Welcome Back Emerson Families!

On behalf of the Emerson Middle School Administration, I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful school year and we can’t wait to continue to work with all of you. We are fortunate to have Mr. Martin Hopkins return as a District Administrator this year. He will be assisting the administrative team on a part-time basis.

On a personal note, I want you to know how fortunate I am to be our school’s leader. It is my honor to work with each of you, and to continue to make Emerson one of the best places to be. This year’s theme is Together, WE ARE EMERSON! While Emerson is and always will be Emerson, it truly is the people within this community who make us EMERSON.

We can’t wait for an awesome year ahead!

Best,

Tessa

Monday

Cross Country Interest Meeting 3:00 -4:00

7th/8th Girls Basketball Tryouts 3:00 - 5:00

Tuesday

LA Map Testing

7th/8th Girls Basketball Tryouts 3:00 - 5:00

Wednesday

Early Dismissal - 2:10pm

Thursday

Math Map Testing

Friday

Emerson Student Assembly

6th Grade - Wear BLUE

7th Grade - Wear WHITE

8th Grade - Wear RED

Our goal is to have every student arrive on time and attend a full day of school.

Our WHY: The purpose of school is to educate students. Regular attendance in all classes is essential to earning good grades and establishing good habits for post high school living. A policy will not get rid of tardiness altogether, but it will set up a strong expectation for punctuality and establish firm guidelines for students. We have developed a tardy system that is consistent and maintained throughout the building resulting in a limited amount of tardiness to school. All unexcused absences will be recorded and dealt with accordingly by Emerson Administration. Consequences may result based on progressive tardiness.

Please get your child here on time!

Middle School All students are expected to be seated in homeroom at 8:05 a.m. Students who arrive at school after the homeroom period (8:05 to 8:10 a.m.) must report directly to the office before proceeding to class. A doctor’s appointment or a bus problem are acceptable excused tardies. All other reasons will be considered unexcused. Exceptions must be approved by the principal. To assist students and parents in correcting this problem, a sequence of escalating interventions is followed after three unexcused tardies.

Please remember, the parking lot is EXTREMELY busy at the beginning of the day. Please allow enough time to get through this line. Unless there is extreme weather, tardiness due to the drop off line is also unexcused.

To start the new year, the Emerson Administration will be enforcing a new cell phone policy, which will be implemented starting the first day of school. All cell phones must be stored away in their locker during the school day. This includes Smart Watches and wireless headphones.This policy will help minimize distractions and fosters a focused learning environment, promoting students’ academic engagement and success. Our goal is to create a more focused and productive learning environment for all students. Please click here to access the policy.

Though we have QUEST food choices during lunch, many students bring lunch to school. We highly encourage waste-free lunches. To reduce waste, please consider the following as you pack your child’s lunch:

-Please pack your child’s lunch in a reusable lunch box or bag (not paper or plastic bags).

-Use reusable containers for sandwiches rather than foil, plastic wrap, etc.

-Buy snacks in quantity and transfer them to a reusable container.

-Put drinks in a child-friendly thermos rather than sending throw-away juice boxes, etc.

Thanks!

The Emerson Green Team

If students forget something at home or are being brought a lunch, items may be dropped off in the foyer of the Emerson Office. We instruct students to check in with the office during passing periods to pick up these items. We will not interrupt class to notify students of items/lunches delivered to the office. We will email students to let them know that they have items waiting. The exception to this is Chromebooks and Cameras for Photography. These can be brought into the office and we will have the student come and pick them up. If items are not picked up at the end of the day, they will be placed in the lost and found. Thank you for your help!

The 4pm activity bus will begin running on September 5th. The Activity bus is available for all students who stay IN SCHOOL for after school activities. If students leave campus for any reason they are not allowed to ride the activity bus home at 4:00. The stops for these buses are different than the stops their regular buses take as they cover a larger area. The bus they need to take will depend on which elementary school area they live in.

Bus 1: Franklin Area

Bus 2: Carpenter Area

Bus 3: Field Area

Student's will need to know when they are close to home and get off of the bus at the appropriate time by letting the bus driver know they are close to home. If you have any questions, please contact the main office.

Students entering Sixth Grade are required to meet certain health requirements, and must submit written documentation as proof. The following required forms are available at www.d64.org, under Departments > Health Services. Completed forms should uploaded into Powerschool under Health Office Document Submission.

The parent/guardian portion on the reverse side of the form must be completed and signed in order to meet the state requirement.

Students not in compliance with this regulation on or before Sunday, October 15, 2023 will be excluded from school attendance beginning Monday, October 16th, 2023.

MAP Testing for Emerson Students will be held next week.

Language Arts Map Testing will take place from 8:10 - 9:45 Tuesday August 29th

Math Map Testing will take place from 8:10 - 9:45 on Thursday August 31st

Please make sure that students charge their Chromebooks and bring headphones to school the next day. Eat a good breakfast and get a great night's sleep.

