News and information from our district and schools
Scroll to view District updates and news from Meyer, Middleton, and McCracken!
SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
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DISTRICT UPDATES
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Teachers will be available for your choice of in-person OR video conferences on the following dates and times:
- Thursday, October 10 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m
- Friday, October 11 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Online registration for October conferences opens on Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 a.m. and closes on Tuesday, October 8 at 3:00 p.m.
McCRACKEN FAMILIES: Please see the McCracken section of this Weekly for additional, very important information about McCRACKEN conferences and registration processes. Click HERE to go there.
Registration for all families begins on the PowerSchool Parent Portal website and then links you to PowerPTC for scheduling.
Be prepared! Sign in to your PowerSchool Parent Portal account now to make sure you can connect to PowerPTC before registration opens. Check the PowerPTC Parent/Guardian Guide and visit our Parent-Teacher Conferences page at www.sd735.org/ptc for instructions and more information.
STUDENT SERVICES
Niles Township District for Special Education offers developmental screenings for children ages 3-5 who live in the following school districts: 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 73.5, and 74. Screenings are offered once a month during the 2024-2025 school year. Check THIS (UPDATED) FLYER for dates and details.
SPREAD THE WORD: Family Information Meetings hosted by the Illinois Resource Center (IRC).
All families are welcome to to attend the "Understanding Special Education" series to learn about how schools support students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and Multilingual Learners with disabilities. Click HERE for more information and links to sign up for the following Zoom sessions (presented in English and Spanish):
- October: Know Your Rights!
- November: IEP Meetings and More!
The Niles Township ELL Center Parents in Schools Program offers intensive training and a pathway to obtaining jobs in schools. Contact Lyla Nissan at [email protected] or 847-676-8210 for more information.
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS
School board candidates can now begin petition circulation for the April 1, 2025, Consolidated Election. The first day petitions can be filed is Tuesday, November 12, 2024, and the last day to file is Monday, November 18, 2024.
Tap the calendar or check our Board of Education Announcements for links to the IASB news release, key dates, and more.
GET TO KNOW THE PTO!
Help the PTO provide snacks for staff in the Meyer, Middleton, and McCracken staff lounges! Click a badge to shop the Amazon.com lists.
Visit district735pto.org and get to know your PTO!
Questions about this calendar or events? Please email [email protected].
DISTRICT DATES
AROUND TOWN
~Ms. Beatrice, Middleton Art Teacher
Village of Skokie newsletter
Skokie Public Library newsletter
During the month of October, Meyer School will celebrate Socktober. We will be collecting new socks to be donated to the Niles Township Clothing Closet. Students can bring in new socks of any size, which will be donated at the end of the month. Last year, we donated over 1,000 pairs of socks!
We want to show our Meyer Shining Stars that even the smallest acts of love, like donating a pair of socks, can make a big difference in the lives of our neighbors, who are in need. We will begin collecting socks on Tuesday, October 1.
Students can also show their support by celebrating Wacky Socks Wednesdays! Get your wacky socks ready to wear on every Wednesday in October!
SAVE THE DATE FOR SOCKTOBERFEST on Thursday, October 24, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Meyer School to help us celebrate the end of Socktober. Thank you to the Meyer Parent Leaders for planning and hosting this event! Fun activities will include:
- Dance party
- Arts and crafts
- Games
- Face painting
- Food
The Meyer Parent Leaders will share more details in the coming weeks.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 10 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Friday, October 11 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
An “October Parent-Teacher Conference” email was sent to all district families on Wednesday, September 25 with dates and a link to more information. Please check your inbox or our website for that email.
If you would like to meet with Meyer's specials teachers, please contact them through Seesaw or email:
- Physical Education teacher, Iida Borges, [email protected]
- Art/Music teacher, Carolyn Castellini, [email protected]
PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS!
Preschool field trip to Wagner Farm...
Middleton Enrichment starts on Monday, September 30! Please direct Enrichment questions to our Middleton Enrichment Coordinator, Sarah Hampton, at [email protected].
PRIDE PAW UPDATE
Students at Middleton are working to earn 1,000 Pride Paws as a building! Students earn a Pride Paw shout out card for demonstrating Respectful, Responsible, and Ready Bulldog Behavior around school. When a student earns that Pride Paw, their homeroom teacher keeps a tally, and sends the card home with the student so they may share their positive contribution to our school community with you at home.
Our 5th graders are currently taking a survey to select the next whole-school incentive we are working towards. Stay tuned!
MIDDLETON SYMPHONIC BAND PERFORMANCE
Middleton 3rd-5th graders were treated to an exceptional performance by the McCracken Symphonic Band on Tuesday this week. McCracken students demonstrated the different instruments students may choose from if they sign up for band. We enjoyed seeing siblings and former students, and it was an al-around positive opportunity to showcase the hard work and talent of our students and staff. Thank you to Mr. DeStefano, Mr. Mendoza, and Mr. Bonslater for organizing this event, and to our Buildings & Grounds team for all the set up, transportation, and tear down!
