Award-winning children’s author Ruth Spiro came to visit Meyer this week. She is best known for her engaging STEM-themed books, and is also a former 73.5 resident and former Meyer parent! Ruth Spiro read her books, Growing Together and Baby Loves Thermodynamics! Thank you to our school librarian, Mrs. Kelley, for coordinating a fantastic author’s visit! 

You can still purchase signed copies of Ruth Spiro’s books through the bookstore, Booked Evanston, through THURSDAY, APRIL 2nd. Purchased books will be delivered to Meyer and will be sent home with students.

Meyer Spring Enrichment classes for kindergartners will run from APRIL 14th to MAY 21, 2026 (6 week session). Enrich MEYER brochures were sent home in backpacks. An electronic version of the Enrichment brochure is also available on the Meyer website. 

Registration is now open!

Registration closes: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2026
Confirmation: If a student is registered for a class and not added to the waitlist, their registration is automatically confirmed. 
Waitlist notice: You will receive email notification directly if a spot opens for the course for your child. 

If you have any questions, please contact our Enrich MEYER Coordinators, Rachel Douglas at [email protected] and Bethany Mullins at [email protected]. 

GETTING A POSITIVE START TO THE DAY: ON TIME ATTENDANCE. We know that mornings can be busy, and we truly appreciate your efforts to help your child arrive at school each day ready to learn. Regular attendance and arriving on time set students up for success and help them build strong, responsible habits.

The school day begins promptly, and arriving on time allows students to start their day calmly and participate fully in classroom activities. If your child arrives after 8:30 a.m., please remember to check them in at the main office with a parent or guardian.

Thank you for partnering with us to support your child’s learning and growth—we appreciate all that you do!

Interested in purchasing a yearbook? Yearbook pre-order will close on TUESDAY, MARCH 31st.

Pre-ordering the yearbook guarantees a copy is reserved for your family. Additional copies of the yearbook will be limited.

Orders may be placed through the Lifetouch website: http://ybpay.lifetouch.com.
Yearbook ID Code: 13556526

As we continue to work together to focus on being respectful, responsible, and ready as a Bulldog community, we want to bring attention to a practice we sometimes hear students talk about: "roasting." While students may see roasting—making jokes at the expense of another person—as harmless fun, it’s important for students to understand the harmful impact these jokes have on others. Even if peers are laughing out loud, they may be upset or hurt by the language without showing it. Other students overhearing "roasts" may also feel offended by the language, especially when it targets the identity of others.

We talk a lot at Middleton about the difference between intent and impact. A student may not mean to hurt someone’s feelings (intent), but their words can still cause harm to that person or others (impact). There are lots of ways to be funny, and jokes that make fun of others are not funny or okay at Middleton School. We are especially mindful that language targeting someone’s identity—such as race, culture, language, gender, abilities, or appearance—is never acceptable at school. We are committed to creating a safe, respectful environment for all students and appreciate your partnership in reinforcing these values at home.

CAMP MacLEAN SAVE THE DATE! Our 7th grade students and 7th grade teacher chaperones will be making their annual trip to Camp MacLean in Burlington, Wisconsin from MAY 13th-15th this spring! The purpose of the Camp MacLean trip is to provide our students with an outdoor educational experience that promotes both team-building and independence. It is our goal that all 7th grade students attend this important trip! Registration is officially open! If your student is planning on attending, please complete the registration form linked HERE that includes parent/guardian contact information, medical forms, and payment information for the $236 fee. All registration and payments are due by APRIL 17, 2026. If you have any questions regarding financial assistance, please contact Gay Kanda at [email protected] or 847-676-8459.

We celebrated McCracken student accomplishments during the second trimester at our Hornet Hive assembly on Friday, March 27th. Students were recognized for their academic, behavioral, and extracurricular successes. They also had the opportunity to participate in several fun activities, including an inflatable mascot race, hoodie havoc, and hula hoop relays.

We also rewarded students for displaying respectful, responsible, and ready behaviors. Students who did not earn any behavior referrals during the month of March for our Spring Break No Referral Challenge were entered into grade level raffles with fun prizes, which were distributed at our Hornet Hive assembly! We also announced the 8th grade end of year celebration theme winner from the survey, which is “Starry Night.” Thank you for reinforcing the importance of following behavior expectations at school with your child, contributing to a safe and positive learning environment.

ILLINOIS ASSESSMENT OF READINESS (IAR) testing for math and English language arts will take place at McCracken on the mornings of APRIL 8th-13th.

The IAR is the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core and will be administered in English language arts and mathematics to all students in grades 3-8. The IAR helps our middle school students to show what they have learned and identify areas where they can continue to grow as well as showing us, as a school, what curriculum, pacing, and instructional decisions are working and where we need more attention. Students will learn more about their daily schedules and testing locations from their teachers and we will follow modified schedules on all testing days.

Students are encouraged to get a good night’s rest on the nights before testing, eat a healthy breakfast on the mornings of testing, and, very importantly, bring a charged Chromebook to school each day. Teachers will be recognizing and nominating IAR All-Star students who put forth their best effort in being prepared to show us all they have learned!

The McCracken 8th grade Class of 2026 families recently received communication regarding graduation activities and events. We hope families and students were able to attend the Niles North Curriculum Night event. Please watch for further communication from both McCracken Middle School and Niles North High School throughout the school year. Below you will see a link to a copy of the letter we sent home and some important dates and events.

REMINDER: Please submit the required information and orders for your child's graduation this year. If you have already completed the registration, you may disregard. This information was due by FEBRUARY 26, 2026. (Click here to submit).

► 8th GRADE GRADUATION PARENT/GUARDIAN LETTER JANUARY 2026

Upcoming 8th Grade Important Dates

• PTO Panera 8th Grade Fundraiser ~ THURSDAY, APRIL 16th
• 8th Grade End of the Year Celebration ~ FRIDAY, MAY 22nd from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
• McCracken 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony ~ THURSDAY, MAY 28th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Niles North High School. We expect the ceremony to start promptly at 6:00 p.m. and last approximately 1–1 1/2 hours.