PTO MEMBERSHIP

Please join the PTO by going to the website below where you can register and pay your membership fee. Once you join, you can sign up to volunteer for the many PTO committees, access the PTO parent directory and be the first to get information about PTO events. Without your support, we cannot provide or help sponsor the many events and perks offered to your students and the school. Some of these activities include grade level socials, movie nights, extracurricular activities, SOARS awards, classroom projects, and teacher appreciation! Just use this link:

https://emersonmspto.membershiptoolkit.com

SPIRITWEAR

This year, students who wear Emerson Spiritwear on Spirit Days will get SOARS tickets from their homeroom teacher! (Those tickets are then submitted in a raffle for student prizes each week and at trimester-end assemblies.) PTO will be selling Spiritwear at many PTO events, like orientation, parent night and movie nights. Some Spiritwear may also be for sale at the main office BEFORE and AFTER school. For those who wish to order online and customize, please use this link:

https://emersonspiritwear.com

GARDEN PROJECT

A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Shulman, Mrs. Soulias, and the many who helped make the Emerson grounds a bit more beautiful this year. Donations in dollars and plants were given by The Home Depot, Lurvey and many parents/community members. Thanks also go out to the Soaring Eagles, parents and staff who came out on Saturday, August 12th to do the gardening. If you’re interested in making donations, please contact Mrs. Soulias at msoulias@d64.org. Those who wish to join the Garden Committee can sign up at our PTO website.

OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT

On Tuesday, September 5 at sunset, Emerson students, staff and their families are welcome to attend this FREE event. A movie selected by the students will be shown outdoors on the Emerson field west of the school (in the event of rain, it will be held in the school gym). Concessions such as pizza, Rita's Italian ice, popcorn, snacks and water will be available for purchase starting at 6:30pm. Every student must have an adult present/responsible for them. Parents interested in volunteering can sign up at our website.

PTO MEETING

Our first PTO Meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 12 at 6:30pm via Zoom. This year's PTO Meetings will all be held via Zoom on the second Tuesday of each month (except December) at 6:30pm. Please join us:

ID: 988 9601 0820

Password: Eagle

https://zoom.us/j/99896010820?pwd=dWEzYXFDWFZzRFFQS2F6cTdCZit6QT09

Hit the ground running on the 2023-24 school year!

JOIN THE EMERSON CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

(17x Conference Champions)!

Cross Country is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students.

There are no tryouts.

Last year over 120 students participated!

Emerson’s Cross Country Team will have an informational meeting on Monday, August 28th from 3:00 - 4:00 in the Multi-Purpose Room.

Practices begin Thursday, August 31st (3:00 - 4:30).

SIGN-UP NOW!

ALL ATHLETES MUST HAVE A HEALTH / PERMISSION FORM submitted to the Emerson Health Office in order to participate.

For sign-up instructions, our 2023 schedule, and all other information, visit our

Cross Country Team Website.

Email Coach Schauer (aschauer@d64.org) with any questions.

7th/8th Grade Girls Basketball Tryouts will be held on:

Monday, August 28th from 3:00 - 5:00

Tuesday August 29th from 3:00 - 5:00

YOU MUST HAVE YOUR UPDATED PHYSICAL AND PARENT PERMISSION FORM IN THE HEALTH OFFICE BY THE 1ST DAY OF TRYOUTS!

You must be able to attend all days of the tryouts.

Ask Mr. Florence dflorence@d64.org (Room 104) or Mr. Seider rseider@d64.org (Room 204) if you have any questions.

We know that community spirit is contagious, and many of our students and families enjoy going to Maine South for its many events and activities. With football season starting, Maine South would like us to share with you the following reminder:

Maine South prides itself on our unwavering school spirit, the feeling of community at our events and the dedication of our students who work hard to be successful on and off the field.

We carry that same pride with our spectators and fans who invest their time to positively cheer on our team.

This letter serves as a reminder of the spectator policy for any non-high school student (middle or elementary students) as outlined below.

● Any non-high school student (middle or elementary) must be accompanied by their parent/guardian OR under the direct supervision of another adult.

● Parents/Guardians will only be allowed to supervise 1 additional middle or elementary student outside of their own family/children.

● The adult accompanying the middle or elementary aged student is responsible for their behavior and well-being throughout the duration of the sporting event.

● Unaccompanied middle and elementary students will not be permitted into the stadium.

● Students are expected to sit in the stands and will not be allowed to bring in any sporting equipment or balls (i.e. football, baseball, tennis ball, etc.).

We will continue to enforce a no re-entry policy, which applies to all visitors of the stadium.

Additionally, we have included our Maine South game day expectations regarding permitted and non-permitted items and behavior. Please review this prior to your arrival to the game.

This letter is designed to encourage positive fan participation and we look forward to our community cheering on our Hawks! Thank you in advance for your cooperation with the updated protocol.

Maine South Administration

Come join your friends at the NTC Fall Dance Party! Middle school students from all the surrounding schools will gather at the Niles Family Fitness Center on Saturday, September 30, 2023 from 6:30- 9:00PM. Come represent your school in the individual and group dance competitions. Participants do not have to be a Teen Center member.

*This is not a District64 sponsored event*

Attendance - 847-318-8110

Email: em-office@d64.org
Website: https://www.d64.org/ems
Location: 8101 North Cumberland Avenue, Niles, IL, USA
Phone: 847-318-8110