Hawks TGIF Dispatch SY 2026-2027

Dear Teachers and Staff,

Time is flying as we enter our fourth week of school! I hope you had a great weekend. I had an opportunity to enjoy some quality time with my eldest as we went to see his cousin (my niece) at U of I and attended the Fighting Illini football game. And my younger son went to his first high school homecoming dance. It was a busy weekend, hence this dispatch is being sent out on a Sunday evening.

To celebrate this start of our 4th week of school, we are hosting our first Spirit Week, and we can't wait to see our students show their school pride and have some fun. We also can't wait to see all of you be a part of the fun. This is one way we can bring joy into our school.

We also had a very successful Safety Week. If you have any specific questions about our procedures, please feel free to reach out. Detailed information regarding each drill can also be found in last week’s Dispatch as well as in our staff handbook.

Additionally, tomorrow, our Network 1 Chief and ISLs will conduct our BOY Rigor Walk in the morning. It is a non-negotiable that Learning Targets and Language Objectives are visible and the tasks are aligned to them. I look forward to reviewing our baseline for this school year and our next steps for continuing to support student instruction and growth.

This week begins our North River Commission FORGE after school programs. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to Ms. Priscilla Train in the main office.

I also want to share some good news! We have been allocated by OSD (Office of Students with Disabilities) 3 more SECAs and 1 Special Education Teacher to support our students. As we work to interview candidates that will be the best fit for our school, please know that your dedication, patience, and continued support for our students does not go unnoticed.

Finally, Chicago Football season is here! What an amazing BEARS Game today, scoring 59 points in record-setting win over the Panthers! Go Bears!

With gratitude,

MA and Luna

Monday, September 14th

• BOY Testing Continues this week
• Spirit Week: Patrick Henry Shirt But Make is Fancy
• Network 1 Beginning of the Year Rigor Walk
• Boys' 7th/8th Grade Soccer Practice 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Girls' 7th/8th Grade Volleyball Practice 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• NRC After School Program
• 3rd-4th Homework Help and Fun Activities
• 5th-8th Introduction to Guitar

Tuesday, September 15th

• Spirit Week: Tropical Tuesday
• Boys' 5th/6th Grade Soccer Practice 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• NRC After School Program
• K-1st Crafty Club
• 1st-3rd Bilingual Tutoring
• 2nd-3rd Little Kickers
• 5th-6th Crochet Club
• 5th-6th Wrestling and Fitness
• 7th-8th Co-ed Soccer

Wednesday, September 16th

• Spirit Week: HAWK House Colors
• PLC in Room 105
• Boys' 7th/8th Grade Soccer Practice 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Girls' 7th/8th Grade Volleyball Practice 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• NRC After School Program
• 3rd-4th Homework Help and Fun Activities
• 5th-8th Introduction to Guitar

Thursday, September 17th

• Spirit Week: Neon Day
• Bilingual Advisory Committee Meeting 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
• Boys' 5th/6th Grade Soccer Practice 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• NRC After School Program
• K-1st Crafty Club
• 1st-3rd Bilingual Tutoring
• 2nd-3rd Little Kickers
• 5th-7th Art Club
• 5th-6th Wrestling and Fitness
• 7th-8th Co-ed Soccer
• 4th-8th Broadway Beats

Friday, September 18th

• Spirit Week: Favorite Color Friday
• Grades inputted in the Gradebook
• Dance Friday

• 9/14-9/18 HAWK Spirit Week
• 9/17 Bilingual Advisory Committee Organizational Meeting @ 8:30 a.m.
• 9/24 Loteria Night @ 5:00 p.m.
• 9/25 PD Day

Please complete by date indicated.

All Staff/Teachers

• Please be sure to read through the staff handbook and complete the Acknowledgement and Receipt form in the office and place it in Ms. Reynolds' mailbox: Due Friday, 8/28/26 (past due)
• Don't forget to log into your Safe Schools Account to complete the required trainings.

Teachers

• Homerooms, collect all emergency forms and media consent forms. Please make a copy and place the copies in the file folder with you homeroom number in the file cabinet under "Henry the Fish". Due Friday, 8/28/25 to the main office. Past Due
• Emergency Lesson Plans: Turn them into the main office file cabinet by "Henry the Fish" ~ Past Due

PLCs

• Upload Curriculum Night information Curriculum Night (past due)
• Upload Curriculum Newsletter in Google Classroom by Monday, August 31st. (past due)
• Lesson Plans will be reviewed weekly. Upload them in Google Classroom.
• Please be sure to complete the ACCESS Score Plotting as well as Unit 1 Internalization work from our Week 0 professional development. (past due)
• Unit 1 Internalization should be completed this week.

Dear Teachers,

BOY Testing continues. This year we are going to roll out testing a tad bit slower. We are going to start Star360 with 5th-8th and i-Ready with 2nd grade. As technology gets updated, I will add 3rd-4th and K-1 into the schedule.

