Dear Ivymount Families,
Hoping many of you will be able to join us for the PTA Meeting Tuesday evening. Now more than ever, it is important for all of us to take time to connect as a community. Special thanks to our active PTA's Executive Committee for ensuring we have these opportunities.
Ivymount is firmly committed to safely returning students to campus, and we know that our students need to be together and instructed in person. We hope to share with you a phased return to campus plan in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we will continue to gather information from all of you, staff, and our public school partners while processing the research, data and guidance.
-
While we are encouraged by the federal and state ambition to reopen schools, we still recognize the significantly high numbers nationally and locally. Last week, New Cases per 100K in Montgomery County was 43 and Maryland was 46. Maryland Guidance originally advised schools to move to virtual instruction at 15 cases per 100K. All jurisdictions remain solidly within the “highest risk” level (200 or above) in CDC Indicators for Dynamic School Reopening with cumulative over past 14 preceding days MC = 622, PG = 751, FFX = 694, DC = 566).
-
While there is growing positive evidence about schools and transmission, we need to be able to safely implement the CDC recommended mitigation strategies as a community. We also need to ensure high-risk students and staff have been identified and their needs addressed. The campus is ready, we have ample PPE and cohorting/social distancing plans. Our Prevention, Preparedness, and Response plan is up to date and agile to respond to new guidance and research.
-
Thank you so much for participating in our January Family Survey. Your input is invaluable as we actively work towards a phased return to on-site programs. We were pleased to have 171 responses proportionate with enrollment by jurisdiction, grade and program size. Please see results here - January Family Survey Results.
- The survey reported that 56% plan to return when available, 12% do not plan to return this year, 32% reported maybe. The respondents who reported “maybe” commented that they want more information on the plan, are waiting on vaccination, have concerns about transportation, hope to ensure staff comfort, mentioned the high community numbers, and have concerns about at-risk students or family members.
- We were pleased to see the progress students have made with wearing masks and social distancing - 96% were reported to be tolerating masks.
- We value your partnership and recognize that only 26% of our students were reported to navigate the day independently without adult support and 30% of our students need full support in order to access instruction.
|
|
Finally, please join me in thanking our PE department - Anthony, Tim, Carley and Jess for hosting IvyMoves and helping us bring in the new year with health and movement as a priority. Let's continue to move and record your minutes in our tracker (see below) so that we can end the month by reaching our 1,000-hour community movement goal. Mark your calendars for this Wednesday's After-School Movement Bingo and Saturday's Outreach IvyMoves event with Ivymount Alumni Staff, Jackie Zamora's ZamDance.
Sincerely,
Susan Holt
Executive Director
|
|
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, January 26
Ivymount PTA Meeting
Wednesday, January 27
IvyMoves After-School Session
Saturday, January 30
IvyMoves Virtual ZamDance
Week of February 1
Outreach Recreational Programs Begin
Wednesday, February 3
Project SEARCH
Information Session
|
|
Inclement Weather Reminder
In the event of inclement weather, virtual learning, including Related Services, will continue as scheduled. We plan to follow our schedule independent of decisions made by Local School Systems.
Should weather conditions impact your ability to participate, due to power or connectivity challenges, please notify your Program Director when you are able, or call 301-469-0223 and leave a voicemail.
|
|
We are beyond pleased to announce that over 80 staff have received their first vaccination. The experience has moved many of us as we have shared the excitement of watching each other get vaccinated. Staff have been extremely proactive and diligent at navigating the system to schedule vaccinations and will continue to do so. We hope by next week to hear from Montgomery County in order to make the vaccine available to all of our staff. #Science #Ivymountstaffareamazing
We know that many families also desire to have their students aged 16 and older vaccinated. On January 18, the state of Maryland opened vaccines to people in its Phase 1B category, including people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). Montgomery County Council has said it has not yet received enough vaccine to inoculate everyone in Phase 1A/1B. It encourages people to pre-register at: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/
Parents and caregivers can follow an active discussion on advocating for vaccines for the disability community through the Ivymount PTA listserv. If you are interested in joining the listserv, email Ivymount parent Melissa Porter. You will receive an invite to join; be sure to check your spam folder for the invite.
State Reopening Guidelines
Maryland and Virginia released new reopening guidelines for K-12 schools. You can find them here:
|
|
Related Services
During Remote Learning
|
|
As the pandemic continues, we understand that some families are choosing to travel outside the DMV for periods of time while remote learning is in session. While we are grateful your student can continue to attend classes while traveling, we want to ensure you understand the impacts of travel on your student's individualized education program (IEP) and the provision of related services.
