HAWK HIGHLIGHTS

• Para español, oprima el botón "TRANSLATE" en el panel de arriba de esta página y traduzca todo el boletín al español.

• W przypadku języka polskiego naciśnij przycisk "TRANSLATE” na górnym panelu tej strony i przetłumacz cały newsletter na język polski.

• Pour le français, appuyez sur le bouton « TRANSLATE» sur le panneau supérieur de cette page et traduisez l'intégralité de la newsletter en français.
  

• للغة العربية، اضغط على زر "الترجمة" الموجود في اللوحة العلوية لهذه الصفحة وقم بترجمة النشرة الإخبارية بأكملها إلى اللغة العربية.
• lilughat alearabiati, adghat ealaa zirin "TRANSLATE" almawjud fi allawhat aleulwiat lihadhih alsafhat waqum bitarjamat alnashrat al'iikhbariat bi'akmaliha 'iilaa allughat alearabiati.

Mission:

• To provide a high-quality, inclusive, and equitable education for students to grow, lead, and thrive by empowering staff, collaborating with families, and embracing our diverse community.

Vision:

• Gompers will be a collaborative community that provides a sense of belonging and high levels of achievement for all students, staff, and families.

Monday, 9/23

• Cross Country @ AVM, 4p
  

Tuesday, 9/24

• Girl's Basketball @ Kelvin Grove, 4p
  
• Hispanic Heritage Night, 4:30p
  

Wednesday, 9/25

• SOAR Store Open, 11a-1p
• Girl's Basketball vs. Union, 4p
  

Thursday, 9/26

• Bus Evacuation Drills, 10:30a
• Early Dismissal @ 11:25 pm
  

Friday, 9/27

• Regular School activities

Click Here for All 2024-2025 Calendar Events at Gompers

Join Gompers Junior High and Singleton Elementary as we celebrate together on September 24th from 4:30-6:30pm.There will be games, drawings, music, community resources, & food available for purchase!

During National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) we recognize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate their heritage and culture. President Lyndon Johnson first designated Hispanic Heritage week in 1968 and President Ronald Reagan later expanded the week to a full month in 1988.

Your student's academic success is directly related to your involvement in their education and communication with our staff. By working together, we can provide the best possible educational experience for your student. Your student currently attends Gompers which is a Title I school. We invite you to visit our table at the Hispanic Heritage Family Night on September 24, 2024, 4:30-6:30 pm for information regarding the Title I program. At the information table, we will explain the requirements of Title I and provide a description of all the services related to school and parent activities, including:

• Distributing and discussing our parental involvement policy.
• Discussing the curriculum assessments, and the proficiency levels students are expected to attain.
• Informing you of the services available to eligible students and parents.
• Seeking suggestions for improving student academic achievement.
• Explaining your right to be involved in the Title I program.

Stop in and visit us for more details and ask questions.

On Friday, 9.20.24, we successfully conducted a Secure Building & Teach Drill. This drill is a preventative measure and utilized in the event of a concern taking place in the community outside of our building. Students and staff are able to continue with their day as usual inside the building, no one is allowed to enter or exit the building. Additional drills will be scheduled over the next few weeks including an Evacuation Drill, Bus Evacuation Drill, Hold-In-Place & Teach Drill, Lockdown Drill, and Severe Weather Drill. Safety is a top priority in District 86 and we appreciate everyone's full participation. Please help us at home, by speaking to your student about taking these drills seriously so they are well prepared in the case of an emergency.

The bus evacuation drill scheduled for last week has been rescheduled for Thursday, 9.26.24. This required drill is to prepare our students on how to safely evacuate from a bus in the event of an emergency or accident. All students will be directly supervised by the bus drivers, teachers, administrators, and other school personnel.

Students will be dismissed at 11:25 AM on Thursday for an Early Dismissal Day. All teachers and administration are engaged in professional development activities and will not be available until after 3:00 pm. Therefore, students are not allowed to stay at school. Please speak to your student regarding your expectations on where you want them to go after the early dismissal. Bus routes will run as usual on an altered schedule. However, please ensure your student knows what you want them to do after the early dismissal. See below for the bell schedule.

Capturing student voice and providing students the choice to steer their own learning can have a significant impact on student engagement, motivation, and achievement. When students feel their opinions and choices matter, they are more likely to be invested in their learning. The DESSA Middle School Student Self-Report (SSR) provides a clear picture of students’ social and emotional strengths and areas for growth. This information allows students to make choices about which skills they want to develop and which goals they want to set. By becoming a more self-directed learner, students can acquire a sense of self-worth that holds strong throughout their academic journey.

At Gompers, we will administer the DESSA Student Self Report on Friday, 9.27.24. Please visit https://apertureed.com/products/dessa-student-self-report/ or contact our Counselor, Mrs. Arroyo, or our Social Workers, Mrs. Hagadus or Mrs. Skwarczynski for more more details or any questions. Below is the schedule for Friday, 9.27.24.

Good news!!! Gompers was approved for Pepsico Recycling Rally. Therefore we will now be able to recycle Plastic Bottles and Cans. We will be putting Blue Recycling Containers around the building as soon as possible. We will now be running THREE Recycling Systems at Gompers.

• Regular Recycling - only paper - blue bins in the classroom
• Beyond the Bag - white boxes in each grade level - flexible plastics
• Pepsico - Blue Boxes coming soon to your grade level hallway - plastic bottles and cans.

