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payton community monthly meeting
wed. 3/6
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The monthly Payton Community Meeting is a brief and informative opportunity to hear what is going on at school directly from our principal. The meetings start at 6PM and usually end by 7PM. The meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of every month, but always check the monthly calendar (at right) in case the schedule has changed. All meetings are held in the Library.
 The FOP Fundraising Team meeting will be held on Mar. 6 at 7PM after the Payton Community Meeting. Everyone is welcome!
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fop fundraising is
a year-round effort
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The Friends of Payton needs your valuable donations to support Payton's educational mission. There are three ways to do it:
1. Mail a check payable to FOP at 1034 N. Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60610.
2. Drop a check into the FOP box in the school office. Make it payable to FOP.
3. Contribute online via credit card by clicking the donate button on Payton's homepage or just click here.
All contributions are tax deductible, and all amounts are equally appreciated. |
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lsc meetings are open, next is 3/11
| Parents, guardians, and the public are welcome at Local School Council (LSC) meetings, which are held monthly in the Payton Library at 6PM.
The LSC is an elected body that has three main responsibilities: 1) School improvement planning (CIWP), 2) School budget, and 3) Principal evaluation, retention and selection.
All are welcome to attend and to comment during the "Public Comment" portion of the meeting.
For more on the LSC, including a schedule of coming meetings, minutes of previous meetings, and a roster of members, please visit the LSC page of the Payton website.
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two more ways to
to stay current
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Check the school website periodically (some people set a reminder on their calendars to do this once or twice a week) at www.wpcp.org.
Two other ways to keep up on what's happening at school are to: watch the PNN (Payton News Network) OR check Advisory Announcements.
You can also subscribe to receive the announcements via email or RSS.
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check grades + attendance online
| ParentConnection is a secure online portal for sharing classroom attendance and grades between teachers, students, and parents and guardians.
To activate a student on your ParentConnection account you must obtain the student personal identification number (PIN), which you can do on this web page on the Payton site.
Once you have obtained the PIN you will be able to complete the application process. If you experience any problems while looking up a PIN, please email parentconnection@wpcp.org.
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when your student is sick or absent for another reason
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New Procedure: Effective Feb. 4, 2013, parents and guardians may no longer leave messages reporting student absences on the Attendance Hotline. To report your student's absence you must submit a written note, available on the website under the Parents drop down menu. Click here for Reason for Absence Note.
Student absences will remain unexcused until a signed Reason For Absence Note is submitted to the Office.
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gallery 34: pictures from payton
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Find great photos of Payton happenings at Gallery 34. It is continually updated.
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connect with alumni from payton + other cps schools
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Did you know that there are more than three million living CPS alumni? Click on this link to register and find old friends: CPS Alumni (including Payton).
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share stories and ideas for this newsletter
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Please send us current Payton news to share with other Payton families. Here are the submission guidelines:
Less is more -- 200 words or less works best in an e-newsletter. If that's not enough room to tell the whole story, include a phone number, email address, or web link for more details. Send text as a Word attachment or type it into the body of your email.
Include a picture or two if you have them; send pictures as .jpg attachments, not embedded in a Word document.
All submissions are due the 15th of the preceding month. Send them to
fopnewseditor@gmail.com.
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the newsletter volunteer team
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Casey Hoogstraten
President, Friends of Payton
Katie Merrell
Chair, Communications
Jeanne Lamar
Editor
fopnewseditor@gmail.com
Deb Hass
Associate Editor
Susan McColgan
Associate Editor
Dawn Futris
Steve Gallancy
Kathy Monk
Cathy Nardi
Stephanie Rothman White
Debbie Shepard
Lisa Turner
Judith Weinstein
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newsletter
brought to you by
friends of payton
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Friends of Payton (FOP) is a volunteer-run organization of parents, guardians, community leaders, and others who raise funds and provide volunteer assistance to support Walter Payton College Prep.
Our mission is to enrich educational and extracurricular activities with outside resources to supplement the limited funding allotted to Payton through the public school system.
