News and information from our district and schools
Scroll to view District updates and news from Meyer, Middleton, and McCracken!
October 24, 2025
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VERY SPECIAL MYSTERY READER
Who's that Mystery Reader? It's our Superintendent, Dr. Charlie Kyle! He stopped by Ms. Mpistolarides's kindergarten classroom this week to read The Leaf Thief to the class.
BUILDING 73.5
Building 73.5 Community Engagement Session (CES) 4, which was originally scheduled for November 10th, will be moved to early December. This change allows us to ensure that all survey responses are fully collected and reviewed before we reconvene, so your feedback can be included in the discussion. Please be on the lookout for our survey, which will be launching soon.
We appreciate your patience and look forward to connecting with you in December with a complete picture of community input!
FLU CLINIC
Skokie School District 73.5 is partnering with Advocate Children's Hospital and Skokie Health Department to offer a seasonal flu vaccine clinic for students and staff. The seasonal flu vaccines will be administered by Advocate Children's Hospital staff on board the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile during the school day. Parent/Guardian consent is required for children to participate.
The Care Mobile will be at MIDDLETON on Tuesday, November 11th and at MEYER and McCRACKEN on Wednesday, November 12th. If you would like to register your child for a seasonal flu vaccine appointment, please complete this Google Form ONCE PER STUDENT. After submitting the Google Form, you will be able to download a required consent form. Please fill out the consent form and return it to your child's school nurse by Monday, November 3rd. You will be notified by email to confirm your child's registration.
Contact your school nurse with any questions:
- Meyer: Katie Orleans, R.N. [email protected]
- Middleton: Kim Durband, R.N. [email protected]
- McCracken: Marryann Warda, R.N. [email protected]
No action is required if you DO NOT want your child to participate. ONLY students with a signed consent form will participate.
The PTO TRUNK-OR-TREAT is Saturday, October 25th from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Meyer parking lot. Visit the PTO website for information!
The MEYER SOCKTOBER SOCIAL is Thursday, October 30th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. The PTO needs volunteers to help sell snacks and assist with monitoring games/craft activities. Sign up HERE to help out – you don’t need to be a Meyer parent to help. Thank you!
Bring the family and invite some friends for District 73.5 FAMILY NIGHT WITH THE CHICAGO WOLVES at Allstate Arena on Sunday, November 9th at 3:00 p.m. We're all invited to cheer on the Chicago Wolves as they take to the ice against the Grand Rapids Griffins. We have our own section this year, which is closer than last year's section. Buy your tickets HERE before noon on Friday, November 7th. A portion of the proceeds will go towards future PTO events. Check THIS FLYER for additional information!
Content posted on the PTO website is managed by the PTO
Visit district735pto.org and get to know your PTO!
Questions about this calendar or events? Please email [email protected].
AROUND TOWN
DISTRICT DATES
ELL CENTER PROGRAMS
PARENTS IN SCHOOL PROGRAM
ELL CENTER CLASSES
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
OCTOBER IS SOCK-tober!
We’re heading into our last week of our sock donation collection for the Niles Township Clothing Closet. Thank you to Meyer students and families who have been bringing in new socks of all sizes. If you have any new pairs of socks to donate, please send them with your child to school!
This Wednesday is our final Wacky Socks Wednesday! Please have your child wear their most colorful and silly socks to school.
SOCKTOBER SOCIAL ON THURSDAY
Meyer families, please join us for the Meyer Socktober Social on Thursday, October 30th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Meyer School. We will celebrate the end of Socktober together with fun activities and a time to socialize. Bring the whole family!
We will collect final donations of brand-new socks at the Socktober Social, and we will have students guess how many pairs of socks were donated. The student guessing closest to the number will win a special prize! Light snacks will be available for purchase, cash only please.
Meyer families, we can use your help! If you are able to volunteer for a shift, please sign up HERE. Thank you!
EMERGENCY CLOTHING FOR FALL WEATHER
At the beginning of the school year, we asked every student to bring a complete spare set of clothing to keep at school in case of an emergency. With cooler weather upon us, the extra clothing in your child’s locker may no longer be warm enough for our current temperatures. Please send extra fall clothing, as needed, including a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks, and underwear, clearly marked with your child’s name. Thank you!
PBIS FAMILY CONNECTION: RAISE YOUR HAND
This upcoming week, we will begin working on “raising your hand” at school. Students raise their hands at school to take turns sharing our thoughts, and so we don’t interrupt one another.
At home try having your child rest their hand on your arm to signify they have something to say when you are involved in conversation with someone else. It’s okay to say, “please wait” or “give me a minute to finish talking,” before giving them your attention. You can also place your hand over theirs to show them you see and hear them as a non-verbal gesture.
