Christian's Weekly Communication
March 12, 2023
Graduation Photos tomorrow, 3/13
- Please be sure that students avoid wearing green, high neck collars and/or turtlenecks.
- Up-dos or high ponytails should be avoided so that the graduation cap fits securely on the student's head.
Families that placed cap, gown or tassel orders for the graduation ceremony will receive them next month from the vendor.**
- No payment for graduation photos is needed at this time.
- A proof will be sent home with instructions on how to view the pictures and how to place your order online.
- All orders will ship directly to your home.
ISA Testing for 8th graders
Greetings 8th grade Families,
Starting on Tuesday March 14th students will take the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA). This is a part of the IAR testing cycle and will take place in their Science classrooms. Students will begin testing on Tuesday March 14 and end on March 23, to ensure all students have time to complete the sessions.
Here are a few reminders of how students can prepare as we wrap up state testing for the school year:
- -Charged Chromebook (keep in it in your bag)
- -Headphones that plug into the chromebook
- -Get a good night’s sleep
- -Eat breakfast (also available at school)
Kind regards, -- William S. Lee Assistant Principal Percy Julian Middle School Phone: (708) 524-3042
Mr. Lee
District 97 Art Exhibition
Parents & Guardians,
The 2023 District 97 Art Exhibition will be held at Oak Park River Forest High School. This art show will have student work from all District 97 schools, as well as artwork from neighboring District 90. The art work will be on display for the month of March as a part of Youth Art Month.
Be well and have a wonderful day!
--
Mr. Swistowicz
Fine & Applied Arts Instructor
Middle School Art Department Chair
Oak Park School District 97
Jayhawks making us proud!
Culture & Climate Corner
- HELP NEEDED - March 15th “School Store”
- Restock - Can you support our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) efforts by purchasing items from our Amazon wish list for our next school store?
- Volunteer - If you have 30 minutes available on Wednesday March 15, we could use your help to set up, tear down, or work the store during a lunch period! Check out our sign-up sheet here. Any questions? Please reach out to Katie Trathen at ktrathen@op97.org. Thank you so much!
Pre-ordering for our Julian School Store opens this Monday during your child’s Advisory class! Here is a link to the screencast that provides all of the information your child needs to order. A few reminders:
Students earn Jaybucks from their teachers for being safe, respectful and responsible. Their digital Jaybucks can be used to purchase items from the school store.
Items must be pre-ordered on the PBIS Rewards site, starting during their Advisory period on Monday March 13 and through the end of the school day on Tuesday March 14. There will be no ordering on the day of the store.
Each student can only order ONE GIFT CARD per school store. Ordering more than one gift card may cause problems with the entire order, so please avoid trying it.
Your child must have their Julian Student ID on Wednesday, March 15 to pick up their order. If they need to purchase a new ID, they can do so ahead of time in the school office.
The next school store (and final one of the school year!) will be on May 31.
--
Katie Trathen, LCSW
Culture & Climate Coach
Percy Julian Middle School
416 Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park, IL
Sneaker Ball Dance
On Friday, March 24th, the Student Leadership Team at Julian is hosting a semi-formal Sneaker Ball for all Julian students. 6th graders may attend from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. And 7th & 8th graders may attend from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. Student IDs are required and only current Julian students will be admitted with their school IDs (Brooks, OPRFHS or other students are not permitted to attend). Admission is $5.
Sneaker Ball on Friday, March 24
- 6th grade 5:30pm - 7pm
- 7th/8th Gr 7:30pm - 9pm
- $5 admission + must have school ID to enter
Beyond the Binary Workshop
A frequent guest speaker for Rainbow Tribe, Hall Pattnott, is offering a workshop on understanding gender identity and best practices for creating affirming spaces for trans and gender non-conforming individuals. See the flyer for more information.
-
Mr. Kannan
Julian Individuals & Societies Teacher
Rainbow Tribe co-sponsor
Lost and Found - Spring Cleaning starts early
OPPL and Youth Mentoring
I’m the Executive Director of YourPassion1st, and we have a young men’s mentoring program in partnership with the Oak Park Public Library and it’s free to young men in grades 6-12.
Here’s a link to learn more about our organization:
https://www.flowcode.com/page/yourpassion1st
--
Peace, Love & Understanding,
Christopher Thomas – Founder
YourPassion1st
chris@yourpassion1st.com
(773) 904-6814
https://www.yourpassion1st.com/
Acceleration Opportunities in District 97
District 97's Single Subject and Whole Grade Level Acceleration process for students for the 2023-24 school year is now open!
District 97 believes that all students should be challenged and supported to develop to their maximum potential. For students who demonstrate they may benefit from accelerated placement, we provide opportunities to participate in an instructional setting that is usually reserved for students who are older or in higher grades than the child. This includes, but is not limited to:
Single subject acceleration
Whole grade acceleration
In accordance with the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act, District 97 has continued to refine procedures to ensure equitable access to acceleration opportunities for all students. Continuing this year: all students who are grade eligible to take the Illinois Assessment for Readiness (IAR) must participate in the assessment in order to be deemed eligible for acceleration. The IAR is a critically important measure in determining the mastery of grade level standards and must be considered by the school team along with other sources of data.
Pre-applications for single-subject and whole-grade acceleration will be accepted from March 1 to May 15 of each school year. The general process is outlined HERE.
Information about the District 97 Accelerated Placement Program, including definitions and timelines, can be found at http://www.op97.org/acceleration.
Robotics Summer Camp
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!