Related service providers’ licensure and ability to provide services are regulated by each state (where the student is currently located), and we are not necessarily able to provide telehealth services to your student if they travel or currently reside outside of Maryland, DC or Virginia. This impacts the requirement that we provide your student with their full IEP, and may require us to schedule an IEP meeting with the local education agency. Please consider these impacts before making travel plans and notify us prior to traveling. Thank you for your understanding and support.
|
|
IvyMoves Enters Final Week |
|
This is the final week of IvyMoves Month and together we need to move for 360.75 hours to reach our combined goal of 1,000 hours of fitness! Sound difficult? It's not actually, if we each do just one hour(!) of activity and record our minutes.
It takes less than a minute to USE OUR ACTIVITY TRACKER to enter your total minutes of family activity for this week by Friday, January 29. Last week, participants logged 213 hours of community movement for a three-week total of 639.25 hours. We're almost to our goal!
|
|
Join our final two
live group movement sessions!
|
|
After-School Virtual Movement Bingo
Wednesday, Jan 27, 4 - 4:45 pm
Featuring a variety of fun movements and prizes!
|
|
|
|
Outreach Program's IvyMoves Community Virtual Event featuring ZamDance
Saturday, Jan 30, 10 - 11 am
Meeting ID: 837 5413 3581
Passcode: IvyEvent21
Join us on Zoom for a high-energy hour of fitness, dance, music and fun for all ages and abilities. Invite your family and friends. This event is open to the community. Get your water and get ready to sweat and have a great time!
|
|
Let's Keep Moving!
See below for a calendar of IvyMoves Month exercises for this coming week. Today's movement is a butterfly stretch! The goal of IvyMoves month is to improve the Ivymount community’s overall health and wellness by creating positive lifelong habits. Take five each day with the family to do just one move!
|
|
Students Take Virtual Adventures |
|
Students in the Middle/Secondary Autism Program “travel” to a new location on the Super Bus each week as part of a virtual Field Trip with ABA Instructor, Mr. Scott Herlein. Recent trips include the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Kanai Fjords in Alaska, Yellowstone National Park, and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. This past week, students visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture and learned about Martin Luther King Jr.
The trips include videos, interactive virtual tours, and some very cool special effects! The Super Bus song (composed and sung by Mr. Scott, himself!) is a particular hit with everyone.
|
|
Peace Artwork Expresses Hope |
|
|
|
Art teacher Kimberly Prati recently worked with students on a lesson called Peace Out. They discussed Martin Luther King Jr's message of peace, then studied the art of Romero Britto, a Brazilian artist known for communicating peace, love, and hope into his vibrant designs.
Students then created a peace sign in the style of Romero Britto. Here are some of the designs from MLN HS students Nolan, Michael, Edward, and Nicole.
|
|
Outreach Opens Spring Registration |
|
It's time to register for Ivymount Outreach Spring Educational and Recreational Programs.
All Outreach programs are led by Ivymount's expert teachers and therapists. They have been adjusted as needed to respond to the virtual environment of the pandemic.
Educational programs will run for 12 weeks, starting March 6 to June 12. They include:
- Unstuck and OnTarget!
- Game Time
- Secrets of Friendship
- Self-Advocacy Program
Recreational Programs will run for 8 weeks after school, starting the week of February 1 to March 26. They include:
- Games group
- Cooking Club
- IvyMoves Club
|
|
If you're in a position to contribute, Ivymount's school-wide food drive in support of Manna Food Center is accepting items until Feb 12. You can drop items in the contact-less donation box located in the Ivymount vestibule from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. Please wear a mask when entering the vestibule.
Most needed items are: Instant Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Whole Grain Pasta, Canned Vegetable & Fruit, Fruit cups, Tuna, Salmon, & Chicken in water, Dry or Canned Beans, Natural Nut Butters, Shelf Stable Individual Milk boxes, Cooking Oil & Spices, and Infant Formula & Baby Foods. Manna will not accept soda, cakes, cookies, or candy.
|
|
PTA Meeting
Tuesday, January 26
7 pm on Zoom
Ivymount Families are welcome to join us for this week's PTA meeting. Meet other Ivymount parents and guardians while bringing your ideas for staff appreciation and virtual family events.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 889 8747 6111
Passcode: 648525
|
|
PTA Dues Drive Update
Thank you to the many families who have donated to the PTA during the past few months. We understand that not everyone is able to contribute at this time. If you are able to donate, the PTA has been using funds to help with back to school supplies for staff, as well as monthly staff raffles and we would like to continue to support staff in whatever way we can. Any amount is very much appreciated.
Thank you for your continued support!
The Ivymount PTA
|
|
|
|
Ivymount
School & Programs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