To help your child learn about this, you can watch this Bluey video together!
KINDERGARTEN STEAM
MEYER DATES
PICTURE RETAKES
Meyer’s Picture Retakes are scheduled for Friday, November 7th. If you would like for your child to retake their school picture, please send their Lifetouch picture packet back to school with them on November 7th. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher or the Meyer Office at 847-673-1223 or [email protected].
KINDER SUPERSTARS
PRESCHOOL SUPERSTARS
WELCOME TO MS. MAGGIE BLAES! Please welcome to our staff Ms. Maggie Blaes! Ms. Blaes is our new 2nd grade teacher. She is excited to join our team and work with the wonderful students at Middleton.
MUSICAL PARENT INFO MEETING
Calling all interested 4th and 5th grade students! This year's musical, Frozen Jr., is a great opportunity for you to sing, dance, and act with your friends!
Parents, please join Mrs. Anderson & Ms. Sylvester on Thursday, November 6th from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Middleton MPR for a mandatory parent informational meeting.
MIDDLETON RUNNING CLUB 5K
Come out and cheer on our amazing 3rd–5th grade Middleton Runners as they take on a 5K event at McCracken on Sunday, October 26th at 1:00 p.m.! Bring your energy, make some fun posters, and get ready to encourage our Bulldogs as they complete 3.1 miles around the McCracken track. There will be music and a Kona Ice Truck on site, so come ready for a great time with the whole family! We can’t wait to see you there, cheering loud for our Middleton Bulldogs!
IMPORTANT REMINDER: This is NOT a drop-off event. All children must be supervised by an adult.
WHITE PINES THIS WEEK
Middleton's 5th GRADE WHITE PINES TRIP was a huge success! Students enjoyed time orienteering with compasses, digging for fossils, learning about echolocation through tag games, riding horses, going on an extended hike through a canyon, free time, fun meals, and more!
OUTDOOR RECESS WEATHER REMINDERS
Students participate in outdoor recess throughout the school year, unless there is a significant weather-related or other external factor that necessitates an indoor program. All Skokie73.5 schools use the Child Care Weather Watch system to determine students’ participation in outdoor recess. This guide uses a combination of temperature and wind speed to calculate year-round weather safety for our students. Thank you, in advance, for helping to ensure that your child is prepared with appropriate outerwear for recess so that they are comfortable during our outdoor programming! Students should have warm coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, and boots when there is snow on the ground.
LOST & FOUND
DONATION TIME! The Lost and Found is overflowing, and we will be donating ALL ITEMS in the Lost and Found after FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31st! Please review the Lost and Found photos, and send your child to grab their belongings. You are also welcome to stop by to pick up items you recognize. Please come to the Main Office for Lost and Found items.
I-STATEMENTS AT RECESS
During recess, Bulldogs continue to work together to resolve peer conflict. Peer conflict is a normal part of childhood, and in elementary school, children are learning the skills needed to navigate conflict with friends. In addition to our recess supervisors, Middleton staff are also outside to support students as needed when conflict comes up naturally during play. Here is the visual strategy teachers at Middleton use to help students use their words to talk to each other when conflict happens. You might try using this at home when disagreements happen!
MIDDLETON DATES
PICTURE RETAKES
If you did not order pictures or would like your child to retake them, Middleton retakes are on Wednesday, November 5th. Please return the old pictures. Order forms for new orders are available in the office.
RED RIBBON SPIRIT WEEK is October 27th through October 30th. McCracken students will participate in planned activities during advisory and lunch and recess periods next week to bring awareness about staying healthy and drug free.
- MONDAY: Wear your FAVORITE JERSEY or MATCH (TWIN) WITH SOMEONE to show you are united to saying no to drugs!
- TUESDAY: WEAR RED! Show that you are “RED”y to live a drug-free life.
- WEDNESDAY: HAT DAY! “HATS OFF” TO BEING DRUG FREE
- THURSDAY: PAJAMA DAY! DON’T SLEEP ON A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE!
McCRACKEN STUDENT COMMUNICATION EXPECTATIONS & SUPPORTS
We believe that every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued at school. Creating an inclusive and welcoming environment is essential and includes maintaining learning spaces free from hate speech and bullying. When students feel safe, they are better able to focus on learning, build positive relationships, and thrive academically and socially. Preventive programming is in place at McCracken to support positive peer relationships at school. We have listed a few of these programs below and ask for your partnership in reinforcing the importance of kindness, respect, and acceptance at home, helping us to ensure that our school remains a place where all students can feel safe and reach their full potential. We have also provided our district-wide Behavior Procedures used when investigating reports of concerning incidents. Students may earn consequences as a result of any behaviors outside of school that violate district policies when there is evidence that the incident had a negative impact on the school environment.
