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

Student Portal - TLC Schedule

Dear Emerson Families,

We have finished our first FULL week of school and MAP testing!

Please make sure to read the newsletter this week in its entirety, as we have a LOT to cover for next week, including Safety Week, Curriculum Night, the beginning of yearbook sales and important reminders about 6th Grade Health Forms. Have a fantastic weekend!

All the Best,

Tessa

All Grades: Extended Homeroom 8:05 - 8:37

Safety Week Lunch Schedule - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday:

6th Grade Lunch - 12:23 - 1:00

7th Grade Lunch - 11:09 - 11:47

8th Grade Lunch - 11:47 - 12:23

Absences and late arrivals MUST be reported by 8:00 am DAILY. Our attendance line can be reached 24 hours a day at 847-318-8110 - Press 1 to leave an attendance message. Absences not reported to us will be marked as unexcused and a phone call will be placed to all parent/guardians. This slows down the attendance process which needs to be done as quickly as possible for building safety purposes.

If you are aware of an absence ahead of time (vacation, surgeries, doctors appointments, etc.), you can call the attendance line in advance and alert us of the dates your child will be absent. We can pre-mark attendance accordingly.

If you need to pick your student up early at any point in the day, please call the main office at 847-318-8110. We can try to make sure that the student is not in PE/Lunch/Recess which makes it harder to get the student quicky.

Absences reported to the homeroom teacher often do not make it to the main office, resulting in your student being marked unexcused.

We would like to invite you to Curriculum Night on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. The purpose of Curriculum Night is to provide an opportunity for parents/guardians to learn more about our curriculum.

Below is the schedule of events. ONLY Parents/guardians whose children attend the Channels of Challenge classes will meet from 6:00-6:30 pm.

All students are placed on one of nine grade-level teams. PLEASE BE CERTAIN TO CONFIRM WITH YOUR CHILD THE NAME OF THEIR TEAM - VERY IMPORTANT!!

This year we will be providing a showcase of all encore classes, which will take place in our gymnasium. All encore teachers will be stationed at tables throughout the gym in order to allow all to engage with every curriculum/program. To view detailed information about each encore offering, please see the 6th and 7th/8th presentations. Additionally, the Support Service Department (i.e. ELL staff, counseling department, and speech language pathologist) will be distributing tips and tricks for your student to be successful in middle school.

We encourage parents to visit the gymnasium to meet their students’ elective teachers/student services team before or after your core team presentation.

CLICK on this link for information about Teen Leisure Clubs (TLCs) available to Emerson students!

Due to parking constraints at Emerson, we strongly recommend that you carpool or walk to this important event. This is always a well-attended evening for parents and we hope to see you at school. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school office.

Save the Date! All District 64 parents are invited to our inaugural D64 PTO Kick-Off! Hear our Superintendent. Dr. Ben Collins, present information on the upcoming Referendum and tour the aging Lincoln Middle School to see some of the proposed improvements with each school's Principal as your guide. PTO's will have their annual kick-off meeting to highlight their year and offer an opportunity to meet more D64 parents. Daycare will be provided and this is a great opportunity to support your child's education. We hope to see you on September 10th at 7:00pm at Lincoln Middle School!

In follow up to the District’s communication regarding next week’s safety week, we wanted to provide you with some information that is specific to Emerson Middle School. As was shared, starting Monday, August 26th, our school will participate in a different drill daily. A drill is used to create familiarity associated with a practiced action. We have worked with our local police and fire departments to ensure they are also part of the drills and get crucial practice of how they would respond. Every morning, our homeroom will be extended so that we can practice these drills prior to 1st period starting.

Here is the schedule of drills for Emerson

• Monday, 8/26 - Hold
• Tuesday, 8/27 - Secure. Additionally, students participate in a bus evacuation drill during PE.
• Wednesday, 8/28 - Lockdown
• Thursday, 8/29 - Evacuate
• Friday, 8/30 - Shelter

For more information about each of these drills and the associated response, please read below.

• If a school is placed in a Hold, students and staff will clear the hallways and hold in their classroom or area. Students outside for recess or PE will stay outside. Students and staff will continue their normal routine in their location. We will call a Hold in situations when we need to keep the hallways clear to attend to an individual, such as a medical emergency. A notification will be sent to families if we issue a hold.

