Panther Post
Weekly Updates for AMS Panthers
October 23, 2026
Translation
A Message from the Principal
AMS Families,
AMS staff is incredibly proud of our Orchestra students who had an amazing performance this week at Maine West. We hope to see everyone at our upcoming STEAM night on Thursday, November 5th. Don't forget there is no school on November 3rd. Have a great weekend.
Warm Regards,
Julie Goolish, Principal
Algonquin Middle School
This past Wednesday 7th and 8th grade orchestra students participated in the annual D62 Orchestra Festival alongside Chippewa, Iroquois, and Maine West students at Maine West High School. Students experienced the Maine West High School atmosphere, toured the music wing, and performed in the auditorium all together in both school ensembles and one large combined ensemble. They have prepared so hard since the beginning of the school year on these songs and they really shined in their moment to perform! Participating students did an excellent job demonstrating how well they have learned their music, how to work together to meet a common goal, and what it means to show Panther pride! Well done!"
7th Grade Science
7th grade Science students enjoyed conducting an experiment to measure how quickly an individual interprets and reacts to an outside stimulus.
AMS Flight Club
AMS Flight Club took advantage of the beautiful afternoon weather this week to investigate the force of lift by decorating and flying kites. They discovered how to catch the wind to raise their kites in the air, or generate their own wind running!
Halloween Costume Reminder
If your child plans to wear a costume to school on October 30th :
- All costumes should still meet all district dress code rules
- No fake weapons with your costume (not allowed any time at school)
- No costume masks or face paint that covers or conceals your face (this is a safety issue)
- No fake blood (this stains our floors and is very difficult to clean)
- No blow-up/inflatable costumes (takes up too much space in class and halls)
- Costume choice should not portray a stereotypical image of any group of people or culture, or be offensive to any racial, ethnic or religious group.
AMS Spirit Week 10/26-10/30
Student Council is hosting spirit week next week!
AMS STEAM Night - Save the Date
STEAM Night is coming on Thursday, November 5. We hope you join us for hands on activities, games, and more. We will have raffles just for attending! Come check out the fun activities hosted by AMS teachers.
AMS Student of the Week!
AMS is proud to celebrate our Students of the Week! Each week teams nominate one student for being Panther P.R.O.U.D. Students are announced during daily morning announcements and receive a Panther key chain and three Panther Points. Congratulations to this week's students - you make us Panther Proud.
District 62 Website Survey
D62 Families: We invite you to take a few minutes to participate in a brief survey so we can better understand what is working well and what could be easier to find. Please take a few minutes to participate in our survey.
Thank you in advance for your honest feedback. The data we gather will inform our strategy and help us make our website more intuitive, accessible and useful. The survey will close on October 30. We appreciate your partnership and support!
Parent Teacher Organization
Please join us for our next PTO meeting on Tuesday, November 10th in the AMS library. Meetings will take place the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 6:00-7:00 pm.
"Parenting the Love and Logic Way" Parent Education Course
Des Plaines--Community Consolidated School District 62 will once again host a series of the parent education course, “Parenting the Love and Logic Way”.
There is no cost to participate in the workshop which is open to all District 62 families. A link will be sent to families once they are registered.
Courses will be held virtually this year 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, November 4, November 11, November 18, December 2, December 9 and December 16.
“This course will teach you a fun and practical approach to raising wonderful kids,” said Chippewa School Social Worker Peter Martin. “Love and Logic provides simple and practical techniques to help parents and caregivers have less stress and more fun while raising responsible kids.”
The course will teach parents about the two rules of love and logic, the anticipatory consequence, ways to neutralize arguing and much more.
To sign up, or for more information, please contact Peter Martin: (847) 824-1532, or martinpe@d62.org.
Student Handbook
Please click on the photo below to view our student handbook.
Virtual Bulletin Board
Please visit District 62’s Website to learn about
these community event(s) and more!
Upcoming Events
October
10/27 7th Girls' B-ball Tournament @ Grove
10/27 Acceptance Club
10/27 Cheer Clinic
10/28 Boys' Basketball Practice
10/28 Cheer Clinic
10/29 PBIS Celebration
10/29 Boys' Basketball Practice
10/29 Newspaper Club
10/29 Cheer Tryouts
10/29 Maine West Choral Festival
10/30 1/2 Day - Early Dismissal 11:15 am
10/30 - Quarter 1 Report Cards Viewable on IC
November
11/3 No School -Teacher Institute Day
11/4 Erika's Lighthouse Presentations
11/4 Boys' Basketball Practice
11/4 Cheer Practice and Parent Meeting
11/4 7th Grade Cooking Club
11/5 STEAM Night
11/5 Boys' Basketball Away Game @ Lincoln
11/5 Newspaper Club
11/5 Cheer Practice
11/5 Craft Club
School Information
Algonquin Middle School
767 East Algonquin Road
Des Plaines, IL 60016-6251
School Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 7:30 am-3:30 pm