All McCracken Middle School students engage in the following:
- PBIS learning stations to practice the “Buzz Behavior” expectations that we have throughout our building, allowing students to be successful! This includes a rotation facilitated by administration and focused on student behavior, anti-bullying and anti-hate speech, outlining the importance of respect, tolerance, and inclusion, as well as providing a clear understanding of the consequences of engaging in this behavior.
- McCracken students engage in community building as well as cover social and emotional and digital citizenship learning standards during extended advisory classes each Friday. Second Step is our SEL curriculum which covers a range of lessons aligned to the Illinois Social and Emotional Learning Standards. A scope and sequence of the bullying units and lessons across each grade level can be found HERE. Our digital citizenship lessons are adopted from the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum which also includes cyberbullying, digital drama, and the use of hate speech.
- Students at McCracken participate in Unite Against Racism activities through a variety of advisory activities. We partner with the YWCA’s Equity Institute, which is dedicated to promoting racial equity at all levels. We join the Skokie community and surrounding schools to learn more about how racial inequities negatively impact the community and explore different ways students can actively unite against racism.
- McCracken is registered as a No Place For Hate school. No Place for Hate (NPFH) is the Anti-Defamation League's nationwide program designed to support schools that are committed to inclusivity, respect, and equity.
CLOTHING DRIVE
McCracken SOCIAL JUSTICE CLUB and STUDENT COUNCIL are teaming up for a winter clothing drive! Winter Warmth is an annual event hosted by Connections for the Homeless to distribute winter coats, winter boots, and other cold weather gear (hats, gloves, scarves) to local people in need. Help us meet our McCracken goal! Drop off your donation of gently used coats, hats, mittens, gloves, scarves or boots in the library or front lobby.
EXTRACURRICULAR PROGRAMMING
Here at McCracken, we are proud to offer a variety of student athletic and enrichment programs. These programs allow students to exercise their strengths, tackle areas of growth, and socialize with peers. Be sure to sign your student up for one of our great extracurricular clubs or activities here at McCracken! Please access the McCracken Extracurricular Brochure HERE.
EXTRACURRICULAR SPECTATOR GUIDELINES
We appreciate all the support our families provide to our McCracken student-athletes, coaching staff, and referees throughout the school year. Participation in a variety of extracurricular programming fosters improved academic and social skills such as time management, leadership, and teamwork. In order to run a productive, positive, and safe athletic program, our families must follow the Little 9 Township parent/guardian expectations. VIEW THE McCRACKEN EXTRACURRICULAR SPECTATOR GUIDELINES...
ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL SAFETY
Please help us to keep our students, staff, families, and visitors safe by following our arrival and dismissal procedures. Parents and guardians who drive their student(s) to or from school must use the Circle Drive off of East Prairie Road. VIEW THE McCRACKEN ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL SAFETY REMINDERS...
McCRACKEN ACTIVITY BUS
McCracken offers an activity bus for our students who participate in our after-school activities. VIEW THE McCRACKEN ACTIVITY BUS INFORMATION for some important notes....
McCRACKEN DATES
McCRACKEN GAMES
District Priorities
WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT. We will welcome and engage staff, students, families and community members in our schools.
HIRING & RETENTION. We will recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce and improve our human resource processes, procedures, and materials.
INFRASTRUCTURE & FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. All financial decisions and investments will meet the needs of our diverse learners and staff and promote academic and social growth. We will provide a safe, inclusive, flexible, and innovative space for teaching, learning, and growing.
TEACHING & LEARNING. All students will engage in learning experiences that are cohesive and articulated across PreK-8, flexibly designed to engage all learners and leading to rigorous outcomes for all. We will be a future-focused, real-world learning environment that is responsive, accessible, and meaningful for all. We will become a model district on the use of data for making instructional, curriculum, and programmatic decisions.
Equity Mission Statement
WE BELIEVE that inclusivity and belonging is the foundation for equity.
ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN, at high achievement levels, when equity is infused into every aspect of education.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE the systemic inequities present in school systems and recognize the impact they continue to have on marginalized communities.
WE COMMIT to teaching, learning, and growing in order to identify and dismantle inequitable systems and to create a community where barriers are removed so that everyone can reach their full potential.
WE BELIEVE that students succeed when they can see themselves represented in our staff, curriculum, opportunities, and our shared environment. We accomplish this through professional development, curriculum revision, community engagement, and systems evaluations.
WE RECOGNIZE the need to teach our students to identify the origins of unjust systems and empower them to use their critical thinking skills and agency to responsibly disrupt the policies and practices that perpetuate inequalities.
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