Dear Ivymount Families,
Thank you for participating in Winter Spirit Week. It was fun to see the mustaches, team wear, and hats, scarves and mittens that perfectly landed on a snowy day.
We finished off the week with an amazing Sing Off featuring twelve talented students, and a drive-through parade. See below for details and photos.
During the break, we sincerely hope that you can spend quality downtime with your close family to rest up and get ready for the new year. Our Mental Health Team has some ideas on self-care. Read the article below for some thought-provoking concepts that might make for good discussion around the dinner table.
Also make sure to check out the third edition of The Ivymount Times, produced by MLN students.
IvyNotes will be taking a break until Sunday, January 3. Wishing you many joyful moments until then. I so am thankful for our amazing Ivymount community.
Sincerely,
Susan Holt
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Upcoming Events
Monday, December 21 to Friday, January 1
Winter Break
No School for Students/Staff
Monday, January 18
Martin Luther King Holiday
No School for Students/Staff
Tuesday/Wednesday
January 19/20
Non-Instructional Days
No School for Students/Staff
Tuesday, January 26
January PTA Meeting
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If you're holiday shopping on Amazon, remember that your purchases can also help the Ivymount Foundation. These funds support staff training, technology and other materials for your student.
Click to learn how to designate Ivymount as your AmazonSmile recipient.
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Holiday Sing Off Champions Crowned |
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In the words of Ivymount student Ahnya, “All I want for Christmas are virtual things,” and that’s how The Holiday Sing Off 2020 went. More than 100 students, their families, and staff joined the virtual Sing Off.
Wearing their holiday hats, sweaters, and even one student adorned with lights, twelve artists shared their recorded performances: Cecelia played piano/sang Frosty the Snowman, Harrison performed Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah, Aden sang My Favorite Things, Avery delivered a comedy sketch, Naveen the Great performed a magic trick, Isabella sang I Thank God, Braeden performed holiday favorite I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Carly played the ukulele and sang Feliz Navidad, Michael sang Holly Jolly Christmas, Lenny performed Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, 2-time Sing Off champ Ahnya dropped an original song - Virtual Things, and Harrison ended with a rendition of You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.
With so many awesome performances, the judges had a real dilemma to come up with a winner. “The judges were stuck. They had a hard time choosing the top three,” said host Keith Lester as he thanked all the participants.
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And the Sing Off Champions Are....
Featuring beloved holiday classics....
First place:
Cecilia – Frosty the Snowman
Second place:
Michael – Holly Jolly Christmas
Third place:
Carly – Feliz Navidad
Congratulations to all the performers!
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"Snow Great" to
See Autism Families
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The Autism program team braved the chilly temps and snow to catch a quick glimpse of their students in a winter break send-off parade through the Ivymount parking lot. Our thanks to the many families who ventured out to take part. As one staff member wrote on her poster, "We miss you SNOW MUCH!" |
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Ivymount Resources to Help Care for Your Mental Health
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The 2020 holiday season has its own unique challenges that some might find difficult on top of the usual stressors of this time of year - inability to gather with loved ones, financial concerns, uncertainty about future plans. Winter break may be an opportunity to slow down and think about how to take care of your family's mental health.
Here is a recap of recent presentations from Michael Stromberg, Ivymount Mental Health Lead, given to help families cope with the ongoing stress of raising a youth with special needs during a pandemic. You can find recordings of the three presentations on our YouTube channel. And you can read and download the attached article. The mental health team looks forward to resuming its monthly series in the new year.
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Mental Health in the Time of COVID
Self-Care, Self-Compassion, and Building Family Resiliency
We’re all trying to take care of ourselves and our families during this stressful time, but doing so is often easier said than done. With children home all day, distance learning, parenting responsibilities, work demands, health concerns, lack of services, and social isolation, it can all add up to the perfect storm. And the storm can be even stronger for those managing the additional stressors of caring for children and young adults with special needs.
Stress can impact family functioning, relationships within the family, and individual family member functioning. That’s why it’s so important to think about and take specific actions to take care of ourselves, be compassionate, and strengthen the family unit.
Here are four areas the Ivymount Mental Health Team recommends that we all consider to help manage stress in the time of COVID and beyond.
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MLN Publishes Holiday-Focused Issue of The Ivymount Times |
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Did you know that the famously red Santa suit was not always red, and in fact was once an iconic Ivymount color? Can you predict how much snow our area might receive and why? Those are just two of the many interesting topics you'll read about in the third edition of The Ivymount Times.
Produced by MLN students in the Site Based Work Experience class, the December newspaper also covers historical events and people, best video games of 2020, and fun recipes and games. Students researched article topics, completed graphic organizers, and wrote articles based on published sources.
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Best Buddies Celebrates Holiday |
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This past Sunday, Best Buddies gathered virtually in festive gear to celebrate the holidays with a themed Kahoot trivia. The large group later broke out into smaller rooms for fellowship and to decorate paper gingerbread men. Lots of chatting about holiday plans, favorite holiday movies and traditions were shared. Good times!
For more information about Best Buddies, contact Outreach Coordinator, Lmya Ahmed at lahmed@ivymount.org.
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IvyMoves Set to Kick Off in January |
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When we return from winter break, we are kicking off our second annual IvyMoves month!!! Our goal is to improve the Ivymount community’s overall health and wellness by creating positive lifelong habits. This year, the PE team will be providing daily suggestions for movement, a live after-school workout session each Wednesday, and the month will culminate with a virtual community ZamDance event on January 30. We will also share videos on nutrition and activity to promote overall healthy living.
As a community, we aim to reach at least 1,000 hours of activity within the month of January. We will provide a way for you to enter your minutes of family activity per week so start keeping track on January 1. We'll post a tally each Sunday in IvyNotes to show how we are doing. Just like with Spirit Week, we will encourage students to upload an image or video to FlipGrid about how they're staying active. We look forward to celebrating with you and seeing your activity!
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Save These Dates for PTA Events
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Parent/Caregiver Hangouts
Wednesday, January 13
7 - 8 pm
Thursday, February 11
7 - 8 pm
Monday,March 8
7 - 8 pm
PTA Meeting
Tuesday, January 26
7 - 8 pm
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PTA Family Craft Event
Save the date and the cardboard from your rolls of toilet paper. We will be making snowmen with them!
Sunday, January 10
2 - 3 pm
Zoom link to follow soon.
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PTA Awards Staff Gift Cards
Congratulations to the latest winners of our monthly raffle to say thank you to Ivymount staff for all their dedication and hard work. The December winners are:
- Gisel Ortiz
- Courtney Clarke
- Amanda Allex
- Sabrina Weaver
- Laura Kapner
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Ivymount
School & Programs
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