News and information from our district and schools
Scroll to view District updates and news from Meyer, Middleton, and McCracken!
JANUARY 10, 2025
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DISTRICT UPDATES
FACILITY & INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING
Are you passionate about improving our schools and shaping the future of our district? Here’s your chance to make a difference!
We invite you to join us for a community meeting to explore our school improvement planning process. You'll have an opportunity to learn about the current state of our facilities and infrastructure and gain insight into the exciting steps ahead.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 28 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Middleton Elementary School Multipurpose Room
RSVP is requested: https://forms.gle/iNvutgdBtspXMBPL8
We’ll also introduce information about a Facilitating Team of community members who will play a key role in guiding these steps. Attending the community meeting doesn’t commit you to joining the Facilitating Team, but we hope you’ll be inspired to join the team and work with us on these important next steps.
Let’s work together to create lasting change for our students and our community. We look forward to seeing you there!
STUDENT SERVICES NEWS
NTDSE offers the following Family Events in January. Click the event name or check the NTDSE calendar for more information and registration.
- Parent Group: Communication
Wednesday, January 15 from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. - CPR for Families & Educators
Wednesday, January 22 from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. - Family and Friends SMORRES Training: Using Communication Devices at Home–New Users
Thursday, January 23 from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. - First Aid for Families & Educators
Wednesday, January 29 from 3:45 to 6;15 p.m.
Don't miss the January Niles Township Community Events list for even MORE activities for children and families!
GET TO KNOW THE PTO!
The PTO needs VOLUNTEERS for three upcoming Middleton events!
- January 23: Cozy Reading! Popcorn passers from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Sign up HERE!
- January 31: 4th/5th Grade Dance Party! Decorations, snack sales, clean-up between 5:00 and 8:30 p.m. Sign up HERE! View the Dance Party details HERE.
- February 7, 13, 14, 17: Middleton Book Fair! Setup, sales, teardown. Sign up HERE!
The next PTO REGULAR MEETING is Monday, January 13, 2025, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in person in the McCracken MPR and online at Google Meet.
Visit district735pto.org and get to know your PTO!
Questions about this calendar or events? Please email [email protected].
AROUND TOWN
Village of Skokie newsletter
Skokie Public Library newsletter and January events
NTDSE Community Events newsletter
SKOKIE WARMING CENTERS
Visit the Village of Skokie website for hours, addresses, phone numbers, and a map.
DISTRICT DATES
Meyer School will be hosting Family Fun Night next week on Thursday, January 16 from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. Meyer staff will lead fun learning activities you can do as a family. Bring the whole family for an art/craft, literacy/math activity, and a family project. Please see the FLYER for more information. We will follow this schedule for the event:
- 6:05-6:25 Activity 1
- 6:25-6:30 Move to Next Activity
- 6:30-6:50 Activity 2
- 6:50-6:55 Move to Next Activity
- 6:55-7:15 Activity 3
We hope to see you there!
KINDERGARTEN ENRICHMENT
Meyer Winter Enrichment classes for kindergartners will run from January 28 through March 20, 2025, for an 8-week session. Enrich MEYER brochures were sent home in backpacks right before Winter Break.
We have classes that are already full, but Enrich MEYER still has spots open in the following classes:
- Afterschool Sports & Games
- Amazing Minds
- Ballet/Hip-Hop Combo: Kaleidoscope Dance Studio
- Bitty Ballers Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Li'l Masters with Young Rembrandts: Drawing
Sign up your child online or by turning in the paper form to the Meyer Office by Wednesday, January 15! Confirmations will be sent out by Tuesday, January 21. If you have any questions, please contact our Enrich MEYER Coordinator, Rachel Douglas, at [email protected].
ACCESS TESTING
Multilingual learners will participate in ACCESS TESTING beginning at the end of January so that we can learn more about their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the English language. Students will be assessed one-on-one. Please feel free to contact our EL teacher, Ms. Una Ikanovic, with any questions at [email protected].
PBIS FAMILY CONNECTION: REVIEW OF BEING SAFE
Next week, we will continue to review how to be safe and to practice “body is calm,” “personal space bubble,” and “walking feet.” Check out our last few issues of the Meyer Weekly on how to practice these three things at home.
NOV 15, 2024
DEC 6, 2024
DEC 13, 2024
MRS. NAHHAS' DIRECTED DRAWING ACTIVITY
MEYER DATES
MEYER SUPERSTARS
Ms. Mpistolarides' & Zaccone's Kindergarten Superstars
Ms. Swift's Preschool Superstars
Middleton will host Cozy Family Reading Night on Thursday, January 23 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Middleton staff will lead fun literacy related crafts and activities, including a book swap, Fitness ABCs, book mark making, popcorn from the PTO, and more! Bring the whole family!
Please watch for a flyer to come home Monday. We hope to see you there!
