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WJHS Highlights

02/28/2025

WJHS Highlights02/28/2025

A Message from the Administrative Team

Dear WJHS Families,

March is finally here! (well, almost - officially tomorrow, but we are ready for it today)!


March 3 - 7: For schools to function efficiently, safely, and support students in a variety of ways, there are a lot of moving parts and many people who help to make the school day run smoothly. One of the roles that sometimes goes unnoticed, but is truly life changing for our students, is the role of social worker. While we recognize all of our staff the first week of May during "Staff Appreciation Week", next week is the official "School Social Work Week". At this time of year in particular, many of our students seek out a social worker to check in with, talk to, or seek advice. We encourage you to reach out to a social worker that has or does support your child, and thank them for all that they do. We are so grateful for all the ways our social workers support our students! If you would like a social worker to check in with your child, please don't hesitate to reach out.


Natalia Panico works with teams 7A and 8C. She can be reached at panicon@wilmette39.org

Nicola Kiela works with teams 7B and 8B. She can be reached at kielan@wilmette39.org

Cathy Marlas works with teams 7C and 8A. She can be reached at marlasc@wilmette39.org

Elise Higgins works with our students throughout WJHS as-needed and is at WJHS Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons. She can be reached at higginse@wilmette39.org.



Ramadan begins this evening (2/28) for many of our students. We want to support any students who are observing Ramadan. If your child is fasting or needs an alternate place to be during lunch, they are able to go to the LC during that time (all students are able to go to the LC to silently read during lunch). Feel free to reach out to your child's teachers if any additional accommodations are needed so we can be sure to support your child.


Sincerely,

Kate, Jeff and Rob

PTO Enrichment Hosts Squid Dissection!

🦑 Thank you to our WJHS PTO who sponsored a dissection experience for 7th and 8th grade students interested in learning more about squids! The smell permeated the halls of WJHS and students were seen exploring and having fun! Thank you to Dr. Ower, Mr. Nelson and Mrs. Utynek for organizing!

CSCI

The window is still open for families to participate in the CSCI, our school culture and climate survey. This survey will provide valuable information and insight into our school community by assessing perceptions of school climate in the areas of safety, relationships, learning, the school environment, and communication within the school.


The survey will take between 15-20 minutes to complete and we recommend that you take the survey once for each child, as you may have different experiences for each.


Last year, data gathered on the survey from our families, students, and staff was used in alignment with our D39 Strategic Plan to set goals for this school year in the area of School Climate and Culture. These include:

  • Supporting and empowering students with upstander lessons and assemblies

  • Regular celebrations and school-wide recognition of D39’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging themes

  • Continued improvement with school-wide behavior systems through Foundations

  • Strengthening students’ sense of belonging through clubs and extracurricular activities


You can access the survey online through this link: https://rezed.io/1PE8EL


Thank you for your partnership and support of Wilmette Junior High School. We look forward to sharing this data with our learning community later this spring.

SEL News

The month of February is Black History Month. While learning about and honoring the contributions of Black Americans to the history of our country and their impact on our world today is something we do year-round at school, this month is a great time for families also to set aside time to recognize these trailblazers and engage in learning about the contributions of African-Americans...especially in our area. Did you know that the Bronzeville neighborhood in Chicago is considered the birthplace of Black History Month?


A couple of family-friendly opportunities include the Commemorative Day Event at the Chicago History Museum or the Multiple Events, both musical and historical at the Field Museum. In Wilmette, children are offered the opportunity to participate in the Village's annual Black History Month contest or visit the Wilmette Public Library for one of their events.


Our district-wide theme for the month of February is “Our Features Are Important,” making it a great time to celebrate all of the diversity in features around us. Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor, Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder, The Proudest Color by Sheila Modir and Jeffrey Kashou and Monica Mikai, and The Patch by Justina Chen Headley and Mitch Vane, are great books to spur conversation at home about our unique features and how they make everyone special. Additionally, the Wilmette Public Library, in their ongoing efforts to support these themes in District 39, is offering a Between the Lines: Our Features are Important event this evening, February 7, for families which will be a great opportunity to learn with others about how to embrace our differences.


Engaging in these activities as a family supports your child in developing their social-emotional skills as they learn about themselves, engage in perspective-taking, and celebrate many various traditions and experiences in our communities.

LAST FEW WEEKS TO ORDER A YEARBOOK

YOU MUST BE LOGGED INTO YOUR MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT ACCOUNT TO PURCHASE A YEARBOOK. The deadline to purchase is 3/14 so purchase your 2024-2025 WJHS Yearbook NOW! There is no cost to create a Membership Toolkit account but you do need to register. Having a Membership Toolkit account allows you to track your purchases of yearbooks, after school club purchases, etc. and allows the PTO to connect the purchase of a yearbook with your student for delivery! Yearbooks are $32 and will be distributed during the last week of school. Not sure if you already bought one? Just check your Membership Toolkit account!


You do not have to buy a PTO membership ($25) to purchase a yearbook.

You just need to have a Membership Toolkit account. It’s free!


SEEKING 2025-2026 WJHS PTO BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Make friends. Be in the know. Make a difference. Support our teachers and staff. Enrich our student’s school experience. There are so many reasons to serve on the PTO. Please consider sharing your talents as a volunteer for the 2025-2026 WJHS PTO. For more information on the following positions please email president@wjhspto.com. Thank you!