PresidentCasey Hoogstraten Executive Vice President Marla Kushner VP, Communications Katie Merrell VP, Fundraising Cathy Nardi Treasurer Brian Moore Assistant Treasurer Tracey Lowenthal Secretary Laurie Flom
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walter payton college prep high school
| 1034 North Wells Street Chicago, Illinois 60610 773-534-0034 www.wpcp.org
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CALENDAR
Some details were not available at the time of this issue's publication. Contact the Payton administration with questions: 312-534-0034
MARCH
3/04 Sweetness Day
3/06 Payton Community Meeting, 6-7:30PM, Library
3/08 International Dance, 7-10PM, Atrium
3/11 Local School Council Meeting, 6-8PM, Library
3/13 Seminar Day
3/14 Spring College Fair, 6-8PM, Atria
3/16 Annual Friends of Payton Gala Fundraiser, 6-9PM,
Galleria Marchetti
3/21 Model UN Presents Jim Steyer, Guest Lecturer, 7-8PM
Recital Hall
3/25-29 No School, Spring Break
3/28 End of 3rd Quarter
APRIL
4/03 Seminar Day
4/05 Dance-A-Thon, 7PM 4/05 to 7AM 4/06, Atrium
4/08 Local School Council Meeting, 6-8PM, Library
4/10 Payton Community Meeting, 6-7:30PM, Library
4/11-13 Spring Play, A Flea in Her Ear, 6PM, Atrium
4/18-20 Spring Play, A Flea in Her Ear, 6PM, Atrium
4/18 No School, Report Card Pick Up
4/23-24 PSAE Testing for Juniors (No School for other students)
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A LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Celebrating Payton Families - At the Gala!
Dear Payton Parents and Guardians,
Our students continue to amaze in classrooms and in extracurriculars. We are so proud of the ways they invest themselves wholeheartedly in myriad experiences, that they find joyfulness in learning and exploring, and that they do so in a manner that is befitting the high character of a Payton student. Behind every dynamic child are dynamic parents or guardians. Thank you for continuing to challenge and support your child(ren) and for being actively present at their events. Your dedication to your child and their activities is evident. The joys of learning and exploring are evident.
Our Payton community continues to thrive because of the many hands that craft wonderful experiences for our students. To wit: 18 Payton families hosted students from our sister school in Beijing, numerous trips abroad are planned for the next 2 months, spring sports are commencing, we just sent acceptance letters to the strongest incoming freshman class in the city (the 2nd consecutive year that Payton has had the strongest admitted class), Payton will be invested in over 40 service projects around the city on Sweetness Day later this week, and many of our academic clubs are involved in a host of competitions. Parents and guardians have been at the heart of each of these - and many more - events. Thank you for being a seminal part of the Payton experience.
See you at the Gala!
Go Grizzlies,
Tim Devine, Principal
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Payton Community News
PARTICIPATE
-March 6: Payton Community Meeting, 6PM, Literacy Center
-March 14: College Fair, 6PM, Payton Atrium
-March 16: Gala!, Galleria Marchetti, 825 W Erie St.
-April 19: Spring Parents Night Out, at the home of David Wagner & Gigi Vaffis, 1239 N. State Parkway.
VOLUNTEER (Please!):
-March 5: Admitted Students Reception. Come help us welcome Payton's class of 2017, 6:30-8PM, Payton Atrium.
-March 16: Gala! We're still looking for people to help on the event day.
DONATE:
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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
2013 Parent & Guardian Survey
As part of the Local School Council's principal evaluation process, Payton parents and guardians are invited to submit survey responses including ideas about school leadership and the learning environment. Please share your thoughts by responding to the survey this month.
Thank you for your valuable input!
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GALA UPDATE
FOP Online Auction Opened Fri. Mar. 1 at 8AM. Gift certificates, fashion and beauty items, sports and theatre tickets and more are available exclusively online until Wed. Mar. 13 at 11:59PM. The first 72 hours of the online auction features a variety of Payton faculty- led seminars for parents including a book club led by Mr. Brandon Newton (English) and Ms. Molly Spooner (English), AP Microeconomics for Parents led by Mr. John Belcaster (Social Studies), a Ceramics Workshop led by the Payton Fine Arts Department, a Scrapbooking Class led by Dr. Linda Zolt (Library) and Ms. Arlene Bertoni-Mancine (Physical Ed.), Math as You've Never Imagined It with Mr. Paul Karafiol (Math), a night at the Payton Planetarium with Mr. Nikolaus Barge (Science) and Ms. Jacqueline Barge (Science) and more! The on-line auction for faculty seminars closes on Sun. Mar. 3. at 11:59PM. Any remaining seats will be sold at the Gala. Click here to go to the online auction now! Bid early, bid often!
Volunteer-No Experience Needed. Volunteers are needed for the Gala to monitor the Silent Auction table, spot donors during the paddle raise, sell raffle tickets, and assist with check-in and check-out. Click here to volunteer and make this night a huge success.
RSVP to Gala by Mar. 10!
Galleria Marchetti is preparing a fabulous sit-down dinner and a firm headcount is required. Walk-in guests cannot be accommodated. Please RSVP to your invitation ASAP. Or click here to purchase tickets online.
Buy Raffle Tickets! Raffle tickets are on sale now for $10. The winner will receive 34% of the total pot. To purchase tickets online click here.
