Greetings Parker Community

As we step into the New Year 2026, I would like to take a moment to extend my heartfelt wishes to you and your family. The beginning of a new year is a time for reflection, gratitude, and renewed hope.

I am grateful for your continued support and dedication to our Flossmoor SD 161 - Parker JHS school community. Together, we inspire our scholars to learn, grow, and achieve their dreams.

May this year bring joy, health, and success to you and your loved ones. Let's continue to work together to create a nurturing and enriching environment for our children.

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with peace and happiness!

Ursula Parris, Principal

Above and Beyond Recognition

Our Staff Recognition Program, Above and Beyond, is designed to spotlight our staff members in all that they do for our students and community. Each school and department has the opportunity to nominate a staff member who exemplifies the characteristics and professional traits outlined below:
- participates above and beyond the defined boundaries of his/her duties and responsibilities
- takes initiative to develop or implement a creative solution to benefit the students, school, or
community
- positive, punctual, and professional
- demonstrates effective communication and outreach across all settings
- inspires others to make D161 a better place

Nominate a deserving Parker Staff Member by accessing the Above and Beyond link.

Grade Level Community Meetings

Grade Level Deans will facilitate Community Meetings as a reminder of our PBIS, academic, and behavioral expectations. The importance of following directions of all staff members will be reiterated during the Grade Level Community Meetings. We have noticed an increase in misbehaviors identified as defiance and disrespect. Please expect to receive an update regarding the criteria for Quarterly Incentive Field Trips that will reflect defiance and disrespect.

6th Grade - 01.05.2026 - 6th period WIN
7th Grade - 01.05.2026 - 4th period WIN
8th Grade - 01.12.2026 - 4th period WIN

Lunch Deliveries -Uber Eats, GrubHub or DoorDash Not Permitted

As a safety precaution, scholars are not allowed to receive food deliveries from any restaurant or food delivery service such as Uber Eats, GrubHub or DoorDash. Any delivery person is considered a stranger to your child and should not be allowed to communicate with a minor. Scholars are allowed to purchase lunch from Parker cafeteria, bring lunch for themselves or have lunch brought to them by anyone on their pick up list (Parent, Sibling, Grandparent, guardian). If you would like to bring lunch for your child, it must be one meal for them only. Bringing a whole pizza for their friends or several items of food for a group is not permitted. Given the presence of food allergies among our scholars, we strongly implement these proactive measures to mitigate any risks. Food that is delivered from a restaurant or a delivery service will be collected by office staff for the scholar to pick up after school! Your cooperation with helping us maintain a conducive learning environment is greatly appreciated.

School ID Policy

In order to maintain a safe and secure learning environment, all students and staff are required to wear their school ID badges during school hours. This ensures quick identification of people in the building and fosters accountability.

Parker ID Policy Guidelines:

IDs must be visible at all times, worn on your Parker issued grade level lanyard.
Students are responsible for keeping their IDs in good condition and bringing them to school EVERY day.
Lost or damaged IDs must be replaced; replacement fees may apply. Request a replacement ID using this google form ONLY if your ID is lost and not if you’ve FORGOTTEN it somewhere else.
Scholars will be issued temporary sticker IDs in the event that they do not have their ID.
Scholars with their IDs and barcodes are called first for lunch to accommodate the lunchroom scanning process; scholars without IDs must wait and are unable to purchase ala carte items.
IDs are required for entry to all after school activities and sporting events.

See consequences for not wearing a school ID in the Dean's section of this newsletter.

Transportation

School Street is one way for Arrival and Dismissal

Please assist with maintaining proper traffic safety procedures.
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. NO STOPPING ON SCHOOL STREET!

Flossmoor SD 161 Elementary School Access

Parker JHS scholars are not permitted on FSD 161 Elementary School grounds until classes have been dismissed at 3:30 pm. If scholars are meeting or picking up a sibling, they must adhere to this procedure. Please reiterate this to your children as we strive to maintain safety for all schools of Flossmoor SD 161.

Capturing Kids Hearts Student Survey- Your Feedback Matters!

We are looking for more Parker families and scholars to provide feedback by answering a few questions regarding Capturing Kids Hearts. Please access the links below and encourage your child to complete the Student Survey as well. If you would like to view the questions from the CKH Scholar Survey, access the link here

Parent CKH Survey

Scholar CKH Survey

8th Grade Families

Please review the 8th grade section for all updates pertaining to 8th grade.

Flossmoor Parking

Flossmoor parking is only permitted on the non-hydrant side of the street. Verne Lane has been recently congested, and Flossmoor Police Department will enforce parking laws in the area. This applies during all of our Athletic and After School Activities. Please assist us in abiding with traffic safety!

Transportation

School Street is one way for Arrival and Dismissal
- Braemar Street to School Street to Douglass (Optional right or left turn)
- No stopping on School Street. Please maintain traffic flow and drop off scholars ONLY on the curb side of School Street.

