OLHMS Update (9/9/25)
Mustang Families,
Welcome to September at OLHMS! As you know, our theme this year is LEVEL UP, a mindset guiding us to push for academic growth, lead with compassion, and celebrate together as one unstoppable Mustang team.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined our first PTSA meeting last night. It was a wonderful way to kick off the year together and to highlight the launch of our new D123 Five-Year Strategic Plan, which will guide our work and strengthen our school community in the years ahead. And don’t forget, the OLHMS Spirit Gear order deadline has been extended until 9:00 pm tonight, giving families one more chance to show off their Mustang pride.
One of the most important ways our Mustangs can LEVEL UP is by being in school every day and on time. Strong attendance sets the tone for success and ensures our students don’t miss the valuable learning and connections happening each day.
As always, we’ll continue to live out our Mustang Musts everywhere we go:
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Be Safe
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Be Responsible
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Be Respectful
The energy is here, the excitement is real, and the best is yet to come. Let’s continue LEVEL(ing) UP together!
With Mustang Pride,
Dr. McNichols
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- October 6, 2025 at 6:00pm
- PTSA Spirit Gear- Order NOW until 9/9/25!
- Reach out to Delecta Harris, our PTSA President for more information (olhmsd123ptsa@gmail.com)
- PTSA Facebook
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.
MAP Assessment: Scholars will be taking their beginning of the year MAP Assessment starting next week. Ask your scholar how they performed and if they are satisfied with their score! We will be taking the ELA and Math assessments in core classes this Fall to limit the schedule disruptions. Our district goal is for 100% of our scholars to demonstrate growth in math and reading!
We want to remind families that OLHMS does not allow student lunch deliveries from outside services (such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, or other vendors). This practice minimizes disruptions and contributes to a safe and structured lunch experience for all students. On the note of lunches, if a student receives a lunch detention, a brown bagged lunch will be delivered to the student. Students are always welcome to bring their own lunch.
It is great to see so many scholars taking advantage of the opportunity to come in early or stay after school for additional time and support with academics. Please remind our scholars that this time should not be treated as a social opportunity and our school expectations of being safe, responsible and respectful should be maintained at all times. We appreciate everyone's support and partnership. Parents can check out the available times for each grade level on the student portal page!
School Safety and Drills
As we continue to partner with local agencies, we will refine our practices to ensure safety is always on the forefront of our minds. As part of our ongoing commitment to student safety, we continue to closely scrutinize all initial entry into the building to ensure a secure environment for everyone. We kindly remind all families to bring a valid driver’s license or photo ID when picking up a student during the school day. Additionally, visitors are not permitted to leave the main office without a staff escort. These safety procedures are in place to protect our students and staff, and we appreciate your continued cooperation and partnership in maintaining a safe school community. We will also expect that all students, staff and guests wear designated ID's at all times.
Drills: We did complete two drills today- Fire and Severe Weather. Please speak with our scholars about the importance of drills in the event of emergencies.
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Student Device Repair Program:
Your student's device is protected against accidental damage, theft, fire, flood, natural disasters, power surge and vandalism. If your child’s device needs repair, below are the costs associated with each incident during a school year:
1st incident - No Charge (one-time fee waiver)
2nd incident - $25.00
3rd incident - $50.00
Free & Reduced Lunch Reminder
The federal program allowing districts across the country to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of income has expired. At this time, the federal government has not extended the waivers for this school year to allow free meals for all students. As a result, schools across the nation will be reverting back to free and reduced-price meals based on income eligibility guidelines set by theU.S. Department of Agriculture. Families who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch will have to pay for school meals. Students whose families are eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast or lunch will be able to access meals this school year at no cost or a discounted rate. D123 will continue to explore ways we can help families with this adjustment since this may create a financial burden for some of our families. At no point would we ever want any child to go hungry at school. If you would like to apply for free or reduced priced meals, please click here.
Health Examination and Immunization Requirements
There are specific requirements for students entering preschool, kindergarten, second grade and sixth grade, as well as for all new students. Visit our Health Forms & Guidelines page for more information. Please note that these vaccinations and/or health examinations are required by state law.
- All incoming 6th Graders must have a physical and dental report on file.
- All 6th, 7th and 8th Graders interested in sports will need a sports physical to try out for teams.
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 are logging 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.
Student Schedules
Advisory/ homeroom assignments, schedules and bus routes are posted in Qmlativ Family Access.
- Additional adjustments may be made to schedules. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and cooperation with additional adjustments.
Bus Transportation
- We are working closely with our Bus Company Partners- communicating daily. When the school is made aware of delays, auto calls are made to individual routes.
- Bus transportation adjustments are being made by First Student, please check Family Access for updated information/ adjustments.
- First Student Bus Company is reevaluating route paths and timing
- Prior school year adjustments to routing and timing were reset by the bus company as they established routes for the 2025/2026 school year based on current addresses.
- Typically, buses will leave the school parking lot at approximately 3:30 pm.
- Our school bus supervisors are checking rosters and ridership numbers for the PM routes to ensure students are riding assigned routes in Family Access. Students will be removed from buses they are not rostered in on Family Access.
- Requests for 2025/2026 school year adjustments should be made via email to Mrs. Grabarek, jgrabarek@d123.org.
- Please note that there are 2 - 4:30pm and 2 - 5:00pm activity buses that run daily dropping scholars off at D123 elementary schools
9/11: Patriot Day: wear RED, WHITE, and BLUE, PAC Meeting
9/15: MAP Testing Begins
9/18: D123 Parent University, OLCHS Middle School Marching Band Night 8:00 PM
9/24: SEL Screener Opens
9/25: Music Booster Fall Fest
10/9: PTSA Open Gym
10/10: Fall Picture Retake
10/16 & 10/17 : Family Conferences
10/18: 6K Walk for Literacy
10/23: High School Fair
11/7: Veteran’s Day Assembly
Oak Lawn Community High School
"Grammar School Football Night" experience, coming up on Friday, September 26th. Here is the registration form: https://forms.gle/EsNycUNuvR8QRgpP6
Upcoming Events:
Grade School Volleyball Night: Tuesday, September 9 (see flyer)
Junior High Art Workshop: Wednesday, October 1
Grade School Lacrosse Clinic: Sunday, October 5
Junior High Performing Arts Workshop: Thursday, October 9
Shadow Day for 7th and 8th Graders: Monday, October 13 (Indigenous Peoples' Day)
Providence Catholic High School
