October 15, 2023

A Note from the Director

Dear Families,

We had the privilege of spending time with many current and alumni families, students and staff at last night’s Ivymount Foundation gala. It was such a special evening and I was proud that we could celebrate the memories of six decades of Ivymount and also look forward with momentum.

My deep gratitude to our gala chairs and parents, Melissa Flaim and Jeff Fischer. Also, to the many families who made the gala possible by donating your time, resources, and items for the silent auction. And our staff, who have such passion and energy to fulfill our mission. We will share photos and more stories from the gala later this week. Until then, thank you.

Scroll down for examples of how students are wrapping up Hispanic Heritage Month and read our latest Six Decades Story about George Pedersen, who lived this year’s NDEAM theme of Advancing Access and Equity, by helping create jobsites for Ivymount students.

Finally, a reminder to RSVP for the PTA Movie Night and register for Best Buddies.

Sincerely,

Susan Holt

NEWS YOU NEED!

Dates to Remember

October 22

Best Buddies Event

November 10

No School for Students

November 22-24

Thanksgiving Holiday

Thank You for Attending the

Memories and Momentum Gala!

The majestic Washington National Cathedral was a dramatic backdrop for the Ivymount Foundation's Memories and Momentum Gala on Saturday night. Some 400 friends, families, partners and staff gathered to celebrate over six decades since Ivymount was founded in 1961.

Ivymount School graduate Ahnya McLeod and gala chairs and Ivymount School parents Melissa Flaim and Jeff Fischer gave moving remarks about Ivymount School's role in their lives. Student Greydon F provided the announcements for the evening, a chance to practice his goal of voice acting. Photos and videos from decades brought many faces and students into the room.

The gala raises funds for the Investing In Excellence initiative, which supports staff professional development, training, new curricula and more to create positive outcomes for the families that the Ivymount Organization supports.

Later this week, we will share more images and results from the gala.

Endeavors Students Practice Job and Social Skills at Black Hill Regional Park

Black Hill Regional Park has been a community jobsite partner for students from the Endeavors School Program since 2015. The site provides a wide range of indoor and outdoor tasks as well as a spectacular backdrop, as the Visitor’s Center overlooks Little Seneca Lake. Students help maintain outdoor learning environments, such as the Pebble Harp, dust and tidy up the indoor learning space, water plants, shred documents, and perform other tasks as needed. The students appear to truly enjoy this jobsite and are eager to return weekly. Special thanks to the Naturalists at the Visitor Center who always ensure the students learn something about our natural world, in addition to practicing job and social skills!

Aspire Students Wrap Up Hispanic Heritage Month

As Hispanic Heritage Month ended, students were wrapping up the month with more fun and educational activities honoring Hispanic culture and cuisine. In the Aspire Program in Room 236, students learned about and created their alebrijes. Alebrijes are known as spirit guides, as seen in the movie Coco. Alebrijes are known to include fantasy and realistic animals and have 3 of the four elements: fire, water, wind, earth. Students brainstormed different animals they connected to (i.e., similar personality traits, animals they enjoy) and then drew their alebrijes. They also needed to add many colors to represent the many colors used when creating the original paper mâché alebrijes.

Meanwhile, in Room 209, Aspire students ended the month on a sweet note! Students practiced essential life skills such as measuring ingredients, following a recipe, using an oven, and creating delicious cinnamon churros.

PTA NEWS AND UPDATES

Free Family Movie Night

RSVP Now!

Saturday, Oct 21

6 - 8 pm

Ivymount School All-Purpose Room

Please RSVP by Tuesday, October 17th so that we know how much food to order.

Click on the link above to RSVP and to volunteer with set up, clean up, or to pass out pizza, if you’re able to do so. We will look forward to seeing you bring the whole family to the PTA’s upcoming movie night!

We will be getting in the Halloween spirit with the movie "Hotel Transylvania 2." Please let us know if you would like gluten-free pizza when you RSVP.

This event is free and all Ivymount families are welcome to participate. This is a family event, not a drop-off event, so please stay and attend with your student. We will be indoors, so come rain or shine!

Contribute to the PTA Dues Drive

We really appreciate the many families who have generously contributed to the PTA dues drive. All contributions go towards staff appreciation and family events. If you have not already contributed and are able to do so, we appreciate any amount. Click the link below and thank you for your support!

Donate to the PTA Dues Drive

Celebrating Six Decades of Ivymount

Read Ivymount's

Six Decades Stories

Ivymount has been fortunate to have the support of the Pedersen family and jobsite opportunities with ManTech. Read how longtime advocate and CEO George Pedersen developed a strong belief in Ivymount and helped create a program to provide work experience for neurodiverse young adults in our latest #SixDecadesofIvymount story.