President-Elect

Secretary

VP Community/Hospitality

VP Communications

Civics & Safety Rep

Outside Front Planters Rep

Newcomers Welcome Committee

Graduation Party Committee

PLEASE SIGN UP TO SERVE LUNCH!

The lunchroom staff needs 2 parents each day to help serve lunch as students go through the lunch line. This helps ease congestion and lets the staff quickly restock items so as to make the line go quickly. Can you help us out just once? Sign up HERE and thank you!

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


NEW TRIER H.S. PERFORMS MISS NELSON IS MISSING 3/1

The New Trier H.S. Freshman/Sophomore play is this Saturday, March 1st at 11am (Cast A) and 1pm (Cast B). The fun children's book "Miss Nelson Is Missing" has been adapted into a 45 minute play that is perfect for all families. Many WJHS alums are in the show! General Admission tickets are $5 and can be purchased at https://www.showclix.com/event/miss-nelson-is-missing-

D39 IMPORTANT REMINDERS

1. Please register your child NOW for the 2025-2026 school year on PowerSchool! Choose “Registration”. The PTO asks you to OPT IN when being asked if you’d like to be included in the Directory/Class lists. The directory is not distributed to anyone other than student families and D39 staff. This will also allow you to get important email notifications about social events, after-school clubs, graduation activities and other student/family news throughout the 2024-2025 school year.

2. Please fill out the School Culture & Climate Survey HERE. The survey aims to assess your perceptions of safety, relationships, learning, school environment and communication within the school. Your responses are anonymous.

3. The next event in the Parent Education Series is Wednesday 3/12 at 11:00am via ZOOM. “Parenting Kids With Big Emotions and Big Behaviors” is directed at elementary age children but can provide information for all. Register HERE.

D39 EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

Grab your friends and sign up for a table for TRIVIA NIGHT on Saturday, April 5th at St. Joseph’s school gymnasium. Doors open at 7:00pm. Tables for up to 10 adults are $750, theme and costumes are encouraged. Tables are on sale now! BYOB, raffle, prizes and good times! Check it out at https://d39foundation.org/

District Update

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Register Now for the 2025-26 Academic Year

Registration is open for the 2025-26 academic year. Registering your child(ren) now helps us to staff our schools with the correct number of class sections and the very best teachers around! Please help us plan to continue this excellence by completing your registration now.


D39 Parent Portal

District 39 utilizes the PowerSchool Parent Portal as an information hub for our families. We encourage all families to watch this short video that walks you through all of the available resources available on the Portal and familiarize yourself with everything that the Portal has to offer. Listed below are just some of the features inside the Portal:

  • Attendance report

  • Fee balance (view outstanding balances and submit payment online)

  • Lunch accounts (monitor your child’s lunch account and view purchased items)

  • PLS Vault (District 39’s secure home for assessment reports)

  • Current grades (Highcrest and WJHS students only)

  • Report an absence

  • View report cards and forms

  • Setup your email notification preferences


Board of Education Meeting

The Board of Education gathered on Monday evening for its monthly business meeting. During the meeting, the Board heard District 39’s Strategic Plan Mid-Year Report, which is a progress report on all five goal areas of our Strategic Plan, including Student Achievement and Growth, Supportive Community, Professional Community, Family Partnerships, and Stewardship of Resources. Additionally, the Board was presented with FY24 audit reports for both District 39 and the Wilmette Community Special Education Agreement (WCSEA), received committee reports, and conducted a second reading of several Board policies. Agendas and materials for Board of Education meetings are posted online the Friday prior to the meeting.


Parent Education Events

Join us on Wednesday, March 12 at 11 am for District 39’s next Parent Education event titled “Parenting Kids with Big Emotions and Big Behaviors.” Navigating children’s upsets and tantrums are a part of parenthood. You want to support your child’s feelings and not lose your patience, but when they don’t listen or follow the rules, what do you do? This session will equip you with tools to parent with respect. You will learn how to access your calm, how to respond rather than react, and raise children who care and contribute. Come to grow your parenting confidence and create more peace in your family! Registration for this event, which will be held virtually via Zoom, is now open. Please visit our Parent Education webpage for our full schedule of events as well as archived recordings of past events.


Register Now for the District 39 Summer Enrichment Program

Registration for the D39 Summer Enrichment Program is open. This fun and educational program runs from July 2-31 and offers a variety of academic and interest-based courses for students currently in grades K-7. This year, courses for students in grades K-3 will be held at McKenzie Elementary School while programs for students currently in grades 4-7 will be held at Highcrest Middle School. Please view our list of offered courses and visit our D39 Summer Enrichment Program website for more details on this wonderful summer option.


PowerSchool Security Incident Update

In our last update to families regarding the PowerSchool security incident that took place in December, we shared that PowerSchool would be communicating to families to share the services that it would be making available to clients. We have received notification that PowerSchool has begun communication announcing its partnership with Experian to offer two years of identity protection services. Please keep an eye out for an email from PowerSchool, which will contain instructions on how to take advantage of this service. This information is also available on the PowerSchool website.
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