Cardinal Corner

District News:

March 24-28, 2025: Spring Break!

School News/Sports:

March 17: No Activity Bus, Musical Rehearsal, 3-5pm; Sci O Practice, 6-9pm

March 18: Sunrise Hoops, 6:45-7:45am; Staff Volleyball Game, 3-4:30pm; Musical Rehearsal, 3-5pm

March 19: Special Olympics, TBD; Musical Rehearsal, 3-5pm

March 20: Musical Rehearsal, 3-5pm; Music For Youth, 4-7:30pm

March 24-28: Spring Break!

March 31: Boys Volleyball Tryouts, 3-5pm; Musical Rehearsal, 3-5pm; Sci O Practice, 6-9pm

April 4: End of 3rd Quarter

April 8 -10: IAR Testing (Adjusted Bell Schedule)

Dear South Parents and Guardians:

Spring Break is right around the corner! If you have not already, we would like to ask that you please take a few minutes to complete the 5Essentials Survey. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us gain an understanding of parent viewpoints of our school and guide school improvement. A report will be generated only if we have 20% parent participation. At this point, we only have 14% of our parents taking the survey. We need at least 65 more families to meet 20%. The Survey Link: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/?target_name=parent&p=1

In supporting ABC25's Pack the Piggies event, South will be hosting a Staff vs. Staff volleyball game on March 18th at 3pm. The admission is $2 with all of the proceeds going to the Pack the Piggies event.

We have begun planning South's end of the school year events and festivities. Here are a few highlights:

• End of 3rd Quarter: We will be celebrating all of our student's third quarter achievements during an all school assembly on April 4, 2025.
• Seventh grade students are heading on a field trip to Sunrise Lake Outdoor Education Center April 28th 7 West and April 29th 7 East.
• South's musical, Little Mermaid, May 9-10, 2025.
• We are in the process of scheduling our students for next year into teams and class sections.
• Eighth grade picnic and graduation ceremony plans are being finalized.

Have a great Spring Break!

South Administration

Ramadan is a holy month of fasting, introspection and prayer for Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to sunset, they break their daily fasts by sharing meals with family and friends. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with a three-day festival known as Eid al-Fitr.

*You can exchange Ramadan greetings by saying “Ramadan Kareem,” which translates into “Have a generous Ramadan,” or “Ramadan Mubarak,” which translates into “Happy Ramadan.”

Greek-American Heritage month, also known as Hellenic Heritage Month, is observed in March of each year. March 25 is celebrated as Greece’s National Independence Day.

This is a time to honor Greek heritage, including Greek history, culture, accomplishments, and experiences. With a vast cultural legacy and history, it is also a time to highlight Greek-American contributions to American history.

Irish-American Heritage Month is celebrated by proclamation of the President and Congress in the United States to honor the achievements and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States. It was first celebrated in 1991 and coincides with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in March.

March is Women's History Month, commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.

For more information, visit: https://womenshistorymonth.gov/

The word Nowruz means new day, it's the day when winter changes into spring in the northern hemisphere, and it feels like a new beginning.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by people around the world.

Date changes year to year.

The Eid al-Fitr holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long, dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. It can be translated as "the feast of fast-breaking" and it is common to visit family and friends and exchange gifts.

Date is tentative based on sighting of the moon.

On Tuesday, March 11, Madame Madden's eighth grade French students were invited to an online video interview with the up-and-coming French singer Éloïz. She is a French country singer who made her début in 2023 on "France has got talent".

Éloïz graciously answered questions in French from students from Vancouver to Vermont including one question from students at South Middle School: "What is your most notable experience in your career so far?" (Pictured below: Léa G and Maria K. and Éloïz)

French students are learning songs from various francophone artists as a part of the March "Manie Musicale" which is an annual competition of songs modeled after the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament in the U.S. Students fill out brackets to try to predict which of the sixteen songs will win. Then, once the tournament starts, students vote for their favorite songs. Teachers collaborate to create activities to support the songs as a linguistic and cultural teaching tool.

Congratulations to all the 2025 NIMCon Solo & Ensemble participants. These students participated on Saturday, February 22, 2025, in a solo or small ensemble. They performed for a judge and received a clinic. They received a score of Division I+ (perfect), I, II or III.

Congrats to the Jazz Ensemble on their recent performance at the Jazz in the Meadows festival on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at Rolling Meadows High School. They performed two pieces and attended a clinic.

Congratulations to the combined Concert Band & Symphonic Band on their performance Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at the AHMI band festival where they performed two pieces and received a clinic.

• May 29: Eighth Grade Great America Field Trip

• June 2: Eighth Grade Picnic, 12:30-2:45pm at South
• June 3: Eighth Grade Graduation, 4:30pm, Forest View Education Center Field House, 2201 S. Goebbert Rd., Arlington Heights. Students arrive at 4pm.

Additional information and the opt-out form can be found on the D25 website.

We are looking to honor South Middle School graduates who have made significant accomplishments/achievements by displaying them on an SMS TV monitor that is located in our school entrance. We are asking you to please complete this form and provide us with a picture of the graduate.

Congratulations to Gabe Z. on placing in the top 12 wrestlers in his weight class at the State Tournament.

Boys volleyball tryouts will be April 1-2, 2025.

April 1: 7th grade 3-4:30pm, 8th grade 4:30-6pm

April 2: 8th grade 3-4:30pm, 7th grade 4:30-6pm

The SMS Office is open Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm.

Address: 400 South Highland Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Twitter: @AHSD25South

Main Line: (847) 398-4250

Absence Line: (847) 506-6999 x7300

Fax line: (847) 394-6260