IvyNotes

December 4, 2022

A Note from the Director

Dear families,

The idea that "caring continues" beyond our November IvyCares initiative is so important. As you can see from the activities and lessons below, we are committed to thinking about and supporting each other and our community in many ways year-round. With last week's difficult news of a student's passing, we're reminded how important each member of our Ivymount School family is.

Please scroll down to see some of the recent happenings at Ivymount School as well as upcoming events in December. There are still opportunities to support the PTA's Boon Supply fundraiser, and to donate winter clothing for those in need. More information about the Scholastic book fair, along with online purchasing options, will be coming.

Have a good evening.

Sincerely,

Susan Holt

NEWS YOU NEED RIGHT NOW!

Ivymount School

Dates to Remember

December 12-16

Scholastic Book Fair

December 14

Holiday Sing Off

December 19

Winter Break

January 3

Students Return

Caring Continues

Donate Winter Clothing

The Post High School program has launched its Annual Winter Clothing Drive. They are collecting coats, blankets, and winter clothing for men, women, and children from now until February. Items should be new or gently used but in good condition.

The items will be donated to Bethesda Cares, a community outreach program for people experiencing homelessness. The administrative team at Bethesda Cares has told Ivymount staff that it's very grateful to receive donations, noting that its clients need clothing and other essentials throughout the year.

Students have set up a collection box in the front entrance where you can drop off items.

Programs Deliver on Food Drive

As IvyCares month comes to an end, we are proud of all our students who worked together to organize projects practicing kindness and compassion! Both the Endeavors and Aspire School Programs hosted food drives for the Manna Food Center, collecting hundreds of items and many pounds of food. Great job to students and staff in gathering donations to make a difference!

3 Ways to Practice Self Care

Self-care is a valuable tool in maintaining positive mental health year-round, and one that experts say can be taught and practiced from an early age. Here are three types of activities, courtesy of the Aspire Academic and Social Learning model. Students recently practiced these in their Emotional Regulation classes.

Positive Self-Talk: In the ES/MS classes, students discussed ways to take part in positive self-talk. In Zones of Regulation, the 3^rd and 4^th grade students, listened to the story "Listening with my Heart" by Gabi Garcia and then discussed how the main character treated herself compared to the way she treated other people. They then took the time to discuss things that the students may say to friends who are having difficult moments. They came up with things like “Everyone makes mistakes,” “You don’t have to feel bad,” and “You can still reach your goal!” After discussing things they could say to their friends, they connected it back to the idea of self-compassion. They discussed the idea of using the same scripts with themselves when feeling down on themselves.

Gratitude Journaling: In Mood Ring, HS students participated in gratitude journaling. First, students discussed what gratitude looks like to them and tried to define gratitude for themselves. They discussed the benefits of showing gratitude (e.g., increasing positivity, helps us pay attention to the good things we may take for granted, strengthen self-worth), and then were given prompts to choose from for a journaling session. The goal of this activity was to give students time to reflect on these ideas of gratitude without distraction or the stress of having to share their thoughts. After journaling, students were asked how they were feeling about the exercise and what they thought about gratitude. Some students enjoyed it and some didn’t, but they were all given the opportunity to give feedback.

Complimenting Others: HS students participated in was a "compliment circle" where each person wrote their name on a piece of paper and then each other person in the circle wrote something nice on the paper. The purpose is to build community and positive regard for each other. They took it somewhat seriously and wrote a lot of inside jokes, but overall there were lots of smiles at the end.

Book Fair Returns

We're excited to once again host the Scholastic Book Fair in the library, November 12-16. Classrooms will have opportunities to visit the library to view the many titles available for purchase. There will also be online purchasing options. More information will be provided in the coming days.

#GivingTuesday Raises Funds for Programs

Thanks to you and a wide network of donors, we exceeded our November 29 #GivingTuesday goal and raised $82,790. The global day of giving is an important part of our year-end annual fund campaign, which runs throughout December. Funds are used for curriculum development, staff training, technology and more.

We are so grateful for your continued confidence in Ivymount's mission. Anyone can learn more and donate to the annual fund by visiting the Support Us page of the website. Consider Ivymount if your company has a match program.

We would also like to thank our #GivingTuesday match sponsors who helped make the day a success:

Jen and Matt Berzok

Jeff Fischer and Melissa Flaim

Paula Parsons and Jonathan Cutler

Robert Wanerman and Linda Rich Wanerman

PTA NEWS AND UPDATES

Shop and Share the Boon Supply Fundraiser

There's still time to shop for the holidays while supporting the Ivymount PTA's biggest annual fundraiser, with some awesome and unique products from Boon Supply. There are a wide variety of products in categories such as gifts, waste-free living, storage and organization, self-care, kitchen and food, and eco-cleaning. Plus, don't forget the beautiful re-useable bags and wrapping paper!

We decided to partner with Boon Supply because they offer useful, eco-friendly quality products, as well as a unique platform that does most of the work for you! No order forms, counting money or distributing products. All purchases will be delivered to the supporter's home, and the entire process takes no longer than 5-10 minutes. All you need to do is just Send, Share, and Shop!

Can we count on you? You can watch a quick 2-minute video here that explains our fundraiser.

Ready to help? Get started today by visiting our fundraiser page. You can use the camera on your smartphone to scan the QR code above. Anyone can shop on the Ivymount School page. Share the link of QR code on your Social Media pages and by text to your loved ones.

With your help, our school’s fundraiser can be a huge success!