The Weekly - February 17, 2023

Skokie School District 73.5 celebrates literacy throughout the month of February. Stay tuned to the SD735.org website, Twitter, and Facebook pages to see how you can participate. Please share your enthusiasm and experiences by using the hashtag #LiteracyMonthSD735 on your social media posts!

Week 3 of Literacy Month continues with the third round of voting for the McCracken All School Read. Students and staff: Make sure your voice is heard by participating in the Book Bracket to decide the summer read at McCracken.

The McCracken Book Fair closed on Friday, but you can still order online and support our students! Scholastic will give back 25% in rewards to McCracken when you shop online through February 26th. Tap HERE and then scroll to the bottom of the page to start shopping!

Are you ready for our Read Across America Themes next week? Check the list below:

Monday: Kindness Day and Book Drive Kickoff
Tuesday: Been Caught Reading Day
Wednesday: Guest Reader Day
Thursday: Dress as Your Favorite Book Character Day
Friday: Surprise Day!

Teachers, families, and students across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of our schools. To take the survey please visit survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois and click the "Parent Survey" to begin. There are 21 questions and the survey should take approximately 10 minutes. If you have children in multiple buildings please complete one for each school.

Your participation in the parent survey will help us better understand our schools and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child. The state of Illinois now uses the results of the survey to determine our official school designation at Middleton and McCracken, which is reported on the yearly Illinois School Report Card. If at least 20 percent of families complete this survey, a supplemental report will be generated for each school and will be publicly available. This will allow us to access your valuable feedback.

The 2023 Caring Hearts Classroom Donation Drive runs now through March 17th. Click a link below to see the wish lists from teachers and staff at each school. The lists include items that can be donated to the classroom such as markers, glue sticks, pens, books, games, gift cards, and more.

Meyer
Middleton
McCracken

Teachers are still adding to their lists, so please check back often to see new wishes!

See the Caring Hearts Parent & Guardian Flyer for more information about this year's Drive.

Skokie School District 73.5 waives school fees for eligible families. A "waiver" means that students will not be charged registration fees, school activity/club fees, or field trip fees. A fee waiver application must be completed to receive a waiver, and only one application is required per year. If you have any questions concerning fee waiver eligibility or the application process please contact Karen Hayes in the Business Office at [email protected] or by phone at 847-676-8317.

7th Grade Camp MacLean Information

Camp MacLean will be here before you know it! The 7th grade team is gearing up for our return to Camp MacLean in Burlington, Wisconsin on May 17th-19th. The purpose of the Camp MacLean trip is to provide our students with an outdoor education experience that promotes both team building and independence. Ms. Fagan handed out hard copies of the interest form through her social studies classes this week and we also sent home an electronic version via email that included the survey and a payment link ($211). Our first parent information night was via Zoom on February 9th. Talk with your student about attending this great trip and complete the survey by April 7th! Reach out to 7th grade teachers or Marty Behm with any questions.

February Spotlight on Success

McCracken students are eligible to earn a wide variety of acknowledgement for their success in school whether remote or in-person! 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 our Ollie Trolley! Congratulations to our February Spotlight on Success recipients!

8th Grade Graduation Pictures
Retakes on March 16th

Our 8th grade students participated in graduation pictures taken on Wednesday, February 1st at McCracken. One photo was taken in a purple graduation gown (provided by Lifetouch) and the other in their chosen dress clothes. When the photos are processed, Lifetouch will then send the proofs to the school to be distributed to students and families. Parents/guardians will have an opportunity to review the pictures and order any preferred photos from the delivered proof package. Payment will be due to Lifetouch when families select their preferred photos online. Picture retakes are scheduled to take place on March 16th only for students who missed picture day or are not satisfied with their original picture. Please see this flyer from Lifetouch for more information.

8th Grade End of the Year Event
Saturday, May 20th

McCracken PTO, in collaboration with parents and staff, will host an 8th grade end of the year event at McCracken Middle School on Saturday, May 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please complete this form if you are interested in helping to plan this fun celebratory event with other 8th grade parents and guardians. We need assistance with decorations, food, games, supervision, fundraising, and more. Thank you in advance for helping to make sure our graduates receive the sendoff they deserve!

Outdoor Recess Weather Reminder

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.

Student Arrival and Dismissal Reminders

Please drive slowly and carefully when picking up or dropping off students.
6th Grade parents dropping off by Door 12 should pull all the way over to the curb on the right and quickly and safely allow their child to exit the vehicle so other cars can continue to Circle Drive. Please use your hazards to alert cars behind you.
Please do not make U-turns on East Prairie. Use the McCracken Circle Drive to turn around.
Students cannot cross the Circle Drive in front of cars to get into a vehicle parked on the street. Drivers must pull into the Circle Drive to maintain safety and drop off in the right lane only.
Students must cross the intersection of Crawford and Oakton assisted by our crossing guards for their safety. Students are not allowed to cross East Prairie and Oakton without an adult before or after school.
Please be sure to communicate with your child about their after-school plans before school. Are they walking home, taking the bus, or staying after school for sports or a club?

EXTRACURRICULAR PROGRAMMING

Here at McCracken, we are proud to offer a variety of student athletic and enrichment programs. These programs allow students to exercise their strengths, tackle areas of growth, and socialize with peers. Be sure to sign up your student for one of our great extracurricular activities clubs or activities! Review the 2022 Extracurricular Slideshow (with videos and important links) and Brochure for information, registration links, and the payment link (for a small number of activities).

February 16th

Parent Teacher Conferences

5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

February 17th

Parent Teacher Conferences

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

No School for Students

February 20th

Presidents' Day

No School / District Closed

March 1st

Choir Concert

7:00 p.m.

McCracken

March 3rd

BuzzBot Robotics Competition

4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Niles West High School

March 16th

8th Grade Picture Retakes

Please check our public calendar on the district website for athletic game times and locations.

Read Across America Week
February 27th — March 3rd

Please join us for a week-long celebration of the joy of reading! On Monday, February 27th, we will kick off our district-wide book drive. Students can drop off gently used books at school all week long. On Thursday, March 2nd, students are invited to dress up as their favorite book character. Please see the calendar below for a full list of events.

Read Across America Week — Monday: Kind Books Day, Tuesday: Caught Reading Day, Wednesday: Guest Reader Day, Thursday: DressUp Day, Friday: Surprise Day!

Therapy Dogs are Coming to Middleton!

This spring, our students have the opportunity to spend time with a therapy dog during their recess period and/or an instructional period. A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort, and support to people in settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, libraries, hospices, or disaster areas. John Middleton Elementary School is partnering with Paws for Patrick, a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting young people with emotional support animals (ESAs) and therapy dogs to support students with their mental health. If your child has any significant allergy to dogs, please contact the school nurse in advance of this visit.

The first visits will take place on March 3rd and 16th, April 13th and 27th, and May 11th and 25th. The therapy dog will be accompanied by a licensed trainer from Paws for Patrick, and we will review behavior expectations with all students. In addition to the trainer, Middleton staff members will also be present during the visit. If your student will be a part of this opportunity you will receive a permission slip from our school psychologist or social worker.

Visit the Paws for Patrick website at pawsforpatrick.org.

Preschool Open House for New and Prospective Families

Meyer School will host a Preschool Open House for new and prospective families interested in the 2023-2024 school year on Sunday, March 5th. Feel free to stop by at Meyer between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Teachers will give presentations about our preschool program at 10:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 11:30 a.m.

If you have neighbors and friends who have children turning 3 or 4 years old on or before September 1, 2023, please help us spread the word!