Cardinal Corner
August 15- 31, 2022
August 15-16: Teacher Institute Days, Staff Only; 7th & 8th Grades Cross Country Practice, 3-4:15pm
August 17: First Day of School, Full Day
August 18: 6th Grade Locker Organization, 2:50-4pm; 6th Grade Cross Country Practice, 3-4:15pm
August 23: First Day for Student Activity Bus, 3:20pm; School Board Meeting, 7pm
August 24: Picture Day
August 25: Cross Country Home Meet Inter-Squad @ South, 3-5pm
August 29: Cross Country Prospect Invitational @ Prospect, 4-5:30pm
August 31: Cross Country Meet vs. MacArthur @ South, 3:45-5:30pm; 6th Grade Curriculum Night, 6:30-8:30pm
September 5: Labor Day, No School
September 7 & 8: NWEA MAP Testing, All Grades
September 8: 7th & 8th Grade Curriculum Night, 6:30-8:15pm
September 15: PTA Meeting, 6:30pm
2022-2023 District 25 Calendar is linked here.
Dear South School Families:
The 2022-23 school year is approaching quickly and SMS administration and staff are very excited about the coming school year. Please remember, the first day of school for students is Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. We will be running a modified schedule on the first day, so students and staff can get organized in their Homebase class.
Please be mindful that many parents drive their students to school on the first day, which increases traffic and slows down normal student drop-off. Please pull up as far as you can in the drop-off zone to move the traffic quickly through the drop-off zone area. Have your child prepared to exit your car efficiently. Note, your child does not need to bring all the required materials on the first day. When leaving, please do not turn left out of the front circle drive. This will only cause traffic issues for parents waiting to drop off their children.
Once your child has exited your car, please immediately and safely, drive away. We ask you not to double-park or stay idle at the side of the street. Be aware that students may try to move between cars. Parent cooperation is imperative for the proper safety of all students. The area directly in front of the building is designated as a fire lane. Therefore, there should be no unattended vehicles parked in that area. Visitor parking is provided in the lot to the north of the building. Please do not drop-off or pick-up your child(ren) in the North Staff Parking Lot nor the bus lane.
Also, according to Public Act 96-0131, it is illegal to use cellphones while driving your vehicle in school zones. This was enacted to help ensure the large amount of students entering and exiting the building at the start and end of the school day are seen by adults, to keep them safe. We greatly appreciate your cooperation in providing a safe environment for all our students.
Morning Arrival Locations
- 6 East: Door #3, South End of Building
- 6 West : Door #4, South End of Building
- 7 East & 7 West: Door #10, Northside Near Track
- 8 East: Door #1, Main Front Entrance
- 8 West: Door #2, Middle Front Entrance
Each morning there will be several staff and administrators outside to help guide students. Students line up at their team's door and enter the school at 7:45am. Students need to be in Homebase by 7:50am.
On the first day of school, students will spend an hour in the morning and 33 minutes in the afternoon in Homebase to organize their materials, find and work on their lockers, and prepare for the coming school year. Homebase/Advisory at South Middle School is an important component of our overall school program and will always be their first period of the school day.
After Homebase, students will follow their regular scheduled classes. The times of the classes have been modified. Please view the First Day Schedule which is located in the section below.
Please make sure your child is prepared for Picture Day, Wed., Aug. 24, 2022. This picture will be used as the composite photo in South's yearbook.
The beginning of the school year is always exciting. Please help your child to start getting back into the routine of going to bed early, and waking up and eating a healthy breakfast before coming to school. Brain research shows, that middle school children need around 8-10 hours of sleep to perform at their best. Thank you for helping support your child as they prepare to come back to school.
We look forward to seeing our 2022-23 South Cardinals!
Have a great weekend!
Dr. Jim Morrison
Principal
Ms. Sheri Rosen
Associate Principal
Dr. Perkins
Associate Principal
Student Drop-off and School Entrance Map
Arlington Heights School District 25 Student/Parent Handbook
Here is a link to our District 25 Student/Parent Handbook. It features important information that all families should review prior to the start of the school year.
“In’s and Out’s” of South
Here is a link to some “In’s and Out’s” and procedures of South Middle School. It is a reference for South Middle School families. We reinforce and detail key information in our Arlington Heights School District 25 Handbook along with information and procedures specific to South Middle School. Families should review both the District Handbook and this document to begin each new school year.
Communication
Through the online registration process, we should have your most up-to-date contact information, including email address, etc. We do many communications through our School Messenger system, sometimes automated phone messages/text messages but primarily email. It is important to keep the school office regularly updated with your preferred contact information at chumbert@sd25.org. Our main tool of communication for our South Families is the Cardinal Corner, which comes out twice a month around the 15th and 30th with all important information about South.
