Marcum Matters

July 23rd, 2023

May 2025

As we prepare to celebrate Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, I want to take a moment to shine a light on the heart of our school—the incredible teachers and staff who pour their time, energy, and love into our Wildcats every single day.

There are so many things I wish our families knew about the people who work in our school. All of our teachers and staff care about your children and know the most important thing we can build at school is a relationship with each child. Our teachers and staff members care about how your student is learning, but they care about other aspects of the student as well. They often stay up at night thinking about how to help a struggling learner, or wondering how a student is doing when they’re out sick or facing challenges at home. They show up—not just during school hours—but sometimes even at games, plays, and animal shows, to cheer on their students and make sure they know they’re supported (and if they can't make it to the events, they love hearing all about these great activities the students are involved in!). They bring snacks, extra supplies, and even shoes or backpacks for students who may need them without ever expecting thanks or recognition. And long after the school day ends, they’re often still working—prepping lessons, planning activities, and thinking about how to make tomorrow better for our students.

The Marcum teachers and staff are the people we want taking care of, teaching, and loving our kids. We’re not just a school—we’re a family. And we are so lucky to have the best family members at Marcum.

As we head into Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, I encourage you to take a moment to thank the amazing educators and support staff who make this place so special. A kind note, a thoughtful email, a quick thank you at pick-up, or a small gesture of appreciation can mean the world. And while this week is a special time to honor them, we hope you’ll join us in showing appreciation all year long.

Our teachers and staff are so thankful for the partnership we have with our great families.

-Maggie Irby

Superintendent/Principal

CAASPP (State Testing)

Each year, students in grades three through eight and high school participate in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP).

This year, your child will take the following test(s), depending on their grade level:

Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for English language arts/literacy and mathematics in grades three through eight
California Science Test (CAST) in grades five and eight

The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments and the CAST are online tests that measure what your student knows and is able to do. The tests include many different types of questions that allow students to interact with the test questions. Results help identify gaps in knowledge or skills early on so your child can get the support needed to be successful in school.

Marcum-Illinois 2024-2025 Testing Schedule

April 30-May 2nd: Grades 5,8 Science

May 5th-9th: Grades 3-8 Math and ELA

You are an important part of your child’s education. To help your child get ready for the test you can:

Talk about the test with your child. Make sure they are not scared or anxious.
Tell your child that you and their teacher have high expectations and are both there to help, every step of the way.
Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and a nutritious breakfast before testing.

To learn more about the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments or the CAST, go to the California Department of Education Parent Guides to Understanding Web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/parentguidetounderstand.asp.

You also can look at sample test questions on the practice tests, which can be found on the CAASPP Web Portal at http://www.caaspp.org/practice-and-training/index.html.

Open House

Please come join us on campus for Open House on Thursday, May 22nd! All classrooms, PK-8th grade, will be open from 6:00-7:00 and student work will be on display. We will be serving pizza between 6:00 and 6:45 (first come, first served). The 5th grade class will be selling desserts to earn money for their class trip to Shady Creek next year.

Parents' Club

Thank you to all that participated in the Wildcat run. We had an incredibly successful year and brought in over $7,000!

Staff appreciation is May 5th-May 9th. If you would like to contribute to staff lunches/Snacks, please use the sign up genius below:

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/9040A45A4AD29A5FF2-56532816-marcum

Next week our Wildcats will be celebrating our wonderful staff and teachers. Please see the flyer below with information about how we are going to celebrate each day!

Yearbooks

We have ordered a very limited number of yearbooks that will be available for purchase in the office. If you didn’t already order online, and you’d like to purchase a Yearbook from the school, please bring $30 cash (exact amount, please) or check (made out to Marcum-Illinois) to the office to order. These will be sold on a first come, first served basis. If we run out, you may purchase a yearbook on the TreeRing Website and it will be sent to your house. All Yearbooks that have already been ordered will be distributed the last week of school.

Game Day

Our annual Game Day for the TK-4th graders will be held on Wednesday, May 28th. Parents are welcome to come out and watch this fun-filled morning of races and challenges and cheer on the Red, White and Blue teams. For Game Day only, we set aside our “House Colors” and students are a part of the Red, White, and Blue teams. A flyer will be coming home noting which team your child(ren) will be on (they remain on their same Red, White, or Blue team throughout their time at Marcum). Please have them wear that color on Game Day.

End of Year ROAR Assembly

We will be holding our End of Year ROAR Assembly on Thursday, June 5th at 9:00 am. During the assembly, we will be recognizing some of our TK-7th grade students for their achievements throughout this school year. We hope you can join us to celebrate the success of our students. Our 8th Grade students will be recognized at 8th Grade Graduation.

