Hello, USD116 family and friends! Hi, Tigers! It is your superintendent, Dr. Ivory-Tatum, with your first monthly blog post. On the last Friday of every month, I will be writing my own blog post to talk directly to USD116 parents, students, and community supporters who help make USD116 the place to be.
Today marks the end of the first full week of the 2019-2020 academic year, and we are off to a fantastic start! For the past two weeks, I’ve gone around to visit every USD116 building to make sure things are going smoothly. I must say that the spirit of both students and staff at every building is incredible! I can tell that every Tiger in The District is ready to make this year the best one yet, and I am so thankful to be a part of this new beginning that we are experiencing.
As we kick off the school year, there are several upcoming events across The District. Congratulations to all of our elementary schools who have successfully hosted open houses at their campuses. Urbana High School will be hosting its Open House on Wednesday, September 4th from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m., and Urbana Middle School will be hosting its Open House on Thursday, September 12th from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. The UMS and UHS staff have spent the summer months hard at work planning for a pivotal academic year, so please go and visit them during Open House and other upcoming events to see all of the positive things going on! Other District events, like the Dual Language Program Family Welcome Picnic and the Family Forum, will begin to be posted on the schools’ websites and on Facebook Events beginning today so that all parents are in the loop.
I also want to take a moment to highlight the 2019 Opening Day Celebration. On Monday, August 19th, all USD116 teachers, staff, and administrators gathered in the UMS gymnasium to wrap up planning and celebrate a bright academic year to come. We were joined by the Tiger Marching Band, UHS athletes, UHS cheerleaders, the UHS A Capella Group, and Urbana community partners who helped us debut our #UrbanaBetterTogether campaign: our newest endeavor to increase community support and engagement in order to ensure student social and academic success. The room was filled with so much joy and spirit, and it was the perfect start to a new beginning. The A Capella group even sang their own rendition of a song from the Broadway play, Hamilton. Thank you to every person who attended, every community partner who walked in the opening parade, and every vendor who provided us with a tasty lunch! If you would like to view the Powerpoint from the celebration, just click here. To view the lyrics from the UHS A Capella performance, click here. For parents who want to view photos and videos from the celebration, feel free to scroll through the gallery below!
As we transition into September, I urge all parents to be on the lookout for several announcements via Facebook, email, the USD116 website. This year, we are going to increase communication between The District and USD116 parents, so plan to receive ongoing information about events, school news, and how you can get more involved with USD116 decisions. Most importantly, we will be focusing on telling more good news about The District and highlighting all of the amazing things your children will be doing throughout the year to make Urbana the best place to be.
I am so excited about this school year. We are off to a fantastic start and we want to keep the momentum going, so continue to be positive, be present, and be involved. As I stated before, please stay glued to your emails, The District website, and our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information about events, my superintendent goals, good news, and upcoming superintendent blog posts. In the meantime, please go and follow me on Twitter and let me know how excited you are for the great year ahead!
#UrbanaBetterTogether #ProudofU116