OLHMS Update (2/25/25)
Did you know our PTSA is hosting an open gym tomorrow night for all PTSA members?
Information and registration for the always anticipated and fun night is below! Do not miss your chance to have some additional fun with your friends at your home away from home!
Did you know OLHMS will be hosting the D123 State of District Dinner?
We are looking forward to this event on March 13th (the 123rd day of the school year) from 5:30-8:00 PM. Additional information can be found below and your RSVP can be found HERE!
Did you know the annual 5 Essentials Parent Survey is open?
We appreciate your feedback! Additional information is below! To take the survey use this LINK! Currently, we have a 9% parent response rate. Please ensure your feedback is collected by competing this survey and elevating this response rate!
Did you know that our Music Department continues to excel?
Recently, our Band/ Chorus Solo and Ensemble had an amazing showing at the IGSMA Band/Chorus Solo and Ensemble Festival earning 35 Division 1 Rating and 1 Division 2 Rating. We are looking forward to continue success with the IGSMA Jazz Ensemble District Contest this coming weekend! Way to go Mustangs and good luck!
Mustang Families,
We know our families found value in our family conferences this past week and we appreciated celebrated our scholars success! Our scholars eagerly shared their progress, goals and insights as they navigated student-led conferences. This processes is a valuable opportunity for our scholars to demonstrate ownership and leadership for their learning along with their overall experience here at OLHMS!
We will remain committed to turning dreams into reality as we partner and serve our school community. Together, we foster academic excellence, character development, and resilience—values that align perfectly with this year’s theme: U Belong! Hopefully, everyone has noticed our new signage enhancing our already beautiful building with a strong sense of pride.
We are incredibly grateful for our passionate and dedicated educators who inspire our scholars every day. Their hard work, combined with your support, creates an environment where students can thrive, grow, and achieve their goals. We look forward to connecting with you past our conferences and the State of the District Dinner will be another opportunity to say informed!
Thank you for your ongoing partnership and support.
Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 will commemorate the 123rd school day of its 123rd year with a special State of the District Dinner on March 13, 2025, at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, starting at 5:30 PM.
School District 123’s learning community members are invited to celebrate 123 years of tradition, pride, and accomplishment in D123 with friends and neighbors. Join us as we honor our legacy and look ahead to the future.
Attendees will discover the inspiring vision of our 2025-2030 Strategic Framework, shaped by over 700 community voices and a 25-member committee of educators, parents, administrators, and community leaders.
Together, we will unite as a learning community to reflect on our past, celebrate our progress, and embrace School District 123's future through academic success, supportive schools, a thriving workforce, operational excellence, and strong community engagement.
This is an adult-only event; childcare will not be provided. To RSVP, click HERE.
Evening Agenda
5:30 — Doors Open
5:30 — Reception: "Celebrating Our Schools"
6:00 — Dinner Served
6:30 — "Building Tomorrow: A Roadmap for Growth and Excellence"
7:00 — Breakout Sessions
- "Thriving Together: Academics, Well-Being, and Community"
- "Sustaining Excellence: People, Places, and Progress"
8:00 — "The Bookends of District 123: A Journey of Success"
5Essentials Survey to Improve Student Learning
Once again Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 will participate in the 13th annual statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions conducted by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). This survey provides a platform for students, teachers, and parents to express their opinions on ways to improve their community's schools. The survey will be administered to families and teachers from February 18 to March 31 and students (Grades 4-8) from February 27 to March 31. The surveys will provide schools with valuable insight into their progress since the last state-wide survey implementation.
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a comprehensive picture of a school’s organizational culture in an individualized report measuring five “essentials” critical for school success:
- Effective Leaders
- Collaborative Teachers
- Involved Families
- Supportive Environment
- Ambitious Instruction
The survey's outcome will be included in the 2025 Illinois State Report Card of your child's school. The identities of students, staff, and parents will be kept private, and responses will not be associated with any individual. To review the privacy policy related to this survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/privacy.
To see the 5Essentials survey that will be administered to students in 4th through 8th grade, please visit https://impactsurveyshelp.force.com/s/article/illinois-5essentials-survey-questions.
If you do not wish to have your child participate in the survey please complete this form and return it to your child's school office by February 26, 2025.
Graduation Fees: Make sure you have taken a look in Family Access and submitted your graduation fees.
Class of 2025: Information has been distributed for our Class of 2025 and the end of the year events!
Here is the LINK to the letter sent home last week with the reminder expectations and future dates.
