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Greetings Peirce Families,
This years African American Heritage Showcase created an opportunity for our students to demonstrate the theme - The Fight for Justice: A Call to Action. If you were unable to attend the African American Heritage Showcase this link will take you to several videos that were shared during the celebration, many of which were a call to action. March is an opportunity for us to learn more about the contributions of women in our society. The 2019 Women's History Month Theme is "Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence". Check out this link to learn more about this years theme. We are now one month into the Middle School Elective classes and are receiving a lot of great feedback from students - we will survey students close to the end of the year to help in planning for next school year. IAR Testing - Illinois Assessment of Readiness The IAR Test has replaced the PARCC exam, students in 4th-8th grades will take the web-based state exam March 11th-15th and 3rd graders will take a paper-pencil version March 25th-29th. This link provides more information from the Illinois State Board of Education on the exam. Cheers to warmer weather on the way! Lori Zaimi Principal Read the full newsletter in English or Spanish.
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Happy New Year Peirce Families!
I hope that you had a restful winter break, enjoyed time with friends & family and are ready for a wonderful new year! All of us at Peirce are thankful everyday for the parental support received - we are lucky to have the kindest, most dedicated and loving parent community in Chicago - thank you for your ongoing support of our school community from volunteering to coordinating and attending parent education meetings to fundraising, a warm hug, smile or word of encouragement. I wish you a very Happy New Year! As we kick off 2019, I wanted to provide a few updates around our 2018-2020 School Improvement Plan (CIWP). Priority #1: Instruction
Priority #2: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
Priority #3: Restorative Approaches to Discipline
Warmest Wishes, Lori Zaimi Principal Reed the full newsletter in English or Spanish. Greetings Peirce Families and Friends,
During the month of November, teachers planned activities around our campaign "United We Stand Against Bullying", teachers implemented lessons from the Second Step Anti-Bullying Kit along with activities which helped support the message of kindness, inclusion and being up-standers. Students participated in a school-wide march on Friday, intended to build unity among our student body - several students said how nice it was for the whole school to be doing the same thing at the same time. December 3rd-6th is Inclusive Schools Week, Inclusive Schools WeekTM is celebrated annually the first week in December by families, schools and organizations in the U.S. and abroad. The Week highlights and celebrates the progress that schools have made in implementing inclusive practices to ensure a quality education for an increasingly diverse student population. Learn more at www.inclusiveschools.org. Peirce has worked to develop our Special Education program over the last 3 years to focus on the use of inclusive practices, while we have made much progress, we recognize that we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that every student, every family member, everyday feels included in the Peirce Community. Inclusion at Peirce moves beyond our Special Education Program as we also are beginning our work around Race & Equity, continue our implementation of Restorative Practices and have continue our work with creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth and families. As we enter the final month of the year, I wish you peace and happiness - with winter break soon upon us, I hope that you will enjoy the break with your children, family and friends. Warmest Wishes, Lori Zaimi Principal Reed the full newsletter in Spanish or English. 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 [email protected]. 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 View the complete newsletter in Spanish or English. Greetings Peirce Families,
It was great to see our students back in the building this week - the first week is all about structures, routines and developing community, our students and teachers worked alongside of each other for team building activities, setting classroom agreements and creating a safe environment for learning.
Cheers to a successful 2018-2019 school year! Lori Zaimi Principal Read the complete newsletter in Spanish or English. Greetings Peirce Families,
I cannot believe how fast summer came and went, I hope that you enjoyed your time away, took some time to relax, unwind and enjoy family and friends. I have missed having your children in the building - learning, laughing and playing. The summer has been a busy one for us at Peirce as we have been planning and preparing for the opening of school on Tuesday, September 4th. There is a lot of content in this email - all of which is important information, please be sure to bookmark/save this email to refer back to as needed. Also, if you know of other parents who are not receiving Peirce's newsletter online, encourage them to sign up by visiting here. The 2018-2020 CIWP (Continuous Improvement Work Plan) can be found as a file towards the bottom of this email and creates a good context for the work happening at Peirce over the next two years. Below are a few things to take note of:
I am very proud of the community that Peirce staff, students, family and community members have created, making our school a gem on the north-side of the city. While we work to create community and get to know each of you and your children, I also have to acknowledge that we are very large with 1,050 students and over 100 staff members. Please know that this task is not an easy one. Help Dr. Riemer (AP) and I get to know you by introducing yourself to us at drop off, pick up, the Back to School Fest or other community events. Also, reach out to myself or a member of my administrative team if you have any questions. The chart following this lists key staff members that you can approach regarding various topics. Cheers to a successful 2018-2019 school year! Lori Zaimi Principal Read the full newsletter in Spanish and English. Greetings Peirce Families,
Happy Summer! Thank you for a wonderful year at Peirce - it has been a joy watching your children grow and develop over the year and I look forward to being a part of their educational experience for many years to come. It is my goal that all students have access to high quality IB instruction, embody the IB Learner Profile, feel safe while at school, know that they are important members of the Peirce community and that all students have at least one adult that they can go to in a time of need. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the development of your children, we continue to strive to do right by the young people in our buildings everyday. At the end of each year, families and staff begin to transition into various places in their personal and professional lives. I would like to thank the following staff members who will not be returning to Peirce in the fall for their tremendous contributions to the students and families of Peirce .
