Thank you to all our families who donated pairs of new socks during Socktober. We collected 934 pairs of socks to donate to the Niles Township Clothing Closet! 

We hope our Shining Stars learned that if everyone pitches in, we can really make a difference together. We’re thankful for everyone’s generosity!

Our Socktober Social was a success! Thank you so much to our PTO members who helped with snacks, and all of our Meyer families and McCracken students who volunteered to help out!

Thank you to all our Meyer families who were able to attend and celebrate Socktober as a community!

It was a beautiful and sunny, but brisk, day for a field trip! Last week preschoolers visited Emily Oaks Nature Center to have first-hand experiences aligned with their theme-based curricular unit on “Fall.” They learned about the pumpkin’s life cycle, and even “planted” pumpkin seeds that magically grew into pumpkins!

As we head into colder temperatures, please send students to school in a jacket and appropriate outerwear for outdoor recess.

You may also want to start to gather appropriate outerwear for the winter, 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.

Meyer’s Picture Retakes are scheduled for Friday, November 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. If your child needs a retake, or if they were absent on our original picture day, please let their teacher know they will be participating. 

If you pre-ordered and received full-sized prints but would like a picture retake, please send the Lifetouch picture packet back to school with your child on November 7th. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher or the Meyer Office at 847-673-1223 or [email protected].

If your student is in PM Preschool and you would like a retake, please email [email protected] or call 847-676-8358 to make arrangements with Mr. Derek.

We are so lucky that bestselling author/illustrator Ben Clanton is coming to Middleton Elementary on November 5th! Ben is the creator of the ever-popular Narwhal and Jelly series, and he will be visiting our 2nd and 3rd graders to share his new series Tater Tales, which follows the sweet and relatable hijinks of three potato siblings. Families can check their email for information on ordering signed books.

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

If you did not order pictures or are not pleased with those of your child, retakes are on Wednesday, November 5th. Please return the old pictures. Order forms for new orders are available in the office.  

We are excited to announce that McCracken received a summative designation of EXEMPLARY for the 2025 school year by the Illinois State Board of Education. To earn the "Exemplary" designation, a school must achieve a score that places it in the TOP 10% STATEWIDE and also ensure that all its student demographic groups meet the performance standards. A school’s annual summative designation describes how well an individual school is meeting the needs of all its students. The designations recognize schools with strong overall performance across a range of academic and student success indicators. You can find more information about those success indicators on the 2025 Illinois Report Card Multiple Indicators of Student Success document. This designation can also be viewed on the Illinois State Report Card, including data visualizations showing school and student group performance data overall and at the indicator score level. We are proud of the collective effort of our students, staff, and school community and look forward to continuing to support all students in reaching their highest potential both academically and socially and emotionally at McCracken.

November is National Picture Book Month! Our librarian, Ms. Gammeri gathered the many titles of staff members’ favorite picture books they cherished as a student or have continued to cherish as an educator and/or parent. She developed an interactive bulletin board with images of the picture books near the library where students can make educated guesses matching the books with McCracken staff members. The student who has the most correct guesses will win a fantastic literacy based prize! Thank you for helping to promote the love of reading with your students. Students should be reading a variety of books independently each school day to increase  

Last week was filled with amazing achievements at McCracken! We proudly recognized 114 students who earned the Spotlight on Success award for their exceptional efforts across all classrooms. Our beloved mascot, Ollie the Hornet, and the front office team celebrated these award-winning students in the cafeteria with fun prizes and music.

Positive Behavior Rewards

• 8th Grade: Leading the Way. Our 8th grade students continue to lead the school by consistently demonstrating READY, RESPONSIBLE, and RESPECTFUL behaviors. As a well-deserved reward for their leadership, the 8th grade earned a dual incentive this week: a Just Dance Party and Flag Football!
   
• 7th Grade: Bringing the Buzz. The 7th grade brought the BUZZ this week, winning their weekly cafeteria BUZZ behavior chart competition! We are looking forward to announcing the fun incentive they choose for their outstanding collective effort.

Buzz Bucks
We wanted to share an update on how our students are earning positive behavior rewards. We are using the Kickboard platform this year to track student Buzz Bucks, and students are thoroughly enjoying the benefits of this new system.

Each grade level is currently averaging more than 300 Buzz Bucks per student! They earn these bucks for demonstrating respectful, responsible, and ready behavior in all areas of the building, from classrooms to hallways and in the cafeteria and at recess. We are so proud of their collective commitment to a positive school environment.

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 your student up for one of our great extracurricular clubs or activities here at McCracken! Please access the McCracken Extracurricular Brochure HERE.