OLHMS Update (12/2/25)

Did you know we have a D123 Late Start tomorrow (12/3/25)?

Wednesday, December 3rd is a D123 Late Start! Remember our day begins an hour later, this includes bus transportation.

Did you know that paper report card were sent home?

As part of this year's transition to traditional grading paper report cards were sent home yesterday with all of our scholars. Did you see them? We are asking all families to sign and return the manilla envelops by the end of the week (12/5). We are planning to use these envelopes again for Trimester 2 along with running some incentives for their return.

Did you know that we are will host our annual Feed 6 event next month?

We are excited to pack 50,000 meals on December 13th, taking our grand total to 400,000 meals in 10 years! If you are interested in supporting this event please reach out to Heather McCarthy, our OLHMS Media Specialist, hmccarthy@d123.org. The information is also LINKED and below in this newsletter. We will still accept donations!

Mustang Families,

We hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving break and found time to recharge with family and friends. A quick reminder that tomorrow is a D123 Late Start Day.

Before break, our scholars once again demonstrated the power of service by packing candy for our troops in partnership with Jacky’s Soldiers, helping prepare over 500 pounds to be sent overseas. This was a meaningful follow-up to our Veterans Day Tribute and a powerful reminder of what our community can accomplish together.

A special thank-you to our Veterans Day staff sponsors and coordinators, our talented Music and Band Departments, and our outstanding 8th Grade Ambassadors for their leadership and contributions. Their efforts continue to make OLHMS a dynamic, caring place to learn.

We also had some extra excitement before break with a surprise “Pop-Up Wing Station” during lunch, featuring a special guest chef, and a Trimester One Celebration in the gym. If you haven’t heard about it yet, be sure to ask your scholar about the competitions—they were a hit!

As we transition from Trimester One to Trimester Two, please continue to encourage your scholar to follow our Mustang Musts: Be Responsible, Be Safe, Be Respectful. We also ask all families to return the manila envelopes sent home yesterday containing printed report cards. Your signature lets us know you’ve reviewed them and helps us determine the most effective ways to communicate grades during our transition back to traditional grading. Please return signed envelopes by the end of the week (12/5) and allow your scholar to be part of the incentives for returned signed envelopes.

Thank you for your continued partnership. We are truly grateful for our supportive families and our engaged school community.

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. Now that we have the snow and chilly temperatures, this is also a good time to remind our scholars to dress prepared for the weather- hoodies are great as a layer, but may not keep you warm.

As we are all aware, Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 transitioned to Qmlativ (Skyward 3.0) for the 2025-26 school year. Qmlativ offers enhanced features across a wide range of areas, including student information, grades, scheduling, attendance, food service and much more. Hopefully, each of our OLHMS families have logged into the new system!

If you have not logged in for the first time to the new Qmlativ Family Access, you will need to click "Forgot Your Username or Password" and follow the steps to log in to your account.

Log in to your account here. Please note, School District 123 does not keep track of passwords, however, your school’s main office can send you a reset link.

For additional information and resources about Qmlativ Family Access, we have created a family resource page on our website with helpful videos to guide you through the new Qmlativ Family Access platform.

Our main entrance vestibule will serve as the visitor reception and waiting area. Guests will continue to be warmly welcomed, greeted by the staff member hosting them, and escorted to their meeting location. This update is part of our continued effort to strengthen safety and streamline visitor check-in procedures.

As we continue partnering with our local safety agencies, we remain committed to refining our practices and keeping safety at the heart of all we do. Ensuring a secure environment for our students, staff, and families is always our top priority.

To support this shared goal:

• Please bring a valid driver’s license or photo ID when picking up a student during the school day.

• For everyone’s safety, visitors may not leave the main office without a staff escort.

• All students, staff, and guests are expected to wear their designated ID badges while on campus.

Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our Mustang community safe, connected, and thriving.

For current 7th or 8th grade scholars

1st Petitioning Meeting will be Monday, December 8th 7:30 AM in Cafetorium

1. Community Service Hours - minimum of 15 hours -Due April 6th.

2. Grading - A majority of A’s and B’s (Every C needs to be balanced with an “A”) during Trimesters 1-3 of the petitioning year in both Core and Encore classes. No overall “D” or “F” are allowed in any trimester.

