Dear Emerson Families,

Thank you to all who joined us on Wednesday evening for Elective Night. As a reminder for our current 6th and 7th grade families, student elective forms are due on Wednesday, January 24th in homeroom.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

All the Best,

Tessa

Next Week

January 22nd - Antelope Field Trip

January 23rd - Emerson Wrestling @ Grove

January 24th - Dine to Donate @ Panera

6th and 7th Grade Elective Forms Due

January 26th - Emerson Wrestling Vs. Lincoln

January 26th - 7th Grade Social

Mark your calendars! Here are important dates regarding registration for the 2024-2025 school year.

• January 16th, 2024 - Registration begins for ALL District 64 students. (This includes *Preschool and Kindergarten)
• March 22nd, 2024 - Registration closes

*Parents that are registering their child for preschool for the 2024-2025 school year, will not be invoiced for tuition and fees at this time. For a listing of approved fees for the 24-25 school year, CLICK HERE.

More information will continue to be communicated to families. Plus, all important info will be posted on our Registration Page as well.

While it may be hard to believe as we are watching snow and temperatures fall, 8th Grade Promotion will be upon us before we know it. Promotion is currently planned for June 5th from 6-7:30 in the Maine East High School Auditorium. More detailed information will be forthcoming in the next few months.

Emerson provides Promotion Gowns for all 8th graders for the ceremony. We do need to gather a bit of information to make this evening a success. Please FOLLOW THIS LINK and answer the questions on the Google Form regarding promotion gowns. Here you will also need to confirm a few more details regarding your student's information. If you have any questions, please call the main office at 847-318-8110.

This week our 6th and 7th grade students received their Elective Forms for next year, along with the Elective Course Description. As a family, we are asking that you take time this weekend to complete this form if you have not already.

Class of 2026 (current 6th grade), please see this video on how to complete the elective form.

Elective forms must be turned in to homeroom teachers by Wednesday, January 24th.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Main Office.

As a reminder, students wishing to enter school early during the week should have a pass from either a parent or the teacher that they are expected to go see. Doors to the school open at 7:55am. Students are allowed in early on days when the weather is extreme, but please remind them to dress for the weather. You can find student entry passes at this link to print at home. Thank you for your assistance!

Uncle Pete’s Lunches is back! Emerson students, families, and staff have the opportunity to participate in a special schoolwide service project. Uncle Pete’s Lunches' goal is to provide sack lunches to people in need throughout the Chicagoland area. We are asking you to please participate by making one, or as many lunches as you would like. Our goal is to reach 500!

In homeroom on Friday, February 2nd, students will receive a brown bag that can be filled with lunch for a person in need.

On Tuesday, February 6th, lunches will be collected at Emerson starting at 7:30 AM as students enter the building. The lunches will be boxed and driven by Uncle Pete’s volunteers to different locations and handed out to people in need of a meal.

Please include all of the following items in the paper bag:

• 2 meat sandwiches on white or wheat bread (NO condiments or cheese)

• 2 hard-boiled eggs in SHELLS

• 1 piece of fruit (NO bananas)

• 1 SMALL bag of chips

• 2-3 cookies, a small bag of cookies, or a small candy bar

• 1 SMALL 8oz water or juice box

• 1 paper napkin

Thank you for participating in this important service project!

Please see attached flyer. Questions? Contact Ms. Brophy (ebrophy@d64.org)

Registration information for Worlds of Wonder 2024:

• Registration will open at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, February 20th, 2024.
• WOW registration will close on Monday, June 3rd, 2024.

More information about enrollment fees, schedules for the sessions, and course descriptions will be shared soon. Plus, any time information is shared, it will also be posted to the Worlds of Wonder page.

Is your student an aspiring author? Here's a chance to let their creativity shine! The Young Authors Contest is a districtwide program for students interested in writing and publishing their work for others to read. It is running now through March 1st. Please see the guidelines for details and contact Mrs. Prokos with any questions.

On Wednesday, February 21, our 8th grade students will be taking the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS). The purpose of the IYS is to better understand youth attitudes and behaviors that can impact student problems and academic success. It will ask about topics including nutrition, physical activity, bullying, tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. Students will be asked to complete a survey (with no names or identification numbers) that will be confidentially administered during one class period. The survey is completely voluntary and privacy will be strictly protected.

The Illinois Youth Survey will provide us with a local report of the combined student results which will help to determine which programs may be needed to keep students safe and healthy. The IYS is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services and is coordinated by the Center for Prevention Research and Development at the University of Illinois. For more information, please visit the Illinois Youth Survey website at http://iys.cprd.illinois.edu.

