Spartan Weekly Update

Happy Weekend Spartan Families:

This week we are highlighting a very special, first time event hosted by our Shepard Student Council...

The Shepard StuCo is hosting the FIRST EVER "Pack the Place" charity basketball competition. Our 8th grade boys and girls basketball teams will be hitting the court against Officer Maldonado and members of our Deerfield Police and Fire Departments.

Proceeds will support The 100 Club of Illinois, serving first responders and their families.

Pre-Sale tickets are $3 each. Tickets at the door are $5 each.

The event will include a half time show, shooting competition and concessions for sale.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ORDER PRESALE TICKETS

*Note: By signing up for presale tickets, you are letting the StuCo know how many tickets you need and you are locking in the $3 price. The event is likely to sell out of available seats, so sign up now.*

Have a safe and wonderful weekend!

#SMSPride

Chris Cybulski, Principal

Marie Zlotnikov, Associate Principal

Ginger Logemann, Coordinator for Student Services

Extracurricular Activities Calendar

Click Here for Access to Our Extracurricular Calendar (Note: This calendar is live, so changes and updates will be made throughout the school year).

On Wednesday and Thursday we will be running special schedules to accommodate our winter round of MAP Assessments. Students will take the Math assessment on Wednesday and the ELA/Reading Assessment on Thursday.

MAP is an important tool we use to gauge the effectiveness of our curriculum while measuring the growth and progression of our students. We appreciate your support in ensuring students are on time and ready with a charged Chromebook.

As a fun way to motivate our students to do their very best and shoot for positive growth, we are launching our "Highest Rise Throws Pies" competition. Students who realize the highest growth from their fall to winter assessments will have a chance to nail their favorite teacher or administrator with a pie in the face.

Building students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is an important part of middle school. As a part of the learning process, we will be asking our 6th through 8th grade students to reflect on their own SEL mindsets via an online survey. The survey will be administered on Wednesday, February 8, and it should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. It asks students to self-reflect on their own grit, growth mindset, self-efficacy, self-management, social awareness, emotional regulation, and supportive relationships.

Individual student responses can provide the school and family with insight into what skills the child self-identifies as strengths and others they would like to develop. The overall data helps us (the educators) identify priorities and provide targeted learning opportunities to address the SEL needs in our classrooms.

Per policy, if you would like your child to opt out of taking the survey, please click here by February 1.

This week our School Resource Officer, Officer Maldonado, present to our students on making good choices, the dangers and impact of bullying and internet and social media safety.

January 20 - Quarter 2 Ends

January 23 - Quarter 3 Practical Arts classes begin

January 25 - Winter MAP Testing (Testing from 8am-10am)

January 26 - Winter MAP Testing (Testing from 8am-10am)

February 1 - Pack the Place Basketball Event (5pm)

February 20 - NO SCHOOL for Presidents Day

February 21 - NO SCHOOL for Teacher Institute Day

In support of Deerfield High School's philanthropy efforts, we will have a bin in the Shepard foyer to collect items for the DHS Pack the Pantry.

If you are nearing the end of creating a story or poem or just recently finished one you are proud of, submit it to Mrs. Cameron or Mrs. Brady to participate in the 2023 Young Authors Competition! Deadline to submit your story is February 17th.

The Shepard Learning Commons (LC) is hosting its third annual bookmark design contest. We invite all Spartans to submit a hand-drawn or digital design by Friday, January 27. The winning design will be printed and distributed at our LC circulation desk, and the winner will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card! (A heartfelt thank you to our Shepard PTSO for supplying us with the gift card!)

To learn more about our contest and access a template for the bookmark design, please read our digital flyer HERE. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Trudeau

Meghan Wilmot, Counselor

mmcdonough@dps109.org

847-948-0620 x 5104

Erica O’Brien, Counselor

eobrien@dps109.org

847-948-0620 x513

Tara Seiden, Social Worker

tseiden@dps109.org

Spartan Counseling Corner

Have an incoming kindergartener (or know someone who does?) The registration process for the upcoming school year is now open and the earlier we know who is coming, the better we can plan! Just go to www.dps109.org/kindy to learn how to begin the process. Please reach out to our registrar, Rosa Castillo (rcastillo@dps109.org) with any questions.