Dear Emerson Families,

Thank you for another wonderful week! We concluded our day today at the beginning of the year assembly. The energy was CONTAGIOUS! The students really enjoyed the "minute-to-win-it" games. I hope everyone has a phenomenal holiday weekend.

Best,

Tessa

• M 9/4: Labor Day- No School

• T 9/5: Bus Evacuations during PE

• F 9/8 Emerson Picture Day

• W 8/30: Early Dismissal 2:10

Looking ahead…

• W 9/13: Please plan on joining the staff at Emerson for our annual Curriculum Night! Curriculum Night will take place on Wednesday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. and will run until 8:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more information that will follow in a separate communication.

All health forms should now be uploaded directly into Powerschool. This includes school physicals, dental and vision forms as well as athletic forms. When you log into PowerSchool, click on your child’s name at the top of the page, then on the left side click on forms. After that, you can click on “Health Office Document Submission of Athletic Department Document submission” then click add document and submit. Incoming 6th grader health forms are due by October 15th and Athletic forms are due the day before tryouts or first practice for no cut sports.

Please make sure that you have filled out and signed the health history parent portion at the top of the back page of your child's physical. If your child requires a medical action plan or medications while in school, those required forms can be found on the D64 Health Services page under the header "Other Health Forms" If you have any other questions or more immediate needs, please contact the front office at 847-318-8111.

All District 64 schools and offices will be closed on Monday, September 4th in observance of Labor Day. School will resume on Tuesday. Enjoy the long holiday weekend!

Student Picture Day is Friday, September 8th. Representatives/photographers from Color Portraits will be at Emerson and taking student portraits. For ordering information, please click HERE to access the flyer below. Paper forms were sent home with your students this week.

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.

Please plan on joining the staff at Emerson for our annual Curriculum Night! Curriculum Night will take place on Wednesday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. and will run until 8:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more information that will follow in a separate communication.

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!

It is our goal in District 64 to maintain school Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) that promote a love for reading and lifelong learning. Our middle school libraries are geared toward middle school readers who represent a range of reading interests and levels. The collections include a variety of middle grade and young adult novels, along with picture books, reference materials, sound recordings, magazines, and nonfiction resources.

Young adult (YA) titles include literature, poetry, and informational text that address experiences and issues that concern children as they transition through their teenage years. Common themes in young adult literature include: relationships, mental health, sexuality, substance/domestic abuse, violence, death, pop culture, and race/ethnicity. While these topics are often present in middle grade text, the degree to which they are addressed increases in young adult titles. Student readiness for exploration of these topics may vary based on maturity level and experience.

We do our best to match students with the right book for them. Some of our collection contains more sensitive subject matter and, in consultation with professional reviews, have been marked with Young Adult (YA) labels. We encourage families to discuss reading selections with their students on a regular basis.

If you feel your student might not be ready for these titles, please reach out to both the LRC Director and principal of the appropriate school:

Emerson: Mrs. Katie Contreras (LIS) & Mrs. Tessa Shulman (Principal)

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.

Please see Mrs. Broeker's Vocal Music Notes 2.2 Newsletter. Included is the announcement of the 2023-24 student Musical .... Mary Poppins Jr!

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.

PTO MEMBERSHIP

Please join the PTO by going to the website below where you 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. With your support, we can provide or help sponsor the many events and perks offered to your students and the school, like grade level socials, extracurricular activities, SOARS awards, classroom projects, and teacher appreciation! Just use this link:

https://emersonmspto.membershiptoolkit.com

OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT

Due to weather concerns, the date has been changed to Thursday, September 21. 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 at sunset (in the event of rain, it will be held in the school gym). All can arrive as early as 6:00pm to set up. 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.

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 at parent night on 9/13 and movie night on 9/21. Some Spiritwear and also Emerson magnets will be for sale at the main office BEFORE and AFTER school. For those who wish to order online and customize their spiritwear, please use this link:

https://emersonspiritwear.com

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

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*

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

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