Gala Details. Sat. Mar. 16 at Galleria Marchetti. Doors open at 6PM. The dress code is Saturday night casual (i.e., leave your tux and your sneakers at home; anything else goes). The evening will begin with cocktails, Silent "34" Auction, Raffle Ticket sales, Teacher Wish List Sales, and the annual Jewelry Box challenge. Dinner and remarks by Mr. Tim Devine (Principal) will begin at 8PM, followed by the Paddle Raise. The festivities conclude with dancing to the music of Sweetness, a live band led by parent Andrew Porter with sound system support by parent Robb Sawyer. We look forward to seeing the whole Payton Community there!
Final Pre-Gala Meeting - Please come! The final fundraising team meeting before the Gala will be Mar. 7 at 7PM, after the Payton Community Meeting. See you there!
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On behalf of the PPIE Board, I would like to thank all of the families for their generous donations to the Payton endowment fund. Donations came from parents, community members, businesses, Payton alumni, current students, grandparents, and foundations. It is fabulous that so many individuals have supported our mission.
The economy has been challenging these last few years, and yet PPIE has been able to raise over $1 million. Once we reach our goal of $3 million, we will be able to fund the long term needs at Payton including teacher development, student travel, capital improvements, athletics & clubs, and technology. PPIE's next step is to approach major corporations and foundations to ask for their support. Involving the community will open new doors for the future of Payton and its students. I welcome your input and ideas.
I am also pleased to say that we have two Payton alumni on the PPIE board. They are enthusiastic young men and are busy planning the 10-year reunion of the class of 2004, Payton's first graduating class!
Thank you once again.
Susan Orloff
President@paytonppie.org
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 GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
Payton Hosts
Beijing Students
From Chicago to Beijing and Back! On Feb. 1 Payton welcomed guests from our sister school in Beijing, China. For eight days Payton hosted 18 students and three teachers from Beijing. This is the first student exchange between the schools.The student exchange group started an online collaborative workspace that highlights their projects, photos, and reflections. They were so excited to share our city with their guests! Link to the Beijing Exchange blog at http://wpcp-bhsf.tumblr.com/
This spring, Payton students will participate in three trips or exchanges:
▪ Spanish Trip: Granada, Spain
▪ Latin Trip: Rome, Italy
▪ Czech Exchange: Prague, Czech Republic
2013-2014 Trips and Exchanges Announced!
▪ Beijing, China: School-wide student exchange
▪ Buenos Aires, Argentina: School-wide student exchange
▪ Oaxaca, Mexico - Spanish student language immersion trip
▪ Prague, Czech Republic: School-wide student exchange
▪ Rome, Italy: Latin student cultural immersion trip
▪ San Jose, Costa Rica: Science exploration trip
▪ Strasbourg, France: French student exchange
Applications are due by March 11th!
For trip-specific information and the online application, click here.
"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."
- Henry Miller
Looking ahead:
International Week: May 20-24.
International Night: Thurs. May 23. Mark your calendar!
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 ATTENTION CLASS OF 2013
Senior Events:
Volunteers Needed!
Class of '13 parent/guardian volunteers are needed to help with a number of exciting senior events as follows:
- May 31 (Prom): delivery of prom favors and decorations to the Drake Hotel during the school day;
- June 17 (tentative): distribution of graduation tickets and distribution of graduation gowns after Senior Awards Assembly during the school day;
- June 20 (Graduation): line up graduates before the ceremony at 3:30PM, provide and transport bottled water for graduates;
- June 21: distribution of diplomas, gathering gowns, 9AM.
General Fundraising: funds are needed to help seniors who qualify for free/reduced lunch to pay for prom tickets.
Visit the Senior Page on the website under the Student Life tab for the most current information about senior events. If you have questions or would like to volunteer, contact Michelle Mowery at mlmowery@cps.edu.
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PAYTON ATHLETICS
Winter Roundup;
Spring Teams Hopeful
Basketball (Boys): The team went through a rebuilding year with new coaches at all levels, but it ended its season above .500 and mustered some good competition at the regional level. The team looks forward to an exciting season next year.
Basketball (Girls): The Lady Grizzlies finished another very successful season. The varsity team went 17-8 this year, which included trips to the Sweet 16 of the CPS Public League Tournament and the Regional Semifinals of the IHSA State Tournament. The four graduating seniors (Holly Bieber, Trystan Gilbert, Hayley Pienton, and Kara Rodby) will be missed, but the future looks bright for a program that has a record of 34-15 over the past two seasons. The sophomore team finished in a tie for second place in its conference and the freshman team was extremely competitive in its conference.
Bowling: The boys' and girls' bowling teams had new coaches this year - Mr. Eric Kuchii (P.E.) and Mr. Paul Escobar (P.E.) - and have wrapped up their winter season with great results in their conference.
