Meyer’s PICTURE RETAKES are scheduled for Thursday, November 9th. 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 9th. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher or the Meyer Office at 847-673-1223.

EMERGENCY CLOTHING REMINDER. At the beginning of the school year, we asked every student to bring a complete set of spare clothing to keep at school in case of an emergency. With cooler weather, 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!

DRESSING FOR OUTDOOR RECESS. As we head into colder temperatures, please start to gather appropriate outerwear, 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.

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. 

ALL 8th GRADE STUDENTS WILL TAKE THE PSAT ASSESSMENT AT NILES NORTH HIGH SCHOOL ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28th. Please see the attached PSAT Assessment Information document for additional information and check your email for student-specific testing information from Niles North High School.

Students should bring a pencil or pen. There is no need for a student photo I.D. as we have provided identification information directly to Niles North. District 219 will provide a Chromebook and scratch paper. The digital test has a built-in Desmos calculator, but students are welcome to bring an approved calculator. Please review a template email from Niles North which includes additional testing information. Your student-specific email from Niles North will include your child’s name and testing time. Please reach out to Ms. Gonzales or Mr. Felton at Niles North with any specific questions related to the PSAT:

Christine Gonzales
[email protected]
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction

Marlon Felton
[email protected]
Assistant Principal for Operations

This year, McCracken is registered to become 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. We are hoping to earn the official designation this school year. Students and staff had the opportunity to participate in reciting and signing the McCracken No Place For Hate pledge during advisory on Tuesday. We would like to recognize each student, staff member, and families who are committed to treating one another with respect and make an effort to create a safe and welcoming learning environment at McCracken!

FALL CELEBRATIONS. Skokie73.5 does not observe Halloween during the school day in an effort to be more inclusive and so that all students may participate in our celebrations.Students and staff are not permitted to wear costumes or distribute candy. If students do come to school in costumes on October 31st, they will be directed to change out of them.

McCracken students will have the opportunity to attend our Fall Hornet Hangout event on Wednesday, November 15th to enjoy music, games, and activities with peers. Special thanks to the McCracken Student Council for planning this event!

Thank you for your continued partnership and understanding as we strive to provide an inclusive and culturally responsive school environment.

OCTOBER SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS. McCracken students are eligible to earn a wide variety of acknowledgements for their accomplishments in school! This includes Spotlight on Success, which recognizes students’ academic growth and achievement. Each month, teachers celebrate the many students who have demonstrated academic success in each grade level to honor them for making progress toward learning standards, meeting or extending learning standards, demonstrating great interest in a particular subject area, and/or demonstrating a growth mindset. Students are featured in our morning announcements, receive a certificate in person and by mail, and are delivered a fun incentive by staff, administration, and our school mascot with our Ollie Trolley! Congratulations to our October Spotlight on Success recipients!

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. Here at McCracken, we 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! Families in need of outerwear for their child should contact administration for additional resources.

Rehearsals continue for this year’s musical, INTO THE WOODS, JR. Special thanks to all of our students and our Musical Director, Amy Keipert, for her planning and organization. We would also like to recognize Kate Magnuson as the Musical Producer and Sally Alvarado as the Musical Manager. Tech Crew applications were due last week. We are looking forward to final performances scheduled to take place on Friday, November 10th and Saturday, November 11th! Ticket sales will go live on Monday, October 30th online via a link/QR code. More info to come!