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WJHS Highlights

10/25/2024

WJHS Highlights 10/25/2024

A Message from the Administrative Team

Dear WJHS Families,

As school leaders we receive a lot of communications about mathematics instruction and programming. A few weeks ago D39 was fortunate to have Dr. Jen Munson, Assistant Professor of Learning Sciences at Northwestern, facilitate a Parent Education Event around mathematics. We encourage you to check out her presentation at this link. We are so fortunate as a district to have many opportunities to engage with families and provide opportunities to learn. All of our Parent Education Events for the year are linked here and are held via Zoom so that it's easier for you to attend, and/or watch later. We hope you will take the opportunity to attend these Parent Ed Events as they are of interest to you.


👻 🎃 As a reminder, should your child decide to wear a costume this year on Halloween, please remember that the WJHS Expectations for Dress will apply in addition to the requirements below:

Halloween costumes cannot include:

  • Full face paintings or face masks (all students must be identifiable)

  • Props may NOT include weapons or their look-alikes, and will be confiscated if deemed distracting or inappropriate

  • Excessive fake blood and/or gore

  • The inability for a student to sit down (if your child has an inflatable costume that does not easily deflate, they should save that for home Halloween activities and choose an alternate for school)


D39 encourages healthy nutrition and the protection of students with life-threatening food allergies. A reminder that WJHS does not accept communal/shared food, including Halloween candy. If your child brings food to share at school, including candy, it will be kept in the office and your child can pick it up after school. You can find more information here around district policies pertaining to communal food. Thank you in advance for helping keep students safe!


Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Kate, Jeff and Rob

Creative Arts Quarter 1 Classes are a Wrap!

We had some amazing performances over the past couple of weeks with an orchestra and band concert, followed by the "Newsies" performance for our Musical and Tech Theatre classes - they were outstanding! Check out some photos below!

Eighth Grade Families Only - New Trier Placement Testing Information

New Trier placement testing is scheduled for Saturday, November 9th and Saturday, November 16th. Families will choose one of these two testing dates. Testing information has been sent to families this week. If you did not receive an email from New Trier, please reach out to them directly at adminservices@nths.net. In your email, please be sure to include your student's name and WJHS as the sending school. For additional information, please see New Trier's incoming freshman website, linked here.


New this year, families are able to choose their testing date, but you must complete the placement testing sign-up form, sent via email. Families must use their New Trier student ID to complete the sign-up, which has been included in the email. Be sure to reach out to New Trier directly if you did not receive an email or be sure to check that pesky spam folder!

🎷COME WATCH THE WJHS JAZZ BAND AT THE CHICAGO WOLVES GAME 10/26 🥁

On Saturday, October 26th, the WJHS Jazz Band will perform at the AllState Arena before the Chicago Wolves Hockey Game! Come support your friends by watching them perform in the walkway around the arena before the game begins. Doors open at 6pm, puck drops at 7pm. Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets! The deadline to purchase tickets is TODAY, Friday 10/25.


🌳VOLUNTEER IN THE COURTYARD 🌳

There was a mistake on the times listed for volunteers for the courtyard last week- our apologies! UPDATED TIMES: Wednesdays are for 7TH graders (12:15-1:00pm) and Fridays are for 8TH graders (11:30-12:15pm). Please click HERE to see the updated SignUp Genius and to volunteer. We would love this space to be enjoyed before it has to close for the winter. It’s a great space for kids to go and relax if they don’t want to go out to the playground after lunch. The courtyard is in the middle of classrooms that are in session so it needs an adult to supervise kids to keep it peaceful and quiet. Questions? Contact volunteers@wjhspto.com


🍔CAFETERIA VOLUNTEERS WANTED 🍕

The following dates have openings to help serve lunch (help needed especially on Mondays). Please consider volunteering as it’s so appreciated by our lunchroom staff! Thank you!

Mondays: 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18

Tuesdays: 11/12

Wednesdays: 11/6, 11/13, 11/20

Thursdays: 11/7, 11/14

Sign up HERE! And thank you so much!


WJHS PTO GENERAL BOARD MEETING 11/14

Please save-the-date for a WJHS PTO General Board meeting Thursday, 11/14 at 6:30pm in the WJHS Learning Commons. We invite our parent community to come and hear updates on what’s going on at school from our PTO and our Principal.


The WJHS PTO has been asked to pass along some relevant community information:


MCKENZIE ELEMENTARY FALL FESTIVAL - LOOKING FOR HELPERS

The McKenzie’s Annual Fall Frenzy is this Saturday 10/26 from 1:00-3:00pm. The McKenzie PTA is looking for adult and older kid volunteers to set up and help run events. In exchange, volunteers will receive 10 free tickets to purchase baked goods, games and face painting. Sign up HERE to help!

District Update

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Board of Education – Committee of the Whole Meeting Recap

This past Monday, the Board of Education gathered for its monthly Committee of the Whole meeting. These committee meetings, characterized by dialogue and an exchange of ideas, inform the Board’s monthly business meeting and offer an opportunity to review, discuss, and provide valuable insight on District initiatives. Just like the monthly business meetings, these committee meetings are open to in-person attendance and also streamed live on our YouTube channel, with a recording also made available for later viewing.


At Monday’s committee meeting, the Board was presented with our Fall assessment report (NWEA/MAP and aimswebPlus) as well as our Fall social-emotional learning assessment report. They also received updated data for several key performance indicators for Goals 2, 3, and 4 of our strategic plan and were presented with bid results for planned renovations at Wilmette Junior High during the summer of 2025, which include installation of air conditioning in the final batch of classrooms. The complete agenda and all accompanying materials for this meeting are available online.


Save the Date: Parent-Teacher Conferences Nov. 20-22

Our fall parent-teacher conferences will take place on Nov. 20-22, immediately preceding Fall Break (Thanksgiving week). Conferences will be held virtually through the Meet the Teacher platform, with in-person appointments available by request. Sign-up information, including login credentials, will be emailed to families on Friday, Nov. 1 with electronic sign-up opening on Monday, Nov. 4. .


Parent Education Event – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Monthly Themes

Join us for our November Parent Education event titled “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Monthly Themes in Literature” scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 11 am via Zoom. DEIB monthly themes supported through reading help us come together to build welcoming spaces where students can share ideas and ask questions. Learn more about this topic from our D39 librarians and professionals from the Wilmette Public Library. Online registration for this event is now open. Please visit our Parent Education webpage for our full schedule of events as well as archived recordings of past events.


Parent Education Events – Let’s Play Series

District 39 is proud to be partnering with the Alliance for Early Childhood, Wilmette Public Library, Wilmette Park District, Go Green Wilmette, and BackYard Nature Center for a series of Parent Education events designed to highlight the benefits of free play for our students. These events are family adventures into creative, child-led free play that sparks imagination and fuels growth. This experience is designed for you and your child(ren) to explore a variety of fun-filled activities while flexing your “play muscles” and strengthening your bond. We are grateful for the strong participation in these events thus far and are excited to host our final event on Monday at HMS.


LOCATION DATE TIME

Highcrest Monday, Oct. 28 3:50-4:50 pm
Kate Dominique
Kate is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters

Principal at Wilmette Junior High School; love being an educator and working with young people; value spending time with friends and family