Parker JHS Newsletter

Greetings Parker Students and Families,

We are incredibly proud to announce that our scholars have officially completed their NWEA MAP Growth assessments! Over the past week, our scholars showed immense focus, grit, and determination. Thank you for your partnership in ensuring they arrived at school well-rested and ready to give their best effort.

In addition to wrapping up testing, our school community paused today to observe 9/11 Patriot Day. We held a brief, age-appropriate moment of silence to honor the lives lost, express gratitude for our first responders, and emphasize the values of unity, kindness, and community.

Safety Drills

All District 161 schools practice various safety drills throughout each school year including: fire, bus evacuation, earthquake, tornado, and Code Red drills. These drills are crucial to ensure that our students and staff are properly prepared to react if the need arises.

• We will conduct a Tornado Drill on Monday, September 14th.
• Our school will partner with local officials to practice the upcoming Code Red drill. This drill is completed annually so all students and staff are aware of emergency procedures in a lockdown situation. Teachers will be talking to students prior to the drill to explain procedures and answer any questions.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Save the Date: Open House

We invite you to join us for our annual Open House to meet your child's teachers, tour the classrooms, and learn more about our curriculum and goals for the year. Please access the Parent Open House Letter here. with additional details.

• Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
• Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
• Location: North Gym and Individual Classrooms

• Students entering preschool, kindergarten, sixth grade, and students who are new to the District must provide proof of the required Illinois State physical examination and immunizations.

• All required health documentation must be submitted by October 15, 2026 to the school nurse. Students who have not met these requirements by this date will be excluded from school beginning October 15, 2026, in accordance with Illinois requirements, until the necessary documentation is received.

• Please note: A sports physical does not meet the Illinois school physical examination requirement.

We value your partnership and look forward to working closely with you to support your child's education. Thank you for your continued support of our school community.

Educationally Yours,

Ursula Parris, Principal

Parker Junior High School

9.14.26

• Boys Baseball Practice - 3:05 p.m. - Mustang Field

• Fall Play Rehearsal - 3:05 p.m. - MUR

• 6/7/8th Girls Basketball Tryouts - North Gym

• XCountry Meet vs Columbia vs Crete - Crete

9.15.26

• Fall Play Rehearsal - 3:05 p.m. - MUR

• XCountry Practice - 3:05 p.m. - Parker Parking Lot

• 6/7/8th Girls Basketball Tryouts - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym

• Boys Baseball Game vs Steger - 4:15 p.m. - Mustang Field

9.16.26

• Boys Baseball Practice - 3:05 p.m. - Mustang Field

• 6/7/8th Girls Basketball Tryouts - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym

• Fall Play Rehearsal - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym

• XCountry Meet vs Huth vs Columbia - 3:45 p.m. - Apollo Park

• Parker Junior High Open house - 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

9.17.26

• 8th Grade Avid Field Trip to Iron Oaks

• Girls Golf State Tournament - 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Metamora Fields Golf Club

• XCountry Practice - 3:05 p.m. - Parker Parking Lot

• Fall Play Rehearsal - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym

• Boys Baseball Regionals - 4:15 p.m. - Mustang Field

9.18.26

• Teacher Institute Day

• Boys Golf State Tournament - 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Metamora Fields Golf Club

• Fall Play Rehearsal - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym

Mr. McKinney (Teacher) and Mr. Kittling (Paraprofessional)

6th grade FUSE

6th Grade FUSE

Ms. Hahn, 7th Grade Math

(Learning Topic: Probability)

• Entrance and Exit - Parker Staff will be available to escort scholars to Grade Level Entrance

  • 6th Grade Scholars - Door B

  • 7th Grade Scholars - Door G

  • 8th Grade Scholars - Door J

  
  

• School Street is one way for Arrival and Dismissal

  • Braemar Street to School Street to Douglass (Optional right or left turn)

  • No Parking on School Street. Please maintain traffic flow and drop off scholars from Braemar Street!

  
  

• Transportation

• Bus information is available in Skyward for families. If you have any transportation questions, please contact Ms. Alma Gonzalez at 708-546-7072.
• Please prepare to arrive 10 minutes before the scheduled pick up time on the first day of school.

Academic eligibility

Per IESA guideline 2.043 For all IESA activities, athletic as well as non-athletic, passing work shall be checked weekly. Eligibility will be applied to the Monday through Saturday following the week that was checked. Students must be passing each subject each week to be eligible.

