Cardinal Corner

District News

November 12: School Board Meeting, 7pm

School News/Sports

November 1: End of First Quarter; Student Recognition Assembly

November 4: Parent-Teacher Conferences, 8:30am-7:45pm

November 5: Election Day: No School

November 6: Girls Bball Practice, 6:45-7:30am; Cheer Tumbling, 7-7:40am; Boys Bball Practice, 3-5pm

November 7: Sunrise Hoops, 6:45-7:45am; Concert Band, 7-7:40am; Boys Bball Practice, 3-5pm; Girls Basketball @ Thomas, 3:15pm, 8th/7th

November 8: Boys Bball Practice, 6:45-7:30am; Girls Basketball @ Lincoln Mt Prospect, 3:30pm, 8th/7th; Progress Reports Issued

November 9: IESA Speech Contest, 7am-1pm

November 11: Cheer Practice, 3-4:30pm; Boys Bball Practice, 3-5pm; Science Olympiad Practice, 6-9pm;

November 12: Sunrise Hoops, 6:45-7:45am; Concert Band, 7-7:40am; Poms Practice, 3-4:30pm; Boys Bball Practice, 3-5pm

November 13: 7-7:40am Cheer/Tumbling; Boys Bball Practice, 3-5pm

November 14: Concert Band, 7-7:40am; Cheer Practice, 3-4:30pm; Poms Practice, 3-4:30am; Girls Basketball vs Barrington Station, 4:15pm; Boys Basketball @ Sundling, 3:30pm

November 15: Sixth Grade Intramurals, 2:45-3:15pm; Speech Team Fall Showcase, 6-8pm (5pm call time)

November 18: Cheer Practice, 3-4:30pm; Girls Bball Practice, 3-5pm; Boys Basketball vs Mead, 3:30pm, 7th/8th; Science Olympiad, 6-9pm

November 19: Concert Band, 7-7:40am; Girls Basketball Practice, 3-5pm; Poms Practice, 3-5pm

November 20: Girls Bball Practice, 3-5pm; Boys BBall @ Thomas 3:30pm, 8th/7th

November 21: Concert Band, 7-7:40pm; Cheer Practice, 3-4:30pm; Poms Practice, 3-4:30pm; Wrestling Pre-Season Meeting, 3-4pm

November 22: Boys Bball Practice, 6:45-7:30am; Cheer Practice, 3-4:30pm; Poms Practice, 3-4:30pm

November 24-30: Thanksgiving Break

Dear South Parents and Guardians:

We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Halloween! October ended in a fun fashion. We enjoyed two assemblies in October. The first was South's Variety Show on Friday, October 25th. Students and staff showed off their talents in an amazing show. Congratulations to all of our participants and Mr. Skym for an entertaining and special event!

The second assembly took place today, Friday, November 1. We celebrated the end of the first quarter by recognizing students' special accomplishments during the first quarter. We recognized South's Cross Country Team, Golf Team, Student Council Representatives, Speech Team, and the CARDS recipients. Both events were very special, and our students were wonderful audience members.

This month, we will be sponsoring South's annual Food Drive. The food collected will be given to the Wheeling Food Pantry. Our goal is 2,500 items. Several staff members have agreed to get slimed during our second quarter assembly if we surpass our goal. Please see more details in the column below.

We continue to be very proud of our Cardinals and every day we see wonderful examples of students being mindful, ready, and safe to one another. We definitely see more positives at South than negatives! However, one of the tough parts of adolescence is our children learning how to socially interact appropriately with one another. Many students are beginning to use social media platforms or group texts, and they are trying different emojis, jokes, and edgy language. While this experimentation is developmentally normal, it has come to our attention that some of the dialogue going around lately is mean-spirited and overly harsh. We would greatly appreciate your partnership in speaking to your children about what topics are appropriate for jokes and group texts, and which ones are not. It may be wise to occasionally check in with your child about their group text activity, and if needed, provide guidance on appropriate communication with their friend groups. Thank you for assisting with guiding our students along the right path of being mindful to others.

Have a great weekend!

South Administration

November is the month to remember the contributions of Native Americans and Alaska Natives and to honor the unique heritage of our continent’s first inhabitants.

Also known as “The Day of the Dead”. It is a two-day holiday that originated in Mexico, where it is mostly observed. The days honor friends and family members that have died.

More information: https://dayofthedead.holiday/

A Hindu festival of lights celebrated especially in India. The five-day festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness.

*Date changes year to year

Federal holiday to celebrate the anniversary of the World War I agreement between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers.

We honor all military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

A day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Celebrated the fourth Thursday in November, a federal holiday in all states.

• November 4th: 8:30am-7:45pm

• Format: 7-minute Individual Conferences with 3-minute travel time.

• PTC Wizard Online Sign Up has officially CLOSED in order for our staff to have time to prepare for conferences.

• Students are invited and encouraged to attend conferences with their parents.

• If you signed up for conferences, please review your schedule in PTC Wizard for Monday.

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

In accordance with Arlington Heights School District 25 Board Policy, any movie or tv show, even shown in short clips, with a rating of PG (Parental Guidance) or greater requires parent permission. Please take a minute to fill out this permission form for your child's team by Friday, November 8. Be sure to submit one response for each child.