Additionally, we will continue to update our main South web page featuring: Announcements, electronic flyers/forms, staff contact information, calendar events, videos, etc. Families can also follow us on Twitter @AHSD25South. We are always looking for additional ways to enhance home/school communication. These are some of the most immediate ways for families to be connected to South Middle School to start the year.
New South Staff
We have been busy over the summer hiring new staff to replace those who retired or moved on.
Dina Albrecht: Student Services Coordinator
Jim Blake: 8th ELA
Allison Buck: 6th Science
Jillian Bugos: 7th Spanish
TBD: 7th Social Studies
Miranda Fanella: Social Worker
Taylor Passarelli: ALA
Erin Parker: 7th Resource
Taylor Reitz: Tech Facilitator
Melissa Reyes: 6th/7th Spanish
Tina Umana: 6th Math
Allison Vercimak: Multi-Language
Hannah Zimmermann: 8th Science
Dave Frintner will be starting the school year as a substitute for 7 East Social Studies.
- Sherrie Russell will be starting the school year with us as Mrs. Branson's maternity leave substitute.
South Daily Bell Schedule
We have included our daily bell schedule as well as our extended Homebase schedule. Morning drop-off and supervision begins at 7:30am. Student dismissal is at 2:45pm. While our school day start and end times will always remain the same, we will follow a revised first day bell/period schedule to allow students and teachers more time together.
First Day of School Bell Schedule
Staff Identification
To increase safety at our District 25 schools, all staff members will wear a green lanyard and ID so we are easy to identify. Guest teachers will wear yellow lanyards and visitors will wear red.
Attention 7th and 8th Grade Students
Before coming to school on the FIRST DAY, Wednesday, August, 17, 2022:
- PLEASE turn on your Chromebooks and connect to your home wi-fi please.
- PLEASE allow your Chromebook to charge.
This will ensure that your Chromebook has the latest date/time.
Bus Transportation
Closer to the students’ first day of school, the District 25 Business/Transportation Office will send a separate mailing home to families who registered online for transportation confirming bus assignments, routes, procedures, etc. You can find information for the Business/Transportation Department on the District 25 website.
Food Service
Students have the option of bringing their lunches from home or ordering through our District 25 Food Service. Students have a number to identify with their lunch accounts that follows them school year to school year. We will review these numbers with sixth grade and new students to begin the school year and show how to navigate the food service line, use the keypad, etc. Parents can use an online payment system or send payment with their students to drop off in the main office. More information can be found at the above link.
School Lunch
The first week of school, students will eat with their Homebase classmates. During the following week, we will organize students into friend groups.
Students should bring lunch from home or participate in the school lunch program. If a student forgets to bring a lunch from home, the parent/guardian may drop off their child’s lunch at school, or the student can purchase a school lunch. Please only bring lunch for your child. Bringing meals for other families’ children is not allowed.
Schools will not accept food deliveries for students from food delivery services or restaurant deliveries.
Breakfast
Breakfast will be available for all students at South. All students interest in morning breakfast will enter through South's Main Entrance, from 7:30-7:45am.
Picture Day
Picture day is Wednesday, August 24, 2022.
This is a prepay site and ordering will close at midnight on Picture Day (August 24, 2022), to process the orders. If parents missed prepaying, they will have a chance to order pictures with their child's Ticket Code. When placing an order after Picture Day with a Ticket Code a shipping fee will be added on and picture packages will be shipped directly to the home.
Ticket Codes will be delivered with the bulk picture package order approximately three weeks post Picture Day.
Physicals/School Sports Information
All students must have a current sports physical (dated within the calendar year) in order to try-out or practice with a team. This requirement should already be met for all incoming sixth grade students as part of the registration process. More information can be found on the South and District 25 web pages. Cross Country and Golf (grades 6, 7 & 8) begin in August. Students can find information about both sports on Schoology.
If they are interested, 7th & 8th grade students who have not received Cross Country information; please feel free to contact Ms. Sophia Vassos svassos@sd25.org. Here is a link to the Cross County calendar.
Information regarding Girl’s Basketball tryouts (grades 7 & 8) will be in the school announcements during the first week of school.
Arlington Heights Library: Movies in the Park, Mini Golf, Yoga & more for kids, tweens & teens
Don't forget to checkout one of the great activities for teens at the AHML.
Join South's PTA
Remember to join South PTA during your student’s registration to support all our student, family, and school programs. Note that each D25 school’s PTA is independent.
Our first PTA meeting will be virtual on September 15, 2022, at 6:30pm. Link - Google Meet
Office Information
The SMS Office is open Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm. (Summer Hours: Friday, 7-11am)
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