SAFETY DRILLS: EVACUATION & FIRE
Middleton students did a great job evacuating safely from Middleton to McCracken on Wednesday, and evacuating Middleton for a fire drill on Friday. We know that practicing for these situations can help us to be as safe as possible during a real emergency. Students did a great job!
5th GRADE RECESS UPDATE
Thank you to the 5th grade students who have advocated for a safer version of the game “Woodchips” to be played at recess. Mrs. Parker and I will invite interested students to review the Woodchips Rules they drafted and ensure they meet the safety parameters we need to maintain on playground equipment during school hours.
5th grade parents, thank you for your patience while we work with your children to both follow school rules and recess supervisor expectations, and to practice advocacy for causes that matter to them.
NILES NORTH HIGH SCHOOL TUTORING
Attention 3rd-6th grade students and families! Niles North High School is extending their tutoring program to include 3rd-6th grade feeder schools.
Niles North students will provide tutoring services to students in reading, writing, math, science, and more on Mondays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. beginning October 7.
Click or tap the flyer to learn more and complete the one-time registration.
Thank you to Niles North High School for including our students in this great program!
PICTURE DAY IS COMING! Fall Picture Day for all McCracken students is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, 2024. Lifetouch picture day order forms were sent home with all students on Friday, September 27. Families may pre-purchase picture packages online (with FREE shipping until October 2) by going to mylifetouch.com and entering the Picture Day ID code EVTMVKCXB. Students may also bring the provided form with payment on Picture Day. Please click HERE for the flyer and QR code.
Picture retakes will take place on Thursday, November 14. As a reminder, 8th grade students will also take graduation pictures on January 30, 2025.
McCRACKEN SCHOOL EVACUATION
McCracken students and staff will participate in a required school evacuation on Monday, September 30 at 9:00 a.m. Students and staff will practice evacuation procedures to ensure we are prepared in the case of a real emergency. Students and staff will walk or take a bus to our off-site safe location. The entire drill will take approximately one hour. Police officers will support the safe passage of students and staff across major intersections. Please contact the McCracken school office and administration with any questions. We will need to find an alternate date for the evacuation drill in the case of inclement weather. Any schedule changes will be communicated to families.
BUZZBOT ROBOTICS
BuzzBot Robotics is an after-school academic team for students in all grade levels interested in designing, building, and programming their very own competition robots! Our BuzzBot teams design robots to compete in the Little 9 Competition Robot League. The McCracken BuzzBot coaches, Ms. Repp and Ms. Barrow, will teach students everything they need to know to build a winning robot. Students interested in signing up for the BuzzBot Robotics Team should complete this application, or see Ms. Repp for more information. The deadline for signups was Friday, September 27. If you want to learn more about the BuzzBot program, this flyer has important information and dates to consider.
STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS
Student Council Elections took place at McCracken on Friday, September 27! Student candidates in grades 6-8 were encouraged to run for Student Council president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. Students can also serve as student council grade level representatives in this important student leadership group. Candidates worked diligently to create fun campaign posters, slides, and virtual speeches. All students and staff were able to view the speeches and vote for their preferred candidates, exercising their right to participate in the election process! We are so proud of all participating candidates and final winners! Thank you to Hannah Mosher for her sponsorship of our McCracken Student Council!
District 73.5 will host Parent-Teacher Conferences in person or virtually on Thursday, October 10 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Friday, October 11 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. McCracken students are encouraged to participate in these conferences as a means for self-reflection, progress monitoring, and goal setting. PowerSchool is available to families and students to monitor academic progress throughout each trimester. It is not mandatory that each family meets with each teacher during conferences at the middle school level. We suggest prioritizing conferences and classes based on academic needs as documented in PowerSchool. We encourage parents and guardians to reach out to individual teachers throughout the year to communicate any updates and/or ask questions they may have about academic progress. We are so thankful to parents and guardians for their continued partnership!
Due to the number of students that McCracken teachers serve, the conference day time constraints do not allow enough appointment slots to schedule every family. In an effort to distribute appointments equitably among middle school families, McCracken will use the following process to increase access to conferences with middle school teachers:
- Families may schedule up to three appointments with McCracken teachers when registration opens at 7:00 a.m. on OCTOBER 1.
- The appointment limit will be removed on OCTOBER 4. Families may sign up for additional conferences with available teachers until registration closes on OCTOBER 8 at 3:00 p.m.
Please visit the Parent-Teacher Conferences page on the SD735.org website for additional information and registration instructions.
8th GRADE INFORMATION
Please click HERE for information about the 8th grade PSAT Assessment taking place at Niles North High School on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
SAVE THE DATES! 8th Grade Class of 2025 Events
- PSAT Assessment: Saturday, October 26
- Graduation Pictures: Thursday, January 30, 2025
- 8th Grade End of Year Celebration: Friday, May 16, 2025
- 8th Grade Graduation: Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Families will receive more specific communication about graduation events in December
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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