• If a school is Secure, there is a situation in the community where the police or school officials believe it is safer to move all students inside the school. Students will continue learning during Secure, but visitors will not be admitted to the school. Students will not be dismissed at the end of the day until law enforcement has determined it is safe. All families will be notified when the building is in Secure and when the Secure has been lifted.

• A school is put into Lockdown if there is a threat or hazard inside the school building. District 64 would call, text, and email parents and guardians in the case of a Lockdown. We promise to communicate with you as soon as possible. Please be patient, as our priority will be the safety of students and staff. If you do not want your child participating in the lockdown drill, please see this document.

The safety of your children is very important to all of us at D64. For more information, visit our website, d64.org/safe-schools. If you have questions or concerns regarding the specific drills at Emerson Middle School, please do not hesitate to reach out to Tessa Shulman directly.

As a reminder, the State of Illinois requires all 6th graders to submit a health exam dated after 8/14/23 on a State of Illinois form by October 15th to avoid exclusion. Your provider's office should have this form. The IHSA form is not acceptable. Immunization records, including proof of the Meningococcal and Tdap vaccines, are required for all 11-year olds.

Please don't forget to complete, sign and date the health history at the top of the second page. This part is really easy to miss and is a required part of the exam. Please note, all health forms must now be uploaded to PowerSchool. Hard copies will no longer be accepted. Once you have done this, check back to make sure the documents were approved.

Dear Parent(s) & Guardian(s):

It is our goal in District 64 to maintain school Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) that promote a love for reading and lifelong learning. Our middle school libraries are geared toward middle school readers who represent a range of reading interests and levels. The collections include a variety of middle grade and young adult novels, along with picture books, reference materials, sound recordings, magazines, and nonfiction resources.

Young adult (YA) titles include literature, poetry, and informational text that address experiences and issues that concern children as they transition through their teenage years. Common themes in young adult literature include: relationships, mental health, sexuality, substance/domestic abuse, violence, death, pop culture, and race/ethnicity. While these topics are often present in middle grade text, the degree to which they are addressed increases in young adult titles. Student readiness for exploration of these topics may vary based on maturity level and experience.

We do our best to match students with the right book for them. Some of our collection contains more sensitive subject matter and, in consultation with professional reviews, have been marked with Young Adult (YA) labels. We encourage families to discuss reading selections with their students on a regular basis.

If you feel your student might not be ready for these titles, please reach out to both the LRC Director and principal of the appropriate school:

Emerson: Mrs. Katie Contreras (LIS) & Mrs. Tessa Shulman (Principal)

Lincoln: Ms. Jena Garber (LIS) & Mr. Dave Szwed (Principal)

Thank you,

Mrs. Katie Contreras
School Librarian

Emerson Middle School

Park Ridge-Niles SD 64

BE A LEADER! GET INVOLVED!

MAKE NEW FRIENDS!

The Emerson Student Government Association (SGA)

will be holding an informational meeting on

Tuesday, September 3rd from 3:00 to 4:00

in the lunchroom.

If you’re interested in creating SCHOOL SPIRIT, working with others, and helping your SCHOOL and COMMUNITY…

SGA MIGHT BE JUST WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR!

You can sign up for SGA RIGHT NOW by simply completing and submitting this form OR you can wait to sign up until after the meeting.

If you have any questions, email Mr. Schauer (aschauer@d64.org).

TOGETHER - WE ARE EMERSON!

The first session for this school year begins Tuesday, Sept. 10th at 5:30 pm. This free program will meet weekly, for 1 hour, at the Park Ridge Community Church and provides a safe space for students in 1st - 8th grade to share their experiences associated with loss of a loved one and/or a changing family dynamic due to divorce, deployment, etc. Trained facilitators help encourage communication while identifying, navigating and discussing feelings amongst the group.

Please use the Google form link below to sign up your child and/or to be added to our email communications list. Any questions or interest in volunteering to become a facilitator, please contact rainbows64@att.net . For more info about Rainbows, please visit: https://rainbows.org/

Rainbows Student Peer Group Sign up

The Emerson website and calendar are valuable resources to keep you informed of important updates and events throughout the year. The calendar is kept up to date throughout the school year, and new information is posted regularly. We hope that these tools are helpful resources for keeping you and your student organized and informed as we progress through the year.