EMILY OAKS WINTER NATURE PROGRAM
Please see this FLYER for more information about an After School Nature Club for Middleton students at Emily Oaks Nature Center. Transportation to Emily Oaks is included! Classes begin Monday, January 13, so register as soon as possible!
ACCESS TESTING
Multilingual learners will participate in ACCESS Testing beginning at the end of January so that we can learn more about their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the English language. Students will be assessed one-on-one. Please feel free to contact any of our multilingual team teachers if you have any questions.
ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
Did you know that missing two days of school a month, over the course of a school year, can affect a student's academic success? Please help us in making school attendance a priority! If you know that your child will be absent for the day, please contact the school attendance line or put the absence in online by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Thank you for your partnership!
PBIS FAMILY CONNECTIONS: RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Another area of teaching we are focusing on at Middleton is relationship skills. Relationship skills are the skills students develop to help them maintain healthy and supportive relationships (CASEL, 2025). Students navigate relationships all day at school in partner and group work, as well as during unstructured times like lunch and recess. At home, your kids navigate relationships with family members and friends as well. Across grades, we work on helping students recognize how their words and actions impact others, and to notice when what they may have said or done as a joke has upset someone. Empathy and awareness of others are a big part of building relationships.
We have observed some students, particularly in 5th grade, engaging in “roasts” of each other. Please talk to your child about how jokes at the expense of others are not jokes that are funny or okay at school. “Roasting” one another does not support building strong positive relationships! Thank you for your support.
Check out this 4 minute video from PBS on relationship skills!
Congratulations to our 7th and 8th grade students selected to participate in the All-Illinois Junior Band Festival (AIJB) at the University of Illinois on Friday, January 17 and Saturday, January 18. AIJB is a state-wide honor band and students were selected into the 82 member ensemble through very competitive blind auditions last November. They’ll spend the two days working with Dr. Linda Moorhouse, Director of the School of Music at University of Illinois with the concert taking place Saturday afternoon. You can access additional information about this event on the AIJB website.
MLK JR. DAY OF SERVICE & FOOD DRIVE
On Monday, January 20, McCracken will hold the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and Food Drive. This is an opportunity for students to honor the legacy of Dr. King by volunteering their time to help our school and community. Participants will complete various service projects in the school as well as facilitate a food drive to benefit the Niles Township Food Pantry. Donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries, and cleaning products can be dropped off in the circle drive in front of McCracken on January 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Students who are volunteering need to complete a permission slip which they can pick up outside room 222. Bus transportation will not be provided for this event.
ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
Did you know that missing two days of school a month, over the course of a school year, can affect a student's academic success? Please help us make school attendance a priority! This McCracken Attendance Reminders sheet provides information about the importance of consistent school attendance and keeping your child engaged in school. If you know that your child will be absent for the day, please call our school nurse, Ms. Warda, at 847-676-8235 by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Please review the McCracken Attendance Reminders for more information.
8th GRADE INFORMATION
UPDATED JANUARY 10, 2025
Please see the following updates to the important dates to remember for our 8th grade families:
- 8th Grade Curriculum Night at Niles North High School: Thursday, January 16, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. PLEASE SEE THE NILES NORTH FAMILY FLYER HERE.
- 8th Grade Graduation Pictures: Thursday, January 30, 2025 (Graduation gowns for the photos will be provided for pictures by Lifetouch. Students take one photo in the graduation gown and one photo without the gown.)
- Student Counselor Appointments at Niles North High School: Thursday, February 6, 2025 (Parents and guardians will receive their appointment information from Niles North after winter break.)
- 8th Grade End of Year Celebration: Friday, May 16, 2025
- 8th Grade Graduation: Wednesday, May 28, 2025
8th grade parents and families are invited to attend Niles North Curriculum Night on Thursday, January 16 at 6:00 p.m. Students and families can learn more about academic programming available to incoming freshmen as they prepare to transition to high school next year. Individualized student packets will be distributed to students and families which will include 2025-2026 freshman course recommendations and PSAT score information. PSAT scores are also available to access on the College Board website. Please reach out to Niles North High School with any questions related to PSAT scores, counselor appointments, and course recommendations. Eighth grade students and a parent/guardian will be expected to participate in counselor appointments on February 6 at Niles North High School. Families will receive their individual appointment times from Niles North after winter break. Please note that Niles North is planning to host an athletic and activities fair for incoming freshman in the spring.
OUTDOOR RECESS 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. Please send your child to school with appropriate outerwear. For winter weather, students will need a warm coat, hat, gloves, and winter snow boots when necessary. Families in need of outerwear for their child should contact school administration for additional resources.
In general, students go outside for recess as long as it “feels” like 15 degrees or above and it is not raining or snowing. See the Child Care Weather Watch chart that we use to guide our decisions.
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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