5^thgraders and all those in between. I am and have always been a proponent of teamwork. That is what I truly love about this school. Faculty, administration, staff, parents, and students work together and reflect a hunger and zest for learning. Above all, it is our engagement in our children’s individual learning that will truly make the difference. What that looks like may vary for each family. Know that whatever effort you make resonates in many ways, not the least of which is how your child comes to understand the value of their school. I do not know each of your talents, but I do know that there is a place here for you to share them, and they are all welcome. 
 
Enjoy these last days of summer vacation. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Lynda M. Rescia
Principal