
Christian's Weekly Communication
April 23, 2023
School Office *Helpful Hints*
- Discuss with your student, the night before or on the morning of, the time that you want your child to come down to meet you in the school office, so that they can be ready for their early dismissal.
- If you are driving to the school, please be aware that parking will be extremely limited, as we will have over 50 visitors/guests participating in the Career Exploration Day. So please allow yourself extra time, at least 15-20 minutes, if you are planning to pick up your student early.
- Be sure that you pick up your child before 2:30pm, as students will be in multiple large spaces at the end of the school day enjoying group presentations. And it will take extra time to locate them inside the auditorium, gym or the commons.
Thank you!
Student Orientations
Healthy teeth, Healthy Jayhawks!
School Text Communication Update
District 97 partners with a company called BrightArrow to deliver important information to families through calls, emails and text messaging. Next week, the BrightArrow system is adding a new texting phone number to speed up text delivery. Please note that your family may start seeing text messages from our school coming from the short code phone number 79041, in addition to the number 87569.
As a reminder, you may opt-in to text messages from our school at any time by sending YES to the shortcode 87569 and 79041. You must have your phone number on file with the school to receive text messages. Once you opt-in, BrightArrow will send you a confirmation that your phone number is opted-in.
8th Grade Corner - *New date added
8th Grade families:
****Friday, April 28 - Deadline for all Great America payments
and Class of 2023 t-shirt orders*This is the last week!**
- Saturday, May 6 - 8th Grade Celebration Dance
- Monday, May 22 - Music Dept (for Choir, Band & Orchestra students) field trip
- Tuesday, June 6 - Six Flags Great America field trip
- *Wednesday, June 7 - Chromebook Collection (students turn in D97 devices and chargers)
- Friday, June 9 - rehearsal for graduation (10am) and graduation ceremony (6:30pm) @ OPRFHS
OPRFHS Dinner and Presentation on Tuesday
Kelly Richmond Pope, Director of All the Queen's Horses Documentary
Please let me know if you can help and if there are questions.
Thank you,
Ty Garland
Community Outreach Coordinator
Varsity Football/Varsity Track & Field (Throws) Coach
Oak Park and River Forest High School
tgarland@oprfhs.org | Rm: 3151
(708) 434-3008 | www.oprfhs.org
Wednesday's Julian Career Exploration Day!!
Julian Career Exploration Day
Contact Casey Leiby at cleiby@op97.org if you would like to volunteer.
Friday Night Place - location change
CAST Spring Musical
- Friday, April 28 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, April 29 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, April 30 @ 2:30 p.m.
It's going to be an incredible show for movie and music lovers of all ages!
To order your tickets today, please click here. Thank you all for the support that you give to our talented students!
--Cory Marshall
(she/her/hers)
CAST Theater Program
Percy Julian Middle School
(708) 524-7848
cmarshall@op97.org
Great America Deal - LAST CHANCE!!
GREAT AMERICA SUPER MEGA DEAL IS ONLY $100!
***LAST REMINDER***
We are pleased to announce that we are offering a super mega deal for the 8th Grade Celebration field trip. We will go to Six Flags Great America on Tuesday, June 6, from 9:30am - 6:30pm. For only $100, students will get admission to Great America amusement park in Gurnee, transportation to and from the park, lunch, a snack, and a refillable beverage cup...plus a personalized Class of 2023 t-shirt! Wow, this is going to be amazing!
- ALL PAYMENTS ARE DUE BY APRIL 28 (we can NOT extend the payment deadline because Great America must be paid in full prior to the trip and we must have our final t-shirt order submitted by May 1st). Therefore, no refunds will be issued because each vendor must be paid in advance, prior to the day of field trip. So please be sure to make your payment on or before 4/28 if you want your student to participate. You must contact Ms. Jackson on or before 4/28 at ejackson@op97.org if you need financial assistance with the field trip payment.
- If you own a season pass to Six Flags Great America for your 8th grader, the cost of the trip is $60 (for this price, your Jayhawk will receive the Class of 2023 t-shirt, transportation, lunch, snack and refillable beverage cup). **On June 6, if your student does not bring the season pass, they will need to pay full price admission at the gate or a parent/guardian will need to pick them up from the amusement park.
- If your student will not attend the field trip, but would like to order a Class of 2023 t-shirt, the cost is $15.
- For more information, please read the Information Sheet.
- To make your online payment for the Mega Deal or the Season Pass Deal, please click here.
- And to complete the Permission Slip for Great America, please click here now.
NOE reminder
Julian will host its first Night of Excellence on Wednesday, May 3. This night will highlight our students' accomplishments and provide them recognition of their EXCELLENT accolades this year. Families of award recipients will receive a personal invitation soon. And all Julian families are welcome to attend the award ceremony. Join us for a night of celebration!
