Cardinal Corner

Sept 1: Labor Day, No School

Sept 3: Cross Country Meet @ Cooper 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Sept 3: South Theater and Choir Informational Meeting 3:00 - 4:00 in the MP Room

Sept 4: 7th & 8th Grade Curriculum Night - 6:30 -8:15pm

Sept 5: Practice Crisis Drills

Sept 9-10: Fall MAP Testing - Adjusted Bell Schedule

Sept 10: Community Safety Night - Thomas Middle School - 6:00 - 7:00

Sept 17: Girls Basketball Tryouts (8th/7th) 3:00 - 6:00PM

Sept 18: Girls Basketball Tryouts (7th/8th) 3:00 - 6:00PM

Sept 18: Cross Country Crusader Fall Flite Classic 3:00 - 4:30PM

Sept 20: Cross Country Troy Invitational 8:00 – 9:00am

Dear South Parents and Guardians,

We are off to a strong start this school year, and it was wonderful to see so many families at our Sixth Grade Curriculum Night! We hope the evening helped you better understand your child’s classes, teachers, and academic expectations. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teachers directly — we’re here to support your student. We look forward to seeing our Seventh and Eighth Grade families at Curriculum Night on September 4th at 6:30 PM.

🍽️ Lunchtime Seating Updates

Our Lunchroom Supervisors have been preparing students for the upcoming process of selecting their lunch seats. While students haven’t picked their permanent lunch spots yet, we’re working behind the scenes to make this process smooth and inclusive for everyone.

We understand lunch can be a stressful time for some students. Our goal is for every child to feel comfortable, welcomed, and included. If you or your child have concerns about lunch seating, please don’t hesitate to reach out — we’re here to help.

🏃 Clubs & Sports Are Underway!

It’s great to see our students jumping into extracurriculars! Cross country and a variety of clubs have already kicked off — with many more starting soon.

Encourage your child to listen to the morning announcements for information about clubs and teams. We strongly believe every student should find at least one after-school activity that helps them feel connected at South.

📚 The Cardinal Way: School-Wide Expectations

We’ve been busy reinforcing South’s school-wide expectations — also known as The Cardinal Way. These include:

• Be Ready - Being prepared and on time for class

• Be Mindful - Being respectful to peers and teachers

• Be Safe - Making safe choices throughout the school day

Please continue to remind your child of these expectations at home. Consistency between school and home helps build strong habits.

🤒 Feeling Sick? Visit the Nurse First!

We’ve noticed some students are texting parents directly when they’re not feeling well — before seeing the nurse. Please remind your child that all illness-related early dismissals should go through the Health Office so we can make sure students are properly cared for.

🚲 Lock It Up!

If your child rides a bike, scooter, or skateboard to school, please remind them to bring a lock and secure their equipment at the designated bike racks in front of the building. Helmets should also be locked up — we have plenty of space for everyone!

❤️ Thank You for Your Support

Our goal at South is to maintain a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where every student can learn and grow. Thank you for your ongoing partnership — we truly value your support in making South a great place for all.

Let’s keep the positive momentum going!
Go Cardinals!

The NWEA MAP test is a computer-administered assessment that aligns with the Illinois math and reading standards. District 25 uses the information from the MAP assessment in a few ways including to help determine academic intervention groups, as an essential part of the advanced learning placement, as well as to identify student strengths and needs for the next school year.

All South students will be taking the NWEA Fall MAP assessments on September 9, 2025 and September 10, 2025.

Please remind your child to charge their Chromebooks, and bring in earbuds for the testing sessions. As a reminder, it is important for students to eat a healthy breakfast, and get a good night's sleep before testing so they can perform their best. Thank you for your assistance in helping to prepare your child for NWEA MAP testing.

As we continue to prioritize student safety during morning drop-off, we’re asking for your help to make sure our arrival routines are safe and smooth for everyone.

• Always yield to walkers and bikers in crosswalks.

• Do not drop students off at stop signs—this causes traffic to back up and creates unsafe conditions.

• Use designated drop-off zones only—avoid letting students out across the street, which encourages unsafe crossings.

Thank you for helping keep our students safe!

Middle school staff across the district have worked together to create consistent grading practices that support student learning and success.

One key change is that students will no longer receive a grade below 50 percent on assignments. Extremely low scores, like zeros, often make it challenging for students to recover academically, even if they improve. This change helps keep the focus on learning and growth while still promoting accountability.

We’ve included three documents to help explain these updates in more detail. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Seventh & Eighth Grade Curriculum Night: September 4, 2025, 6:30-8:15pm

• Click Here for INFO - 7th & 8th Grade Curriculum Night

We are looking forward to seeing all of our South Cardinal Families!

We are looking forward to a HEALTHY school year. Please refer to our Health Services webpage for additional information and any required health forms. Please refer to the Medication Drop Off Reference Sheet and reach out to the school nurse to schedule an appointment if you need to drop off medication.

State of Illinois Certificate of Health Examination (AKA physical form)

• Due by October 15, 2025 (or first day of cross country practice if your student participates in this sport)

• All sports physicals are due BEFORE TRY-OUTS and must last for the entire season-NO exceptions

• Examination must be performed on or after 8/21/24 and must be on the state of IL form

• Includes Meningococcal (MCV4) and Tdap vaccines

Dental examination – Proof of Dental Examination Form

• Due May 15, 2026

• Examination dated November 15, 2024 or later

• School Messenger: Email, phone, text—make sure your contact information is up to date.