Before and After School Care Applications 25-26

The enrollment paperwork for our Before and After School Care Programs will be emailed to all families on May 15, 2025. Space in both of these programs is limited due to staffing and required program ratios. Enrollment is first come, first served for each program. Please return your Before and/or After School application packets as soon as possible. These are two separate programs, so if your family needs to utilize both programs, you must complete both applications and apply to both programs.

Applications are due May 29, 2025. If your child only needs to attend on Monday afternoons due to our weekly early release, you do not need to fill out an application. On Mondays only, we will allow more flexibility for additional attendees and will provide additional staffing to accommodate this increase.

After School Program, The DEN (TK-8th Grade, 2:45-6:00)

Students enrolling in the After School program should stay after school 5 days a week

until at least 4:30pm daily. The After School program is free, as it is grant funded.

Before School Care (TK-8th Grade, 7:00-8:10)

The fee to attend this program is $250 per family, per year. Payment will be due once your family is accepted into the program.

2025-2026 Calendar

The 2025-2026 Calendar was Board Approved on February 10, 2025.

Camp Marcum 25/26 Dates

We know our families have been eagerly awaiting Camp Marcum dates for 25/26.

Our tentative dates for Camp Marcum are:

July 7th-August 1st (Sign Ups for Summer Camp Marcum will close Friday, May 2nd)

October 13th

November 10th

November 24th-26th

February 13th

April 6th-8th

You can sign up for the summer session now:

https://forms.gle/8myEtF7zXbYiExH67

Sign Ups for the other sessions will come out soon!

Spirit Wear Store

Marcum Parents' Club has opened up an online spirit wear store that will be available for families to order spirit wear all year long! There are a bunch of different styles and designs you can choose from to show off your Marcum spirit! Don't worry, we'll still have our traditional Marcum Logo shirts for all students, but this provides a few more really fun options that will show school spirit! Be sure to check the online store out. They also have a different special promotion weekly, so check often!

www.marcumillinoisspiritwear.com

Teacher Collaboration Update

During early-release time on Mondays in May and June, teachers will be preparing for the final district writing assessment of the school year and collaboratively scoring the writing assessments. In addition, teachers will participate in end of year reflection and data review to begin early planning for next school year. They will also work to prepare Trimester 3 report cards!

Dismissal

We will continue to have staggered dismissal times for our students this year. Students will be dismissed to the front of the school, the Bus, or the Den at the following times:

Normal School Day:

TK-2nd 2:50pm

3rd-5th 2:55pm

6th-8th 3:00pm

Early Release Mondays (Every Monday) (Light Blue Days):

TK-2nd 1:35pm

3rd-5th 1:40pm

6th-8th 1:45pm

Minimum Days (Gold Days):

TK-2nd: 12:20pm

3rd-5th: 12:25pm

6th-8th: 12:30pm

If you need to make changes to your child's normal routine, please contact the school office so we can note it and ensure that the student goes to the right place. You may text changes to the school cell phone (530) 933-0746 or call (530) 656-2407 ext 10. Please notify the school of any changes at least 45 minutes prior to dismissal.

Upcoming Events

May

April 30-May 2 CaST Testing (5th/8th)

May 5-9 Math and ELA CAASPP Testing (3rd-8th)

May 5-9 Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week

May 7 GATE 3:30pm

May 13 Board Meeting 6:00pm

May 21 GATE 3:30pm

May 22 Open House 6:00-7:00

May 23 Track Meet @ Browns

May 26 No School- Memorial Day

May 28 Game Day (TK-4th Grade)

May 29 Spring Concert @ ENHS (4th/5th Recorders, 6th-8th Choir, 6th-8th Band)

May 30 ROAR Assembly 2:15pm

June

June 2 Board Meeting 6:00

June 4 Preschool Graduation 9:30am

June 4 Water Day (TK-K)/Pool Day (1st-8th)/School BBQ

June 5 Preschool Water Day

June 5 TK-7th Grade Award Assembly 9:00am

June 5 8th Grade Graduation 6:30pm

June 6 Last Day of School/Minimum Day/No Den- Dismissal 12:20, 12:25, 12:30

June 7 8th Grade Graduation Dance @ Marcum

June 9 Board Meeting 6:00

*Every Monday is an Early Release Day with dismissal at 1:35 (TK-2), 1:40 (3-5), and 1:45 (6-8)* *The DEN is available for all students on Early Release Mondays.*