Mustang Families,
The Illinois State Board of Education has released the annual Illinois Report Card, showcasing our school’s performance data for the 2023-24 school year. Check it out here: Illinois Report Card.
OLHMS is a home away from home for our scholars and staff! This designation highlights and validates the tremendous efforts of our entire school community!
At Oak Lawn Hometown Middle School, we pride ourselves on nurturing not only academic excellence but also the holistic development of every scholar to prepare today's learner for tomorrow's world! Our school is so much more than just numbers! We create experiences that go well beyond our walls in partnership with each of our families and this EXEMPLARY School Designation is a celebration of our partnership! We’re committed to building strong partnerships with families and fostering a dynamic community that supports our students every step of the way!
While we celebrate our many accomplishments this year, we also recognize there’s always room for improvement and growth. That’s why we are dedicated to continuous improvement and 100% growth over the next three years for every scholar! This year, we working though an ELA curricular pilot, supporting a new math curriculum and navigating a math grading pilot.
One exciting highlight from the Illinois School Report Card is our Annual Summative Designation, a federally required accountability category that measures how well we’re meeting the needs of ALL students. We are proud to announce that our summative designation is Exemplary, placing us in the top 10% of all schools!
This Report Card not only allows us to celebrate our strengths but also to reflect on our goals to help every student reach their fullest potential. At OLHMS, we firmly believe that every student can achieve high expectations, and YOU play a vital role in your child’s education. Together, as partners, we can create dreams into reality!
Did you know our school is EXEMPLARY?
We are very excited to share this news with our school community!
Did you know that we will be collecting, packing and sending candy to the troops overseas in partnership with Jacky's Soldiers?
Once again we will be participating in partnership with Jacky's Soldiers to collect candy for our troops! Please help us collect your left over Halloween candy or the extra candy you may just need to get out of the house by sending it in with your scholar or dropping it off in the office or with their advisory teacher! Last year, we collected over 1,200 pounds! I believe we can tip the scale on 1,500 pounds! Here is a Fox News story from a few years back! We will be accepting these donations until the 13th of November!
Did you know home basketball games and volleyball games begun?
We love having fans here to support our Mustang Athletes. Here is the LINK for our Spector Permission Form and Code of Conduct for student spectators. Student fans unaccompanied by parents, must have an electronic or paper form on file to attend home games. Students cannot stay in the building for games unless they are part of a club or activity.
There is always something exciting happening here at the middle school! Thank you to our scholars for supporting one another and living our mission! This past week was filled with incredible learning experiences on multiple levels for our scholars!
As a dynamic and supportive environment, believing in the gift we individually and collectively bring to the table is extremely important! Please remind scholars to follow our Mustang Musts of being responsible, safe and respectful. We are beginning to look ahead at trimester two and our scholars are prepared for continued success! Our Mustang Musts keep our opportunities very simple and we appreciate your partnership to reinforce this.
We are hearing about elevated challenges on social media outlets. Please talk to and check your child's phone activity so it doesn't impact our educational environment! Your support and proactiveness is greatly appreciated! Here is a LINKED resource for families with some tips for preventing cyberbullying.
Speaking of support and success, here is the Class of 2025 Graduate Expectation Letter. This letter has been distributed and discussed with our Class of 2025!
Attention all 7th and 8th grade students interested in joining the National Junior Honor Society! There will be a mandatory meeting for petitioning members on Wednesday, December 18th.
- During this meeting, we will review the requirements for induction, which include submitting a Trimester 1 report card with a majority of 3's in both Core and Encore classes.
- Additionally, you must demonstrate leadership qualities, participate in service activities, and exhibit good character. If you're serious about making a difference and joining NJHS, be sure to attend!
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. 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.
We can all support a healthy environment in and around school! Do your best to turn off your car while you wait for your scholar!
Researchers estimate that idling from heavy-duty and lightduty vehicles combined wastes about 6 billion gallons of fuel annually. About half of that is attributable to personal vehicles, which generate around 30 million tons of CO2 every year just by idling. While the impact of idling may be small on a per-car basis, the impact of the 250 million personal vehicles in the U.S. adds up. For saving fuel and reducing emissions, eliminating the unnecessary idling of personal vehicles would be the same as taking 5 million vehicles off the roads.
It is great to see so many scholars taking advantage of the opportunity to come in early or stay after school for additional time and support with academics. Please remind our scholars that this time should not be treated as a social opportunity and our school expectations of being safe, responsible and respectful should be maintained at all times. We appreciate everyone's support and partnership.
