Giving Thanks & Celebrating Growth

Recognizing Outstanding Student Achievement: Quarter 1

Superintendent Message: Dr. Yaa Appiah McNulty

Dear Unity Point Families, Staff, and Community Members,

Welcome to November. As autumn settles across our community, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the warmth, curiosity, and energy our students bring to our schools each day. Walking through our classrooms, our school leadership team is continually inspired by the dedicated partnership between our educators, families, and community.

This month, we are celebrating extraordinary milestone growth. Looking back over the past three years, Unity Point has moved from a Commendable standing to an Approaching Exemplary designation on the state report card, alongside a 98.66 percent Exemplary Climate Indicator. Under the state's updated growth metrics, our students achieved impressive growth percentiles of 56.0 in Reading and ELA, placing us in the 86th percentile statewide with a 5.9 point increase, and 53.1 in Mathematics, placing us in the 75th percentile statewide with a 5.7 point gain. ELA proficiency rose to 68.7 percent, math proficiency climbed to 41.8 percent, and English Learner progress reached 69.8 percent. These achievements reflect real children mastering essential skills and discovering that consistent effort leads to success.

These results align directly with our Strategic Plan, School Improvement Plan, and core mission of empowering every learner in a safe, supportive environment. We remain focused on the whole child, supporting academic, social, and emotional needs through our Multi Tiered Systems of Support and Positive Behavioral Interventions. Each week, our teachers meet to collaboratively answer four key questions: what students need to learn and be able to do, how we will know if students have learned it, what we will do if students haven’t learned it, and how we enrich students who are ready for more. This methodology based on Richard DuFour’s framework is a practice that takes time. We have been working hard as a school community to engage in practices that yield the best results for our students. As we cultivate this mindset as a collective team, our students are developing it right alongside us, setting their own goals and actively owning their learning journey.

The greatest strength of Unity Point is our rich diversity, meaning that our team will continue to be committed to ensuring every child receives the opportunities needed to realize their full potential. When our Trojan Trait expectations of being respectful, responsible, and ready to learn become part of their daily lives, our entire school community thrives. Thank you to our students, staff, Board of Education, and families for your vital role in this celebration. Together, we are showing our children what is possible when a community leads with vision, care, and commitment. The school report card can found on this link!

With warm appreciation,

Yaa Appiah-McNulty

From the Principal’s Desk: Dr. Mary Beth Goff

Dear Unity Point Families,

November is a wonderful time to slow down, reflect on the things that matter most, and spend quality time with family and friends. As the season changes and the days become cooler, we are reminded of the importance of gratitude, kindness, and the connections we share with others.

November is a busy month with the beginning of those holiday activities. November 18th is the Jr. High Band and Choir Concert, and Thanksgiving Break is from November 21- 29th.

🍂 November Family Activities

Looking for some fun and simple ways to spend time together this month? Here are a few activities that families of all ages can enjoy!

1. Enjoy a Family Game Night

Choose a night to put away the electronics and enjoy a favorite board game, card game, puzzle, or family activity. Let everyone take turns choosing the game. Younger children can practice counting and taking turns, while older children practice strategy, problem-solving, and good sportsmanship.

2. Take a Fall Nature Walk

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather before winter arrives! Take a family walk and look for colorful leaves, acorns, pinecones, and signs of seasonal changes. Younger children can collect items for a nature collage, while older students can photograph or journal about what they observe.

3. Cook a Family Favorite

Invite your children into the kitchen to help prepare a favorite family meal or recipe. Younger children can measure and mix ingredients, while older students can read directions, calculate measurements, and help with preparation. Share the story behind a favorite family recipe or start a new tradition!

Learning Doesn't Take a Holiday!

As we approach Thanksgiving break, students deserve time to relax, recharge, and enjoy time with family. A little learning throughout the break, however, can help keep important skills fresh.

Here are a few easy ways to incorporate learning into everyday activities:

Read Together: Encourage children to read for 15–20 minutes each day. Reading recipes, magazines, directions, and books all count!
Practice Math: Have children help measure ingredients, count money, compare prices, or calculate how many days remain until a special event.
Encourage Writing: Ask children to write about what they are thankful for, keep a short journal, or write a letter to someone special.
Build Conversation Skills: Ask children about their day, what they learned, and what made them smile. Meaningful conversations help develop vocabulary, communication, and critical-thinking skills.

A November Reminder: Attendance Matters!

As we move into the holiday season, we encourage families to make school attendance a priority. Every school day provides valuable opportunities for students to learn, connect with friends, and participate in classroom activities. We understand that illness and unexpected circumstances happen, but being at school consistently helps students stay connected and successful.

From our Unity Point family to yours, we wish you a wonderful November filled with gratitude, laughter, kindness, and meaningful time together. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Dean’s Brief: Griffin Groves

Dear Unity Point Families,

Welcome to November! As we head into the fall season and look forward to the upcoming holidays, I want to express my gratitude for your ongoing partnership and support. It has been fantastic seeing our students settle into the school year and transition smoothly into Quarter 2.

Here are a few important updates and reminders as we move through this second quarter:

Quarter 1 Celebration & Looking Ahead to Quarter 2

Thank you to everyone who made our Q1 Hayride celebration a success! Our students had a wonderful time celebrating their hard work.

