WJHS Weekly News and Notes

Dear WJHS Families,

With just five days to go until school starts, the excitement is building here at WJHS! Our staff has been busy with final preparations, decorating classrooms, and welcoming our new team members to the building. We're all eagerly anticipating the energy and enthusiasm a new school year brings, and we can't wait to see our returning students and newest Wolves on Wednesday, August 19!

It was wonderful to meet so many of you at the "New Family Welcome" hosted by the WJHS PTO this past Thursday evening. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect, and I truly enjoyed seeing everyone there.

Key Updates & Upcoming Events

• Weekly Newsletter: As the year progresses, please take a moment to read this newsletter. I will send it weekly (except during school breaks) and keep it brief, complete with a Table of Contents so you can easily skim for key topics.

• Curriculum Night Date Correction: Please note that there was a typo in last week's newsletter regarding Curriculum Night. The correct date is Thursday, September 17 (not September 18). Please update your calendars accordingly!

• 7th Grade Locker & Walk Your Schedule Night: New this year, we are thrilled to invite our incoming families to WJHS on Monday, August 17, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM! Designed to help students find their lockers, practice their daily routes, and get comfortable in the building before day one, this new tradition will give your 7th grader a major confidence boost. Please keep in mind that parent or guardian supervision is required for all attending students throughout the event.

• Fridays are Spirit Fridays! We encourage everyone—students, staff, and parents—to show their WJHS pride by wearing either WJHS Spirit Wear or the color blue. Let's make every Friday a day to celebrate our amazing school community.

  
  

Get ready for an incredible year of learning and growth. Enjoy the last few days of summertime, and we will send more detailed information next week!

As we gear up for an exciting fall, we are thrilled to welcome several talented new staff members to our Wilmette Junior High community. Each brings a wealth of passion, experience, and energy that will undoubtedly enrich our classrooms and support our students.

Get to know the newest faces joining our team this fall—read all about their backgrounds and roles below!

Ryan Wood, Band Instructor (WJHS/HMS): Hi everyone! My name is Ryan Wood and I am delighted to be joining District 39 as a Band Director at WJHS and HMS! I spent the first 4 years of my career teaching 5-12 Band in Arthur, IL (the heart of Illinois Amish country). After receiving my master's degree from Northwestern University (go 'cats), I spent 3 years teaching 5-8 Band in the west suburbs. I'm looking forward to starting year 8 in Wilmette! My summers typically consist of teaching marching band and going on long walks. I also love to read, hang out with friends, and spend time with my adorable niece and nephew. I enjoy making music outside of work by playing the euphonium in the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band. I am excited for the 26-27 school year and can't wait to meet you all!

Gissele Drpich, Spanish (WJHS/HMS): I am an experienced educator and a native Spanish and French speaker, and I am excited to meet our students and begin this new chapter in the Spanish classroom. I believe language learning should be engaging. My goal is to create opportunities for students to participate, explore different cultures, and discover new perspectives. Outside the classroom, I am the proud mother of two adult sons. My husband and I enjoy traveling around the world and spending time with our three dogs, visiting dog parks together. I look forward to building new relationships and to all the wonderful experiences this new school year will bring!

Ben Rubin, 7th Grade Social Studies: My name is Ben Rubin and I am so excited to be the new 7A Social Studies teacher here at WJHS! I have been a teacher in Chicago Public Schools near Midway Airport the last 12 years where I have taught a lot of the American History and Constitution material we will be covering here at WJHS. I am obsessed with sports and am a former high school basketball coach. I am a diehard fan of my alma mater, the University of Illinois, in addition to the Bears, Bulls, and my hometown baseball team... the St. Louis Cardinals! Going along with that, I am an avid golfer who has traveled the country and world to play some amazing courses. My wife and I have a set of boy/girl twins at home who will be two this winter and who always keep us on our toes, but are the world's cutest duo! I am most looking forward to meeting all the new families and staff members and educating my students on the subjects I am most passionate about, which are American History and the Constitution.

Alyssa Harn, Social Worker: Hello! My name is Alyssa Harn, and I’m so excited to be joining WJHS as a school social worker. I previously worked as a social worker at Stevenson High School and am looking forward to getting to know the students, families, and staff in this community.

A little about me: I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Albania for 2 years which deepened my love of learning about different cultures! I recently became a mom to my beautiful daughter, Layla, who was born in December! Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my family and my cat, doing house projects, thrifting, and listening to country music. I’m excited to meet you and become part of this wonderful community!

