WJHS Weekly News and Notes

What an incredible first full week at WJHS! The halls are alive with energy as our new Wolves settle into their schedules and returning students hit their stride. From classroom collaboration and creative arts to teamwork on the sports fields, the vibrant spirit of our community is on full display.

Key Updates & Information

Early Student Pickup: If you need to collect your child before the end of the day, please inform the main office as early as possible so a pass can be issued during their lunch period.

Email: office-wjhs@wilmette39.org

Phone: 847-512-6600

Drop-Off & Pick-Up Safety Procedures: To keep our students safe and traffic moving efficiently, please strictly follow these traffic rules:

Designated Zone: Drop off and pick up students only in the WJHS circle drive.
No Left Turns: Traveling south on Locust Rd.? Left turns into the circle drive are prohibited and actively enforced by local police.
Restricted Areas: Do not drop off or pick up on Locust Rd., in the WJHS staff lot, or at neighboring lots (Regina Dominican or Mikaelian Education Center).
Stay Alert: Many students walk or bike to school.
No Cell Phones: The drop-off/pick-up area is a strict cell-phone-free zone.

Welcome Our New SRO & Thank You, Officer Davis: As we begin the new school year, we extend a huge thank you to Officer Valerie Davis for her incredible service as our School Resource Officer over the past five years. We are deeply grateful for her dedication to keeping our students safe and supported! We are also excited to welcome Officer Amanda Jakupovic as District 39’s new SRO. A Wilmette Police Officer since 2021, Officer Jakupovic brings extensive experience as an Evidence Technician, Bike Patrol Officer, Trauma Med Instructor, and 2024 Lifesaving Award recipient. Officer Jakupovic is joined in the department by K9 Gizmo, a 2-year-old Lab/Golden Retriever mix. Gizmo is a rare electronic-detection and comfort dog trained to locate hidden digital media (like USB drives and cell phones) while offering a soothing, friendly presence during school visits. To learn more about Gizmo click here for a video. Please join us in thanking Officer Davis and giving Officer Jakupovic (and Gizmo!) a warm D39 welcome on campus this year.

Go Wolves!

Jon Baffico

Parent Education

Thank you to all of our families who attended our first Parent Education event of the academic year titled “Responding to School Safety Incidents: The Standard Response Protocol.” A recording of this presentation is available now.

This important safety presentation detailed the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) that D39 adopted for school safety. Under this framework, our learning community will use clear and consistent language so that students, staff, and families know what to do in an emergency situation. By using common and consistent terminology, everyone will know what to do and how to respond to different situations. The SRP includes five specific actions:

Hold! — Stay in your classroom or area. Clear the halls.
Secure! — Get inside. Lock outside doors.
Lockdown! — Locks, lights, out of sight.
Evacuate! — Move to a new location.
Shelter! — Take protective action based on the situation.

Each year, all six District 39 schools conduct school safety drills to practice our emergency procedures and how to respond quickly, calmly, and safely during an emergency situation. Among them is a lockdown drill that will be conducted in partnership with the Wilmette Police Department. Our school will communicate with students, in an age-appropriate manner, on what to do in the event of a lockdown. Additionally, all building occupants, including any visitors who may be in the building at this time, participate in this drill. School administrators, at their discretion, may exempt student(s) from participating in lockdown activities. There will not be any simulations or gunfire during the drill.

Families should be aware of the following provisions detailed in the Illinois School Safety Drill Act, Public Act 102-0395:

A student may be exempt from participating in lockdown exercises through written notification from a parent or guardian at least 24 hours prior to the start of the exercises.
Schools are required to provide education and instruction related to lockdown procedures to non-participating students.
Students are allowed to ask questions during the exercises.

Dates for these drills will be communicated to families in advance via principal newsletters.

Transportation Waitlist Information

Michelle McGregor, District 39 Transportation Liaison, is continuing to notify families on our transportation waitlist of their updated status. Waitlist requests are being processed in the order in which they were received. Families who receive a spot on the bus are asked to remit payment by Thursday, Sept. 3. Their child(ren)’s bus pass will then be available for pickup in their school office on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and they will be eligible to ride the bus beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 9. For more information, please visit our D39 Transportation webpage.