SELECT 123: In partnership with our D123 Ed Foundation, SELECT 123 is a prestigious group of scholars who embody aspects of our D123 mission and vision. This is our third year to acknowledge twenty three scholars who have not only demonstrated academic excellence, service and contributed to our community- they have each modeled expressions of perseverance, drive and integrity. These 23 leaders will be featured on our “Wall of Fame” for the entire 2025/ 2026 school year! More than being featured on a wall, we will expect this prestigious and unique group of alumni to remain connected to D123 and provide valuable insight for years to come! Our Class of 2025 began brainstorming their opportunity to apply as applications went live last week on 1/23 and be due April 11th!
Mustang families we need your support!
We need all families dropping off or picking up our scholars to be more responsible, respectful and safe. Recently, we have seen too many cars driving too fast during drop off and pick up. We have also seen cars passing and driving around other cars way too close to students- please be patient, cautious and courteous. Remember was are all modeling our Mustang Musts! The same can be said while buses are loading and unloading.
As a reminder, families should not be using the main entrance parking lot to drop off or pick up between 8:15-8:45 am and 3:15-3:45 pm while the buses are present.
We want to remind families that OLHMS does not allow student lunch deliveries from outside services (such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, or other vendors). This practice minimizes disruptions and contributes to a safe and structured lunch experience for all students.
School attendance is a huge predictor for school success! That said, we know the weather changes and this time of the year can be difficult with multiple sickness going around. We appreciate our families communicating with the school when our scholars are out! Please remind our scholars to take care of themselves by getting proper rest, eating as healthy as possible and washing their hands.
Bus Behavior: Please remind bus riders that we must be following our Mustang Musts. We have been hearing about challenging, inappropriate and unsafe behavior on the bus riders to and from school. We do have the ability to request bus video footage. Students will be given consequences for their behavior which may include a suspension from the bus.
Bus Loading and Unloading: Families should not be passing buses in our parking lot. This is dangerous and almost caused an accident. Do not pass buses with their stop sign extended.
We love having fans here to support our Mustang Athletes. Here is the LINK for our Spectator Permission Form and Code of Conduct for student spectators. Student fans unaccompanied by parents, must have an electronic or paper form on file to attend home games. Students cannot stay in the building for games unless they are part of a club or activity.
It is great to see so many scholars taking advantage of the opportunity to come in early or stay after school for additional time and support with academics. Please remind our scholars that this time should not be treated as a social opportunity and our school expectations of being safe, responsible and respectful should be maintained at all times. We appreciate everyone's support and partnership. Parents can check out the available times for each grade level on the student portal page!
Membership is $6.00 per student and $10.00 per adult
PTSA Meetings are at 6:00pm monthly
- Next PTSA Meeting is March, 3rd at 6:00pm
- Reach out to Delecta Harris, our PTSA President for more information (olhmsd123ptsa@gmail.com )
- PTSA Facebook
All parents/ guardians/ staff & students are highly encouraged to join the PTSA and attend meetings. This is an incredible opportunity, partnership and fun way to support our scholar’s experience at the middle school!
If you are interested in supporting our school in a different capacity please reach out to our PTSA! Maybe you do not have the time to donate, but your contributions can still be made through your membership!
Dates to Remember:
2/26/25: PTSA Open Gym
2/28/25: End of Trimester 2
3/1/25: Illinois Grade School Music Association (IGSMA) District Band Contest
3/1/25: Illinois Grade School Music Association (IGSMA) District Jazz Band Contest
3/4/25: D123 Early Childhood Center Open House
3/7/25: D123 Ed Foundation Taco ad Trivia
3/11/25: D123 Early Childhood Center Open House
3/13/25: Yearbook Club and Activity Pictures
3/13/25: State of the District Dinner
3/14/25: OLHMS Career Fair
3/21/25: iFest
3/24-3/28/25: Spring Break
3/31/25: No School (Board Declared Holiday)
4/3/25: D123 International Fest
Oak Lawn Community High School
Morning Math (McAuley Pre AP Algebra Class) Placement Test
**Please share with your 7th grade/math teachersSaturday, March 8 at 8am
For current 7th grade girls only
Providence Catholic High School
The 2025 Illinois Radon Poster Contest will run from January 1, 2025 – March 15, 2025 with a goal to raise awareness about the dangers of radon throughout the state of Illinois. Please review more information about this educational opportunity:
2025 Illinois Poster Contest:
- The poster contest is open to students ages 9-14.
- The top three winners will receive a cash prize of $100 (3rd place), $150 (2nd place) and $200 (1st place)
- Posters and entry forms must be received by March 15th, 2025.
- Posters must be sized 8.5x11
- More information can be found here: https://www.lung.org/il/radon-poster
Please find the official rules, details, guidelines and contest entry forms at https://www.lung.org/il/radon-poster. Please make sure students follow the guidelines as close as possible. These guidelines will be the outline for judging.
