The MEYER PARENT LEADERS (MPL), a committee of the Skokie73.5 PTO, is an inclusive group of Meyer parents/guardians who are dedicated to providing opportunities for Meyer families to connect and gather as a school community. 

The next MPL meeting is next week, on Thursday, November 21 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. over Zoom. All parents/guardians are welcome to join the meeting.

Thursday, November 21, 2024
7:00 to 8:00 pm
The Zoom link will be sent to Meyer families through Seesaw the day before the meeting.

Questions? Please email the Meyer Parent Leaders at [email protected].

Meyer Shining Stars will have a fall celebration in their classrooms on Friday, November 22. Your child’s classroom teacher will provide more information about their plans for this celebration, and feel free to contact them with any questions. If you plan on attending your child’s classroom celebration, please be sure to bring your state-issued ID card or Driver’s License to check into the Meyer office.

Meyer will be collecting Coins for Kindness from December 2-10 to benefit District 73.5 families who need extra kindness and support this holiday season. Our Meyer Shining Stars may bring loose change or coins to school for our collection. Please see the FLYER for details.

Meyer Parent Leaders will use the money collected to purchase gifts for our “adopted” families based on their wishlists. Kindergarten classes will “shop” for gifts for our families at the Meyer Mart on Tuesday, December 17 to learn about “needs” and “wants,” and our preschool classes will wrap the presents and create the cards for families. We hope our students will also learn that small acts of kindness can add up to a whole lot when we work together!

As we head into colder temperatures, please send students to school in a jacket and appropriate outerwear for outdoor recess.

You may also want to start to gather appropriate outerwear for the winter, such as a warm coat, hat, gloves, scarf, winter boots, and snow pants.

As long as it is not raining, we will go outside for recess. In general, if it “feels” like 15 degrees or above and it is not raining/snowing, we will go outside. Please see the Child Care Weather Watch chart that we use to guide our decisions.

At Middleton, one area of teaching we are focusing on is called self-management. We are working on self-management across the day, and especially in the hallways and at recess.

In younger grades, we focus on impulse control: being the boss of our brains and bodies by keeping our hands and feet to ourselves when we have big feelings.

In older grades, we build on this to teach students to express feelings in a socially acceptable manner, like talking to resolve conflict.

One strategy for helping students with self-management is to get better at naming feelings. When kids have more words for naming big feelings, they are less likely to act impulsively. At Middleton, we use the Zones of Regulation to help students identify their feelings. Using a feelings wheel, like this free printable from the Raising an Extraordinary Person website, can help students get better at naming their feelings.

The Middleton parent meeting for the 4th and 5th Grade Musical is NEXT WEEK, Wednesday November 20 from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Please note the location change to Multipurpose Room (MPR). We hope to see you there! Please see this flyer for more information!

SAVE THE DATE! WINTER CLASSROOM CELEBRATION
Middleton Bulldogs will have a winter celebration in their classrooms on Friday, December 13. Watch for more details in next week’s Weekly and in teacher newsletters!

Rehearsals and performances wrapped up this week for this year’s musical, Newsies, Jr.! Special thanks to our Musical Director, Ms. Amy Keipert, for her planning and organization. We also recognize Ms. Kate Magnuson as the Musical Producer, Ms. Sally Alvarado as the Musical Manager, and our parent volunteers. We are looking forward to the final performances scheduled to take place on Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16. Thank you to our student performers for their time and commitment to the musical and to families for supporting their efforts!

In an effort to better support the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) needs of our students, we have continued our partnership with an outside organization named Paws for Patrick. This organization provides the opportunity for students to spend time with a therapy dog during their recess period at school. If you are not familiar, a therapy dog is trained to provide affection, comfort, and support to people in various settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, schools, libraries, disaster areas, etc. Paws for Patrick is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting young people with emotional support animals and therapy dogs in order to support students with their mental health. Our first visit took place on Tuesday, November 12 and we hope to arrange for additional visits throughout the 2024-2025 school year. Thank you to our Student Service Team and Assistant Principal Trevor Dykes for coordinating this partnership at McCracken!

In its work to address the vaping epidemic, the Skokie Health Department cites a U.S. Surgeon General alert about a drastic increase in vaping among high school students. Their website describes vaping as "the act of inhaling an aerosol produced by heating a liquid that contains nicotine, flavorings, heavy metals, and other harmful products." Nicotine is highly addictive and can cause permanent damage to a person’s lungs as well as harm brain development in adolescents. Middle school and high school students are at a higher risk for using these dangerous products. Kids may get access to these products from older relatives and friends and these devices may look like a small USB flash drive, pen, highlighter, or other item. Students caught vaping on school property or being in possession of vape products are subject to serious disciplinary consequences according to Board Policy. Talk to your child about the dangers of vaping and access the resources below for more information.

• Village of Skokie Vaping Website
• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Smoking and Tobacco Use
• Vaping: What Parents Should Know from KidsHealth

E-cigarette use among U.S. youth

Current use of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches among U.S. middle and high school students in 2024.

Students will be covering bullying topics in their extended advisory classes this month using our Second Step Social and Emotional Learning curriculum. Students learn how to recognize bullying and harrassment, stand up safely to bullying, and respond appropriately to harassment. Families can access the scope and sequence of the bullying and harassment unit HERE which includes the lesson themes, CASEL Core Competencies, title, and objectives. In addition, there is a family letter which provides grade level specific information about the upcoming bullying unit below.

• 6th Grade Second Step Family Letter: Recognizing Bullying & Harassment Unit
• 7th Grade Second Step Family Letter: Recognizing Bullying & Harassment Unit
• 8th Grade Second Step Family Letter: Recognizing Bullying & Harassment Unit