Annie Burkhalter, Social Worker, WJHS/HMS: Nice to meet you, District 39 Community! My name is Annie Burkhalter and I am so excited to be working as a social worker at HMS and WJHS this year! This is my first year as a social worker and my first year at D39. I spent my internships at Barrington High School and Youth & Family Counseling, a community mental health center in Libertyville. Outside of school and work, I like to spend my time hanging at a coffee shop, working on several crafts, baking, or being with my friends. Thanks for welcoming me into your community, and I look forward to working with you!

Max Baker, 8th Grade ALOP (Alternative Learning Opportunities Program) Advocate: Hi! My name is Max Baker and I am one of the Student Advocates at Wilmette Junior High School. I am originally from St. Louis and attended the University of Missouri where I studied sports journalism. After moving to Chicago, I worked in communications at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls for 3.5 years before discovering my passion for helping young people. When I'm not at work, you can find me on the softball field, watching the Golden State Warriors or hanging out with my friends listening to live music. I am really excited for the upcoming school year and to meet all of you.

Gabriela Sync, 7th Grade ALOP Advocate: Hi everyone! My name is Ms. Gryc and I am very excited to start as an Alternative Learning Opportunities Program (ALOP) Student Advocate this upcoming school year at WJHS to place students on a path to success. I will be creating Student Success Plans, setting goals, and tracking student progress for those struggling behaviorally, academically, socially, or emotionally. Before joining you all, I was pursuing a career in healthcare and working in an emergency department. I have pivoted since then to deepen my understanding of mental health as opposed to physical health, and pursue my passion of supporting youth! I am a proud University of Illinois Alum (Go Illini!) and outside of my position, I love to sing, play a tune on my guitar, and find my zen in yoga class. I am so happy to be here and cannot wait to meet you all!

Catherine Janus, Administrative Assistant: Hello everyone my name is Catherine Janus and I am the new secretary here at WJHS. I studied Early Childhood Education and graduated from Florida International University. I love spending time in Colorado, especially horseback riding, hiking and driving a Jeep through the mountains. I also love relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Maui. This summer, I tried pickleball for the first time and absolutely loved it!

I'm excited to be here, and I look forward to getting to know and working with all of you.

We are incredibly excited to be welcoming students back to our building next week for the start of the 2026-27 academic year! On Wednesday, we sent out a comprehensive email that included important dates for the start of the year, links to Parent Handbooks for all students, and important information on school safety, curriculum and instruction, and technology. Also shared in that email was our new Strategic Plan that was approved by the Board of Education that will serve as a guide for education in Wilmette for the next five years. Below are a couple of new updates that we wanted to share:

Parent Education

Please make plans to join us for our first District 39 Parent Education of the 2026-27 academic year titled “Responding to School Safety Incidents: The Standard Response Protocol,” scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 11 am. Online registration for this event is now open.

District 39 has adopted the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) for school safety. Under this framework, our learning community will use clear and consistent language so that students, staff, and families know what to do in an emergency situation. By using common and consistent terminology, everyone will be able to understand different situations and how to respond. The SRP includes five specific actions:

• Hold! — Stay in your classroom or area. Clear the halls.

• Secure! — Get inside. Lock outside doors.

• Lockdown! — Locks, lights, out of sight.

• Evacuate! — Move to a new location.

• Shelter! — Take protective action based on the situation.

Each action is used depending on what is happening at the school or nearby, helping everyone stay informed and safe. Join D39 and the Wilmette Police Department to learn about these actions and when they would be used.

Dear 8th Grade Families,

Welcome to the 2026-27 school year! I’m so excited to continue working with your child as the 8th Grade Level Administrator this year. Before the school year begins, please take a few minutes to review our Student Handbook with your child.

8th grade is an exciting time - our teachers work hard to provide an academically rigorous experience that will help develop the skills and habits our students will need to succeed in high school. At the same time, we want to make this final year in District 39 both memorable and fun. Students will have the opportunity to participate in longstanding traditions such as the Six Flags trip, eighth grade party, and, of course, graduation.

At this point, you should have received your student's homeroom teacher and class placement. As you know, we began the placement process last spring by soliciting parent and teacher input. We have worked diligently to incorporate this information with a variety of other factors to create placements that are a good fit for your child’s individual learning style and needs. At this point, we cannot honor placement change requests.

Back to School Information: Please visit the WJHS homepage at http://wjhs.wilmette39.org and look under “Recent News” for up-to-date information.

School Supply List: The school supply list is available at this link. If you ordered a school kit through our PTO, it will be delivered to your child’s homeroom.

First day of School: The first day of school is a half day on Wednesday, August 19th. Students may enter the building at 8:10 and school begins at 8:20. Students will be dismissed at 11:20; we will have bus service.

Curriculum Night: Save the date! Curriculum Night will be Thursday, September 17. More information is coming soon.

