IvyNotes

January 15, 2023

A Note from the Director

Dear families,

A reminder that there is no school tomorrow due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. See below for some ways we honored Dr. King's legacy and advocacy this past week.

Throughout January, we're also continuing to talk with students about the benefits of movement and exercise as a way to stay healthy. Scroll down to see how we're doing on our steps challenge and mark your calendars to join us onsite for our community ZamDance event on Saturday, January 28. I also encourage you to plan to attend the next PTA meeting. We would love to see you here.

Have a good Monday.

Sincerely,

Susan Holt

NEWS YOU NEED RIGHT NOW!

Ivymount School

Dates to Remember

January 16

No School

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

January 28

IvyMoves ZamDance Family Event

10 am - 11 am

Onsite at Ivymount

Ivymount Honors Martin Luther King Jr.

Students can check out books from the Ivymount library to help honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ivymount's media specialist, Mr. T, has even selected his top 3 books that students can read to celebrate.

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation
My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Each book is suitable for all ages and tells a story about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Learning About MLK in the Classroom

Students in the Aspire Program spent the week discussing Martin Luther King, Jr (MLK). Elementary students in 236 began by discussing MLK and why we have a day to celebrate him. They discussed why he is a significant public figure and why we would use our Social Justice class to learn more about him and his impact on our society. Students then learned about his three very important achievements, and how he achieved such success.

In 234, students discussed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his impact on civil rights in America. Students began the lesson learning why we celebrate MLK day and then went into a discussion about causes that Dr. King believed in. This lead to discussing causes the students believe in and want more people to be involved with. Students ended the class by creating presentations about causes such as climate change, financial equality, racial equality, and animal rights.

Halfway There for IvyMoves Month!

Ivymount's goal this month is to improve the community’s overall health and wellness by creating positive lifelong habits that support our physical, emotional, and mental health. Our in-school step challenge has students "Stepping Out of this World" to reach 1 million steps in PE classes, recorded on provided pedometers. So far, students have reached a total of 521,161 steps!

Building Healthy Eating Habits

Students in the Aspire Elementary/Middle Program learned about healthy eating this week. Teachers introduced students to the MyPlate resource and reviewed the five main food groups: grains, protein, vegetables, fruit, and dairy. After identifying different foods in each group, as well as their health benefits, students created their own ‘plates’ of food.

Better When We're Dancin'

For #IvyMoves month, the APE team created a dance for everyone to learn. Students will practice in their classrooms and PE classes and we hope to collect videos of classes performing these moves at the end of the month. We encourage you to practice these moves at home too! We slowed the video slightly to make it accessible for all our dancers to learn and practice.

#IvyMoves - Better When I'm Dancin video

Join the IvyMoves Community Event

Saturday, January 28

10 am - 11 am at Ivymount

Wrap up IvyMoves Month with a community event at Ivymount. Current families, alumni, and Outreach families are invited to join a one-hour ZamDance session that combines fitness moves with basic dance moves, set to high-energy music. Bring your sneakers, water bottle, and a move you want to show off during Shine Time. Designed for children and adults of all abilities!

Order Valentine's Day Cards

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and the Vocational Center is now accepting orders for Valentine's Cards!

Simply fill out an order form, place your form and cash money (no checks) in an envelope, and send it in your student's backpack or have them place it in the folder labeled Gator Card Business Order Forms on the window outside of the Voc Center (Room 210). Each card is handmade by our high school students, comes packaged with an envelope, and is $1.00 per card. Orders are due by the end of the day on Monday, January 23.

Click Here for Order Form

PTA NEWS AND UPDATES

Great to See You!

Thank you to the parents who joined us for the Parent and Caregiver hangout! It was a great group of parents, new and long-standing to Ivymount. We laughed, cried and were able to share in a judgement free space. Be on the lookout soon for a date for the next parent caregiver hangout in February. We hope many of you can make it.

Attend the Next PTA Meeting

Wednesday, February 1

9:30 -10:30 am

Onsite at Ivymount School

This will be our first in-person PTA meeting since the start of the pandemic! We hope you are able to attend to share ideas and meet other parents. All Ivymount parents and guardians are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Plan the Spring Family Event

We are looking for two parents willing to coordinate our spring event. If you are interested in helping out, all planning can be done remotely. We're seeing a huge positive impact on our amazing Ivymount community when we bring families together for social events. Help us plan an event you would love to attend! If you are interested please email, Cindy Gottfried - ckgottfried@gmail.com