Did you know the annual 5 Essentials Parent Survey is open?
We appreciate your feedback! Additional information is below! To take the survey use this LINK! Currently, we have a 13% parent response rate. Please ensure your feedback is collected by competing this survey and elevating this response rate to at minimum 20%!! The survey will close on the March 28th!
Did you know OLHMS hosted the D123 Golden Anniversary State of District Dinner last week?
This event on the 123rd day of the school year for the 123rd year of D123 was a huge success! We appreciated the attention of over 250 guests and the support of nearly 40 scholars! Each of our elementary buildings created beautiful school displays and our D123 leadership team and Board of Education presented our plans forward and Strategic Plan. Here is the LINK to the video created to celebrate the journey of our Little Lions at the Early Learning Center to our graduating Mustangs.
Did you know our Annual Career Fair was huge success?
We welcomed over 80 guests and 50 professions this past week for an incredibly well orchestrated career fair! Thank you to our OLHMS Counseling team for their masterful coordination and each of our professionals sharing their work with our scholars!
Did you know that our annual Illinois State testing has begun and will continue after break?
We have started the Illinois Science Assessment with 8th grader scholars. We will be completing the IAR Assessment when we return from Spring Break.
All students will need wired headphones for the upcoming state assessments.
Mustang Families,
Spring Break is just around the corner! As we approach the conclusion of this historic 123rd year for District 123 and an incredibly successful school year, we encourage you to stay connected with your scholar and keep an eye on our calendar—there are many exciting events and activities on the horizon. We continue to be very busy around here coming back from Spring Break!
We want to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to our entire school community for your incredible engagement and support this past week. From the District 123 State of the District Dinner to our OLHMS Annual Career Fair, your involvement helped make these events meaningful and memorable.
A heartfelt thank you also goes out to our dedicated staff for their invaluable contributions. Your hard work played a vital role in ensuring the State of the District Dinner effectively conveyed our District 123 story—one filled with tradition, pride, and remarkable accomplishments.
This past week was filled with additional impressive achievements, including:
- First-Ever eSports SWIC Championship
- Mathletes Competitions
- Spring Sports Tryouts
Each of these accomplishments reflects our collective dedication to creating enriching experiences for our scholars and our entire community.
During the State of the District Dinner, we proudly shared a special video celebrating our Little Lions at the ELC as they grow into graduating Mustangs here at OLHMS—showcasing the incredible journey that defines our D123 family. The video is linked above.
Events like these highlight what makes our school and district so special. Your continued partnership, dedication, and support are truly appreciated, and we are grateful for the positive impact you make every day.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our Mustang community. Please enjoy a well-deserved and restful Spring Break!
5Essentials Survey to Improve Student Learning
Once again Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 will participate in the 13th annual statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions conducted by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). This survey provides a platform for students, teachers, and parents to express their opinions on ways to improve their community's schools. The survey will be administered to families and teachers from February 18 to March 28 and students (Grades 4-8) from February 27 to March 28. The surveys will provide schools with valuable insight into their progress since the last state-wide survey implementation.
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a comprehensive picture of a school’s organizational culture in an individualized report measuring five “essentials” critical for school success:
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environment
- Ambitious Instruction
The survey's outcome will be included in the 2025 Illinois State Report Card of your child's school. The identities of students, staff, and parents will be kept private, and responses will not be associated with any individual. To review the privacy policy related to this survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/privacy.
To see the 5Essentials survey that will be administered to students in 4th through 8th grade, please visit https://impactsurveyshelp.force.com/s/article/illinois-5essentials-survey-questions.
If you do not wish to have your child participate in the survey please complete this form and return it to your child's school office by February 26, 2025.
Graduation Fees: Make sure you have taken a look in Family Access and submitted your graduation fees. You may also bring cash payments into the office. If payments are made online we also need signed permission forms.
Class of 2025: Information has been distributed for our Class of 2025 and the end of the year events!
We do expect and desire to have 100% of our scholars earn the opportunity to walk the stage with their graduating 2025 Class. We will be communicating with families if any scholar is in jeopardy of this opportunity this week.
Here is the LINK to the letter sent home with the reminder expectations and future dates.
Mustang families we need your support!
We need all families dropping off or picking up our scholars to be more responsible, respectful and safe. Recently, we have seen too many cars driving too fast during drop off and pick up. We have also seen cars passing and driving around other cars way too close to students- please be patient, cautious and courteous. Remember was are all modeling our Mustang Musts! The same can be said while buses are loading and unloading. Please pull all the way up in the circle drive before dropping off. This will help the traffic flow.
As a reminder, families should not be using the main entrance parking lot to drop off or pick up between 8:15-8:45 am and 3:15-3:45 pm while the buses are present.
We’re glad to see our scholars taking pride in their hygiene and personal care! However, the use of cologne and perfume has become overwhelming at times and is occasionally being applied inappropriately during the school day. To ensure a comfortable learning environment for everyone, we kindly ask that students leave their scented products at home.
Please take a moment to discuss with your child the proper use and appropriate amounts of fragrance. While we appreciate the effort to smell nice, excessive scents can be distracting and overpowering in shared spaces. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a pleasant and respectful atmosphere for all!
Bus Behavior: Please remind bus riders that we must be following our Mustang Musts. We have been hearing about challenging, inappropriate and unsafe behavior on the bus riders to and from school. We do have the ability to request bus video footage. Students will be given consequences for their behavior which may include a suspension from the bus.
Bus Loading and Unloading: Families should not be passing buses in our parking lot. This is dangerous and almost caused an accident. Do not pass buses with their stop sign extended.
Membership is $6.00 per student and $10.00 per adult
PTSA Meetings are at 6:00pm monthly
- Next PTSA Meeting is April, 7th at 6:00pm
- Reach out to Delecta Harris, our PTSA President for more information (olhmsd123ptsa@gmail.com )
- PTSA Facebook
All parents/ guardians/ staff & students are highly encouraged to join the PTSA and attend meetings. This is an incredible opportunity, partnership and fun way to support our scholar’s experience at the middle school!
If you are interested in supporting our school in a different capacity please reach out to our PTSA! Maybe you do not have the time to donate, but your contributions can still be made through your membership!
Dates to Remember:
iFest Spirit Week:
3/17/25: Mustang Culture- Wear your Mustang Gear or Green
3/18/25: This is our Home- Wear some comfy PJs
3/19/25: Sports Around the World- Wear your favorite jersey3/20/25: Wear a Flag- Wear your favorite flags colors, D123 Choral Festival
3/21/25: Traditional Clothing- Wear clothing unique to your culture
3/21/25: iFest
3/24-3/28/25: Spring Break
3/28/25: D123 PTA Council Open Gym and Laser Tag at Wintrust Sports Arena
3/30/25: OLHMS PTSA Spirit Gear Deadline
3/31/25: No School (Board Declared Holiday)
4/2/25: OLHMS Food Drive Begins
4/3/25: D123 International Fest
4/5/25: D123 PTA Council Parking Lot Vendor Sale
4/7/25: PTSA Meeting
District 123’s students’ artistic accomplishments will be showcased
on Thursday, April 24th from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The (K-5) Elementary Level students’ artwork will be located in the main gym, while the (6-8) Middle School students’ artwork will be displayed in the library.
This is a special event to celebrate D123’s students’ artistic talents and creative accomplishments! We would love for you to attend to see the amazing talents of our students.