3. Creating and maintaining a Digital Portfolio which highlights examples of the five NJHS pillars (scholarship, citizenship, leadership, character, and service) -Due February 2nd

4. Completion of a Capstone Project focusing on service on Service Learning Day April 25th

5. Regular attendance at NJHS meetings before school at 7:30 am in the cafetorium

Monday, December 8

Monday, January 12

Monday, February 2

Monday, March 9

Monday, April 13

Thursday, May 7- Mandatory Induction Ceremony Rehearsals (7:30 AM) & Ceremony (7:00 PM)

NJHS Sponsors Contact: Ms. Jen DiSalvo jdisalvo@d123.org

Mrs. Maggie Omiecinski mmomiecinski@d123.org

Mrs. Alyssa Zajack azajack@d123.org

Our annual Veterans Day Tribute was once again a deeply moving and humbling experience, one that reminded us just how powerful it is when a school community comes together in gratitude. We could not be more proud of our scholars, staff, and the entire D123 community for uniting in such a meaningful display of respect and honor for the heroes who have served our great nation.

This event is monumental in every way, requiring tremendous time, coordination, and resources- worth every second. Through this tradition, we reaffirm the significance of our Veterans, celebrate their courage, and honor the sacrifice that protects the freedoms we cherish.

What an extraordinary day for our school and district! More importantly, what a profound privilege it is to stand together in tribute to those who have given us so much.

Check out this SPECIAL NEWSLETTER celebrating the event!

Thank you all so much for your support and efforts as over 70 families received a considerable amount of just before Thanksgiving Day - over the previous weekend and through last Tuesday.

By the Numbers

87 large boxes of food collected from our 7 schools and consolidated at our McGugan building.
Cash donations from the District Office staff and our Board of Education members provided for 50, 7-pound turkey breasts.
Late Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 20 volunteers from family, Community Garden and impacted families sorted, screened best buy dates and packaged large bags.
Monday late afternoon/evening 50 families received 2 large bags of groceries and a turkey breast - in the first 2 hours. Another 10 families self packed two large bags.
Tuesday, another 10-12 families self packed two large bags.

ALL the families were extremely grateful! The children attending picked out a few extra treats. There were many big smiles.

Special thanks to our community partners: St. Vincent DePaul (Our Lady of the Ridge) for providing large sturdy grocery bags and advice, St. Paul Lutheran and Park Lawn/Stuffed Love for screening/sorting/packaging advice, Oak Lawn Outlaw Cheerleaders and players for food donations and Oak Lawn Community garden members for volunteering.

Special thanks to all the D123 families who donated food and cash, our principals, social workers, counselors and teaching staff, district maintenance and custodians, administration and Board of Education.

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.

As technology continues to play a central role in our students’ daily lives, we encourage families to stay actively engaged in monitoring phone and device use. Research continues to show that excessive screen time and social media use can impact adolescents’ social and emotional health, leading to increased anxiety, disrupted sleep, and challenges with peer relationships.

We know that online interactions often extend beyond “after-school hours” and can sometimes affect students’ focus, well-being, and relationships during the school day. That’s why our partnership with families is so important. By setting healthy boundaries, fostering open conversations, and supporting positive digital habits, we can help ensure all Mustangs feel safe, connected, and ready to learn.

We’ve recently noticed elevated challenges on social media, so please take a few moments to talk with your child and check their online activity. Your ongoing support and proactiveness make a tremendous difference!

Here’s a helpful resource for families on preventing cyberbullying.

Retakes will be available for scholars in the Summative Assessment category (70%). Retake procedures for the Summative Assessment category include:

• Students will complete a reflection form, which will include the corrected test.

• Students are to ensure all classwork/homework/independent work for that unit is completed before the retake date.

• Retake dates will be established within 10 days of the graded assessment.

• Retakes will not be allowed once the trimester has completed.

• Retakes will not be completed during regular instructional time.

• 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!

• Thank you to our PTSA Board members, families and scholars for joining us last night for a wonderfully informative first meeting of the year.

• Membership(Click Here) is $7.00 per student and $10.00 per adult

• PTSA Meetings are at 6:00pm monthly

• PTSA Meeting- January 12, 2026 at 6:00pm
• Reach out to Delecta Harris, our PTSA President for more information (olhmsd123ptsa@gmail.com)
  
• PTSA Facebook