Flossmoor SD 161 Elementary School Access

Parker JHS scholars are not permitted on FSD 161 Elementary School grounds until classes have been dismissed at 3:30 pm. If scholars are meeting or picking up a sibling, they must adhere to this procedure. Please reiterate this to your children as we strive to maintain safety for all schools of Flossmoor SD 161.

Educationally Yours,

Ursula Parris, Principal

Parker Junior High School

1.5.26

School Resumes
PJH Knitting and Crochet Club Meeting - 3:05 p.m. - Media Center
Girls Volleyball Practice - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym
Boys Basketball Practice - 3:30 p.m. - South Gym

1.6.26

Gold Jazz Band Practice - 3:05 p.m. - LGI
Chess Club Practice - 3:05 p.m. - Media Center
Girls Volleyball Practice - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym
Boys Basketball Practice - 3:05 p.m. - South Gym
Cheer Practice - 3:05 p.m. - MUR
Dance Practice - 3:05 p.m. - 8th Grade Hallway

1.7.26

H-F Late Start Day
LEGO/STEAM Lab - 2:40 p.m. - Room 20
Dungeons & Dragons Club - Media Center - 3:05 p.m.
Scholastic Bowl Practice - 3:05 p.m. - Room 17
Cheer Practice - 3:05 p.m. - MUR
Dance Practice - 3:05 p.m. - South Gym
Girls Volleyball Game vs Memorial - 3:05 p.m. - North Gym
Boys Basketball Game vs Memorial - 3:30 p.m. - Memorial

1.8.26

Anime Club - 3:05 p.m. - Media Center
Blue Jazz Band Practice - 3:05 p.m. - LGI
Girls Volleyball Practice - 3:05 p.m. - South Gym
Dance Practice - 3:05 p.m. - MUR
Cheer Performance at Boys Basketball Game - 3:30 p.m. - North Gym
Boys Basketball Game vs Obama - 3:30 p.m. - North Gym
Bilingual Parent Advisory Council Meeting - 6:30 p.m.

1.9.26

Boys Volleyball Permission Slips Due - No Exceptions!
TBD - Cheer Practice - 3:05 p.m. - South Gym
Falconette Take Flight Mentoring - 3:05 p.m. - Media Center
6th Grade Dance - 3:05 - 5:00 p.m. - North Gym

1.10.26

Boys Basketball Clinic - 8:00 - 11:00 a.m - North Gym

Personnel Changes

At the Board of Education meeting on December 1st, the Board approved the addition of a confidential associate position. The new position will allow us to split the responsibilities for residency approvals, transportation, and food service processes more effectively. In addition, Mr. Kendall Gant was approved as the Assistant Business Manager for District 161. He will be replacing Ms. Kari Raven, our current comptroller, who is retiring at the end of March 2026.

HF High School Rising Viking Day at Parker JHS

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 10:15 am
All 8th Grade Scholars will attend

Cap and Gown Pictures - February 11, 2026 - Parker Junior High School

Retake Cap and Gown Pictures - March 20, 2026

8th Grade Graduation - June 2, 2026 - 6:00 PM at HF High School

6th Grade Dance

Date: Friday, January 9th

Time: 3:05 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Ticket Cost: $5.00 (includes pizza, soda, and a DJ)

Optional Additional Cost: Extra pizza, soda, and snacks will be available for purchase.

Important: Permission slips and payment are due by Wednesday, January 7th.

No late submissions will be accepted.

6th Grade Dance - Permission Slip

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 stopping on School Street. Please maintain traffic flow and drop off scholars ONLY on the curb side of School Street.
Transportation

Bus information is available in Skyward for families. If you have any transportation questions, please contact Ms. Wanda Alexander at 708-546-7072.

Auditions for the Spring Musical, The Rockin’ Tale of Snow White, will be held on January 26th and January 27th. Students must attend both days in order to audition for the cast.

Audition packets for both cast and crew will be available beginning January 5, 2026 from the Main Office and Mrs. E. Nicotra.

Students interested in being part of the crew should complete a crew packet. Crew packets are due by Friday, January 30th.

We encourage all students—whether they love performing on stage or working behind the scenes—to get involved in this fun production!

Boys Basketball

The boys have games this week against Memorial on Wednesday, 1/7 and against Obama on Thursday, 1/8. Good luck Falcons!

Boys Volleyball

Packets are available outside the Main Office and all of the grade level bathroom locations. Packets are due by Friday, January 9th NO EXCEPTIONS! You must have a sports physical on file with the nurse in order to try out. Tryouts are scheduled on Monday, 1/12 after school.

Girls Volleyball

Congratulations to all of the scholars who made the team! The girls will have their first home game on Wednesday, 1/7 against Memorial Junior High. Good luck Falcons!

Chess

Our Chess team has their first match on Monday, 1/26 against Memorial Junior High. Good luck Falcons!

Scholastic Bowl

Scholastic bowl will face off against Crete Monee in their first meet on Wednesday, 1/28. Good luck Falcons!

