The BULLetin
January 9, 2020
Upcoming Events
- Practice SAT 01/17/20
- Murphy Trivia Night 02/22/20
- The Music Man Jr. performances 03/12 and 03/13
Principal's Message
With the first BULLetin of the new year, I'd like to share my excitement in accepting the interim principal position at Murphy for the remainder of the semester. I look forward to continuing to work with the families, students, and staff of Murphy Junior High. I feel that even though I've been at Murphy for 5 years, here I am introducing myself again! Previous to sd308, I worked in Valley View School District 365 as a teacher for 5 years and a Dean of Students for 7 years. I came to 308 in 2013 as part of the administration team at Bednarcik and was lucky enough to be chosen to join the Murphy team in 2015. I truly enjoy the Murphy family and I am excited to work together to continue to provide our students with the tools they need to be successful.
As you may know, I was on maternity leave last year, and returned in January of 2019. I have two boys (August, 5 and Noble, 20 months). Both are family names and both personalities fit their authentic names! Personally, there are probably several things about me that not many people know, as I'm not always an open book. I have been an avid swimmer my whole life, swimming club, high school, and in college at the University of Toledo in Ohio. I continue to swim on a masters team now through the United States Masters Swimming (USMS) program. It is something that is near and dear to my heart and is something that I probably won't ever stop. I also love the outdoors...beaches, lakes, mountains...anything that can give me some activity, adventure, and fresh air. Over the new year I was able to make it to family property in the U.P. Michigan where they have over 100 inches of snow. We spent much of the time hanging out outside sledding, snowmobiling, snowboarding...all activities that our family enjoys. Noble even took his first snowmobile ride over break...and that's all he wanted to do! Now we know...both boys are just like my husband and me...they want to be outside all the time. Fine by us!
As we move into second semester, I encourage you to reach out to me or to Heather Viall, who will be covering the Assistant Principal position, with any questions, concerns, compliments, or feedback. We are truly looking forward to the continuance of a great year.
We hope to see you at Trivia Night!
-Laura Bingham
5-Essentials Survey (Students AND Parents)
Dear Parents,
We are writing to remind you about a student survey that will be administered at your child’s school called the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, a statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions. The survey provides a unique opportunity for students to have a voice in improving their schools.
On Friday, December 20th during our Advisory rotations, all students at Murphy Junior High took the brief research-based survey to help identify strengths and weaknesses in their school’s learning environment. Student participants will be required to log-in using their student state ID and birth date in order to complete the survey. Students’ identities will be completely confidential. Teachers or administrators will never see individual responses to survey questions and will only receive aggregated information, such as the total percentage of students who agree homework assignments help them learn the course material.
On Friday, January 17th, during our shortened day, students who were absent on December 20th, will take the 5-Essentials survey. Students will get more information next week.
If you would not wish to have your student participate, this form will need to be completed and returned to the building prior to January 17th.
In addition, the 5Essentials parent survey is continues to be open through February 14, 2020. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child. To participate as a parent, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and enter Kendall county then the appropriate school to begin.
We truly appreciate the time you take to complete the parent survey portion!
Sincerely,
Laura Bingham
PTO
The Murphy PTO does not do any fundraising as a PTO. Instead we ask families to make an annual donation to the PTO. These donations help us to provide classroom grants, student events, staff appreciation, community awareness and much more. Please consider making a donation. In addition, any family who donates $25 or more will receive one free ticket to the Murphy Monster Mash!
The PTO can accept credit card payments for annual donations. You can also make your family’s annual donation via SignUp Genius by clicking on this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0445aaaa22ab9-20192020 UPDATED LINK. If you prefer to send your donation in with your student, please print out the form below and send it to school with your student.
For more information on the Murphy PTO, upcoming PTO events or volunteer opportunities, please contact PTO President Missy Dziewiatkowski at missyd71@gmail.com or 630-999-3927. Please also follow us on Facebook for PTO events and updates (Murphy PTO-Home of the Mavericks).
SAVE THE DATE! Trivia Night!
Yearbooks are On Sale
LOOK FORWARD TO LOOKING BACK
Capture the good times with a yearbook that your student will hold on to forever.
Every Student. Every Day.
Mrs. Walsh's 6th grade ELA
Mrs. Schultz's 6th grade Math
The students explored exponents by deciding which would give them the most M&M's. A bag of 385 M&M's or Day 1= 2 M&M's, Day 2= 4 M&M's, Day 3= 8 M&M's. They had to predict which would be the best deal, find patterns, organize their work, and write up an explanation of their findings.
Mavericks Make a Difference
We are continuing our Mavericks Make a Difference Volunteer Program this year. Students who acquire 25 volunteer hours per year (current 8th graders only need 50, 6th and 7th graders need 75) throughout their time at Murphy Junior High will be recognized at 8th grade promotion night. Below is a list of volunteer opportunities throughout the surrounding communities. Please fill out the following form to track your hours. Forms are due to Brian Falli on or before Friday, April 24.
Service Hour Verification Form
Oswego Lions Club Youth Service Awards Program- At the end of the Lions Club Service Year in June 2020, any District 308 student volunteers (ages 11-18) who have completed at least 25 hours of qualified and approved service work will receive an award from the Oswego Lions Club recognizing them as a Lions Young Leader in Service. See the flyer for more information.
