The Weekly Update #4

October was simply amazing! Our Cross Country team concluded their season and our coaches had a wonderful season with over 170 students. The Girls' Basketball teams finished their season, with two of our four tams taking first place in the district divisions. Orchestra and Seventh and Eighth Band students had their first concerts, which was rather impressive for their first performance of the school year. The PTA hosted the Halloween Bash for our students, which was a huge success. We are looking forward to what November will bring for PGMS!

NJHS is sponsoring a Thanksgiving food drive from now until 11/18. Check with your child to see what things need to be brought in. Let’s help the needy have a great holiday.

It’s hard to believe the quarter is almost over. We’ve had a busy start to the year in the library. All 50+ Reading/Writing classes have been in and out of the library three separate times over the past few months. We started off with a library orientation to help students understand the organization of the space and have a chance to check out their first books of the school year. We reviewed the Responsible Use Contract during our second lesson together, walking through the expectations we have of students as they use technology in the district and completed a mini-lesson on privacy and security. Sixth and seventh graders were also issued their styluses as part of this lesson. Finally, I reviewed our library catalog system with students, showing them how to find books online and translate that to the physical library, hold books, check their records, etc. We also signed in to SORA, the digital library we have in association with Palatine Public Library. The kids have access to almost 40,000 audio and e-books through this app.

Sixth grade students have started building their own website portfolio for ELA (Reading/Writing) classes. Over the course of the past month, we’ve built the structure of the site, personalized the look of it and started adding content. In addition to keeping a visual list of the books they’ve read, students have learned how to embed live links to completed assignments like essays and their textual lineage project. Sometime over the week of Thanksgiving, have your student share their work so far this year! It’s awesome!

In addition, I’ve pushed into classrooms to help students learn or get reacquainted with wevideo, our video creation software. Students learned the basics of the application and some more advanced tools to create a silent movie feel to their production. Orbitnote is another tool that is new this year, allowing teachers and students to annotate pdfs. This is particularly effective for our younger students with their styluses. I will be getting out to classrooms to help students and teachers learn to use this amazing tool. We have a few students who have started taking advantage of our 3D printer as well. This tool is available to any student who is interested. Finally, I’ve done some early book talks, showcasing some creepy and scary books. Our first big book order will be going in soon so we’ll have a LOT more new books coming in within the next month.

We are BUSY in the library, bringing books and technology to our school. Should you have questions, please feel free to reach out and ask!

As we prepare to welcome students to the new school year, I want to emphasize the importance of creating a focused learning environment for all students. To ensure that our classrooms are conducive to learning, the expectation is that cell phones must be kept powered-off or silenced and out-of-sight during the regular school day. Please review the student-parent handbook for additional details. By following these guidelines, we can create a positive and productive classroom community where students can fully engage in their education.

We wanted to remind our community on our parking lot procedures. If you choose to drop off or pick up your child, please follow our parking lot procedures.

1. Cars enter the entrance on Plum Grove Road. When you enter please proceed and follow the flow of traffic. There are two entrances for students along the building (door 13 and door 1)

2. Pull your car all the way forward. Once you pull up to the side of the building please have your student exit on the sidewalk side of the building. You do not need to wait until you are at the front of the car lane to have your student exit.

2. Please have your student ready to exit the car immediately as this helps with the flow of traffic

3. You may not drop your student off on Old Plum Grove as it impacts traffic.

4. Parents may not park in the parking lot during arrival and dismissal

5. Please do not attempt to pull your car into the bus lane area.

6. The entrance off of Old Plum Grove Road is accessible for only buses and staff.

The holiday season is just around the corner! Plum Grove Middle School will be facilitating a holiday gift program again this year. If you are in need of a gift for your child, or if you would like to donate a gift for a Plum Grove child, please CLICK HERE to see details and fill out the form to apply. To participate, the form must be submitted by November 15. Questions? Contact Janelle Morse, School Social Worker, at morsej@ccsd15.net.

You Be The Chemist club will begin Thursday 11/7 in Ms. Muller's room 232. An interest form will be available online next week in the charger google classrooms.

Our next parent presentation will focus on helping parents understand the ins and outs of IEPs and 504 plans and their role on the team. It’s scheduled for November 6th @ WCMS at 5:30.

We would like to celebrate two of our students that represented PGMS on October 24th at our District's BPAC Meeting . These students presented at this event and read a poem YO SOY SUFICIENTE. We are very proud of Mellisa and Carlos.

Reflections submissions are due on Friday, November 8th. Your student can turn their projects into the front office or Mrs. Shapera's room. If anyone has any questions you may email the PTA at plumgrovereflections@gmail.com.

Group A - December 3, January 14

Group B - November 12, December 17

Did you know? Being in school every day helps students feel more connected to their community.
Tip: Discuss the importance of school attendance with your child regularly. Keep absences to 9 days or less!

Below are some key dates for families for the upcoming 2025-205 school year.

• November 4th-PTA Chipotle Dine and Share
• November 5th- No School Election Day
• November 7th-6th Grade Band Concert and Jazz Band Concert
• November 11th-Boys' Basketball PG2 @ TJ
• November 12th-8th Grade Band Festival @ Fremd (after school)
• November12th-Boys'Basketball PG2 vs. WCMS; PG1 @ CSMS
• November 13th- Boys' Basketball TJMS @ PGMS
• November 13th- School Board Meeting
• November 14th- Boys' Basketball PG1 @ WCMs

You can also access the official district calendar for all important dates on the district's website