Ask your student to check our new "Lost & Found" container in front of the main office to see if their lost item has been placed in the bin. Any lost items found by a student or staff member will be placed in the container. At the end of each month, the container will be emptied for students to claim any items and the rest donated or disposed of appropriately.

If you see an assignment on Aspen with a 50%, it very likely means your student did not complete the assignment. Teachers are not entering 0% because overcoming a 0 in the gradebook is extremely difficult for a student to overcome due to how averaging works. However, 50% is still and F, but it provides students the opportunity to climb out of a failing grade. Check Aspen and review the percentages. If your student has anything marked as 50%, ask them to complete the missing assignment and turn it in. Click HERE for a great article on the No Zero concept and how it supports student achievement.

At Gompers Jr. High, we take bullying very seriously. Bullying at school, in the community, or on social media is never acceptable or should be taken lightly. If your child is experiencing any form of bullying, the first step is to report the incident to an Academic Advisor, Counselor, or Social Worker. The Gompers staff is here to help and ask that you report bullying as soon as you know about it. Please contact the following individuals via email or call our office to speak with them at 815.727.5276 during school hours. Your partnership is essential in helping keep all our students safe from bullying.

6th Grade

• Laura Arias, Academic Advisor, larias@Joliet86.org
• Brooke Hagadus, Social Worker, bhagadus@Joliet86.org

7th Grade

• Courtney Miller, Academic Advisor, camiller@Joliet86.org
• Maria Arroyo, Counselor, mgarroyo@Joliet86.org

8th Grade

• Dan Wilkert, Academic Advisor, dwikert@Joliet86.org
• Therese Skwarczynski, Social Worker, tskwarczynski@Joliet86.org

Please visit our District website at https://www.joliet86.org/e-learning/ to learn more about our District e-learning plan. Paper e-learning packets will be sent home with your student before Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Local events are posted on our Community Events page on our website, visit

https://www.joliet86.org/students-parents/community-events/ throughout the year for details of these family-friendly activities.

Last year, we collected all types of flexible plastics to recycle. For example, grocery bags, bread bags, vegetable bags, zip lock bags, or any other kind of soft plastic can be sent in for recycling. Gompers received a free plastic bench for recycling 1000 pounds. Below is a picture of the bench we earned last year; thanks for all your help. Our collections this week are as follows:

• Kitchen: 29 lbs

• 6th: 13 lbs

• 7th: 6 lbs

• 8th: 6 lbs

We also collected our first round of bottles and cans equaling a total of 182 BOTTLES AND 72 CANS.

STUDENT HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

A Physical Examination and required immunization records are required for all Pre-K, Kindergarten, 6th grade, and new transfer students from out of state. Forms must be turned into the school office by October 15, 2024. Students will be excluded from school beginning October 16th, 2024 if we do not receive the required information. Appointment dates past the October 15th deadline are no longer accepted by the State of Illinois. If you have any questions, please contact our school nurse. New students to the District from out of state or out of the country have 30 days from the first day of school to submit a health exam.

STUDENT HEALTH HISTORY and LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS

If your student has a significant health history, life threatening allergy, or special medical concern including asthma, diabetes, seizures, or other medical conditions please contact the school nurse so that we can create an Emergency Health Care Plan. A PHYSICIAN’S NOTE IS REQUIRED if your child has FOOD allergies so we can provide substitutions. It must be a DIAGNOSED allergy and not just a sensitivity.

MEDICATION AT SCHOOL

If your child must receive medication (prescription or over-the-counter) in order to be in school, you will need a "Medication Authorization Form” completed by a licensed healthcare provider or physician also signed and dated by the parent/guardian.

DIABETICS

We must have a School Diabetic Care Plan on file from your physician with medication orders (if needed) in case of emergencies and to assist and care for all diabetic students.

If you have any questions please contact the school nurse, Melissa Quitman, at mquitman@joliet86.org or at 815-727-5276

Sixth Grade

• Academic Advisor: Laura Arias - larias@joliet86.org
• Team Leader: Robert Pollard - rpollard@joliet86.org
• Social Worker: Brooke Hagadus - bhagadus@joliet86.org

Seventh Grade

• Academic Advisor: Courtney Miller - camiller@joliet86.org
• Team Leader: Jeremy Poch - jerpoch@joliet86.org
• Social Worker: Maria Arroyo - marroyo@joliet86.org

Eighth Grade

• Academic Advisor: Dan Wikert - dwikert@joliet86.org
• Team Leader: Jessica Pasquale - jpasquale@joliet86.org
• Social Worker: Therese Skwarczynski - tskwarczynski@joliet86.org

PE & Fine Arts Team Leader: Theresa Curry - tcurry@joliet86.org

Athletic Director: Eric Blaeser - eblaeser@joliet86.org

Assistant Principal: Mia Suarez - msuarez@joliet86.org

Principal: Raul Gaston - rgaston@joliet86.org

Newsletters for the week of...

• 9.23.24 - https://secure.smore.com/n/5tbcq
• 9.16.24 - https://secure.smore.com/n/s89fe
• 9.9.24 - https://secure.smore.com/n/bxk8a
• 9.2.24 - https://secure.smore.com/n/8snaf
• 8.26.24 https://secure.smore.com/n/0cvtb
• 8.19.24 - https://secure.smore.com/n/0jn2u
• 8.12.24 - https://secure.smore.com/n/532she