Mills Moments

Happy New Year! We hope you had a restful and rejuvenating winter break. We are excited to welcome our students back to school and continue learning together in the new year.

It is important for students to charge their Chromebook every night. Chromebooks are essential for learning in today's classrooms. Students use them for online assignments, research, and interactive lessons. Ensuring Chromebooks are fully charged allows students to fully engage in class activities and avoid disruptions. We recommend charging the Chromebook a nightly habit, similar to brushing teeth. It also ensures students are prepared in the case that we have to have a remote learning day. As a reminder, if you experience any technical issues, you can contact support by emailing support@epcusd401.org.

In this issue, you will see some of the fun activities that took place prior to the winter break as well as our upcoming goals and events!

Click here to see the kindergarten students making gingerbread houses. Oh, what fun!

On Wednesday, December 18th, fifth graders participated in the DARE graduation ceremony upon completion of the program. DARE aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to resist peer pressure by teaching them to identify and analyze risks, make informed choices, and develop effective refusal skills. Thank you, Officer Piermattei and the 5th grade team for delivering this curriculum to our students.

Thank you to all who donated to the 12 Days of Food Drive sponsored by John Mills Student Council! Our school donated a total of 1,481 items to the Leyden Community Food Pantry, which helps thousands of families in our community. Student Council worked together to collect and pack all donations which were donated on December 20th. Your generosity helped to make a difference in our community.

We understand that mornings can be challenging, but consistent tardiness can significantly impact everyone's learning. Tardy students disrupt the learning process for the teacher and classmates. Tardy students miss important and valuable instruction in addition to disrupting learning. We are still seeing too many students arriving late to school, so please be sure to have your students arrive to school no later than 8:35. Instruction starts promptly at 8:40 every day. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

We strive to maintain a 95% attendance rate across all grade levels. Monthly incentives are starting in the new year for every grade level that achieves 95% average daily attendance. We can't wait to celebrate this new incentive with students when they return from Winter Break.

With this being said, we understand that unexpected absences can occur. If your child is experiencing fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or other contagious illnesses, please keep them home to prevent the spread of illness to other students.

We strongly encourage you to prioritize your child's attendance to ensure they have the best possible opportunity to learn and thrive. Thank you for your continued support in helping us create a positive and productive learning environment for all students.

First grade had the highest average daily attendance of 93%. While no grade level met the target of 95% last month, we look for improvement starting in January. Onward, Trojans!

Students will take the second of three local benchmarking assessments the week of January 13th. NWEA MAP Growth is a computer-adaptive assessment that provides valuable insights into a student's academic growth in reading, language usage, and mathematics. It is unique because it adjusts the difficulty of questions in real-time based on a student's performance, ensuring the assessment accurately measures his/her current learning level. The results provide teachers with valuable information to guide instruction practices by identifying areas of strength and areas where students may need additional support. As always, we ask that you encourage your student to always do his/her best.

This space will be reserved for newsletters crafted by the teachers to keep you informed about what's happening in the classrooms, upcoming events, important dates, learning opportunities, and highlights.

Public Act 103-0641 requires the Illinois State Board of Education, in coordination with the Illinois Department of Public Health, to develop and publish Type 1 diabetes informational materials for the parents and guardians of students. These materials are now available on ISBE’s School Wellness Student and Family Resources webpage, via the link Understanding Type 1 Diabetes for Parents and Guardians.

We continue to use this resource as a guide to determine outdoor or indoor recess. Should you have any questions on any given day, please email your student's teacher. Outdoor recess in winter offers valuable benefits for physical health when done safely and with proper preparation and teachers and staff will closely monitor children for signs of cold-related discomfort. Please be mindful of weather conditions when students leave for school in the morning such as: warm outerwear for insulation, hats, gloves/mittens, warm socks, and appropriate winter footwear.

1. Attendance phone number 708-583-6288

2. Attendance email millsattendance@epcusd401.org

Meal prices for the 2024-2025 school year: Breakfast is free; lunch is $3.10

Food service questions can be directed to Ms. Tara Canty at tcanty@questfms.com

Monday, January 13- NWEA MAP winter benchmarking starts

Tuesday, January 14- PTA meeting 6:30pm in the media center

Monday, January 20- No School, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Tuesday, January 21- Parent Teacher Conference sign up opens in PowerSchool

Wednesday, January 22- Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm at EPHS Media Center

Friday, January 24- John Mills PTA Fun Fair 5:30-7:30

Phone: 708-452-3560

Email: millsinfo@epcusd401.org

2824 North 76th Avenue, Elmwood Park, IL 60707

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