News and information from our district and schools
MEYER. MIDDLETON. McCRACKEN. Games. Meal Menu.
FEBRUARY 9, 2024
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DISTRICT NEWS
Teachers will be available for your choice of in-person OR video conferences on the following dates:
- Thursday, February 15th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m
- Friday, February 16th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Visit SD735.org/ptc for complete conference information, step-by-step instructions for scheduling a conference, and other information to help you plan for conferences.
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF GRANT
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) announced earlier this week that Skokie School District 73.5 is among 32 school districts that have been awarded the Fiscal Year 2024 Property Tax Relief Grant. The grant program allows school districts to reduce local property taxes and replace that revenue with state funds.
Please see the Resolution Providing for Abatement of 2023 and 2024 Taxes in Order to Obtain Fiscal Year 2024 Property Tax Relief Grant item in the New Business section of the February 13th Board of Education meeting agenda for information about how the grant benefits Skokie73.5 and local taxpayers. The agenda will be posted on BoardDocs before the meeting.
STUDENT SERVICES
Niles Township District for Special Education (NTDSE) is offering several programs in February! Click or tap a link below to view Parent Events and Professional Development opportunities:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently launched the annual Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day campaign to help millions of low-to-moderate income working Americans that are eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Learn more about the EITC and other tax credits in this IRS News Release.
GET TO KNOW THE PTO!
The PTO seeks volunteers to help at the DISTRICT BINGO NIGHT on Thursday, February 29th. Click HERE to sign up.
The PTO welcomes the community to TASTE OF 73.5 on Sunday, April 14th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at McCracken Middle School.
Click or tap the flyer for more information on the PTO website!
Cultural groups are invited to register for a booth to showcase displays and/or food samples that represent their cultural backgrounds.
Email [email protected] if you would like to help plan the event.
Visit district735pto.org and get to know your PTO!
Questions about this calendar or events? Please email [email protected].
DISTRICT DATES
SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, February 29th
6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Join the Skokie73.5 Equity Committee and the PTO for a fun night of BINGO!
Watch for more information as it becomes available.
In the meantime,
SAVE THAT DATE!
AROUND TOWN
Check the SkokieNews for information and updates from the Village of Skokie.
Scroll the Skokie Public Library Newsletter for information about library events and services for all ages and abilities.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES will be held on Thursday, February 15th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Friday, February 16th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (see the District section above for more information).
Parents/guardians were sent an email on Wednesday, January 31st with information about how to sign up for conferences. Please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions. If you would like to meet with Meyer part-time teachers, they will be available at select times, in-person or through Zoom.
- Mrs. Castellini, our Art/Music teacher, will be available on Thursday, February 15th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please contact Mrs. Castellini through Seesaw or by email at [email protected], to schedule an appointment.
- Ms. Iida, our Physical Education teacher, will be available on Friday, February 16th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Please contact Ms. Iida through Seesaw or by email at [email protected], to schedule an appointment.
Meyer celebrated WORLD READ ALOUD DAY with McCracken students on Wednesday, February 7th. Students from McCracken’s Social Justice Club visited Meyer to read to our Shining Stars. The books, with themes around social justice and helping us build a stronger community, were hand selected by Social Justice Club members. Thank you to the McCracken Social Justice Club and librarians Amy Kelley and Tori Gammeri!
Meyer School will host a PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE for new families interested in the 2024-2025 school year on Sunday, February 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. If you have neighbors and friends who have children turning 3 or 4 years old on or before September 1, 2024, please help us spread the word! Detailed information about our preschool program will be available soon!
VERY BUSY PRESCHOOLERS
Meyer Superstars
Mrs. Solomon's Kindergarten Superstars
Ms. Chen's Preschool Superstars
MEYER DATES
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PACKAGES will be sent home in student backpacks on Friday, February 9th. Please look these over and bring any questions you may have to Parent-Teacher Conferences, or feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher.
Last week in MRS. BARNOLD'S CLASS the students were super excited to find out if the groundhog saw his shadow. They were thrilled to find out that he didn’t. Hooray for an early spring!
The Middleton winter/spring EnrichMD (enrichment program) brochures went out last week on paper and through email. Programming runs from Monday, February 26th through Friday, May 10th.
All EnrichMD REGISTRATION FORMS were due this Friday, February 9th. Late registration forms will be accepted until Monday, February 12th. Students with late registrations will be placed only if there is space in the preferred classes. Class confirmations will go home on Friday, February 16th.
MIDDLETON STUDENT COUNCIL is partnering with Niles North Student Council for KINDNESS DAY. Students will participate in a kindness bingo game; if they fill their card they will win prizes provided by Niles North like buttons and a gift certificate for a free custard from Culver's. Thank you to the Niles North Student Council for partnering with Middleton's Student Council to show our students how to be kind leaders!
Yearbook Orders
IT'S TIME TO ORDER YOUR 2023-2024 MIDDLETON YEARBOOK! What better way to remember this unique school year? The yearbook costs $20 and is now available for pre-order. Orders may be placed online through the Lifetouch website at ybpay.lifetouch.com. The Yearbook ID Code is 13556524. Click or tap the flyer for more information!
WORLD READ ALOUD DAY is an annual event in early February that celebrates the power of reading aloud to students of all ages! Each year, McCracken librarian Tori Gammeri partners with Meyer librarian Amy Kelley and our Social Justice Club to share the love and lessons of reading with our youngest students. We had eager volunteers from all three grade levels who did a phenomenal job choosing positive stories promoting inclusivity and community. Thank you to Mrs. Gammeri, Mrs. Kelley, staff chaperones, and members of our Social Justice Club for helping to build community within our district!
FEBRUARY ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM. McCracken students will have the opportunity to be entered into a monthly attendance raffle recognizing students who are on time to school and those who miss no more than one day per month. Each student who achieves 95% attendance will be entered into this raffle and those who have 100% attendance will be entered twice. There will be three prizes distributed to students in each grade level. We are excited to welcome students to school each day for a full day of learning! PLEASE NOTE that religious holidays will not count toward any absences.
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! 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 about the importance of consistent school attendance and keeping your child engaged in school.
8th GRADE PARENT/GUARDIAN GRADUATION CEREMONY/EVENTS COMMUNICATION. We currently have our 8th grade graduation date reserved with Niles North High School on Tuesday, May 28th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Students are expected to maintain academic and behavior expectations in order to fully participate in all graduation events. There will be more information regarding graduation events in the upcoming months which will include the process for securing tickets to the ceremony. We are currently collecting diploma names and graduation gown and tassel orders from families. Please review the linked parent/guardian letter below to complete required forms and place online orders. We will continue to communicate information to families through email and in The Weekly newsletter.
- Graduation Parent/Guardian Letter January 2024
Diploma Card Names and Gown and Tassel Orders were due on Monday, February 5th
Arrival & Dismissal
Please help us keep our students, staff, families, and visitors safe by following our arrival and dismissal safety reminders.
McCRACKEN DATES
Spectator Guidelines
We are excited to host and participate in Little 9 Conference sporting events! Please review behavior expectations for students, families, and visitors.
Halal meals available on request: Meatball and Rice Bowl, Chicken Sandwich, Cheese Sandwich. Kosher meals available on request: All Beef Hot Dog, Cheese Sandwich. Monthly meal menu at-a-glance is available HERE.
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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