December 9, 2021

Subject: For Your Awareness: Investigation for COVID-19 at Skinner School

Dear Superstar Parents and Families,

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is committed to keeping you informed of the most current developments regarding COVID-19. A person who was in our school building this week tested positive for COVID-19. We are sending this notification for your awareness, and you do not need to take any further action at this time. If you have been identified as a close contact, you should have received a separate notification from the Office of Student Health and Wellness with additional information.

As a reminder, we can slow the spread of COVID-19 as a CPS school community by getting vaccinated, social distancing whenever possible, wearing masks in public, washing our hands thoroughly, and avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

For district updates and resources, visit www.cps.edu. If you need help locating medical care or have any CPS-specific questions, please reach out to the Healthy CPS Hotline at 773-553-KIDS (5437) which is staffed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

I am here to support you as we move forward together as one healthy, supportive, and engaged school family.

Sincerely,

Richard Smith

Administrator In Charge

For the entire school year, CPS is offering COVID testing through a partnership with ThermoFisher Scientific and Color Health and their ReadyCheckGo™ testing program. This program is completely voluntary.

The link to sign up for student weekly FREE testing is here: Register for COVID Testing with Color Health

Read more:

1. Send a copy of your child's vaccination card along with the child's full name to our school nurse, Stephanie Johnson at sjohnson90@cps.edu

CPS Policy states: Fully vaccinated students who are not experiencing symptoms do not need to quarantine. It is recommended that they be tested 3-5 days after the last day of exposure.

Dear STAR Families,

The Skinner Staff are joining together on Thursday, Dec. 16th to celebrate the holiday season and honor all the hard work and dedication that has gone into this school year.

Dr. Smith requests that as many students as possible are picked up from STAR by 5:15 on Dec. 16th to allow staff to attend the celebration.

Thank you!

Dr. Smith and STAR Team

My name is Hillary Muñoz. I am a bilingual special education teacher will be the new Special Education Resource Teacher at Skinner West. I started my journey in the field of education after graduating from the University of Michigan with a major in Spanish Language & Literature in 2013. I received my M.Ed. in 2015 from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA as part of the Urban Teachers Program. I have taught special education for 8 years. I taught in Baltimore City Public Schools for 3 years before moving to Chicago to be closer to my family. I am married to a wonderful man from Guatemala. When not in the classroom, you can find me walking my dog or baking.

Skinner West 3rd Grade Chorus and Glee Club are back and spreading holiday cheer! They performed at the tree lighting ceremony at Mary Bartelme Park on December 4th.

Many thanks to Ms. Maatouk for preparing our Superstars for this holiday event!

The LSC recently approved a purchase of tables for the gym to be used for Indoor Recess on these very cold Chicago days. Now our kids need something to do! The PTO and the school will be purchasing some games and we are looking into a partnership with Cat-N-Mouse in the new year.

Until then, let’s clean out our homes before the holidays and donate games and puzzles! Remember the kids have 25 minutes for recess so think about size of puzzles and length of games for donation.

Please send donations with your kids to school with a label stuck or taped on that says:

“Skinner West Indoor Recess”

Thanks in advance for your help and here are some ideas:

If you were not able to attend the 8th Grade High School Information Session, please view the following presentation. If you have any additional questions, please contact Johanna Jacobson at jtjacobson@cps.edu.

GoCPS allows families to learn, research, explore, and apply to nearly every CPS school and program through one online platform. Whether you are a current CPS family or new to the district, GoCPS is the gateway to finding the right school for you. Learn more at https://go.cps.edu/

GoCPS may be the right choice for your family if:

The GoCPS Application window closes on Wednesday, December 15, 2021.

The Principal Selection Committee would like to send a huge Thank You to everyone who has participated in the community Principal Recruitment Survey!

December 2, 2021

Subject: For Your Awareness: Investigation for COVID-19 at Skinner School

Dear Superstar Parents and Families,

The district was recently made aware that a person who was present in Skinner has tested positive for COVID-19. The CPS Contact Tracing Team is currently investigating, and out of an abundance of caution, impacted students will move to remote learning until the investigation is complete. The parents of all impacted students have already been contacted. I am sending this letter for your awareness, and you do not need to take any action at this time. If any close contacts are identified, the district will notify them directly with specific instructions.

For district updates and resources, visit cps.edu. If you need help locating medical care or have any CPS-specific questions, please reach out to the Healthy CPS Hotline at 773-553-KIDS (5437), which is staffed 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For the most reliable information about COVID-19, please visit chicago.gov/coronavirus or cdc.gov/coronavirus. For testing inquiries or results, please contact your healthcare provider.

Thank you for your support and patience as the district investigates this situation.

Sincerely,

Richard Smith

Administrator In Charge

Join via Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/byd-nykw-gdo

If you have any questions you would like to send in advance, please email them to jtjacobson@cps.edu, and they will be answered on the evening of the meeting. The meeting will be recorded in the event anyone is unable to attend.

Hello,

I am Mr. McCarthy and I am very excited to be your new librarian and to join the Skinner West community. I have several years of educational experience to bring with me, this being my sixteenth year of teaching in CPS (and twelfth year as a school librarian).  My primary goal as your librarian and as an educator is to instill a love of reading in all students, and to equip students with the skills necessary to become lifelong learners.

Fun Facts:

Mr. Lew's 5th graders made excellent use of their Language Arts time to proudly read aloud to Mrs. Sittner's 1st grade class in the multi-purpose room. First graders listened attentively as students read various articles from Achieve 3000.

The Achieve 3000 website is used by our Skinner Superstars to introduce and develop proficiency in understanding non-fiction and fiction reading material.

There will be a free, virtual workshop next week that’s a great opportunity for 5th-8th grade girls to get involved in STEM! The workshop, Make a Website Using WordPress, is hosted by TechGirlz, a CompTIA 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to inspire middle school girls to explore the possibilities of technology through free, fun, and interactive workshops. This curriculum is designed for students with a more introductory / basic skillset (no coding required in this workshop), but the event is still open to girls of all skill levels. Technology consultants from Protiviti (located in the Loop) will help facilitate the event and also field questions about what it’s like to embark on a career in tech as a female.

Event details are below – registration will remain open until the workshop begins!

Workshop Topic: Make a Website Using WordPress

Skill Level: Basic

Time and Date: Wednesday, December 8th, 3:30-5:30pm

Location: Virtual – Microsoft Teams (meeting link accessible upon registration)

Event Registration: https://www.techgirlz.org/techshop/make-a-website-using-wordpress/

Devices / Software Needed to Participate: Any PC, laptop, tablet, etc. with Internet access. Access to WordPress.com is free! Microsoft Teams is also required, as it will be the virtual meeting platform for the event.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is offering online and on-campus winter and spring courses for ages 10–18+ which are designed to allow young artists to focus on their interests, learn new skills, and bring their ideas to life. Courses start in January and February!

Read more here.