Literacy Lab
We are excited to announce that the Julian Literacy Lab launched on 4/10. Literacy Lab is a place where students can get help from teachers with their reading and writing assignments, study for assessments, make revisions and/or proofread writing, and re-take assessments. It will be held in the library media center before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays (8-8:45am) and after school on Wednesdays (3:40-4:30pm).
Sign up here ahead of time to attend (required). If you have questions, please reach out to Ms. O'Keefe at kokeefe@op97.org.
Calculation Corner
Students are required to sign up ahead of time using this link.
OPRF Action Team for Partnerships
8th grade families,
The Action Team for Partnerships is a group of freshman parents and OPRFHS administrators who work collaboratively to engage families and the community in ways that support student achievement and success. The Action Team for Partnerships will focus on Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan, taking a holistic, supportive, transformative approach to providing engaging, equitable learning experiences. The Action Team will engage in monthly meetings to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the identified strategic goals, craft a One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships with activities linked to the selected goals, support the implementation of parent and community involvement activities, and monitor progress. Through this process, the members of this group will intentionally support ongoing family and community involvement that impacts student achievement and success. The Application Deadline is May 8th at 8am.
Who will do this work:
A group of 20-30 incoming freshman parents (to be selected from the submitted
applications), current freshman parents, and OPRFHS administrators.
What will the group do:
● Engage in one-hour monthly meetings
● Identify a specific area(s) of focus from Priority 2 of the Strategic Plan
● Assess the strengths and areas for improvement of the identified area of focus
● Craft a One-Year Action Plan for Partnerships with activities linked to the
selected goal(s)
● Support the implementation of the parent and community involvement activities
● Monitor progress of goal implementation
Why are we doing this:
● Partner with families and the community to enhance students' academic
experiences
● Foster ongoing family and community involvement around Priority 2
● Impact student achievement and success
201 North Scoville Avenue | Oak Park, IL 60302
708.383.0700
Concordia University Chicago Basketball
District 97's Blended PreSchool Program
2023-24 District 97 Blended Preschool Program
District 97 is accepting applications for the early childhood blended classrooms at Whittier Elementary School for the 2023-24 school year. There will be a limited number of spaces available. Click here to view the 2023-24 D97 Blended Preschool flyer >>
District 97 is seeking students who:
are non-IEP students who will be between the ages of 3 and 4 years by Sept. 1, 2023;
demonstrate age-appropriate language and social skills;
are Oak Park residents;
are not enrolled in a preschool program.
Julian Health Office
Be Safe and Healthy Reminders
In District 97, we understand and appreciate that it will take all of us—families, staff, community members—working together to have a safe and healthy winter. As we continue through the winter months, we want to remind you of a few preventative measures our school community can take to reduce the spread of illness in our schools:
- Wash hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are the most common ways for germs to enter the body.
- Cover your mouth and nose with your arm when you cough or sneeze.
- Get plenty of sleep!
- Eat whole, unprocessed foods and include fruits and vegetables at each meal.
- Stay up to date on your vaccinations
Should students get sick, they should not come to school. Please do not send your child to school with any of the following symptoms:
- Constant coughing
- Constant “runny” nose, especially with yellow or green mucus
- A temperature of 100 or higher
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
- Rashes or any scratching for unknown reasons, with or without fever
- Watery, itching eyes that have drainage or are crusted shut upon waking
Reporting Positive Covid-19 Cases
Process for Reporting Positive COVID-19 Cases to D97 Schools
If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must complete the following steps:
1) In order to notify the school nurse and receive a return-to-school date, families/staff must complete the confidential COVID-19 Positive Case Notification Form as soon as possible following the positive test. Information provided will also be shared with the Oak Park Department of Public Health.
2) Families must continue to report student absences via the school attendance line, and staff must enter their absences in Frontline.
To see the rules for isolation and quarantine, click here. Additional resources are linked below.
Communication
In 2020, Principal Christian implemented the theme of "over-communicate" amid the flexibility of the COVID19 virus and how information might change at a moment's notice. Last year, our theme was "growing together". And now in 2022-23, we'd like to continue with our new theme of "Stronger, Together". Here are the ways in which Principal Christian and the Jayhawk staff communicates:
- Our Official Percy Julian Facebook Page (click here)
- Christian's Weekly Communication (every week)
- PowerSchool Daily Bulletin Alerts
- Text Messages (Jayhawk Text Messages District 97 uses the notification system BrightArrow to communicate with families via email and phone calls. This year, we have started using periodic text messages to send reminders directly to parents' cell phones. In order to receive text messages, parents must opt-in by texting YES to 87569. Once you have subscribed, you will receive a text confirmation.)
Percy Julian Middle School
Oak Park, IL 60302
708-524-3040
We give our best, and then some!