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.

SSJHSA conference rule: ALL Scholars MUST be accompanied by THEIR PARENT or Guardian 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.

Scholars attending home athletic events

There is a fee for admittance to all home games.

$2 for Adults

$1 for All Students and Seniors

Kids 5 and under FREE

Cash only please, no cards are accepted!

Capturing Kids Hearts Surveys

We are looking for more Parker families and scholars to provide feedback by answering a few questions regarding Capturing Kids Hearts. Please access the links below and encourage your child to complete the Student Survey as well. If you would like to view the questions from the CKH Scholar Survey, access the link here

Parent CKH Survey

Scholar CKH Survey

The CKH theme of the month is Responsibility. Scholars who are accountable, dependable, and proactive, managing their time well, completing tasks like homework and projects thoroughly and on schedule, attending class prepared, respecting rules and others, and taking ownership of their actions and mistakes, all while contributing positively to the learning environment. We’re doubling up this month for our PBIS goal and focusing on academic preparedness, too. Talk to your child about how they can be responsible for themselves and their success at school each day.

Upcoming Testing Window

NWEA MAP

Spring: April 20 - 27, 2026

Illinois Science Assessment (8th Grade Only)

April 6 - 10, 2026

Illinois Assessment of Readiness (Math and Reading) (All Grade Levels)

March 16 - 20, 2026

Winter NWEA/MAP testing was completed this week. Ask your scholar to see their goal setting sheet so you can track their progress together. Visit NWEA- Common Questions Family Toolkit to learn more about NWEA and how it is used to support growth and learning.

Are you curious about Standards or Assessments provided to your child? Access the SD 161 Learning and Instruction webpage for detailed information specific to Standards Based Grading and Year Long Plans for every grade level content.

SD 161 Learning and Instruction - Standards Based Learning (Click Here)

Homework Help

Dean Update and Reminders

Quarter 2 Incentives

We are currently planning second quarter incentives. All students are eligible for quarterly incentives even if they were not allowed to attend the previous incentive for not following school wide PBIS expectations. Please remind your scholar that the following criteria’s will lead to the loss of quarterly incentives:

In-School Suspension [ISS]
Out-of-School Suspension [OSS]
Physical Aggression
Technology Violation

Community Grade Level Meeting

Deans will continue to conduct Grade Level Community Meetings and provide reminders of our PBIS expectations throughout the quarter. Please reference dates and the slide deck below

Upcoming Grade Level Community Meetings

6th Grade - January 5, 2026

7th Grade - January 5, 2026

8th Grade - January 12, 2026

Physical Aggression is not tolerated at Parker JHS!

Parker scholars are encouraged to be Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn.

We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a positive school culture.

Together, we can ensure that our school remains a safe space for all scholars.

We have noticed an uptick in lost ID’s in all grade levels; ID’s must be worn daily- NO EXCEPTIONS. There is a $5.00 replacement fee billed to your scholar's Skyward account for each printed ID and we encourage you to check your scholar's Skyward account. Scholars can request a replacement ID by going to Parker’s Canvas Media page and clicking on Parker Announcements; replacement ID’s are issued on Mondays only. Below are our ID Policy Guidelines.

In order to maintain a safe and secure learning environment, all students and staff are required to wear their school ID badges during school hours. This ensures quick identification of people in the building and fosters accountability.

Parker ID Policy Guidelines:

IDs must be visible at all times, worn on your Parker issued grade level lanyard.
Students are responsible for keeping their IDs in good condition and bringing them to school EVERY day.
Lost or damaged IDs must be replaced; replacement fees may apply. Request a replacement ID using this google form ONLY if your ID is lost and not if you’ve FORGOTTEN it somewhere else.
Scholars will be issued temporary sticker IDs in the event that they do not have their ID, but they will escalate through the consequences listed below.
Scholars with their IDs and barcodes are called first for lunch to accommodate the lunchroom scanning process; scholars without IDs must wait and are unable to purchase ala carte items.
IDs are required for entry to all after school activities and sporting events.
Temporary sticker IDs will be issued, but consequences will follow as outlined below:

1st → Warning

2nd → Parent Contact

3rd → 30-minute after school detention

4th → 60-minute after school detention

5th → Saturday Detention & $5 replacement ID fee

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.].

Access SD161 Parent - Student Handbook Here

30 day grace period for free and reduced lunch

30 day grace period for free and reduced lunch has expired. If parents have not either been confirmed by the state for SNAP/TANF or Medicaid status or have not completed a new free/reduced lunch application in Skyward, their lunch status may be back to paid. Complete a lunch form in Skyward to correct your status!

Text Message Opt-In
Signing up for District 161’s text message alerts is quick and easy. Simply text the word “YES” to 67587 from the cell phone on which you wish to receive text messages. Please make sure that your cell phone number is up-to-date in Skyward. If you need to update your phone number, please contact the office at your child’s school. Click here for more information.