Late Activity Bus Serving Highcrest and WJHS

District 39 is also providing Late Activity Bus service for students who participate in after-school sports and clubs at Highcrest and/or WJHS. Buses will depart from WJHS at 4:45 pm and proceed to Highcrest to pick up students at HMS. You do not have to be signed up for D39 transportation to utilize the late activity bus. However, since there will not be any staff present at drop-off locations, these buses are to be used by independent riders. The Activity Bus schedule is below:

Bus #1: Drops off students at Central Elementary School (9th St. entrance)
Bus #2: Drops off students at McKenzie Elementary School (15th St. entrance) and then proceeds to Harper Elementary School (front entrance)
Bus #3: Drops off students at Romona Elementary School (front entrance) and then proceeds to the Community Recreation Center, Indian Rd. and New Glenview Rd. Students who take this bus will NOT have to cross Glenview Rd.

Board of Education

The Board of Education gathered on Monday night for its monthly business meeting. In addition to committee reports, the Board received District 39’s response to the 2026 Community Review Committee report titled “Supporting Educator Well-Being,” which was presented to the Board during its May 2026 meeting, heard D39’s annual Enrollment Report, conducted its annual tax compliance review, and performed a first reading of several Board policies. Agendas and materials for Board of Education meetings are posted online the Friday prior to the meeting.

Follow District 39 on Social Media!

Make sure to follow our District 39 social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram for fun and engaging content and events from around the District! Additionally, all of our D39 schools are also active on social media. Please reference principal newsletters to follow social media accounts for your child(ren)’s school.

Hi, Eighth Grade Families!

We had a great first full week as students continued getting to know their teachers, connecting with classmates, and learning new routines. This week, all eighth graders attended an assembly on school expectations in order to ensure that we're all on the same page as the year begins. You are welcome to review the presentation here.

Important date reminder: New Trier placement testing will take place on November 7 and November 14. Families will select one of these two dates. Additional information about the test and the registration process will come directly from New Trier in early October.

Curriculum Night: Save the date! Curriculum Night will be Thursday, September 17. More information is coming soon.

Go Wolves!

Anne Bishop

It has been a fantastic first full week with our 7th graders! They are already doing a wonderful job navigating the building and forming relationships with their peers and teachers.

This past Monday, students met during Homeroom to review school expectations as an entire class. You can review the presentation shared with students here.

Additionally, throughout September, Mr. Miller will meet with each 7th-grade homeroom for an interactive session on how students can make the most of their WJHS experience.

Curriculum Night: Save the date! Curriculum Night will be Thursday, September 17. More information is coming soon.

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to a great school year ahead!

Go Wolves!

Rob Miller

Doors to WJHS will open at 8:10 AM daily. Students may enter through the front lobby doors of the school and one entrance is open in the back of the school by the bike racks. There are bike racks in both the front and back of the school. If you are dropping off your child via a vehicle, please follow the route linked here to help keep our students safe and drop-off and pick-up efficient.

We want to ensure that each student reaches their full potential everyday. In order to make good on this promise, we have three arrival bells for students to help them manage their time and signal when they should be in class:

The 8:10 am bell: Doors open to welcome students into school
The 8:15 am bell: Students should begin moving from their locker to their homeroom.
The 8:20 am bell: Students are expected to be seated in homeroom, ready to learn.

In an effort to ensure no loss of instructional time we expect students to be on campus by 8:15 am.

We request that students be dropped off at WJHS before the 8:15 am warning bell which signifies that students have five minutes to arrive in their homeroom seat. The 8:20 am bell communicates that homeroom has begun.

Ensuring that students are in their homeroom by 8:20 am also helps our staff take prompt and accurate attendance for the day. We are hopeful that reminding students and families of our bell schedule and the start time of the school day will help students get to school on time to be in homeroom by 8:20 am, ready to learn, so everyone can reach their full potential.

We are excited that all of our athletic programs are now up and running! All athletes are hard at work in preparing for the first games and meets to get underway next week. We look forward to great seasons!

Fall athletic registration will be closing early next week. For any last minute registrations, please go to the WJHS athletics website and follow the steps below to register your child if they are interested in participating in a fall sport.

How to register:

- Parents should use a desktop or laptop to sign in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal

- Choose Forgot Username or Password? if you have log-in trouble

- Choose Forms on the left side

- Select Athletics Registration Form

- Complete the form for each child, including Concussion, Conduct, and current Physical from the past 13 months.