At WJHS, our goal is to make sure your child feels supported, challenged, and connected to our school. As your primary administrative contact, please feel free to get in touch with questions or concerns at any time. I look forward to partnering with you this year.

Go Wolves!

Anne Bishop

Dear 7th Grade Parents,

Welcome to the 2026-27 school year!

My name is Rob Miller and as the 7th Grade Level Administrator (GLAd), I’ll be your primary administrative contact this year. At this point, you should have received your student's homeroom teacher and class placement. As you know, we began the placement process last spring by soliciting parent and teacher input. We have worked diligently to incorporate this information with a variety of other factors to create placements that are a good fit for your child’s individual learning style and needs. At this point, we cannot honor placement change requests.

We have two events to help incoming 7th graders get better acclimated to the building - Walk Your Schedule Night and 7th grade Orientation. Both events are NOT mandatory 7th grade events, but rather helpful in advance of the school year beginning on August 19th. Please read below for more information on both events.

Locker & Schedule Night: All 7th grade students are invited to attend this event on Monday, August 17th from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. This will be an opportunity for students to walk their schedule, find their locker, and meet members of the WJHS staff. Parent/Guardian supervision is required for this event.

7th Grade Orientation: All 7th grade students are invited to attend orientation on Tuesday, August 18th at WJHS! Please note the orientation is scheduled by homeroom and is for students only. Students should report directly to the WJHS auditorium during their designated orientation time. It will be helpful for your student to have their schedule with them at orientation to ensure they go to the right session.

9:30-9:55: Group 1/Team 7A (Homerooms: Huynh, Rinkenberger, Rubin, Steinbach, Utynek)

9:45-10:10: Group 2/Team 7B (Homerooms: Linehan, Ower, Schwarz, Senne, Taylor)

10:00-10:25: Group 3/Team 7C (Homerooms: Chapp, Leiner, Lopez, Macaulay, Nelson)

Parents are invited to visit with PTO representatives located on the front lawn outside the front of the building during your orientation time. Introduce yourself, ask questions, volunteer, and/or get information on Spirit Wear, After School Clubs, iGNITE! Enrichment, PTO Membership, Yearbooks and more. If you aren’t able to make it, and have any questions for the PTO, please email president@wjhspto.com. Parking will be limited so we suggest carpooling or walking. The rear parking lot by the community playfields will be available. In the event of inclement weather, we will move the PTO gathering to a location inside the building.

Other important information for the beginning of school:

Back to School Information: Please visit the WJHS homepage at http://wjhs.wilmette39.org and look under “Recent News” for up-to-date information.

School Supply List: The school supply list is available through this link: 7th Grade Supply List

If you ordered a school kit through our PTO, it will be delivered to your child’s homeroom.

First day of School: Wednesday, August 19th - This is a half-day schedule with dismissal at 11:20 AM. We will have bus service. The first bell is at 8:10 AM with school beginning at 8:20 AM.

Curriculum Night: Please save the date of Thursday, September 17th! More details will be coming home soon.

At WJHS, we strive to make sure your child’s experience is engaging, empowering, and enriching. It is my goal to partner with you throughout the year to provide your child a great experience at WJHS. As your primary administrative contact, please contact me with any questions or concerns at any time.

Looking forward to a great year!

Rob Miller

August 17: 7th Grade Locker & Walk Your Schedule Night

August 17 & 18: D39 Teacher Institute Days

August 18: 7th Grade Orientation - More information to come from Mr. Miller, 7th grade administrator, in the coming days

August 19: First Day of School - half day; Doors open at 8:15 AM with dismissal at 11:20 AM

August 20: First Full Day of School

September 7: No School (Labor Day)

September 17: 7th & 8th Grade Curriculum Night

September 21: No School (Yom Kippur)

Doors to WJHS will open at 8:10 AM daily. Students may enter through the front lobby doors of the school and one entrance is open in the back of the school by the bike racks. There are bike racks in both the front and back of the school. If you are dropping off your child via a vehicle, please follow the route linked here to help keep our students safe and drop-off and pick-up efficient.

We want to ensure that each student reaches their full potential everyday. In order to make good on this promise, we have three arrival bells for students to help them manage their time and signal when they should be in class:

1. The 8:10 am bell: Doors open to welcome students into school

2. The 8:15 am bell: Students should begin moving from their locker to their 1st period class.

3. The 8:20 am bell: Students are expected to be seated in their 1st period class, ready to learn.

In an effort to ensure no loss of instructional time we expect students to be on campus by 8:15 am.

We request that students be dropped off at WJHS before the 8:15 am warning bell which signifies that students have five minutes to arrive in their 1st period class seat. The 8:20 am bell communicates that 1st period has begun.