Now that Quarter 2 is well underway, we want to remind families that our PBIS criteria remain the same for our upcoming Q2 celebration:

Attendance: 90% attendance rate or higher (including arriving on time!).
Behavior: 2 or fewer Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs) and 0 suspensions.
Academics (Grades 5–8): 2 or fewer missing assignments.

Spotlight Focus: On-Time Arrivals & Morning Routines As the weather cools down and mornings get darker, getting out the door on time can be extra tough! Our staff is focused on supporting positive classroom habits, and one area where families can help us tremendously is with morning punctuality. Arriving on time sets our students up for a smooth, stress-free day of learning and ensures they don't miss key morning instruction.

Family Goal: Help us tackle morning tardies by establishing consistent morning routines at home so students are in their seats and ready to learn when the bell rings.

General Reminders for Families

Health First: As cold and flu season approaches, please keep your child home if they are showing signs of illness. Students must be fever-free for 24 hours (without medication) before returning to school.
Holiday Schedules: Keep an eye out for upcoming calendar reminders regarding holiday breaks and early dismissal dates.
Open Communication: If you ever have questions regarding your student's progress or school expectations, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly or your child’s teacher.

Thank you for your continued trust, encouragement, and partnership. Wishing you all a warm and joyful start to the holiday season!

Yours in Education,

Griffin Groves, Dean of Students

Mrs. Kristi Hiatt

Dear Unity Point Families,

This month, my focus is on celebrating our incredible teachers and staff for their tireless dedication to helping our students stay engaged, grow, and become confident problem solvers!

During our Unity Point Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings, our teachers actively set goals for their classrooms, design engaging lessons, and use common formative assessments to guide their instruction. They genuinely care about student growth and work hard to ensure every child masters the essential skills. Whether providing targeted re-teaching and re-assessments for students needing extra support, or creating enrichment activities for those ready for a challenge, our educators are doing outstanding work every single day!

Celebrate Our Staff: Certificate of Appreciation

Help us shower our staff with the appreciation they deserve! We invite you to share a message of gratitude for any teacher or staff member who has made a positive impact on your child or family.

How it works: Simply fill out our Thankful for YOU - Appreciation Form, and your message will be delivered directly to them on a Certificate of Appreciation.
Note: You are welcome to remain anonymous if you prefer!

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure your child arrives at school on time and ready to learn each day!

From The Classrooms!

Learning Outside of the Classroom

Multiage Family Newsletter

Learning Outside of the Classroom

The multiage classrooms learned all about apples. We learned about the parts of an apple, the apple life cycle, and how an apple tree changes through the seasons. We also conducted some experiments to discover the shape of the core when an apple is cut the “wrong” direction and if apples float or sink. We measured an apple’s height, weight, and circumference. We also learned about various foods made from apples. To end our unit, our classes took a field trip to Mileur Orchard in Murphysboro to see an apple orchard first hand. The owners shared some of the same facts we had learned in class, and then taught us the process of planting apple trees in an orchard and how they process their apples to sell. We got to walk through the apple orchard and pick our own apples. When we returned to school, we were able to taste test our apples and some foods made with apples.

🍁🎃 Falling Into Fun in First Grade! 🎃🍁

October has been spook-tacular in first grade! Our little learners have been busy building their phonics skills, becoming stronger readers, and growing their math confidence! We enjoyed some wonderful fall stories, including The Leaf Thief, Hoot and Peep, If Your Monster Won't Go to Bed, and Pumpkin Soup! We explored nature, learned about adjectives and onomatopoeia, and practiced making our writing more exciting! Our mathematicians had a MONSTER-ously good time using googly eyes on monster faces to create addition and subtraction equations! Students who met our behavior and attendance goals enjoyed a fun-filled hayride, and everyone got to celebrate with a delicious s'more! From silly monsters to sweet treats, October was full of learning, laughter, and fall fun! We are so proud of our first graders and can't wait to see what November brings!

3rd Grade Newsletter

We are having so much fun in 3rd grade. The students have adjusted well to trading classes for all subjects. They are learning about responsibility by bringing their trade folder with them to each class and keeping it organized. In reading class students have made connections, summarized, asked questions, found the problem and solution in text, and many more reading strategies. In the month of November, students will practice comparing and contrasting characters and setting. We will also begin our unit on maps. We will study globes, maps, continents, countries, states, and cities. This unit will get us prepared for our Holidays Around The World Unit in December.

In math, students have spent the 1st quarter reviewing addition and subtraction strategies, as well as, regrouping and rounding. This week we started our multiplication unit. In the next few weeks, students will learn multiplication strategies.

In science, we wrapped up our Forces Unit. Students have worked with magnets, understanding balance and unbalanced forces. Students modeled the floating train by using magnets and cardboard. Our next science unit will cover inheritance, organisms, and traits.

As a grade level we finished our first chapter book, 'The One and Only Ivan'. The students loved this book. We celebrated by watching the movie!

Specials Spotlight October 2026

Family Circle Communication

Student Spotlight: Humza Ahmad

Perfect Score on the Illinois IAR Mathematics Assessment!

We are thrilled to celebrate a truly phenomenal academic milestone in our school community!

Join us in giving a massive shout-out to Humza Ahmad, who achieved a perfect score of 850 on the Mathematics portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR)! Achieving a perfect score on state assessments demonstrates extraordinary mathematical reasoning, exceptional dedication, and hard work. We are so proud of you, Humza! Thank you for representing Unity Point with such excellence, and keep reaching for the stars!

Check the FB Page- They are Many Wonderful Things Taking Place!