• Schoology: Student platform that hosts your child's classroom information.

• PowerSchool: If you're not able to access, reach out to SouthCLC@sd25.org.
  

• South Webpage: Daily Announcements and general information.

As part of the commitment of safety, we are transitioning to the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) this fall. This shift, made in partnership with the Arlington Heights Police Department, will help ensure a clear, consistent response to emergencies across all of our buildings. Please check out the SRP one page guide below. We will conduct our first PRACTICE crisis drills on Friday, September 5th. During our practice drills, parents will not be allowed in the building.

We’re excited to share that two of our talented 6th grade South students had their weather-themed drawings featured on ABC7 this week as part of the Weather Sketchers segment! Congratulations to our young artists for their creativity and for making South proud!

Become an annual member of the ABC/25 Foundation for $40 during registration and help South Middle School secure the $2,500 Membership Incentive Grant! This grant is awarded when 25% of the school’s families become members of the ABC/25 Foundation. In previous years, we have utilized this grant to purchase a commons monitor along with mounting equipment and software, movable furniture for rooms, hallway furniture for small group work, and art drying racks!

Your membership, along with any additional donations, helps fund another grant program specifically geared towards AHSD25 teachers, providing exciting new resources for the classroom! Our previous teacher grants have included a variety of biography books on influential women in history, lap desks, floor cushions, stability wobble cushions, freestanding flexible workspaces, and so much more!

Your membership covers all District 25 schools that your students attend, plus you’ll receive free access to the ABC/25 STEAM events!

A legal holiday in all states and Canada observed the first Monday in September. Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.

A day to honor the victims who lost their lives in the attacks on September 11, 2001. On this day, we remember the victims at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia, and passengers of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

A month to celebrate the rich heritage of Hispanic Americans and the many contributions they have made to American culture.

Celebrated Sept. 15- Oct 15

This holiday celebrates Mexico’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1810.

Mexican Independence Day is a nationwide celebration. The country’s leaders were inspired by our own July 4 Independence Day festivities, so fireworks fill the skies at night and the day is filled with patriotic speeches, flag-waving, parades, live music, and feasts.

Jewish New Year and holy days. Days of Renewed Responsibility and the first of the High Holy Days. The traditional greeting during Rosh Hashanah is the phrase “Shanah tovah,” which translates to “Good year.”

*Date changes year to year

On Saturday, the team competed at the St. Viator Invitational and delivered an impressive performance across all divisions. The JV girls placed 2nd, the JV boys took 1st, and both the Varsity girls and boys earned 3rd place finishes. Many of our 7th & 8th graders set personal records, showing the progress, work, and mileage a lot of them put in over the summer. We also had several runners complete their very first cross-country race, gaining valuable experience and confidence for the season ahead. The atmosphere was energetic and supportive, with teammates cheering each other on and families lining the course. It was a solid performance that offered a glimpse of what we might see as the season unfolds!

Parents please take a look at the Parent Newsletter when you have time, linked HERE.

If your child is interested in joining South’s Golf Club, please fill out the golf registration form. Please click here to register.

Upcoming dates for student golf participation will be announced soon. Please make sure your child is aware and joins the Schoology group once it is posted in the announcements.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Leiby (oleiby@sd25.org) or Ms. Buck (abuck@sd25.org).

Mrs. Schneider & Mrs. Scapillato have a fun year of music, concerts and events planned for the three South bands and two jazz bands. For more information and to register for the band program, please access that here.

Have a future broadway star or the next Taylor Swift at home? South Theatre and South Choir will be holding a joint kickoff/informational meeting on Wednesday, September 3rd, from 3-4pm in South's MP Room. This meeting is for students AND parents, so please come out to hear about all the things we have planned for this year, important dates, and meet other theatre and choir students/parents. Email Mr. Skym (wskym@sd25.org) with any questions for Theatre and Mr. Cook (kcook@sd25.org) with any questions for Choir. Hope to see you there!

Prospect High School is thrilled to welcome so many future Knights to our Friday night football games. To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all, please note the following visitor policy:

• Non-high school-aged students will only be admitted when accompanied by their parent(s) or guardian(s) at the gate.

• Patrons may not bring in groups of students and claim them as their own.

• Students must sit with their parent(s) or guardian(s) during the game and leave when their parent(s)/guardian(s) leave.

• Spectators may not:

  • Play pick-up games in or around the stadium

  • Bring sporting equipment into the stadium

  • Carry backpacks into the stadium

  • Re-enter after leaving the stadium

This policy is in place due to ongoing discipline issues involving unsupervised non-high school age students. We appreciate your support and partnership in creating a safe and positive game day atmosphere at Prospect High School.

Rolling Meadows High School is excited to kick off the football season this Friday night with a home game against Palatine High School! Here is an informational sheet for spectators attending home games this year. Please take a moment to review it if your family plans to attend.

Remember to join South PTA during your student’s registration to support all our student, family, and school programs.

Note that each D25 school’s PTA is independent.

The SMS Office is open Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm.

Address: 400 South Highland Avenue, Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Twitter: @AHSD25South

Main Line: (847) 398-4250

Absence Line: (847) 506-6999 x7300

Fax line: (847) 394-6260