February 19, 2023

A Note from the Director

Dear families,

A reminder that Monday is the President's Day holiday and Tuesday is a professional day, so we will see your students back at Ivymount School on Wednesday. In the meantime, I want to take a moment to thank all of our families and the Ivymount PTA for your generosity in recognizing the work of our staff. Your Valentine's Snack event was so thoughtful. Keep scrolling down to the PTA section to see photos of the snack event.

Also make sure to check out some photos of another way that Ivymount staff stepped up - for a pie throwing reward event for students. They're great sports.

Finally, I would like to invite you to participate in activities that will bring the Ivymount community together: Our next Ivymount Foundation Gala planning meeting is on Wednesday at 5 pm (onsite and virtual); and we hope you will save the date to attend the Outreach Resource Fair on March 19.

Wishing you a terrific rest of your weekend.

Sincerely,

Susan Holt

NEWS YOU NEED RIGHT NOW!

Ivymount School

Dates to Remember

February 20

President's Day

No School for Students or Staff

February 21

Professional Day

No School for Students

February 22

Ivymount Gala Planning Meeting

March 17

Professional Day

No School for Students

Thank You PTA and Ivymount Families!

A major snack attack! Scroll down to the PTA section for more photos of the abundance.

2023-2024 Calendar Sneak-Peek

We're working on the student calendar for the 2023-2024 school year and will share it once it's ready. Below are some dates that you can make note of. Additional dates for Professional Days will be added to the final calendar:

July 5 First day of 2023-2024 School Year
August 7-22 Summer Break
August 23 Classes Resume
Dec 18-Jan 1 Winter Break
January 2 Classes Resume
Mar 25-Apr 1 Spring Break
April 2 Classes Resume
June 7 Last day of the 2023-2024 School Year

Students Plan Donation Drive for Pets

Do you have a pet? Maybe a cat or dog? Well, you can donate to help other animals soon! Room 234 is collecting items to give to the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF), which is dedicated to helping animals find loving homes. You can donate at the green box in the lobby or at the yellow box at the top of the stairs until March 10. Feel free to donate puppy and dog toys, kitten and cat toys, and dog and cat food. Please do not donate open food.

We look forward to helping LDCRF help animals and hopefully you choose to donate to them here at Ivymount! Click below to view a full list of accepted items.

LDCRF Accepted Items

IvyMoves Pie in the Face

To wrap up last month's IvyMoves initiative, the Aspire Academic and Social Learning program hosted a Pie in the Face assembly. During the month of January, students learned about exercise, healthy eating, and began a student vs staff step challenge. Each day, students and staff tracked their steps with pedometers and fitness trackers, and at the end of the month if students had more steps than staff they would earn the special assembly!

During January the students had the most steps, and the student with the highest steps from each classroom got to choose a teacher to pie in the face! Ivymount students had so much fun cheering on their peers as they got to pie their teachers in the face.

Endeavor's Program Visits Dave and Busters

Students in the Endeavors School Program had a blast during their recreational and leisure outing to Dave and Buster’s on Tuesday. Students used this opportunity to practice community safety and social skills, but of course, the afternoon was filled with games, prizes, and tons of laughter. Some highlights included playing racing games, life-sized hungry hungry hippos, trying out the claw machine, and cheering each other on. The arcade is most definitely one of the Endeavor School Program's favorite outings!

Gala Meeting - You're Invited Wednesday, Feb 22

Ivymount's largest fundraiser - the Ivymount Foundation Gala, is set for October 14, 2023 at the Washington National Cathedral. It will directly benefit students and staff of Ivymount School and the entire Ivymount Organization. The gala will succeed through all of our efforts and there's a way for everyone to help! Join Parent Chair Melissa Flaim this coming Wednesday for a gala planning meeting. Attend in person or online.

RSVP HERE and we'll send a meeting link early this week.

Spread the Word - Outreach Resource Fair

Do you work with great service providers that other families could benefit from? We encourage you to let your provider know about the Ivymount Outreach Resource Fair. We also hope you will plan to join us at the fair so you can connect with many local organizations and enjoy complimentary workshops, led by Ivymount experts.

Sunday, March 19

12 pm - 3 pm

Ivymount Campus

Exhibitor Registration

Registration Deadline Feb 28

PTA NEWS AND UPDATES

YOU Make Things Happen

The Ivymount PTA would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all Ivymount Families for your tremendous support of our Valentine's Snacks Staff Appreciation event. We are excited and grateful to report that your generous donations enabled us to provide an abundant Grab-and-Go Snack Bar that was set up in the gym. Thank you, also, to the parents who donated their time on-site to organize the bevy of treats. It was so great to see you and work together on this project.

Let's Get Together - Volunteers Needed to Lead Family Events

The PTA needs a few parents to help coordinate a spring dance and our fall festival. All planning can be done remotely and we have examples from previous events to help guide the way. Please let us know if you can help make these two events happen. Contact ckgottfried@gmail.com.