Seesaw is a great way to stay connected to Meyer School and your child’s teacher. Teachers can send messages, share student work, and post photos through this website and app. If you have not signed up for Seesaw yet and would like to set up your account, please contact your child’s teacher.

Every year in the fall, we use formal assessments to understand students’ early reading and math skills. This information helps teachers plan lessons, to identify students who need extra help, and to monitor student growth. These assessments are conducted one-on-one with a teacher. We will be assessing our Kindergarten students in early literacy and math skills, for teaching and learning purposes, September 3-11. For more information on assessments we use in the district for each grade level, please visit sd735.org/cia/assessments. If you have questions about these assessments, please contact your child’s teacher or our school psychologist, Dr. Kristen McCann, at [email protected]. Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Mark your calendars! Meyer’s Picture Day is scheduled for Friday, September 20 during the school day. Flyers with more details will be sent home as we get closer to the date.

When dropping off and picking up students, please pull all the way up. This supports us in getting as many cars through the line as quickly as possible.

If you are driving to pick up your child, please wait in the car line. The school across the street is not an option for parking your car to pick up your child. Please do not park on Madison Street between St. Louis and Central Park and cross Madison Street to pick up your child. There is no crosswalk, and we are trying to dismiss over 500 students to cars and buses safely. If you must park to pick up your child, please cross all streets at intersections. We appreciate your cooperation.

If you need to change your child’s dismissal, please call the main office before 2:00 p.m. While we are so glad you communicate with your child and their teachers, the main office is responsible for ensuring all students arrive at their after-school destinations safely. Dismissal changes must be made by contacting the office at 847-673-1222 or by email at [email protected].

In addition to our Middleton-housed Enrichment activities, we are fortunate to partner with Emily Oaks Nature Center to bus students from Middleton to Emily Oaks for an After-School Nature Club. The details, including how to register through the Skokie Park District, are below:

Instructor: Emily Oaks Nature Center staff
Grades: 1-5
Mondays 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. from September 9 to November 18, 2024

Description: Explore the natural world, learn new skills, be creative, and have fun with friends at Emily Oaks Nature Center this fall! Participants will journey to a different national park each week and get to know the special features of each! The club meetings take place outdoors at Emily Oaks and transportation is provided by nature center staff.

Parents must register students through the Skokie Park District. Contact Cassie Schaeffer at [email protected] with any questions. Students will be transported to Emily Oaks at 3:00 p.m. by Emily Oaks staff. Parents will pick up students at Emily Oaks at 5:00 p.m. If fee assistance is needed, please send an email directly to [email protected].

We look forward to sharing the Fall 2024 Enrich MD brochure for after-school activities next week. The Fall Enrich MD session is scheduled to run from September 30 to December 13.

Middleton's 3rd-5th grade Running Club began this week. We had 90 students register to participate, which is absolutely wonderful! We look forward to cheering on our young runners as they make friends, have fun, and prepare for their 5K event at McCracken on Saturday, October 19.

The activity bus (formerly known as the late bus) is now available for students who participate in after-school activities. Unlike in years past, there will be a registration and a $25 fee for families wishing to use the activity bus for each activity this year. Until September 20, students do not need to pay or be registered and will, instead, receive activity bus passes from their activity/club sponsors. After September 20, families can pay for this transportation (and other activities) by using this payment guide. Students who ride the activity bus are required to know their bus stop on the McCracken Activity Bus Route as there is no staff supervision on the bus. Please note that the stops on the activity bus route may be different from the students' typical stops.

McCracken is 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 up your student for one of McCracken's great extracurricular clubs or activities! Review the McCracken Extracurricular Activities 2024-2025 Slideshow (with videos and important links) and our After School Programs brochure for information, registration links, and the payment link (for a small number of activities).

Remember to check with the nurse to be sure we have a copy of your student's current physical and athletic permit form, which are required for tryouts. Students will not be allowed to participate in tryouts without all of the required forms submitted. School nurses will also accept an Illinois state physical form or sports physical form, both of which are available through a physician. Please review the required health forms on our website’s Health Services page. Payment should be submitted to school offices after tryouts.

In the morning, students may enter the building between 7:30 and 7:40 a.m. through the main entrance to purchase breakfast in the cafeteria or report to the Learning Center. Students are discouraged from arriving prior to 7:30 a.m. unless they have a scheduled activity to attend. Outside student supervision begins at 7:30 a.m. At 7:50 a.m. all students may go to their lockers and proceed to their Advisory class. School starts at 8:00 a.m.

In the afternoon, students are dismissed at 3:00 p.m. except for Tuesdays, when they are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. The Learning Center is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays until 3:55 p.m.

Parents and guardians who drive their student(s) to or from school must use the Circle Drive off of East Prairie Road.

• Parents and guardians must enter the Circle Drive near the south entrance on East Prairie Road, staying on the right side of the drive for pick-up or drop-off (leave the outside lane open to exiting cars at all times). Do NOT drop off or pick up your student in the left lane.
• The Drive-Thru is for right lane drop-off and pick-up only. Do not park in the Drive-Thru lane. Please help to keep our students and staff safe at all times!
• Drivers should NOT enter the Circle Drive coming north off East Prairie Road. Please enter the drop-off or pick-up line driving south on East Prairie.
• Students may NOT walk through the back parking lot for any reason due to traffic.
• Students must exit school property immediately following dismissal and may not stay to congregate with peers outdoors unless involved in an extracurricular activity.
• Crossing guards are available to assist students crossing Oakton Street and Crawford Avenue and also on East Prairie Road and Warren Street.
• Students may NOT cross the street at East Prairie Road and Oakton Street unless accompanied by a parent/guardian. There is no crosswalk or crossing guards and there is a high volume of traffic.

We are excited to host and participate in sporting events in the Little 9 Conference! We do have behavioral expectations for attending games at McCracken for both students and families/visitors:

• Spectators can enter the building and gymnasium only when the supervisor allows. This generally comes after the opposing team has arrived. All spectators will be required to sign in with our supervisors.
• Students are expected to follow all supervisor directions in a respectful manner. 
• Students must stay in the student section and be seated throughout the game. Students cannot hang out in the lobby, make repeated trips to the restroom, or leave and re-enter the building during a game.
• There is no negative cheering permitted against the other team, nor cheering at times to purposely disrupt the other team (for example, during serves in volleyball or free throws in basketball). 
• Students cannot be on their cell phones during games. If they need to make a call, they can step out briefly into the lobby.
• Food and drinks are not allowed in the McCracken gymnasium.
• Any student spectator from another school must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and that student must stay with that parent or guardian throughout the game. 
• Your child will need to be with a parent/guardian if they plan to attend an away game at another school.

Failure to follow any of these behaviors could result in students and/or spectators being asked to leave the game and, possibly, miss additional games as well. Good sportsmanship and kindness lead to positive outcomes for all of our student athletes and spectators!