SPED- **schedule coming soon*** We are going to test middle school GenEd first.

• If you are in the inclusion setting during testing time, you will help support the teachers in the classrooms.

• Separate setting hours will all still take place as normally scheduled.

• Separate Setting Teachers: My ask- if needed, please take any inclusion kiddos that are not testing for the hour. For example if 6th grade 307 is testing, and Ms. Brock has 6th graders in her room, the inclusion kids can do work in her class. We can also work out if SECAs want to take the students to a room instead, that will work too.

5th-8th GenED

• BOY schedule document

• Do not test any students with 504s or IEP

• If students are not finished before it is time to transition to a new class, myself or a Sped teacher (Thank you Fickes and Nina!!!) will take them to either 105 or the computer lab.

2nd will test in the morning of September 1st and 2nd at 8:45.

3rd-4th: Schedule will be shared soon.

K-1: Your schedule is coming soon. Use this time to continue norms and routines. You will also be getting your QR codes ahead of time.

Testing Protocol Guidelines

• SPED Teachers: Minimize student and teacher time outside of the primary classroom setting.

• Students can engage in silent independent work within the classroom during active testing periods.

• Ensure the testing environment conducive for all participants (quiet halls and classroom, lights on)

• Pay attention to IEPs by providing separate testing environments for eligible students. Do not test students with IEPs or 504s with your whole class!

• Complete all assessments within a single day or session.

• Be aware of testing fatigue and do not test multiple subjects/ tests in a day (ie Reading and Math together or a Reach PT)

In the BOY schedule document you will find the following:

Your testing schedule: GenEd classrooms will be testing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sped teachers will test starting Thursday (look for the schedule soon).

• i-Ready: Please look closely at your scheduled time. Plan to have your ipads/ chromebooks out and ready to go on tables. Your proctor will be in the classroom to help you log in and facilitate. Take your kids to the bathroom and assign a silent task ahead of time.

• Star 360: Please have chromebooks charged and ready to go and have bathroom and drinks taken care of. Send your kids to the bathroom and assign a silent task ahead of time.

A makeup list: Gen Ed and Sped, please add your kids names to the list as you go, even if you plan on making them up yourself. It is easier for me to keep track of who still needs to finish.

• Ms. K and Mr. Hussey will be supporting makeups for K-4 and Sped.

• 5-8 teachers please plan to do makeups during your advisory periods.

Testing Norms and Slides: We want our testing norms to be the same in every classroom K-8. Please display the slides in the classrooms to help establish the norms. We created slides for before testing, how to log in through the portal, and during testing.

***For Star 360 student login i-Ready Student Login

List of 3-8 students testing in Spanish: Dorado and I have looked through previous scores, access scores, and program years to determine who will test in Spanish. Please follow this list. We need the data in English to drive our instruction. We have added appropriate accommodations within the test for those students with an Access score below a 3.5 with OMME guidance.

I will be around to help support you with issues or questions that may arise!

Lindsay Krizanovic

MTSS Coordinator

Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning. Too many absences not only can affect achievement for the absent student but also can disrupt learning for the entire class. While teachers play a key role, everyone in the school building— from the principal to the front office to the cafeteria— can teach attendance!

What does it mean to teach attendance? More than simply taking roll each day. Teaching attendance involves building awareness about how many absences are too many, encouraging students to come to school every day even when it is hard and engaging them once they are in the school building.

It can also involve helping children and families get assistance to solve a significant barrier to getting to school. Yet educators don’t need to solve the problem of chronic absence alone. When educators review student attendance data and notice absences adding up, they can encourage families to partner with other school staff, such as social workers or nurses, as well as community agencies to get needed supports.

Boys Soccer 7/8 grade (starts 8/31/26 )

Fútbol Masculino 7/8 grado

Coach Ms. Daicy Martinez

Monday and Wednesday

Lunes y Miércoles

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Boys Soccer 5/6 grade (will start 9/7/26 )

Fútbol Masculino 5/6 grado

Coach Mr. Aaron Belcher

Tuesday and Thursday

Martes Y Jueves

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Girls Volleyball 7/8 grade (starts 8/31/26 )

Volibol Femenil 7/8 grado

Coach Mr. Derek Arias

Monday and Wednesday

Lunes y Miércoles

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Girls Volleyball 5/6 grade (will start 9/7/26 )

Volibol Femenil 5/6 grado

Coach Ms. Irma Ortega

Monday and Wednesday

Lunes y Miércoles

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Thank you Ms. Iris Rodriguez for supporting the morning sessions and a number of afternoon sessions for our Before and After Care Program.

Hi Everyone!

Please take a moment to read the shout-outs and news below. If you'd like to give a shout-out or share some news, please fill out the form.

Thank you to everyone supporting the Beginning of the Year testing!

Have a great weekend!

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🎂Happy September Birthdays 🎂

16 ~ Selena Rios

19 ~ Zenaida Rivera

30 ~ Vernice Cabrera

30 ~ Mykie Moya