Ensuring that students are in their 1st period class by 8:20 am also helps our staff take prompt and accurate attendance for the day. We are hopeful that reminding students and families of our bell schedule and the start time of the school day will help students get to school on time to be in 1st period by 8:20 am, ready to learn, so everyone can reach their full potential.

Attention D39 parents: Fall athletic registration is now open. Please go to the WJHS athletics website and follow the steps below to register your child if they are interested in participating in cross country, girls volleyball, soccer, or girls field hockey:

How to register:

- Parents should use a desktop or laptop to sign in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal

- Choose Forgot Username or Password? if you have log-in trouble

- Choose Forms on the left side

- Select Athletics Registration Form

- Complete the form for each child, including Concussion, Conduct, and current Physical from the past 13 months.

Please visit the athletics website for more information on practices and Coaches emails."

Thanks so much and please let us know if you have any questions.

Sarah Meier + Kirsten Best

Wilmette Jr. HS (WJHS) /Highcrest MS (HMS) Athletic Directors

WJHS PTO DIRECTORY INFORMATION

The PTO is currently updating the 2026-2027 online school Directory based on class lists being released yesterday. When it’s available you will get an email from “The WJHS PTO” with new registration instructions. YOU WILL NEED TO VERIFY YOUR FAMILY AND STUDENT INFORMATION IN ORDER TO RECEIVE IMPORTANT EMAILS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR and before renewing/signing up for a PTO membership.

Your $25 WJHS PTO membership includes access to the online Directory so that you can gain class lists and student/parent information. The fees also help us provide programming for events such as the 8th Grade Graduation Party, Student Council/Yearbook teacher stipends, teacher/staff appreciation throughout the year and more. In the “PTO STORE” you will also be able to make a donation to the iGNITE FUND (pays for all enrichment activities at school), contribute towards the Teachers/Staff Holiday gift fund and purchase a yearbook. Thank you for your participation!

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS - DEBATE SIGN UP STARTS MONDAY, THE 17TH

Learn research, writing and oral argumentation in one of WJHS’s most popular clubs! Programs for beginning and experienced debaters. All programs consist of weekly class sessions held at WJHS for 60 minutes with supplemental debate activities. The program concludes with a 2-hour session to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their new skills in full debates. Registration starts August 17th - use the following link to register…www.acesdebateclub.com/register/

Look for more after school club activities in the next few weeks!

NEW THIS YEAR - 7th GRADE WALK THROUGH MONDAY 8/17

Stop by and say hi to the PTO at the tables outside WJHS during this NEW opportunity for 7th Graders to tour the school on Monday, 8/17 from 6:00–7:30pm. Introduce yourself, ask questions and get information on Spirit Wear and volunteering at WJHS.

7TH GRADE ORIENTATION - TUESDAY 8/18

PARENTS are invited to visit with PTO representatives at tables set up in front of WJHS during their child’s orientation 9:30-10:30am. Introduce yourselves, ask questions, volunteer and get information about the iGNITE Fund, Enrichment, SpiritWear and more. We hope to see you there!

EDUKITS ARE HERE!

Does your 7th or 8th grader still need a school supply kit? We still have a few left! Please contact Amanda Houde at schoolsupplies@wjhspto.com for details. 7th Grade Kits are $73 & 8th Grade kits are $71 each & include the base items - the optional add-ons of the solar calculator & zipper binder are NOT available at this time.

Pre-ordered school supplies known as EduKits will be waiting for your student if you ordered by June 30. If you don’t remember if you ordered a school supply kit, search your email inbox for “Edukit.” The subject line is “Transaction receipt from Edukit…” If you have any questions, please email Amanda Houde at schoolsupplies@wjhspto.com.

LOOKING TO GET INVOLVED AT WJHS?

We are looking for a Secretary on the PTO Board for the 26/27 school year. The job is fairly light & the board is great fun! If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Megan at president@wjhspto.com.

Looking to Volunteer during the school day? We would love to see you at lunch & in the courtyard during recess! Please use these links to sign up for your spot today! Thank you for your time!

Cafeteria: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FACAA23A2F5CE9-cafeteria

Courtyard: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FACAA23A2F5CE9-volunteer

WJHS SPIRITWEAR

Get excited for the new year & show off that WJHS spirit! Wilmette Junior High School Wolves spirit wear is offered through our partner and fellow Wilmette moms’ business HumanKind. Check out all the great options HERE that can be personalized! Samples will also be onsite at the 7th Grade Orientation on August 18th from 9:30 - 10:30 am - stop by our tables & check out sizes and some options.