News from our Principal

June 15th, 2022 Update

Hi IJP Stakeholders!

​

I hope your first day of summer vacation went well! We were busy getting our classrooms cleaned up and, believe it or not, discussing what we’ll do over the summer to be ready for next school year. We did take some time to reflect on all we accomplished this year and figured out why we are exhausted! We went through pictures of the year and saw a remarkable amount of learning and fun that we had. From the Walkathon Slime Time, to Family Masses, House service and collaborative projects, the Holy Fire retreat for Junior High, Trunk or Treat, Catholic Schools Week fun, band and choir concerts, science fair success, Martin Luther King, Jr. presentations, and Day of the Dead altar, etc.! We continued to spruce up our library with our Readathon funds, are adding air conditioning to the older parts of the building, and starting on our new PreK-K playground this week. We’re also updating bathrooms, changing lights in the gym, and redoing all of our wiring to have better wifi. Whew. It will be exciting to return in August!

Registration

Please know that all families who re-enrolled for next school year have received their packet of information. Registration is July 12 from 2:00-7:00pm in the IJP Church Hall. You can drop your packet off ahead of time at the school office or do express drop off on July 12 as well. Summer office hours are Tuesday- Thursday 8:30-11:30am. You can also slide it into the mail slot at door A. 

Student/Parent Handbook

By the time you are ready to register on July 12, our updates will be complete to our Student/Parent Handbook. We are asking that you read it in its entirety and sign the form in your registration packet agreeing to uphold all of our procedures and protocols. As you clearly know, things go more smoothly when we all work together to follow the rules. As a result, more time can be spent educating kids than monitoring compliance. There are a couple of things I’d like to bring to your attention:

• Uniform policy- please plan to adhere strictly to our uniform policy. We let a lot slide this year knowing that it was a tough year for everyone. 

  • Students need to wear BLACK bottoms, not navy, going forward. These bottoms need to adhere to the policy and be uniform SLACKS, not leggings, tights, jeans, cargos, sweats, etc. Please be sure you are purchasing the right items (Schoolbelles, Old Navy Uniform). 

  • Students can wear all black, all white, all RED, or a combination of the three colors GYM shoes to school everyday. No other colors are acceptable on the shoe. Red gym shoes were suggested by a sixth grader, and we all agreed that they would be fine. Sometimes students can wear different shoes, and you will be notified of this in advance via ClassDojo. 

  • Fridays are IJP Spirit Days. Students can wear an IJP top of any kind but still need to be in regular uniform bottoms and regular uniform gym shoes. 

  • Please plan to have students’ hair their natural color by the time school starts. No dye (even natural colors) are allowed. 

• Supply list- this is included in the Registration packet but may need some tweaking. We will have a revised list at Registration and will send it out again via email after its revisions. We are waiting to see what our enrollment numbers will be before we can make decisions about whether or not to add additional classes in some grades. It may affect whether or not fifth grade is with the intermediate or junior high divisions and will therefore affect the supply order. Also, there is the addition of a recorder for grades 2-8 for music. 

Thanks for your patience as we continue to work on these areas.

One Book, One IJP

For the first time maybe in the history of IJP, we’d like to suggest a book for ALL of us to read this summer. We have chosen Wonder by R.J. Palacio! It is the story of August (Auggie) Pullman, a fifth grade student who was born with a facial difference. Auggie is going to a mainstream school for the first time and faces hardships and extraordinary kindness throughout his year. We love how through this story we can reinforce our IJP tenets of being kind and respectful to all. We will discuss the book, complete activities, and watch the movie together upon our return to school in August. We would LOVE it if you all read it, too! 

Summer Slide

As mentioned in previous communication, it is very important that students use their brain muscles this summer to prevent “summer slide.” iReady lessons in reading and math are available through July 31. We will have an iReady Store to reward those students who worked on lessons this summer. Also, please have students work on the automaticity of math facts! Flashcards, drills and practice, and computer games are all great ways to practice them. Perhaps you already signed up for the Flossmoor Library Summer Reading Program, and now you can also read WONDER together! 

Spanish Pilot

If your child was one of the fifty to do the Spanish pilot program through Rosetta Stone, please be sure that you answer the survey questions sent to you in an email. I’d like to make a decision about next year’s use soon and need your feedback. 

Thanks for all your support and strength on this journey together this school year! We are looking forward to some time to refresh and rejuvenate so we’re ready for school year 2022-2023! Enjoy your summer and stay safe! Perhaps we’ll see you at church!