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August 31, 2025
Sunday Snapshot
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No School: Labor Day
9/1/2025
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BOY Testing Window Opens
9/2/2025
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SY26 Open House
9/3/2025, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
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Fall Picture Day
9/17/2025
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Additional Notes
Paws Pillars: During Quarter 1, we are focused on the Paws Pillar: Be Kind. Our focus is for our students to develop appropriate social skills. Throughout the quarter, the students will learn more about the Spotlight skills of Cooperation and Respect.
Cooperation includes being a good teammate which benefits everyone. When students work together, they feel proud of being part of something bigger than themselves. Below are some family resources to support the school-home connection.
Cooperation Character Card
Level I & Level II Volunteer Application Process: All individuals who are interested in volunteering (includes chaperoning field trips) must be approved by CPS. Depending on the level of volunteering you plan to do, you will be asked to complete an application for either a “Level I” or “Level II” volunteer.
Steps to follow:
(Please note: It is a CPS requirement that you fall into one of these two levels to become a volunteer)
Step 1: Complete THIS volunteer form for CPS
This form is necessary for CPS to verify you have students in the system and that they attend the school you are requesting to volunteer at.
Step 2: Bring a government issued ID to the main office for verification. If you do not do this step, the process will not move forward.
For Level II, the process ends here.
For Level 1, you must also do the following:
Step 3: After you submit your ID, you will receive an email from CPS which will contain links and information for fingerprinting, background check and TB test. For fingerprinting, please fill out this form and take it to any Accurate Biometrics location. For the TB test, use this form. These tests can be completed at MercyWorks locations. Please note, there is a $20 TB test fee.
Step 4: Email copies of both the fingerprints and TB test to [email protected]. The sooner they receive these forms, the faster your application can be processed. Please note, fingerprints can take 2-5 weeks to process.
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Happy Sunday Garvy!
Be Kind 🐾 Be Strong 🐾 Be Well 🐾 Be a Bulldog
Open House
Our annual Back to School Open House is this Wednesday, September 3rd from 5:30 to 6:30. Come to meet the teachers, learn about the curriculum, the expectations for the school year, and get answers for any questions you may have about school. Each teacher/grade level will conduct two separate sessions. One from 5:30 to 6:00 and a second session from 6:00 to 6:30.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Remember that it is all of our jobs to keep our school community safe. Due to the size of our student population, arrival and dismissal times can be a challenge. Please be mindful of the following:
- Use the Kiss N Go areas for arrival. It is an easy process. Pull up, drop off students, and pull off slowly. DO NOT stop, nor double park in the Kiss N Go lanes.
- Do not double park and leave your car unattended. This blocks others in and creates delays.
- Take notice of the driveways of our neighbors, the alleys, the crosswalks, as well as the apron of the school parking lot. DO NOT park in these areas for any amount of time.
- Streets around us are within a school zone and the driving speed limit is 20mph, under IL law. This is a major safety concern. Kids are on bikes, kids are distracted by the ice cream truck, and there are people crossing the street. Slow down!
- Most importantly, be mindful that there are children everywhere. Please set the proper example of community, cooperation, and safety precautions for our children.
AtTENdance Challenge
Student who are in school more than 90% of the time are more likely to be successful. Students with under 90% attendance rate are considered chronically absent. Let‘s work as a team to remove any obstacles that are keeping your child from school.
The Quarter 1 AtTENdance challenge is scheduled for September 8 to the 19th. For these 10 school days, we want all students to be in attendance. The homerooms with 95% or better attendance will be invited to a special celebration.
Law Enforcement Drill
The safety of students, staff, and visitors is a top priority for Garvy School. To support this commitment Garvy and CPS conduct emergency preparedness drills on an annual basis, in line with the Illinois School Safety Drill Act. The goal of these safety drills is to improve our ability to respond in the event of an emergency in an effective and efficient manner.
The Illinois School Safety Drill Act requires a Hard Lockdown Drill be conducted annually. This year that drill is scheduled to take place on September 16th in partnership with the Chicago Police Department. If you would rather your child not participate, please complete the following opt-out form and an alternative video will be shown.
LSC members play an essential role in decisions that impact our school community, including approving the school-based academic plan, approving the alignment of budgetary resources, engaging in the annual evaluation of contract principals’ professional practices, and selecting or renewing contract principals.
We are currently looking to fill (2) Parent Representative positions and (1) Community Representative on our Local School Council (LSC). We are looking for volunteers who are supportive of Garvy’s vision and will bring positive energy to help Garvy continue to grow. Please note that the LSC meets once a month at 5pm. If you are interested, please read the instructions below.
Step 1: Understand the criteria to make sure you are eligible before you apply.
- Parent Representative: Must be a parent or legal guardian of a child currently enrolled at Garvy. Also, you cannot be an employee of CPS.
- Community Representative: Must be 17 years of age or older, reside in the Garvy attendance or voting area, cannot be the parent or legal guardian of a child currently enrolled at Garvy, nor an employee of CPS.
Step 2: Please complete the forms attached and bring them to the school by Friday, September 10th. We are not allowed to accept any applications after this time. Also, we cannot accept electronic copies. You can find the necessary forms below.
Step 3: Included in the application is a personal statement that you will fill out explaining the qualities you possess to help Garvy’s LSC. You will have the opportunity to read this statement and share anything else you want with the LSC at the September 17th meeting at 5:00 pm. Please be aware that making a statement at the meeting is optional.
Step 4: The LSC will go into closed session to review the applications. When they return to the public forum, they will state if they would like to fill the open position and vote on the applicants to join the LSC. They also have the opportunity to reopen the application window if they choose.
If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the LSC Chair, Krissy Estrada [email protected] or LSC member, Stephanie Bester [email protected].
You will need two forms of identification to complete the nomination packet. Examples of acceptable forms of identification include:
- Driver’s License
- State of Illinois ID
- Voter Registration Card
- MediPlan/Medicaid Card
- Permanent Resident Card
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- Public Library Card
- Current Lease
- Current Utility Bill
- Credit or Debit Card
- Employment ID
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The PTA hopes everyone had a great first day of school! Our Back to School Block Party is Saturday, September 13th, and we are in need of volunteers! If you could spare some time and still be able to join the fun it would be greatly appreciated! We cannot be a successful PTA without our volunteers helping throughout the school year. Click the link below to sign up today!
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We have limited slots available every month to celebrate your child's birthday! You can purchase a slot on our Garvy School marquee at Foster and Oak Park Ave by going to the PTA website: https://garvypta.givebacks.com/shop--------------------------------------------
The PTA has a fun raffle for this school year! When you sign up for the PTA and volunteer for events and attend meetings 5 times you are automatically entered into our raffle! Our second volunteer opportunity for the school year is our annual Block Party on September 13th. Any amount of time you can help volunteer for any event is always greatly appreciated!
Sign up for PTA:
Volunteer for the Block Party:
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Tree Machine Clothing Bin
Do you have extra clothing that you and/or your child has outgrown? If so, please place in the green recycling bin located by the Teacher's parking lot. For every pound of clothing, our school received 2 cents and everytime the bin is filled the company plants a tree.
Read More...
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Go Bulldogs!!!
Mrs. Bester 🐾 🐾
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