Ivymount Staff were pleased with the amazing turnout we had for Back to School Night. We appreciate that so many parents and caregivers were able to attend. If you were not able to attend, you can access information from the workshops and the Information Fair tables in PDF form on our Family Portal. We have also included information shared by program staff for your reference. This information can be found on the Back to School Night page of the Family Portal. Search by department in the left green sidebar.
Click Here.
We hope you had a chance to speak with the teams who are working with your student, got a glimpse of what will be happening throughout the school year, and connected with fellow parents. We also hope you found the B2SN Information Fair format a helpful way to gather information about the classroom and beyond.
Special thanks to those who had dual roles - as parents and as school community leaders - for speaking at Back to School Night: Cindy Gottfried, PTA President, and Jenn Berzok and Melissa Flaim, Ivymount Foundation Gala Co-Chairs
.
Watch our short video for a snapshot of the evening.
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Important dates for the upcoming week:
If interested, please
register by this Friday, September 20 for Outreach After-school Programs
, which begin Tuesday, September 24th. See below for a link to the catalog.
We're looking forward to the
PTA Back to School Family Festival on Saturday, September 21
. The PTA requests that you
register by tomorrow
.
Have a great week,
Susan Holt,
School Director
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Monday, September 30
Non-Instructional Day
No School for students and staff
Friday, October 4
Professional Day
No School for students
Wednesday, October 9
Non-Instructional Day
No School for students and staff
Wednesday, November 27
to Friday, November 29
No School for students and staff
Thanksgiving holiday
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Help Ivymount as you Shop!
Are you an Amazon shopper? If so, you can support Ivymount every time you shop by ordering through smile.amazon.com. There, you will find the same product selection and shopping experience you would find on Amazon.com. On your first visit to AmazonSmile, select Ivymount to direct donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping and Amazon will donate a portion of each purchase price to the Ivymount School each visit.
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Outreach After-School Clubs
Art, Modified Football, Cooking
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After-school Clubs start Sept. 24
Register Now
Outreach Saturday programs got off to a great start yesterday. We are now registering for our after-school clubs, which start next Tuesday, September 24.
Sign up now so your child can stay after-school on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays to participate in Art, Modified Football or Cooking club.
The deadline to register is Friday, September 20
. View our
Fall Catalog
for additional details.
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Program for High School &
Post High School Students
Students in Ivymount's MLN – High School, PHS, MAP-High School and Secondary Autism Program are invited to join the
2019-2020 High School Best Buddies program
.
This is Ivymount's 19th year of involvement with the Best Buddies organization! Best Buddies is an international program dedicated to providing social connections and the opportunity for friendship between individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability and their non-disabled peers. Please note that even if you applied last year, you will need to re-apply this year.
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The deadline for your Best Buddies application is October 1, 2019.
Once you have completed your online application, please notify Lydia Neher at
lneher@ivymount.org
for a list of the proposed dates for the group events.
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Successful organizations often require people to wear many hats, and Ivymount’s Lee Oppenheim wears about as many hats as there are moving parts on the campus. As Director of Finance and Operations, and the organization’s Incident Commander, Lee leads multiple teams that are responsible for complex accounting and financial compliance, facilities and parking, IT systems, plus safety and security for students and staff.
During her 23 years at Ivymount, Lee has overseen major renovation projects, introduced new technology, and created new accounting systems. She also negotiates most of the major contracts for the Ivymount Corporation. From securing long-awaited new stage curtains, to negotiating leases, to improving IT functioning, to spearheading the installation of new playground equipment and a brand new sport court, to rolling out new emergency communications technology, Lee is at the heart of major improvements at Ivymount School and the Maddux School.
“The goal for me and my teams is to ensure the financial health of our organizations while at the same time ensuring the physical and electronic safety and security of our students and staff.”
An Advocate for Safety
Recognizing the national concern over violence in schools, Lee has recently undertaken a multi-year effort to improve school safety and security through advocacy, capital improvements, and training. “We need to provide an environment where everyone feels safe so they can learn and thrive,” says Lee. “To accomplish this, we need to provide physical security as well as training that is adapted for our students. Safety and security have become essential components of school life.”
Lee’s outreach with MANSEF to state legislators has resulted in the inclusion of nonpublic schools in safety legislation - Senate Bill 318 (see photo of Lee, back row, celebrating passage of the bill). She's also helped secure representation on the Maryland State School Safety Advisory Board, creation of grant opportunities, and allocation of designated funding for safety initiatives.
Ivymount has secured $250,000 in state and county grants for security upgrades, such as the new Visitor Management system, added security cameras, and enhanced safety features in the building lobby.
Representing Ivymount, Lee has been a key member of a statewide task force which is creating new curriculum guidelines for emergency preparedness for individuals with disabilities. Once finalized, they will be incorporated into the state department of education’s guidelines and shared nationally.
Underlying all of Lee’s diverse efforts is a desire to care for the Ivymount community that has become an integral part of her own family’s life over more than two decades. “The students, staff, and Ivymount are also my family and my home,” says Lee. “I try to take care of them with that in mind.”
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FOSTER COMMUNITY AS
A ROOM PARENT
Thank you so much to parents who signed up to be room parents! We still have 7 classes without Room Parents. We need room parents in rooms:
180
204
206
231
237
241
245
If your child is in one of the rooms above, please consider volunteering to be a room parent! There are other classrooms with one parent, though there are two slots in most rooms. So, feel free to sign up as a co-room parent. Our goals is to have
at least one
room parent per classroom.
Being a room parent can be done completely remotely and via email. Help create a sense of community within your classroom and help facilitate communication regarding class parties between the teacher and parents. This is a small time commitment and has a significant positive impact.
Click on the button below for more information on being a room parent and to volunteer:
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ALL ABOARD!
BACK TO SCHOOL FAMILY FESTIVAL.
RSVP by September 16 if you plan to attend. We hope to see you there!
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Box Tops
You can now
scan
Box Tops and the PTA will earn .10 per scanned Box Top.
You’ll need to install the Box Tops app on your phone and look up Ivymount School in order to get started
. For more information click on this link:
You can also still clip box tops and we will be collecting those soon, so please keep clipping and now scanning! Any questions, please contact Karrin Lukacs at
karrin.lukacs@gmail.com
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DONATION DRIVE SUPPORTS PTA
As a parent of an Ivymount student, you’re automatically a member of the PTA. The PTA strives to create a sense of community for our geographically distributed parents as well as recognize our amazing staff throughout the school year. The PTA has no required dues, however, we rely primarily on donations from Ivymount parents and guardians to fund family events and staff appreciation activities. Any amount contribution is welcome and very much appreciated.
Click here
to print out the PTA Donation Drive form listed in the right sidebar of the Ivymount PTA page. You can return it via backpack, attention PTA. See more details on the form, and thank you for your support.
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Monday - Friday
9:05 - 9:30 a.m.
Friday
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m
Monday - Friday
2 - 2:45 p.m.
Gator Lunch Shop
Monday
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Tuesday lunch delivery
(See updated menu.)
Opens late September
Ice Cream Business
Wednesday 12:15 p.m.
Friday 2:45 p.m.
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Check out our social media pages for all things Ivymount. Click on the icons below and follow us now!
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Ivymount
School & Programs
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