July 12, 2020
Director's Note
Dear Families,

Welcome to the first IvyNotes of the 2020-21 school year. I hope you had a good first week. We're happy to see all of our returning families and we welcome numerous new families to the Ivymount community.

A note about IvyNotes - since mid-March, we've been communicating with you primarily through email bulletins from me and direct emails from your student's Program Director and teachers. These important emails will continue, but IvyNotes will also return to its Sunday at 7 pm calendar. During the summer session, IvyNotes will be a pared down version with essential reminders and updates.

Remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit our COVID-19 section of the website for information about remote instruction and planning for reopening. This information will be refreshed as decisions are made.

I hope you continue to have a safe and healthy summer.

Sincerely,

Susan Holt
Executive Director
New Family Welcome
& PTA Meeting
There's still time to sign up for this week's virtual PTA events.

Join the PTA on Zoom Tuesday, July 14 as we welcome new Ivymount families during the New Family Welcome event. Stick around or log in for the PTA meeting to discuss ideas as to how the PTA can best support staff and families during these unpredictable times.

4:00 - 4:30 pm  – New Family Welcome
4:30 - 5:30 pm -   Summer PTA Meeting

We encourage all current Ivymount families to attend! 
New ideas and parent involvement are what make the PTA strong. If you have been unable to attend live PTA meetings, the summer virtual meeting is a great opportunity to join the PTA from home.

All RSVPs will receive a Zoom link to the meeting tomorrow, Monday, July 13.

If you have any questions, please contact PTA President Cindy Gottfried at ckgottfried@gmail.com . 

Reopening Survey for Families
Provide Your Input by July 15
We are committed to serving your children and are making plans for an eventual return to the Ivymount campus. Your input is critical to the planning process. We have created a survey to gather your input around key issues that will need to be addressed in our return to school plan.

By this Wednesday, July 15, we ask that you please complete the survey. Answer the questions based on what you know today. We understand that as new information becomes available and the situation evolves both locally and nationally, your thinking and your family situation may change.

Our Ivymount Pledge
Read Survey Results from May
Remote instruction continues for students during the summer session. Each program has a variety of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) classes and assignments designed to meet the varying needs of students.

Your feedback has been helpful as we continue to refine remote instruction and our e-Continuity of Learning Plan. Thank you for filling out the remote instruction family survey in May.

You can read a  Summary of Returning Family Responses on our website. 

Ivymount Outreach Activities
Thank you for contributing to our Outreach Survey. We were happy to hear your suggestions and have developed fun activities this summer based on your feedback. Please see the calendar below for a mix of week day, weekend and day and evening offerings.

We have included two weekend on-campus events, which we will host while following close attention to health and safety guidelines. Look for more information in an email this week.
Early Childhood Clinic
Returns to Campus
Last week, Ivymount took our first steps to returning to campus, after not having students onsite for more than four months. The Ivymount Outreach Program's Early Childhood Clinic welcomed students back on July 6.

We salute our dedicated staff, who carefully and cautiously prepared the spaces according to public health guidelines, and who are now delivering half-day ABA programming and other therapies in a modified fashion to five students, ages 2 to 5.

We were all excited about the fun and safe return to campus.
Helpful Links
Ivymount
School & Programs
301-469-0223