Scholar attendance for after school activities

SSJHSA conference rule: ALL Scholars MUST be accompanied by THEIR PARENT in order to attend any home games. Parents must stay with their scholar for the duration of the game. If the parent leaves the game, so does the scholar.

Softball

Our Lady Falcons will begin playing in our Sectional Tournament this week! Please come out and support our Lady Falcons this Wednesday, 9/16 at 4:30pm at 2212 Miller Avenue South Chicago Heights!

Baseball

The Flying Falcons will play Memorial on Wednesday, 9/16 and Thursday, 9/17 this week!

Golf

Our Boys and Girls Teams will be competing in their Sectional Tournament on Wednesday 9/16 and Thursday, 9/17!

Cross Country

They will be competing on Wednesday, 9/16! Let’s go Falcons!

September Focus - EMPATHY

Great work to our scholars who wrapped up Fall NWEA/MAP testing this week. Teachers will now be using this critical data to plan for student instruction. To learn more about how teachers use NWEA/MAP data read more in the Family Guide to Map Growth guide.

While viewing your child’s report card, take note of the standards in each quarter. This will allow you to have a clear understanding of the standards and concepts that your child is working on in class. From there, students can work on standards using IXL.com or Achieve3000.com

• The expectation is that they come to school wearing their ID's everyday and throughout the entire school day…NO EXCEPTIONS!
• Students who missed Picture Day will have another opportunity at Picture Retake Day on Tuesday, October 6th and will be provided an ID at that time (this information is forthcoming so please be on the lookout for the email).

• Please encourage your scholar to adhere to locker times per grade level. Failure to do so, will result in a consequence.

• Headphones are NOT permitted at Parker. Please speak with your child and remind him/her not to bring headphones to school. Review our handbook for all dress code expectations (See Link Above).

• Please remind scholars of our Parker expectations to be RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE AND READY TO LEARN: upon arrival, during transitions, dismissal and in every class. Our goal is to provide a safe and structured environment where all scholars can thrive. Thank you for your support!

6.20 School Dress Code

We expect all students to be dressed appropriately and comfortably for school each day. Students are expected to be reasonably dressed and prepared to participate in a professional and hard working school environment. Any student whose dress is deemed to be inappropriate will be provided with a shirt or shorts that will appropriately cover the dress code violation.

Clothes must be worn in such a way that the genitals, buttocks, stomach, sides, back and chest area are fully covered with opaque fabric. All undergarments must be fully covered.

The following apply to all student attire:

a) Shirts must have opaque fabric in the front, back and on the sides under the arms that extends to the waistband.

b) Pants/sweatpants/shorts/ skirt/dress/leggings must be worn at waist level and in such a way that genitals, buttocks, undergarments are fully covered with opaque fabric.

c) Shoes must be worn at all times.

The following guidance is intended to illustrate implementation of the above requirements for students, parents, and school personnel while on school property:

1. Jackets, coats, hats, hoods, gloves, and other forms of outerwear apparel are not to be worn in school. Fleece and sweatshirts may be worn in school as long as a hood is not covering a student’s head.

2. No head covering or cap may be worn in the school unless for religious or health reasons.

3. Only prescription glasses may be worn in school.

4. Attire, earrings, jewelry, pins, or any other type of wearing apparel or accessories that advertise, promote, or depict alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, drugs, gangs, weapons, nudity, obscenity, or profanity are not to be worn in school.

5. Students are not permitted to wear or advertise in any manner drug, alcohol, weapons, or any controlled substance paraphernalia.

6. Pajama attire is not to be worn in school, unless given special permission [PBIS reward, etc.].

Students who purchase items from the School Store will be able to pick up purchased items during their grade level lunch period every Friday.

Show your school spirit by wearing Parker colors/gear on Fridays! Your name will be placed in a drawing to win a prize!

Show your Falcon Pride!!!

The Student Council is a great opportunity to make a positive impact on our school. Throughout the year, we'll plan fun events, organize fundraisers, support service projects, and work together to make Parker an even better place for everyone.

This is a reminder that Student Council permission slips are due by Friday, September 11th. Please make sure your permission slip is signed and turned in by the deadline.

We're looking forward to a great year!

Parker Junior High School will be a phone-free space. Scholars will be required to use the Yondr Pouch while in school. 6th , 7th and 8th Grade scholars will receive a Yondr pouch the 1st week of school. Scholars new to FSD 161 and PJHS will receive a Yondr pouch.

Email: uparris@sd161.org
Website: https://www.sd161.org/o/parker-junior-high
Location: 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, Illinois 60422