Please visit the athletics website for more information on practices and Coaches emails."

Thanks so much and please let us know if you have any questions.

Sarah Meier + Kirsten Best

Wilmette Jr. HS (WJHS) /Highcrest MS (HMS) Athletic Directors

PARENTS FALL CHECKLIST

✅Update your contact information in Membership Toolkit so you can get important emails during the school year! You must verify your family’s information using a URL and not through the app. Look for the email on 8/18 from THE WJHS PTO or click Membership Toolkit

✅Purchase your $25 PTO Membership, which includes access to the online Directory so that you can view class lists and student/parent contact info. The dues help us provide programming such as the 8th Grade Graduation Party, student council/yearbook teacher sponsorships and teacher appreciation throughout the year. Thank you for your support!

✅Make a contribution to the iGNITE Fund for Enrichment on behalf of your student. ANY amount is appreciated!

✅Donate to the Teacher/Staff Holiday Gift Fund (one-time yearly gift). Thank you!

✅Purchase a 2026-2027 WJHS Yearbook

If you have questions please email directory@wjhspto.com.

✅Sign up to help serve lunch at least once HERE . Thank you! You’ll only be there ONE & A HALF HOURS from 11:30am-1:00pm and it is really appreciated!

✅Sign up for AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS . Skyline REGISTER HERE kicks off next Friday, September 4 & Aces Debate REGISTER HERE on Monday, October 5

✅Order your WJHS SpiritWear & Get Ready For Spirit Fridays! Spiritwear is sponsored by our local partner HumanKind - check out everything that can be customized HERE.

USE THESE LINKS FOR EASY SIGN UP IN THE CAFETERIA AND COURTYARD

Have an hour to spare during the school day? We would love to see you at lunch & in the courtyard during recess - SPOTS ARE AVAILABLE STARTING IMMEDIATELY! Please use these links to sign up for your spot today! Thank you for your time!

Cafeteria: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FACAA23A2F5CE9-cafeteria

Courtyard: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FACAA23A2F5CE9-volunteer

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS ARE HERE

SKYLINE IS BACK THIS FALL AT WJHS ON FRIDAYS - 1st CLASS IS FRIDAY, SEPT 4!

Broadway Performers Little Mermaid Jr

REGISTRATION OPENS AT THIS LINK 9AM ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

Class Meets Fridays | 3:15-5:30PM at WJHS Auditorium

September 4, 2026 - November 6, 2026 | No Class 10/30

Final Performance: Friday, November 13

Journey "Under the Sea" for The Little Mermaid Jr. this Fall at WJHS!

Skyline's Broadway Performers is a no-cut program designed for middle school actors. Performers will be challenged by a professional teaching artist, and level up by learning advanced performance skills such as solo vocal technique, sophisticated character development, complex blocking, and challenging musical theatre choreography.

From the moment auditions kick off on the first day, Performers feel the rush of anticipation as they showcase their talents. Every actor who participates is assigned a named role in The Little Mermaid Jr., and receives a script and rehearsal materials.

Families will receive detailed instructions on how to assemble an original costume, adding the perfect finishing touch to the show. The final performance is a unique celebration of talent and teamwork that creates a core memory for actors and families alike.

DEBATE REGISTRATION OPEN - FIRST CLASS OCTOBER 5

Learn research, writing and oral argumentation in one of WJHS’s most popular clubs! Programs for beginning and experienced debaters. All programs consist of weekly class sessions held at WJHS for 60 minutes with supplemental debate activities. The program concludes with a 2-hour session to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their new skills in full debates. Registration NOW OPEN - use the following link to register…

WJHS Weekly News and Notes

August 28, 2026

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Principal Update Principal Update

District Updates District Updates

8th Grade Updates 8th Grade Updates

7th Grade Updates 7th Grade Updates

Important Upcoming Dates Important Upcoming Dates

School Hours and Bell Schedule School Hours and Bell Schedule

Arrival and Departure Goals Arrival and Departure Goals

Athletics Updates Athletics Updates

PTO Updates PTO Updates

Created with

Communicate quickly and effectively with interactive newsletters.

Principal Update

District Updates

8th Grade Updates

7th Grade Updates

Important Upcoming Dates

School Hours and Bell Schedule

Arrival and Departure Goals

Athletics Updates

PTO Updates