IMPORTANT REMINDER: SEMESTER 2 PLANNING + ACADEMIC MODEL IMPLEMENTATION

Last week, ICS sent out communication regarding the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year. In case you missed it, see the summary details below and access the complete message HERE.

Earlier this week, ICS CEO, Tim Mulherin, sent correspondence to Governor Eric Holcomb requesting he and his staff prioritize K-12 educators as an essential tier of workers as it relates to administering the critical Covid-19 vaccine. To read the complete correspondence, click HERE. This messaging supports concerns of many other local and statewide school leaders, teaching professionals and parents/guardians. Interested in supporting this message? Please consider contacting Governor Holcomb with your own message. Online communication can be submitted HERE. Parents/Guardians might also consider contacting the appropriate state representatives HERE.

ICS parents and students are reminded that assistance is needed with the care and responsibility of school-owned devices and power cords. This is especially important throughout the third quarter and is applicable to both our hybrid and virtual learning environments. Please note both parents and students are ultimately responsible for the cause of any damage per the signed Acceptable Use Policy Agreement. Should you find your student's device in need of repair or service, please contact Mr. Ashmore, ICS Director of IT, at cashmore@ics-charter.org or text (317) 939-1537.

Join us in welcoming Human Resources Director, Shari Coomer, to Irvington Community Schools. Shari started her new role on earlier this month and comes to us with more than 20 years of human resources experience, mostly in the non-profit sector. Prior to Irvington, Shari served as the HR Manager for Traders Point Christian Church. In this role her focus was employee benefits, policy and procedure development, FMLA and disability leaves, compliance, HR technology/processes, compensation, and support in culture initiatives. In her personal time, Shari enjoys spending time with her two teenage sons. They love to camp, watch movies, host game nights, and entertain friends and family (pre-and post-pandemic, of course!).  Welcome, Shari!

In case you missed the big announcement, The Indianapolis Public Library shared some great news that may prove helpful to many library patrons. The Library has officially announced the elimination of late fines citing the fees as a barrier for residents accessing critical library services. Ultimately, there should be no change to borrowing habits as library materials will still need to either be returned or renewed within 21 days of checkout. But if you are a little late, you just won’t get charged each day for being overdue. However, if an item is overdue for too long, the item will be considered “lost,” and you, the borrower, will be charged a replacement fee. And it is possible that patrons with large unpaid balances for a “lost item” and other fees may have borrowing privileges suspended and could be referred to a debt collection agency. In addition to this policy change, The Library has retroactively waived past due fines for the majority of their patrons. To see if your fines have been waived, click HERE to check in using your login credentials. To read more about this development, visit The Indianapolis Library's website HERE.

(Click HERE to find the list of 2020-2021 ICS Board Governors.)

Meeting Location: Irvington Community Middle School, 6040 E. Pleasant Run Parkway South Dr.

Meeting Time: 6 - 7:30 p.m.

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As part of the ICES Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum, counseling and teaching staff utilize a number of resources to support parents/guardians and students throughout the year. ICES is excited to share the most recent resource from Barefoot Books "Mindful Kids" mindfulness activities toolkit.

Not sure what the practice of mindfulness is? No worries! Just access the resource card image title "Cooking Up Connections" HERE. In this particular exercise, parents/guardians and students have the opportunity to walk through four attainable and meaningful steps to help stay grounded, find calmness, focus attention, experience self-acceptance and relax.

According to Ms. Hart, ICES School Counselor, "Cooking Up Connections" is an activity that encourages one to see how we're all connected when we eat nourishing food. And, since eating is something each one of us and our students participate in daily, this particular practice is a good way to remind ourselves of this connection with those around us. Thus, even if we might not be able to be present with one another at this moment, food reminds us that we are still dependent upon and serving one another through food. We invite parents/guardians to share this activity with their students.

This past Saturday, the ICES RoboRavens Teams had a fantastic robotics meet resulting in some incredible news as they learned they'd qualified to compete in the upcoming VEX State Championships scheduled for Saturday, March 6.

As ICS continues to prepare for a return to in-person classes for HYBRID students, ICMS students are reminded that the school dress code is promoted and enforced daily. To assist parents in preparation, dress code specifics are listed below:

If any student is in need of a red polo shirt, ICMS does have a few gently used (freshly laundered) donated shirts that can be provided in a variety of sizes (while supplies last and one per student per family.) If interested, email Ms. Deirdre Smith, ICMS School Counselor. All students will be expected to be in ICMS dress code starting on the first day of in-person classes.

TeenWorks NOW Accepting Applications for 2021 Summer Jobs Program

Calling all current sophomore and junior IPA students! Local non-profit community partner, TeenWorks, is currenty recruiting qualifying teens to fill 175 summer job positions for 2021. Teenworks offers teens work-based learning summer employment where experience is gained working in community farming, park beautification, school clean outs and other community- and project-based work. Teens work in groups of 10-12 and learn about financial literacy, resume writing, and professional etiquette and communication. Additionally, throughout the summer, teens visit college campuses, participate in mock interviews, and network with a variety of professionals from the community.

The application window is NOW open for the 2021 summer program and applications are accepted through Feb. 19, 2021. Interested in applying? Access the online application HERE or by emailing Ms. Brinsley, IPA Student Counselor. Please note that students must be able to work June 9 - July 16, 2021, 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.