Emerson Website
D64 Website

Calendars for 2024-2025 can be viewed HERE

Emerson activity buses run at 4:00 p.m. each school day (except Wednesdays) to provide transportation for students involved in after-school activities and extracurriculars. These activities include sports, clubs, after-school tutorial programs, etc. Parents are expected to provide transportation if needed for any other reason. These buses will start running on Tuesday, September 5th.

NOTE: Often, these buses will not run the day prior to an extended break or school vacation.

IF YOU LOVE RUNNING - CROSS COUNTRY IS FOR YOU!

Cross Country is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students.

There are no tryouts for Cross Country.

Visit our team website for instructions on how to sign up.

(https://sites.google.com/a/d64.org/emxc/home)

CONTACT COACH SCHAUER WITH ANY QUESTIONS!

(aschauer@d64.org)

If your student forget something at home or are being brought a lunch, items may be dropped off in the foyer of the Emerson Office. We instruct students to check in with the office during passing periods to pick up these items. We will not interrupt class to notify students of items/lunches delivered to the office, unless it is their chromebook. Emails will be sent to your student alerting them that the item has been dropped off.

The cafeteria will not be accepting cash to purchase lunch items. Students must use their MySchoolBucks account to purchase any food.

NOTE: If replenishing funds by check please make checks payable to Quest (not District 64).

Unlike elementary school, you do not need to pre-order meals or beverages. Students may select from daily offerings in the Emerson cafeteria. More information about our school lunch offerings and payment can be found here on the D64 Middle School Lunch webpage.

Though we have many food choices in our cafeteria, most Emerson students bring their lunch to school. We strongly encourage this during the first weeks of school while we get our cafeteria systems and procedures up and running.

We highly encourage waste-free lunches. To help reduce waste, please consider using reusable containers for your child’s food and drink, rather than disposable bags and bottles. Emerson is committed to green efforts in the lunchroom. The cafeteria also has a lunch waste sort station for students to empty their lunch waste into recycling, compost and trash. We encourage all students to do so every lunch period.

Student Picture Day is Friday, September 6th. Representatives/photographers from Color Portraits will be at Emerson and taking student portraits via your student’s regularly scheduled PE class. The flyer will be sent home with students the week before.

District 64 continues to utilize many different platforms to ensure you have important information delivered to you in the most convenient way. One of those ways is through our SMS Text Messaging Service.

Getting messages delivered to your mobile device is a helpful tool, and District 64 is reenergizing our efforts to bring this to you. Starting on Monday, October 31st, you might periodically receive text messages from either the District or your child’s school.

These alerts will be info about events, school closings, safety, and more. That said, our SMS Text Messaging Service will be used supplementally in our communication efforts and does not replace any school emails or calls you are receiving.

How to receive text messages:

• You must opt-in to receive text messages. To do so, you will need to text “Y” or “Yes” to 67587.

If you’d like to no longer receive District 64 text messages, you have to send “Stop” to 67587.

The school year is almost here, and we're excited to announce that the 2024-2025 PTO Membership Portal is now live! By joining the PTO, you provide vital financial support for our students and teachers. Your membership directly funds the events and activities that enrich our school community throughout the year. It's also a fantastic way to stay connected and informed about what's happening at school, and to build meaningful connections with other parents.

We offer three membership levels, so you can contribute at a level that's comfortable for you. This year, our Blue and Eagle levels come with an extra perk: entry into our special raffle. One family from each grade will win! The prizes include an in-school pizza party with friends for 6th and 7th graders, and for 8th graders, four reserved seats at graduation—a highly coveted prize!

Your membership helps support:

• 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade student socials, including gifts and t-shirts

• School-wide events and assemblies, such as movie nights, skating & swim parties, 6th grade Olympics, and more!

• Teacher/Staff Appreciation Meals and Classroom Funds

• School beautification and playground equipment

• The Student Directory

• Red Ribbon Week

• Soaring Eagle, SOARS raffle prizes, and the Judith Snow Scholarship

• And much more!

Sign Up for PTO Here!

P.S. While you're on the portal, don't forget to sign up for any volunteer activities you're interested in!