In a building as large as Peirce with 1,040 students and 100 staff members, movement among staff is not uncommon. I will continue to work to hire the best teachers and teachers assistants to work alongside of your children as we work to implement a high quality IB program. Over the next two months, there is much to be done; finalizing hiring, schedules and programming for the 2018-2019 school year. I wish you a wonderful, restful summer vacation and look forward to having your children back at school in the fall! With Regards, Lori Zaimi Principal View the complete newsletter. Greetings Peirce Families,
We are in the final stretch of the year with 13 days of school remaining and each year I wonder where the time went! It is a pleasure to be given the opportunity to work with your children each and every day. I hope that during the summer months, you have the opportunity to connect with your children in a special way, making memories and appreciating all of the qualities that make them who they are. While a teacher at Sabin, I had a colleague, Carmen Maldonado, who told me to never kill the spirit of my daughter - to allow her to explore, be free and nurture the energy that she put out there (and boy was it a ton - often difficult to manage). Those words stuck with me and to this day I hold on to them as I raise my daughter and as I work with your children. Each of our children have their own unique ways - I hope that together we can continue to nurture their spirit so that they are given the opportunity to grow and flourish. With Regards, Lori Zaimi Principal View the complete newsletter in English or Spanish. Greetings Peirce Families,
Service and Action are key elements of a high quality IB school. Over the last year we have had several parents, teachers, students and community members engage in service projects to support the beautification of our school. I truly appreciate the commitment that everyone has made in keeping our school looking great - the old building is 102 years old and the new building is 20 years old and both, while in many ways are in great condition, still need some sprucing up. Over Spring Break, we had a little over 40 family members, community members and staff participate in the painting of canvases and walls, garbage clean up, and a mural by the lunchroom. In addition, parents and students have been active with garbage clean up weekly before and after school, a group of parents have been painting the exterior doors and old building 1st & 2nd floors over the last year during the school day and we have had parents bring in groups of volunteers to support this work as well. The exterior bricolages have contributed greatly to the exterior work. A group of parents and community members are in the process of developing plans for the Gregory Side of the building and little by little, we are making progress and the results are looking great. We will continue to offer community events to help beautify the school in the future, but if you are interested in lending a hand during the day with painting the 2nd floor old building hallway or supporting the final stages of the mural please reach out to me at [email protected] and I will connect you with the parents leading the work. Happy Spring! Lori Zaimi Principal View the full newsletter in Spanish or English Greetings Peirce Families,
The past months events in Parkland Florida, remind us how important safety of our students really is - not just physical safety but also appropriate mental health supports. Our teachers, staff and school administration continue to work with our children so that every child feels welcome, safe, respected and has an adult that they can go to in any time of need - we are not perfect, but as a school we continue to grow and develop our relationships with the young people in our building. In January, students in 3rd-8th grades completed a student created survey. 91% of 3rd-5th graders and 89% of 6th-8th graders reported feeling safe at Peirce, 95% of 3rd-5th graders and 88% of 6th-8th graders said that they feel their teachers care about them - these numbers speak volumes to the relationships that are already in place in our building and the safe environment that we have created for our young people, but with that said we still have work to be done - with the goal of 100% of students feeling safe and that their teachers/adults in the building care about them. The results of the entire student survey will soon be shared with the school community. As parents, please remember that the children we see outside are all of our children, we are a community that must come together to support all of our kids, even in the most challenging situations. Continue to encourage your children to get to know the quiet kid, the kid who sits alone, the kid who does not play with others - we need to continue to make sure that all of our children are visible and not invisible. I look forward to a strong second half of the school year and am proud and honored to be a part of the Peirce Community. Warm Wishes, Lori Zaimi Principal Read the complete newsletter in Spanish or English. |
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PK Branch
5300 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60640 Phone: (773) 534-2234 Fax: (773) 534-2235 |
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