Oswego Lions Club Flyer Oswego Lions Club Service Hour Tracking Sheet
Ongoing events:
Marklund - Serving people with autism spectrum disorder and other special needs https://www.marklund.org/volunteer/
Giving DuPage - This website connects volunteers with volunteer opportunities in DuPage County https://givingdupage.org/volunteer-portal-2/
Project Linus
https://www.projectlinus.org/volunteer/volunteer.php?StateKey=IL#tgt
Arbor Day https://www.arborday.org/takeaction/
Oswego Natural Resources https://www.oswegolandparkdistrict.org/get-involved/volunteers/#1
Plainfield Public Library https://plainfieldpubliclibrary.org/about/volunteer-opportunities/
Feed My Starving Children https://www.fmsc.org/volunteer-listing/?chosen_mode=Site%20or%20Event%20Name&search_term=Aurora,%20IL&miles=25&minimum_spots=1&time=Any%20Time%20of%20Day&search_start=2019-08-19&search_end=2019-11-17
Fox Valley Park District (under 14 must have a parent) https://www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/VolunteerInterestForm_Fillable.pdf
Kendall County Forest Preserve https://www.co.kendall.il.us/forest-preserve/volunteer-opportunities/
Village of Montgomery https://ci.montgomery.il.us/201/Volunteer-Opportunities
Gigi’s Playhouse https://gigisplayhouse.org/foxvalley/fox-valley-volunteer-interest
Naperville Area Humane Society - must have adult https://www.naperhumane.org/volunteer
Habitat for Humanity https://www.habitat.org/volunteer/near-you/youth-programs
Oswego Senior Center http://oswegoseniorcenter.org/volunteer/day-to-day-volunteer-opportunities/
Kendall County Food Pantry https://www.kccfoodpantry.org/get-involved/
Weekly Cat Care at Aurora Petsmart/Naperville Petco https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp2902893.jsp
- Association for Individual Development https://www.aidcares.org/volunteer/
Student Services Spotlight
6th/7th Grade Course Selection Information
Counselors presented elective information to current 6th and 7th graders this week. Students selected electives for the 2020-2021 school year before winter break. This process was done through TylerSIS. Students will meet with counselors to verify elective selections and to select back-up electives.
Important Dates
1/10 - Teacher recommendations for core courses for current 6th/7th graders are due
1/22 - 1:1 elective verification meetings with counselors (6th grade) through ELA
1/23 - 1:1 elective verification meetings with counselors (7th grade) through ELA
Course Recommendations for 2020-2021
Teachers have made recommendations for core courses (ELA, Math, Social Studies, Science) for next year. They will have discussions with students who are recommended for honors courses. If you have questions regarding a recommendation, please contact your student’s teacher directly.
Elyssa’s Mission SOS/ACT Refresher - 7th Grade 1/14
Murphy Junior High partners with Elyssa’s Mission (a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention) to provide depression awareness and suicide prevention training for our students as part of the Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program (SOS).
The SOS® program teaches our students the ACT message if they hear someone talking about hurting themselves or others: Acknowledge, Care, Tell. Please talk with your students about the importance of reaching out to a trusted adult in those situations.
The 2017-18 school year was the first year we implemented this program at all three grade levels. In subsequent years, the full SOS® program is presented to 6th grade and 8th grade classes only. 7th grade receives an abbreviated presentation from Student Services staff to review the ACT message and signs of suicide/depression. This presentation will be on Tuesday, January 14th through PE/Health classes. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your student’s counselor or social worker.
Elyssa’s Mission Parent resources
Elyssa’s Mission website: http://elyssasmission.org
Elyssa’s Mission Parent Presentation:
http://elyssasmission.org/suicide-prevention-training/
Practice SAT for Murphy Students - 1/17/20
As in previous years, Murphy will host a practice SAT at our school. This practice test will be Friday, January 17th on a shortened attendance day. The cost of the test is $5 and payment must be brought on the day of the test. Registration is limited to the first 100 students.
Please click on the following link for further information and to register your student: Practice SAT Sign Up
Student Absences
If your student is absent, please feel free to email teachers directly for missed homework. Counselors are willing to help facilitate homework collection; however, emailing teachers is often more expeditious. To find contact information for your child’s teachers, please use the staff list here: Teacher Directory. You can also check teacher websites and/or Google Classroom for homework.
The Maverick Way Outside of School
Murphy Junior High students are doing amazing things in the classroom as well as demonstrating “The Maverick Way” outside of school. If any student is demonstrating “The Maverick Way” outside of school we want to know about it! Please contact Brian Falli at bfalli@sd308.org or Brandi Zawacki at bzawacki@sd308.org.
*Don’t forget to include pictures in your email.
Upcoming Events
01/13
- 7th/8th grade girls bball tryouts
If you are looking for directions to AWAY events, this link will provide directions to many area schools.
Use the "Murphy Building Calendar" link below to see all the things going on at Murphy Junior High.
Contact Us
Mission Statement
Murphy Junior High School is an inclusive and supportive community that promotes student success by ensuring ALL students are college and career ready.
Vision Statement
Every student. Every day. Grow. Inspire. Empower.
Email: banderson@sd308.org
Website: www.sd308.org/murphy
Location: 26923 Grande Park Boulevard, Plainfield, IL, United States
Phone: (630) 608-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/murphy308/
Twitter: @murphy308