Fences have been installed at Oak Meadows Park (99th & 51st Ave.) in preparation for construction to begin on improving Oak Meadows Park. The Oak Lawn Park District was awarded a $600,000 matching grant as part of the Open Space Land Acquisition & Development Grant (OSLAD) to help fund this project. Here is the LINK to the website where the information was copied from.
Improvements at Oak Meadows Park includes updating the current asphalt trails, softball field, playground, basketball court, and water fountain. Additionally, the following amenities will be added:
- Soccer Field
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Bird Habitat
- Shelter with lights and picnic tables
- Benches
- ADA game tables
- Bike racks
Oak Lawn Park District held two Community Input Meetings and incorporated feedback from those meetings into the design. Additionally, the proposed path that loops around the park fills a need that is consistently ranked high by residents as a result of our Community Needs Survey.
“One of the best parts of this project is the improvements to the natural areas of this park”, said executive director, Tom Hartwig. “The bird houses, rain garden, and pollinator garden will provide biodiversity support, habitat restoration, stormwater management, education, nesting opportunities, predator protection, and pest control.”
Work on this project be completed next year.
Student Device Repair Program:
Your student's device is protected against accidental damage, theft, fire, flood, natural disasters, power surge and vandalism. If your child’s device needs repair, below are the costs associated with each incident during a school year:
1st incident - No Charge (one-time fee waiver)
2nd incident - $25.00
3rd incident - $50.00
Membership is $6.00 per student and $10.00 per adult
PTSA Meetings are at 6:00pm monthly
- PTSA Meeting- Tonight at 6:00pm
- PTSA Spirit Gear- Orders have been delivered!
- Reach out to Delecta Harris, our PTSA President for more information (olhmsd123ptsa@gmail.com )
- PTSA Facebook
Thank you all of the families attending the bowling event last weekend!
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!
Oak Lawn Community High School
Oak Lawn Community High School (co-ed)- Upcoming Shadow Day is November 25th. Incoming Freshmen Course Selection Night is February 5, 2025. Information found at Community HS. Additional information and questions can be answered by contacting Maria Vanderwarren, at 708-741-5602 or mvanderwarren@olchs.org.
Harold L. Richards High School (co-ed)- Perspective current 8th graders can attend the Open House on December 4th from 6 pm- 8 pm. Information found at Richards Open House.
Sunday, November 3rd from 11 am-1 pm for Open House! Receive a campus tour, meet our team, and find out why there has never been a better time to be a Crusader! Sign Up here: https://www.brotherrice.org/experience/
Brother Rice (all gentlemen)- Shadow Days can be scheduled on Fridays by registering at BR Shadow Day
Event Details: Open House
Date: Sunday, October 20th
Time: Registration starts at 1:45 PM, the program begins at 2:00 PM
Location: Chicago Christian High School Shadow Days
De La Salle High School (co-ed)- Shadow Days can be scheduled by registering at De La Salle HS.
Marist (co-ed)- Shadow Days can be scheduled on Fridays by registering at Marist Shadow Day.
Mother McAuley (all ladies)- registration must be completed 24 hours prior to shadowing. The next big Shadow Day is February 17th, however, other dates can be scheduled by registering at McAuley Shadow Day.
TODAY! 4-6pm (3:30-4pm low sensory accommodations)
Recommended for children 2-8 years old
Wednesday, October 30 from 5-8pm
7th & 8th Grade Girls
Monday, November 4 from 6-8pm
**Updated flyer
Tuesday, November 19 at 8:15am
Parents of 8th Grade Girls
November 21-24
6th-8th Graders
Shadow days at McAuley are offered everyday! We invite all 6-8th grade girls to experience a day in the life of a Mighty Mac.
Registration link can be found here: mothermcauley.org/admissions/shadow-mcauley
Morgan Park Academy (co-ed)- Shadow Days can be scheduled on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays by selecting “Schedule A Shadow Day For Middle School” at MPA Shadow Day.
Mount Carmel (all gentlemen)- Shadow Days are typically held any day that school is in session. If interested, register at MC Shadow Day.
Providence Catholic High School
St. Ignatius College Prep (co-ed)- Shadow Days can be scheduled by registering at St. Ignatius CP.
St. Laurence HS (co-ed)- Shadow Days can be scheduled by selecting “ Fill Out Our Inquiry Form” at St. Laurence HS.
St Rita High School (all gentlemen)- Shadow Days can be scheduled by registering at SR Shadow Day. Please be advised that the next Shadow Day is October 25th.