The links below provide a notification form officially informing you that the survey is being conducted at our school. This form will allow you to exclude your child from participation and only needs to be returned if you do not want your child to participate.

IYS Parent Notification Letter 2024

In the Schuler Scholar Program, it is our mission to support bright first-generation, underrepresented, and pell-eligible students with support to get into and succeed at top colleges.

The Schuler Scholar Program has been working at Maine East High School for almost 14 years, and some of you may have a sibling, cousin, neighbor, or friend who has been a part of the program. You may be familiar with our typical recruitment calendar: usually, we invite students to apply to the program in winter of 8th grade.

This year, due to some financial constraints, Schuler must pause on any recruitment of new students into the program for this year. We plan to use this year to evaluate our current program model and make any needed adjustments in order to continue to serve our mission, students, and community in the future.

If you are currently an 8th grade student or family member of an 8th grade student who was hoping to apply to Schuler this year - we hope to be able to provide an opportunity for you to apply to Schuler in the future, and will work with school personnel to connect with you about any future opportunities. As you begin high school, I want to share with you some steps you can take to stay on track to be a strong candidate to a selective college and potentially a strong candidate for Schuler down the road:

• Work to earn strong grades: As and Bs and a 3.3 unweighted GPA are solid benchmarks that will help you stay on track for selective college options. You can work towards these goals by completing your work on time and using your resources wisely (especially working closely with your teachers when you have questions).

• Enroll in challenging courses. In Schuler, we typically look for students taking 1-3 of the following, because these are the types of courses that can help students be a strong candidate for selective colleges: Accelerated Science, AP Social Science, advanced math (Math 2 or above in 9th grade). The more advanced courses that a student is taking successfully, the stronger the applicant.

Taking rigorous classes and earning strong grades are two of the most important things you can do to stay on track to have the most college options. It’s important to strike a balance - we typically advise students to take the highest level of rigor that they are confident they would be set up to be successful in.

Please feel free to reach out to me (karly@schulerprogram.org) if you have questions about what you can do as an 8th or 9th grader to make sure you’re maximizing your college opportunities. I wish you great luck as you wrap up your 8th grade year and enter high school!

D64's first Parent U of the new year is coming soon, and it will cover safety in schools and at home. Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins will provide an update on the state of safety in our schools, including facility issues, protocols, and future improvements. There will also be a presentation from Be SMART on the importance of gun safety. Information on Be SMART can be found at BeSMARTforkids.org.

The presentations on these important topics will take place at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, January 24th, in the Hendee Rooms (8200 Greendale Avenue, Niles, IL). Please RSVP if you plan on attending.

Here is this week's Vocal Music Notes newsletter. Have a good Friday and wonderful weekend!

Board Meeting - 1/23/24

Please join us via ZOOM for our monthly board meeting, on Tuesday, January 23 at 6:30pm.

All parents and staff are welcome.

ID: 409 120 4929

Password: Eagle

https://zoom.us/j/4091204929?pwd=K1drNHltMWZSb2h3K2dmQ1poSkxhUT09

PANERA Dine to Donate - 1/24/24

Attention all parents and staff: PLEASE help support PTO and its efforts to fund many events and school programs by ordering dinner for you and your family at PANERA in Park Ridge on Wednesday, January 24 from 4-8pm. Panera will donate 25% of its sales to Emerson, just be sure to mention EMERSON or use the online checkout code: FUND4U

7th Grade Social - 1/26/24

The PTO 7th grade social will be next Friday, January 26, 2023 from 3pm - 5pm in the Emerson GYM and MPR. All 7th graders are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of this FREE event! This year is a carnival games theme with prizes, hot dogs, popcorn and other carnival snacks. Many parent volunteers are needed to run each game so PLEASE sign up to help on our Sign Up Genuis sheet. No experience, no problem. We’ll host a meeting for game host volunteers prior to the event to talk through how to run the game.

Lakeview Bus Lines is actively hiring school bus drivers for their Niles facility. Experience is not needed for this position, their team of trainers will teach and train you to be a licensed and certified School Bus Driver.

Perks

• Starting pay $35/hr
• Healthcare benefits for full-time employees
• Paid vacation
• Flexible work schedules

Apply online at sunrisebus.com or scan the QR code on the attached flyer. Call to schedule an interview at 630-442-1004.

Email: em-office@d64.org
Website: https://www.d64.org/ems
Location: 8101 North Cumberland Avenue, Niles, IL, USA
Phone: 847-318-8110