Eagle's Post - 11/24/25

Hello Middle School South Families,

As we head into the our upcoming break, I want to take a moment to express how thankful I am for this community. This past week gave us so many reasons to be proud. We saw incredible resilience and talent from the cast and crew of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown , and witnessed true compassion from our 6th graders, who exceeded their goal by collecting over 2,000 items for the Hope Center.

In our newsletter today we have lots of important information, including information about testing next week, our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair, and much more.

Please remember there is no student attendance on Wednesday, November 26, and schools are closed through Friday for the holiday. I hope you all have a restful weekend filled with family and friends.

Wednesday, November 26, 2025

No Student Attendance

Thursday, November 27, 2025

No School - Thanksgiving

Friday, November 28, 2025

No School - All District Buildings Closed

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

MAP/Pre-ACT Testing - Reading

Thursday, December 4, 2025

MAP/Pre-ACT Testing - Math

Friday, December 5, 2025

MSN/MSS Activity @ Middle School North

To everyone who came out to support You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, thank you! We are so proud of the hard work our students poured into this production. Theater requires a lot of resilience and perseverance , and our students handled every challenge with a passionate and adaptable attitude. Seeing them take risks and grow their confidence right before our eyes was a wonderful reminder of why we love the arts here. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew!

We could not be prouder to share the results of our 6th-grade food and hygiene drive! Our team set a goal to collect 500 non-perishable items over the course of the last week. With a goal-oriented mindset and incredible generosity, they far exceeded expectations, collecting over 2,000 items to support local families in need.

On Friday, our team delivered these donations to the Hope Center in Lake Zurich. The timing couldn’t have been more meaningful as over 160 families were expected to be visiting the Hope Center this past weekend alone to gather items that will help them enjoy a happy and comforting Thanksgiving.

Our students acted as true global citizens, making meaningful local community contributions. We are so proud of the empathy our 6th graders showed, proving they are learning to be an advocate for self & others.

Thank you for helping our students continue to develop these characteristics and for making a meaningful impact in our community.

Middle School South will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair from December 1st to December 5th. If you are interested in setting up an eWallet for your student click this link to our school's scholastic website.

All students will have multiple opportunities to visit the book fair throughout that week. We look forward to seeing them.

Join us next Friday, December 5th at Middle School North for the MSN & MSS Combined Activity Night from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. There will be games, coloring, gym activities, snacks, a photo booth, movie and much more! Admission is $5.00 or $4.00 with the donation of a non-perishable food item. We hope to see you there!

The first week of December all of our 6th and 7th grade students will be taking the MAP assessment and our 8th grade students will be taking the Pre-ACT 9 assessment. Both tests will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 and Thursday, December 4, 2025. Both tests will be administered in the morning and we will follow an adjusted schedule for the remainder of the school day.

For more information about the assessments, please see the email sent on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 by Mrs. Aubrey Allen, Director of Curriculum, Assessment.

We’re updating our school phone system to make it easier to reach the right office or person quickly. When you call, an attendant will guide you to the right location, and the voicemail will include important safety information.

This includes Safe2Help, a confidential way for students, staff, and families to report safety concerns or someone in crisis. It’s important not to leave this information on voicemail because immediate attention may be needed. Safe2Help ensures your concern is received and acted on promptly.

Together, we can keep our school community safe and supported.

🌐 Safe2HelpIL.com | 📞 844-472-3345 | 📱 Text SAFE2 | ✉️ help@safe2helpil.com

STEM Spark! Summit 2025, a half-day, hands-on event designed to ignite curiosity and inspire middle and high school students to explore science, technology, engineering, and math.

The STEM Spark! Summit will take place on Saturday, December 6 at the College of DuPage 8:30 am-12:00 pm, and will feature interactive workshops, engaging keynote speakers, and live STEM exhibits that connect classroom learning to real-world innovation. The program includes separate workshop tracks for middle and high school students, ensuring an age-appropriate, engaging experience for all participants. The registration fee is $10 per student, which helps cover materials and activities. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.

🔗 Learn more and register here: https://stemspark.r4.ieee.org/

Would you like to join a team and plan fun activity nights?

Maybe you would like to organize food and fun for the staff?

Most of our committees have notes and plans but need a few more people to make these events happen. Grab a friend, sign up for something amazing, and make this school year fabulous.

Our 2025-26 middle school yearbook is now available for purchase. Don’t miss out on capturing all the memories from this school year! The yearbook is a wonderful keepsake filled with photos, events, and special moments from the year. Please use the link below to order today!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

In October, 2025, District families joined us at Lake Zurich High School to learn how the ACT and Illinois Accelerated Placement Act (APA) support student growth and guide course placement for 2026–2027. A recording, presentation slides, and APA guidelines are attached so all families who were not able to attend have the information needed to guide students in testing and course selection.

Presentation

Recording

APA Guidelines

Our food service provider, Whitsons, is currently hiring positions in our district. Please see the attached flyer for information regarding the positions and how to apply!

Looking for information on the clubs/activities available at MSS. You can find out seasons and contact information by clicking here.

Attention all Eagles looking to tryout for our Girls’ Volleyball team! Tryouts will be Monday, December 8th, Tuesday, December 9th, and Thursday, December 11th! All students looking to tryout must have an up-to-date physical on file with the nurse's office and must be registered in ParentVUE. For any questions, please reach out to Coach Keegan or Coach Brown.

Needed Forms Prior to First Day of Activity/Tryout:

For students interested in trying out and participating in a sport, students must have the following:

• Physical: All students participating in tryouts and a sport must have a current physical or sports physical on file. Physicals are good for one year and one month from the date the physical was conducted. Please check to make sure your physical is current prior to tryouts or the start of an athletic activity. The physical should be turned into the Nurse’s Office.

• Emergency Information Form: Students must have a completed and signed Emergency Information Form for each activity they are trying out for/participating in. They will need to turn this form in to the coach or sponsor at the time of tryouts. If try-outs are not required, then the form should be turned in at the first meeting of the sport or activity.

All registration for activities will be in ParentVUE and information about registration will be sent later this summer.