Caruso Middle School is an inclusive and vibrant community where Blue Jays

take ownership of their social-emotional and academic growth by supporting,

challenging, and celebrating self and others.

Good Evening Blue Jay Families:

As we conclude the first week of the school year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the beginning of this exciting journey together. The halls of Caruso have once again come alive with the energy and enthusiasm of our students, teachers, and staff. We hope your students had a GREAT week and are eager (as much as middle school students are ;) ) to engage in what promises to be a fantastic academic year. We invite you to our Coffee with Caruso! Please see below for dates where you are able to join us at school!

Today we were able to celebrate the end of the first week and the start of the year at our all school Pep Rally! Please make sure to check out photos next week!

Tim, Alli, Marcia & the Caruso Staff

Tim Brodeur - Principal - tbrodeur@dps109.org

Alli Waller - Associate Principal - awaller@dps109.org

Marcia Klita - Coordinator of Student Support - mklita@dps109.org

109 families,

School today is not like it was in the 40s, 50s, and 60s when most of our facilities were built. As teaching and learning strategies change and evolve, so must our buildings. You’ve no doubt noticed improvements and additions to our buildings over the past few years. Our approach, though, must look at both the short and long term when it comes to delivering the best educational experience for our students.

Over the past year, a Master Facility Planning Committee has been hard at work studying various options for addressing our long-term facility needs. The work of that committee will be presented to the Board of Education next Tuesday in a public Committee of the Whole meeting for them to consider, discuss, and give direction on which strategy to further develop. You can look at the presentation here. You are welcome to join us at 7 p.m. for the meeting in person. Can’t make it? Not to worry. You will have several options to follow the discussion. The meeting will be live-streamed on the DPS 109 YouTube page, available after the meeting on our website, and summarized following the meeting in a BOE Recap. There are still many steps ahead in this process and forthcoming opportunities to let us know your thoughts as well.

We thank you for your partnership and look forward to working on this together.

Join us for coffee w/ Caruso; a way for the adults in our students' lives to build stronger connections with us at Caruso. Space is limited to 25 people per event, please RSVP by calling the Caruso Main Office at 847-945-8430. Thanks to the PTO for Sponsoring Coffee.

(Communicated 8/25/23)

Our online yearbook offer is live and yearbooks can be purchased HERE or by phone at 1-877-767-5217.

(Communicated 8/25/23)

The plans for outdoor education at Camp Duncan in Ingleside, IL have been finalized. Camp Duncan provides our students with a wonderful opportunity to engage in exciting activities that support team building, science and many outdoor experiences. This is an exciting day for our sixth graders. It is also a long day, as we will return to school at approximately 5:00 pm. All students must ride the bus in both directions, and may not be picked up early from camp. Our staff and students will be participating in team-building activities throughout the camp, and we have a fun day planned. Camp Duncan will provide lunch for our students. Lunch will consist of pizza and salad bar. In the next few week you will receive a packet of information that will guide you through preparation for this very special event. Please read through the information carefully. The signed permission slip should be returned to your child’s 1st period teacher on or before Friday, September 8th.

(Communicated 8/25/23)

(Communicated 8/25/23)

(Communicated 8/25/23)

-7th & 8th Grade (Concert Choir) starts on Monday, August 28th from 3pm-4pm (since we end at 4pm, students should not plan on taking the late bus. If you have concerns, please reach out to Ms. Vombrack).

-6th Grade (Caruso Singers) starts on Friday, September 1st from 3pm-3:45pm (late bus available).

(Communicated 8/25/23)

(Communicated 8/25/23)

FUTURE WARRIORS - WE'D LOVE TO SEE YOU AT DHS!

The DHS Athletic Booster Club's FUTURE WARRIOR FAST PASS is for middle school & elementary school students ONLY.

This pass is good for admission to all regular season home football games, all regular season girls and boys basketball games and all regular season home wrestling matches for the 2023-2024 school year.

Cost is $10.00 per child

Order online @ www.d113boosters.org and a digital download fast pass will be emailed to you after purchase. Please include your child’s name and school in the notes to seller during checkout.

The first DHS home football game is this Friday vs. DePaul Prep and we are hoping to have a huge crowd for the Warriors!

4:30pm kickoff for frosh/soph game

7:00pm kickoff for Varsity

Come early to get a good seat and don’t miss halftime performances by the Warrior Dance Team and DHS Marching Band!

Can't wait to see you soon, GO WARRIORS!

(Communicated 8/25/23)

Building students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) skills is important in District 109. As a part of the learning process, we ask students in grades K-8 to reflect on skills related to social-emotional learning and the school environment. The fall survey will be administered to all students between September 5th and September 22nd and it should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Per policy, if you would like your child to opt out of taking the survey, please contact your school principal no later than Friday, September 1.

(Communicated 8/25/23)

Login to Family Access to check if we have the right number on file for you. If it’s wrong, please change it. If it’s right and you’re still not hearing from us, reach out to communications@dps109.org and we will get back to you!

(Communicated 8/25/23)

We’ve got a scavenger hunt with prizes, crafts for the kids, cookbooks featuring your favorite teachers’ recipes for sale, and more! Meet the superintendent and members of the Board of Education and have some fun with us this Saturday! Look for the scavenger hunt as you enter the market… and for the big flag in front of our booth!

(Communicated 8/18/23)

Students who are bus riders are allowed to ride their assigned bus. Students who are not bus riders are not allowed to ride. Students are not allowed to ride another bus than their own.

(Communicated 8/18/23)

This year, we, along with Shepard, are offering cold weather gear for PE Classes. This is NOT a mandatory purchase. However, IF you choose to order, students can wear these items both inside and outside for PE. If families do not purchase this gear, students will be permitted to wear plain black sweatshirts and/or sweatpants outside. (Please note leggings are not an option.) We are offering these items to ensure that students are not wearing the same clothes that they wear during the school day, as these items can become sweaty and dirty during PE class. Please use the button or QR Code below to order. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Signa (msigna@dps109.org). Please note this information was shared with families in the spring, you may have already ordered.

(Communicated 8/14/23)

(Communicated 8/14/23)

(Communicated 8/5/23)