KINDERGARTEN MUSIC "INFORMANCES." What is an Informance? An informance is a way to inform parents of what a typical music class is like. It is similar to a performance in that there is an audience, but instead of rehearsing set pieces, the students demonstrate what they do during music class. The setting is smaller and more intimate than a larger performance. Parents see first-hand how their child experiences music at Meyer School!

WHEN:

• Ms. Huynh’s class: Monday, May 13th at 11:00 a.m.
• Ms. Solomon’s class: Monday, May 13th at 12:00 p.m.
• Ms. Mpistolarides and Ms. Zaccone’s class: Monday May 13th at 1:00 p.m.
   
• Ms. Lancioni’s class: Tuesday, May 14th at 9:30 a.m.
• Ms. LaBarbera’s class: Tuesday, May 14th at 10:30 a.m.

Each Informance will last approximately 25 minutes. Seating is limited so we ask that each child invites a maximum of 2 adults.

Please check in with your ID at the Meyer office. Plan to arrive approximately 10 minutes early to allow time for check in. Thank you!

See this FLYER for information. If you have any questions, contact Mrs. Castellini at [email protected]. We hope to see you there!

Please join Middleton staff, students, and families on Friday, May 10th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. for FAMILY FITNESS NIGHT! We'll play some Middleton favorites and get ACTIVE!

The P.E. Staff and teams will be encouraging everyone to play, so ALL participants are asked to dress in active wear with gym shoes. All students who attend must be accompanied by an adult. We look forward to a FUN and ACTIVE night! See you there!

Our 1st and 2nd grade students perform their SPRING MUSIC CONCERTS on Thursday, May 16th. The 1st graders will sing from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. and 2nd graders will sing from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Watch for more information from Ms. Sylvester and your child's classroom teacher.

SAVE THE DATE! Help us celebrate the accomplishments of our 5th grade students! Join us in the Middleton gym on Wednesday, May 29th from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. for poetry, art, and a fond farewell as they prepare to move on to 6th grade.

Current 5th grade parents and guardians are also invited to visit McCracken Middle School on Thursday, May 9th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for "On to 6th Grade." Check the McCracken section below for the "On to 6th Grade" parent/guardian event invitation and more information.

Next week is McCracken's PURPLE PRIDE WEEK. Students will participate in SPRING BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS for math and reading. NWEA MAP testing is on Wednesday, May 8th and Thursday, May 9th. Students will have the chance to win prizes for showing the highest fall-to-spring growth and also contribute to their advisory's chances to win our Advisory Growth Contest. On Friday, May 10th all students will take the CBMmath Automaticity assessment in their advisories, while some will be tested for CBMreading throughout the day. We'll follow special testing schedules on all of these days; students are encouraged to get a good night's rest the nights before testing, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at McCracken on time with a charged Chromebook every day.

Congratulations to the McCRACKEN CHOIRS for their outstanding achievements at the State IGSMA contest last week. The 7th and 8th grade Singers earned Superior Ratings and Hornet Harmony earned Superior with High Honor ratings. We couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and accomplishments this year! Special thanks to McCracken Choir Director Ms. Amy Keipert for her leadership and commitment to our choir program.

McCracken Middle School has been recognized as a 2023-2024 PROJECT LEAD THE WAY (PLTW) Distinguished School. This honor is given to a select number of middle schools across the U.S. for providing broad access to transformative learning experiences for students through PLTW Gateway, a grade 6-8 STEM curriculum. Research shows that the middle grades play a pivotal role in influencing high school, college, and career success. During this transitional time, it’s crucial to provide students with access to relevant, engaging, and real-world learning experiences that expose the range of career paths and possibilities available to them. Whether designing an automated robotics system or exploring aerospace by creating designs and prototypes, PLTW Gateway students engage in critical and creative thinking, build teamwork skills, and develop confidence in STEM subjects. Thank you to Ms. Lisa Repp for for her continued commitment to STEAM programming at McCracken Middle School.

Students at McCracken participated in UNITE AGAINST RACISM this week through a variety of advisory activities. We partner with the YWCA’s Equity Institute, which is dedicated to promoting racial equity at all levels. We joined the Skokie community and surrounding schools to learn more about how racial inequities negatively impact the community and explored different ways students can actively unite against racism in their own lives.

Current 5th grade parents and guardians are invited to visit McCracken Middle School on Thursday, May 9th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. McCracken administration and 6th grade team members will be present to review important information to support the successful transition of our incoming 6th grade McCracken Hornets. The team will review general information about advisory, student schedules, lockers, August Meet and Greet, PBIS and CHAMPS behavior supports, social and emotional supports, and extracurricular programming. The administration will also lead an optional tour for families at the end of the program. All of this information will also be shared digitally for families who were not able to participate. We are also looking forward to welcoming 5th grade students who will visit McCracken on Thursday, May 16th during the school day! Please review this "On to 6th Grade" parent/guardian event invitation (available in multiple languages).

McCracken students engage in community building and cover social and emotional and digital citizenship learning standards during extended advisory classes each Friday. Second Step is our SEL curriculum which covers a range of lessons aligned to the Illinois Social and Emotional Learning Standards. A scope and sequence of the units and lessons across each grade level can be found HERE.

Students learned about perspective taking this week with the overall goal of being able to explain how to listen to and consider someone else’s perspective during a conflict. Our digital citizenship lessons are adopted from the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum. The units covered during April were social media as it relates to relationships and appropriate and healthy communication. In addition, lessons in middle school covered cyberbullying, digital drama, and the use of hate speech. Check out these Family Tips on supporting kids with Online Cyberbullying (also available in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese).

8th GRADE PARENT/GUARDIAN GRADUATION COMMUNICATION. Please review recent communication to families regarding important graduation events coming up at the end of the school year to celebrate our McCracken 8th grade class of 2024. We communicate information by email, postal mail, and through our Weekly newsletter.

• March Graduation Parent/Guardian Letter (graduation ceremony, yard signs, t-shirt orders, graduation rehearsal, 8th grade end-of-year celebration, and more!)
• April Parent Reminders: 8th Grade Parent/Guardian Communication (April 12, 2024)

Please see the message below from the 8th grade parent committee about our end-of-the-year celebration:

Help our 8th graders celebrate their year-end in style! Please consider making a donation to fund food, decorations, and a DJ. Please consider making a donation now using THIS LINK to give our students a great sendoff!

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.