Dear Ivymount Families,
Boom! And here we are in the final week of the summer session. Congratulations to our students, all of you, and our staff for your accomplishments this summer. Our students have continued to amaze us as they continue to meet new challenges with increased flexibility and new ways of learning. Thank you for your partnership during this unprecedented time. We appreciate your commitment to our collaboration as we work together to provide the best remote program for your child. You have heard our call for innovative ideas and thinking outside the box and we appreciate your feedback. We are in this situation together, and our togetherness is required to meet this challenge.
None of us would have imagined starting the 20-21 school year with a remote Ivymount program. Starting the year off virtually has impacted our students in many ways including not participating
in person
in social and community milestones such as moving to a new classroom or grade band (i.e., elementary to middle, middle to high, high to post-high) as well as meeting new classmates and teacher/therapists in person. While recognizing health as the priority, we all share disappointment that our students did not have these start of the year experiences. Given this, I am proud that we have still had a successful start to the school year while working together in our student's best interests.
As of now, we continue with our plan to begin the fall semester with remote instruction and to reassess and report to you by the monthly benchmark dates previously laid out. The Montgomery County Public Health Department did issue a directive this past Friday: "Citing the need to protect the health and safety of Montgomery County residents as well as parents, students, teachers and staff from the spread of COVID-19, County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles today directed nonpublic schools in Montgomery County to remain closed for in-person instruction through Oct. 1, 2020. The health officer will reevaluate the order before Oct. 1 to determine if it should be extended, terminated or amended in any way."
The Health Officer Directive
goes into effect Monday, Aug. 3." This does not impact our current plans since we are already scheduled to be remote until Oct 1, at the earliest. Together with our board of directors, we will continue to follow state and local directives in making decisions to return to campus for in-person learning.
We will continue to gather input from families in the coming days on our Return to Campus Plan. We ask that you fill out a quick survey about two key pillars in our safety plan; mask-wearing and social distancing. See below. We will continue to work with you and your students on any challenges in these areas.
This will be the final issue of our Sunday night IvyNotes until we return at the end of August. I will send Update emails if we have anything further to announce before then. Keep your eyes open for an email from the PTA for their first PTA Family Zoom.
Please see below for opportunities for families on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Don't forget to follow our Facebook page where you can see more of our students' art. The art above is in the style of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein's work that elevated comic book art. Way to go Ivymount Artists!
Wishing you and your families ongoing health and comfort.
Sincerely,
Susan Holt
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Face Mask Tolerance
Take Our Survey
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With face mask requirements in place in many states, it's imperative that Ivymount students practice wearing masks so that they can continue to participate in the community and in school when it returns to on-campus instruction.
We recognize that wearing masks can be challenging due to sensory sensitivities, difficulty breathing, and change in routine. We ask that you fill out our very quick survey. Your answers will help guide our programming for the 2020-21 school year.
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Mental Health Support
Ivymount Parent Event this Thursday
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The COVID-19 pandemic has created a stressful environment for most families. Parents with children with special needs have additional stress due to increased levels of caregiving, managing distance learning, ongoing social isolation, and overall lack of predictability and certainty.
The stress created by COVID-19 may result in significant mental health challenges for students, parents, guardians, and caregivers. To help identify the signs of mental health concerns, and to provide resources and tools to manage them, Ivymount is hosting a virtual Parent Information Night via Zoom .
Please join us for a presentation by Michael Stromberg, Ivymount's Mental Health Lead. It will be followed by a question and answer session. We hope to see you there!
Parent Information Night
Managing Mental Health During COVID-19
Thursday, Aug 6
5 - 6 pm
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Map Students Discuss Diversity
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MAP elementary students started a Social Justice class this summer. In a recent activity, students discussed, W
hat do you think of when you hear the words difference and diversity?
Together, they created word maps to answer the question.
The class also listened to a read-aloud,
It’s Okay to Be Different
, by Todd Parr. After every few pages, they stopped to talk about what the book was teaching (e.g., is the book silly, serious or a little of each?), and as a class, discussed why it is important to have lots of different kinds of people in a class community. As a wrap up to the lesson, students were asked to create their own pages for a class
It’s Okay to Be Different,
book.
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In science, MLN students have been learning about the Earth, Sun, Moon and Stars and the way they interact - the “Big Idea.”
Understanding how the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon move through space helps us make sense of what we see in the sky during the day and at night. It also helps explain concepts of time, seasons, and astronomical phenomena such as solar and lunar eclipses.
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Reminders - Vote for Us, Forms Due
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Remember to Vote for Ivymount!
Ivymount is a finalist in the Washington Parent Picks Special Needs School category. The school with the most votes from now to August 21st wins. Can you help put Ivymount on top? You can vote once per day.
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Care Monkey
Digital Forms
Remember to set up your CareMonkey account for digital student forms. You should have received an email from CareMonkey inviting you to create your CareMonkey account. Check your Spam or Junk folder if you did not receive an invitation in your inbox.
Please complete the Google Apps and Online Subscription Consent forms now.
The Combined Medical Forms are due in August, when all other annual forms and documents will be made available in preparation for the fall.
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Outreach Program
Summer Activities
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We had a “blast” today at Ivymount with our outdoor Mad Science Event!
Thanks to all the staff and families that participated in our Outreach onsite events this summer; we are in the planning stages for more onsite events for late August and September
This week we have two virtual events planned. On
Tuesday at 4pm
, we will be cooking up brownies in a mug with Ms. Frida and chatting while we enjoy our snack together.
Then on
Friday at 7pm
we’re hosting trivia night for the whole family! We will have a mix of easy, challenging and random trivia questions and prizes for all the teams that participate. Recommended cost is $10 per family. For planning purposes, please sign up early if you plan to attend.
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PTA Plans
Family Zoom Sessions
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Dear Ivymount Families,
Thank you to the many parents who attended our first virtual PTA meeting and New Family Welcome. During what was our best attended PTA meeting to date, we were able to share our appreciation for all that Ivymount has done and continues to do for our families as well as share the need for additional parent support.
As a result of parent input during the PTA meeting, we will be starting PTA Family Zoom sessions, where Ivymount families can talk about what has worked for their children and families during these challenging times, as well as areas of challenge. We are planning on having additional Family Zoom sessions touching on particular issues that parents are having.
Our first Family Zoom will be a more unstructured opportunity to chat with each other, as well as get additional ideas for future Family Zooms. We will email in the coming week with the exact date of the first PTA Family Zoom. We hope many of you are able to attend.
The PTA email will also include information about:
- The date for the next virtual PTA meeting
- Room Parent role and sign up
- Updates as to how the PTA is currently supporting Ivymount Staff
Even though we are virtual, the PTA is committed to supporting Ivymount staff and families. We need your participation more than ever in generating creative ideas for how to provide the support.
Thank You,
The Ivymount PTA
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Ivymount
School & Programs
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