South will be sponsoring our annual Food Drive November 4-15, 2024. Students or parents can drop off food (parents could bring during conferences if they want and drop off) or can bring Aldi or Jewel gift cards in amounts of $25 or less.

South has set a goal of 2,500 items. We will count each gift card as 10 items. If we reach this goal, Dr. Morrison, Ms. Rosen, Mrs. L., Mr. Osmanski, Ms. Stassen, Ms. Buck, Ms. Ornduff, and Ms. Bora all agreed to be slimed by students during the second quarter assembly.

Here is the list of items they need from their website.

• Baking products (cake mixes, flour, sugar, etc)
• Beans (white northern, cannellini or kidney)
• Canned fish (tuna, salmon)
• Cereal (any type)
• Cleaning supplies (kitchen/bathroom cleaners, window cleaners, etc)
• Condiments (ketchup, mayo, mustard, salad dressing)
• Diapers (child and adult)
• Feminine hygiene supplies
• Fruit (apple sauce, canned peaches/pears/pineapple)
• Meat products (beef stew, canned chicken/ham, corned beef hash)
• Pancake mixes and syrup
• Paper products (napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, etc)
• Personal hygiene items (deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, shaving cream)
• Potatoes (instant mashed, au gratin, four cheese, scalloped)
• Snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks, treats)
• Soap products (hand soap, laundry detergent, etc)

We want to make our 6th grade parents aware that there is a change in the eligibility to earn a gold cord and the Principal Certificate for the Class of 2027 when they graduate.

As stated in the section of South's In's and Out's posted on the SMS website, the Honor Roll/Academic Achievements/ Presidential/Principal Award for students in the 2026-27 graduating class earning a 3.85 GPA or higher through their combination of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (through the 3rd quarter), will receive a gold cord, and a Principal Certificate when they graduate.

*This change in grade point average will align both District 25 middle schools.

South is hosting this year's IESA State Speech Contest for our area on Saturday, November 9, 2024, from 7:45-11:45am. Nine schools will be participating with over 130 entries across solo acting, poetry, storytelling, duet and small group acting, and duet and small group improv events to earn division rankings for their performance. Admission is $3 for Adults/HS Students, $2 for K-8 students/seniors.

Come support our team of 35+ students after two months of rehearsing for their 40 different performance entries!

More detailed information about Pre-Registration and Placement testing can be found at https://www.d214.org/freshmanprereg.

On Friday, October 25, 2024, the RMHS band invited the feeder school’s band students to join them in a night of practice, dinner and performance during the pre-game show. High school students taught the middle schoolers the different marching positions, as well as reviewed the music. The South kids ended the night by enjoying the Marching Mustang's halftime show!

The South LMC is hosting a book fair! The fair will be open to parents and students on Monday, November 4, 2024, during parent/teacher conferences, 8:30am-7:45pm. The fair will be open to students Tuesday, November 5, 2024, through Friday, November 8, 2024, during the school day. Cash, debit/credit, and Apple Pay are all accepted.

All proceeds from the book fair sales will be used to put more quality books into the South LMC and your child’s hands!

Questions? Email: kokelly@sd25.org

The WildStang Robotics Program, a D214 high school class and program where students design and build robots as part of FIRST Robotics Competitions, is hosting our second annual Engineering Career Night. The event will be at the D214 Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights from 7-8:30 pm on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.

Below is a flyer which has information on the event — which is free and targeted to all area middle and high school students potentially interested in a career in engineering, and their parents.

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.

Thomas Middle School is sponsoring a Junior Spirit Squad workshop for all interested District 25 students in grades K,-5 for Cheerleading or Pom Pom squads, on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Here is a link for further information.

Practices

This was where everyone put in the hard work for the season. We had a lot of good workouts and runs this season. We learned a lot, like what a Fartlek run is, how to go hard on workout days and easy on easy days (though some of us are still working on that last part), and had lots of fun at practices (especially during our team Olympics week).

Meets

This season was a hot one… probably the overall hottest cross country season I've ever experienced (including my years running in high school and college). But our kids really rose to the challenge and battled it out through the heat to run PR after PR. From the first meet to the last, every single athlete had at least a season PR, and most had lifetime PRs. This is really what running and cross country is about, getting faster and improving. Yes, you technically compete against other runners, but really each race you are really running against the clock and yourself, your past self, trying to improve and get better. And every single runner improved this season, from where they were at the begging of the season to the end.

Also, state went very well!! Our boys placed 19th overall and our girls placed 8th overall with one All-State runner (top 25) McKenna C. placing 19th!!!

The 8th Grade Girls basketball team moved their record to 6-0. They defeated Thomas 36-23 in the home blackout game on October 17th with McKenna C. leading the team with 14 points and Audrey C. adding 8 points. On October 22nd in a rematch from last year's Regional Championship the Cardinals knocked off Barrington Prairie 34-19 . Later in the week they defeated Sundling and MacArthur with Campell F. leading in points against Sundling and Bria H. leading in points against MacArthur. They have a big rivalry week coming up with road games against Thomas and Lincoln Middle Schools on November 7th and 8th.

Join the PTA: The South PTA has many active PTA members and is always looking for more. We support many school and student programs through our memberships. One yearbook for your son/daughter is included with a PTA membership. If you didn’t join when registering your student, JOIN NOW!

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