The 929 September 11, 2024

Dear Edgewood Families,

I’m thrilled to share that we’ve wrapped up our first PTO meeting, and it was fantastic to connect with so many of you! It has been equally exciting to watch our students, especially our 6th graders, get acclimated to their new school environment, while our 7th and 8th graders are settling into their new classes and engaging deeply with our curriculum.

It’s also inspiring to see the level of participation in our after-school activities! Whether it's soccer, volleyball, cross country, or the incredible turnout for the fall play, our students are embracing these opportunities with great enthusiasm.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for encouraging your children to make the most of these experiences. I look forward to seeing their continued growth throughout the year.

All my best,

Mr. Kotvis
Principal, Edgewood

We are excited to introduce the Culture Club at Edgewood this year! The club seeks to foster an inclusive environment where students can explore, celebrate diverse cultures, traditions, and perspectives, in an effort to help promote understanding, respect, and appreciation among the student body. The club is open to all students, and our first meeting will be Monday, 9/16, at 2:45 in Mrs. Sheppard's room, 20

If you haven't done so yet, please take a few minutes to give your invaluable insights and feedback on our upcoming ELA Curriculum revision cycle: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/scroll/501133109/welcome

Nominate an outstanding teacher at Edgewood Middle Schools, North Shore School District 112, for a chance to win the Highland Park Community Foundation Golden Apple Award! Please see this attached document for nominations! Paper Copies available in the office and submissions due by Friday, November 15, 2024, at 5:00 P.M

Please see the document for upcoming Hispanic Heritage events at the Highwood Library.

September is Suicide Awareness Month, a time to focus on getting people to speak more openly about mental health struggles and learn how to recognize the signs that someone might be thinking about suicide. Carthweel Care offers a free toolkit to provide people with the know-how to spot when someone’s struggling and give them the confidence to do something about it. You can download the toolkit from Cartwheel’s website.

If you or a loved one are experiencing mental health-related distress, call or text 988 for free and confidential support.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 17, we will be conducting a fire drill as part of our ongoing commitment to school safety. These drills are essential to ensure that students and staff are well-prepared and know exactly how to respond in the event of an emergency. Practicing these procedures helps us maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone at Edgewood.
Thank you for your support and understanding as we prioritize the safety of our school community.

On Monday, we are excited to host our first 'Block Party,' celebrating the culmination of our first short story from Flying Lessons and Other Stories as part of the 'One Book, One School' Edgewood Reads Initiative. During this Block Party, SSBs will 'take flight' by bringing their best paper airplanes, complementing the activities they've been working on during SSB over the past several weeks. Please note that we will follow a slightly adjusted schedule.

At Edgewood, we offer a wide range of clubs, sports, and after-school activities for students. It's important for students to engage in these extracurricular activities, as they provide valuable opportunities for personal growth, teamwork, and skill development beyond the regular classroom experience. Please use this link to see the clubs that we have to offer this year at Edgewood. This will continue to be updated.

To ensure the safety of our students and staff, we ask that all parents comply with the established pickup procedure, which is limited to Ring Road in the afternoon. Your cooperation is essential in maintaining a secure environment during dismissal. Please note that only students with specific exceptions will be permitted to be picked up from the parking lot following dismissal. We appreciate your understanding and support in helping us keep everyone safe.

We would like to inform you that the new iPads issued to students this year do not have built-in headphone jacks. To ensure that students can still use headphones with their devices, Edgewood will provide each student with a headphone adapter. Students are expected to keep and be responsible for their adapter throughout the school year.

In addition to wired headphones using the provided adapter, Bluetooth headphones are also permitted. Please note that Bluetooth headphones are only allowed in the classroom and not in the hallways to ensure that students are connecting only to their iPads and not to their phones during the school day.

If your child needs a headphone adapter, please have them ask their SSB teacher.

Students will be able to sign up for Fall sports starting on the first day of school during their lunches.

Attached here is a chart of the sports that are running in the fall, who is eligible to participate, and important dates for the season.

With questions regarding fall sports please reach out to the coaches (listed above) or Maddie Henderson (Athletic Director) mhenderson@nssd112.org

Food Days Deadline

The deadline to place an order, or make changes to next week's Food Days service is Thursday, September 12 |10:00am. Link directly to Lunch Solutions here: Lunch Solutions

For more information about PTO activities and events, including those outlined above, please follow this link to the PTO website: Edgewood PTO

Questions and feedback for the PTO can be directed here: edgewoodpto112@gmail.com