Chess: Congratulations to our nascent chess team on its performance at the IHSA state championship last month! Thanks to the dedication and talent of these intrepid students, a brand new team with little tournament experience won 4 of 7 rounds and tied for 31st place of 140 teams. The team fully expects to build on this success and compete with the best of the best in the years to come. Sotiri Komissopoulos (SR) bagged a medal for finishing in the top 10 on board four with 6 wins! Lev Kendrick (soph) and Michael May (frosh) finished with 5 wins each on each of their boards. Looking forward to 2014 and beyond!
Swimming (Boys): After back-to-back undefeated years in the CPS Metro Conference, the Grizzlies moved up to the top level North Conference this season. Facing some steeper competition in that division, it landed a 2-5 conference record, and finished strong at the city and sectional championships. Payton finished sixth of 22 teams at the city championship (medaling in 8 of 11 events) and fifth of 11 teams at state sectionals (bringing home medals in 7 of 11 events).
Track and Field (Girls): The team competed at the Lockport Invitational last weekend. Cameron Pettigrew (SR) took first place with strong times in both the 200m and the 400m. Mia Harris (SR) finished second in the long jump with a personal best of 15'10". The team next competes the weekend of Mar. 2 at the De LaSalle Invitational. Starting this month, the action will move outdoors!
Other Sports News: Congratulations to Alex Bresler (SR) and Yliana Velazquez (SR) who have been nominated for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) All-State Academic Team. IHSA selects twenty-six honorees each year for this prestigious award. Honorees must participate in at least two IHSA-sponsored activities and demonstrate strong academic performance and outstanding citizenship.
Spring sports are gearing up despite an inauspicious snowstorm that canceled opening day practices. Look forward to great things from Boys Volleyball, which made it to the Elite 8 in last year's state tournament. Also expect strong performances from this year's Girls Soccer, Boys Tennis and Boys Baseball teams. Coming up, Payton will host the regional IHSA Girls Softball tournament during the week of May 20 on our own Beckman Field.
Click here to access the calendar of upcoming athletic events.
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 PAYTON PARENTS AND GUARDIANS
Spring Parents
Night Out!
Don't miss Payton's Spring Parents Night Out, to be held on Fri. Apr. 19 at the home of David Wagner & Gigi Vaffis, 1239 N. State Parkway. Parents Nights Out are informal potluck dinners hosted by Payton families. They are for parents and guardians only - no kids! Please bring a dish to share (appetizer, entrée or dessert). BYOB. Everything else is provided.
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT UPDATE
Participate in
Spring Events!
Reported with the help of Danielle Fregia (SR), VP of Student Government
A quick shout out to all students who participated in the 2nd annual Payton Unplugged, Payton's acoustic coffee shop, held on Feb. 22. Everyone had a great time!
Potpourri Challenge will take place Feb. 25 - Mar. 1. This event, cosponsored by the Payton Diversity Council and Student Government, will bring together students of different grades, ethnicities, and social groups. Various activities will take place during lunch periods and after school. Students will be given a place and time to show up, but the name and description of the activity will be a surprise upon arrival.
Coming in March: In an effort to keep the student body connected, a sandwich board detailing upcoming events and featuring inspirational quotes and funny tidbits will be posted.
Get your dancing shoes on! The 3rd Payton Dance-a-thon will take place on Apr. 5. Students will dance from 7PM to 7AM to raise money for the Walter Payton Liver Foundation. Have questions? Check out the information table beginning the week of Mar. 25 during all lunch periods. Cost to participate is $25 and the deadline for submitting donations is Apr. 1.
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NEXT MEETING ON MARCH 11
Local School Council Report
At the Local School Council meeting on Feb. 11, faculty presentations were made by Mr. Matt Silvia (Science) and Dr. Linda Zolt (Library). Mr. Silvia reported on the success of the AP Science program, in which 90% of the students are scoring 3 or higher on their AP exams. He discussed the efforts to grow a program of "doing science." This focus on opportunities for field work continues with next year's Costa Rica trip, open to AP Biology students.
Dr. Zolt addressed the status of the library, its aged and aging volumes, the reorganization of reference texts given their displacement by technology-based research platforms, her ideas for e-book purchasing, and the use of the library as a daily classroom. She continues to implement new strategies for keeping the library an up-to-date and vibrant student resource.
Mr. Devine announced that the new CPS calendar has both elementary and high school teacher conferences scheduled for the same day, presenting a challenge for many families. Stay tuned for further information.
Starting next year drama coursework can be applied to fulfill the 2 credit Art requirement required for high school graduation.
Please come to the next LSC meeting on Mon. Mar. 11 at 6PM.
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