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Thank you for reading our back to school newsletter! You can expect a newsletter every quarter keeping you up to date on everything Minooka 201.

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Greetings, Minooka 201 Families & Community!

Thank you for helping us kick off such a successful start to the school year! It has been a true joy to welcome your children back into our classrooms and hallways, where they are already forming connections with peers and staff and building a strong sense of community.

We are deeply grateful for your partnership—whether it’s preparing your child for the school day, being patient with new adjustments, or reinforcing expectations at home. Together, we are creating the foundation for a year of belonging, learning, and growth.

As we continue settling into routines, we appreciate your support in a few important areas:

Positive Learning Environments: Our staff are working hard to build safe, engaging, and authentic spaces that promote student confidence, motivation, and growth. We thank you in advance for your support with the school and classroom expectations for positive behavior, social emotional learning, and academic engagement for your child.

Safety First: Thank you for your vigilance with visitor procedures and arrival/dismissal routines, as well as for helping reinforce cellphone and electronic device guidelines so students can focus on learning and meaningful in-person connections.

Transportation: While staffing challenges remain, we are glad to share that afternoon double routes have been eliminated, reducing long waits for students after school and we have been able to improve many of our most challenging areas. We will continue to work with the Minooka Transportation Department to refine operations to better serve families.

Communication: The transition to ParentSquare is going well, with all families receiving updates and more than 50% already using the app. Teachers, teams, and schools will increasingly use this tool to streamline communication.

Family Voice: Later in September, you’ll be invited to share feedback through Panorama, a new tool to help us better understand the experiences and perspectives of students, staff, and families.

We also ask for your partnership in supporting strong school attendance this year. Consistent attendance is a critical factor in both academic and social success. Every day counts!

This year, we are committed to challenging the status quo and raising the bar—for ourselves, for our students, and for our community. With high expectations matched by high levels of care and support, we know we can ensure the safe, welcoming, and enriching environment that every learner deserves to thrive and find success.

In partnership,

Rachel Kinder, Ed.S.

Superintendent of Schools

There are two opportunities this month to meet Superintendent Kinder, ask questions and get the scoop on what's happening in the district.

Friday, September 5th

Coffee and Chat with Superintendent Kinder

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
District Office - Board Room

Wednesday, September 10th

Engage 201 Chat with Superintendent Kinder

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Minooka Intermediate School
Representatives from special education, multilingual, and health services will be in attendance to answer questions and provide additional information.

DID YOU KNOW?

Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
Students can still fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks.
Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Start building this habit in preschool so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important. Eventually good attendance will be a skill that will help them succeed in high school and college.

In response to input and in alignment with our commitment to fostering a happy, healthy, and trusting learning environment, we have expanded two already-existing and vital positions to better serve our students and community.

We are thrilled to welcome the newest members of our leadership team: Bill Lipke, School Security Coordinator, and Nick Jakusz, Community Relations Coordinator.

Together, with the staff we currently have in place, we will reinforce our district's focus on safety and communication & community engagement. Their roles are a direct reflection of our dedication to providing a secure environment while strengthening the open communication that keeps us all connected.

Mr. Bill Lipke - School Security Coordinator

Bill Lipke is our new School Safety Coordinator. Mr. Lipke comes to Minooka 201 as a United States Marine Corps Veteran with over 20 years experience with the Chicago Police Department, and a strong background in private sector public safety and security. He's also a proud Minooka resident, family man and youth sports coach!

Mr. Nick Jakusz - Community Relations Coordinator

Nick Jakusz is our new Community Relations Coordinator. Mr. Jakusz has nearly 20 years experience in broadcast communications with experience in news gathering and reporting, storytelling, radio DJing and sports broadcasting. He is the husband of an educator and looks forward to telling the community of all the great things happening in our schools.

BPAC (Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee) events are a wonderful way to connect with families, learn about programs, and celebrate our community!

📆 September 4th – Learn more about district programming, celebrate award winners, enjoy a light dinner, and network with other parents.

📆 October 9th – Put on your PJs and join us for a fun evening at the Shorewood Library! Families will enjoy juice and cookies while listening to award-winning author Milagros Wallace. The first 20 families to RSVP will receive a signed copy of her book! Books will also be available for purchase, and local libraries will be present to share programs and sign families up for library cards.

💡 All events and meetings are open to the community. Translating devices are available upon request—just let us know in advance.

We’re always excited to see new faces. Bring a friend or neighbor and join us!

Our Multilingual teachers and General Education teachers from Early Childhood through 8th grade came together for professional learning led by Erika Martinez, Director of Multilingual Services and Laura Petrick, Multilingual Instructional Coach. The session focused on the research, importance, and teaching models that best support all students, especially our multilingual learners.

We were also joined by two special guests, Ms. Mizeur and Ms. Breese, who shared their experiences and provided practical tips to help teachers strengthen instruction and collaboration.

This shared learning is another step in our commitment to ensuring every student in Minooka 201 thrives.

There’s nothing more rewarding than working in a place where you know you’re making a difference every single day. At Minooka 201, our mission is to inspire learners to be responsible, confident, and successful—and that mission starts with the people who make up our team!

Whether you’re in the classroom, behind the wheel of a bus, preparing meals in our cafeterias, or did we mention behind the wheel of a bus?!... you’re part of something bigger: a community dedicated to kids.

We’re currently looking for passionate, caring, and committed individuals to join us in a variety of roles. Check out our latest job openings here!

Bus Drivers and Bus Driver Aides

The rate and benefits may surprise you!

Substitute Teachers and Teacher Aides

Work directly in the classroom and impact students!

All Minooka 201 Vacancies

Check out all the vacancies we have across our seven buildings! We have the right one for you!

Over the past several weeks, we've been fortunate to receive generous donations from several community partners! Our gratitude goes out to:

eMediate Cure

Each year during school and sports physical season owners Amy and April donate $500 to a local school through a raffle entry at any of our locations. This year, Minooka Junior High was the lucky winner.

TPOD Management

TPOD, a local logistics company, donated over 50 backpacks filled with school supplies!

Midwest Valve of Minooka

Midwest Valve held an employee school supply drive that brought in boxes of supplies that went right into the hands of students!

WeatherTech

Hundreds of bottles of hand sanitizer for the staff at MIS.

In Illinois, every public school district is governed by a locally elected Board of Education. These dedicated community members volunteer their time to set the vision and direction for our schools. They make decisions that shape everything from academic programs to facilities, finances, and policies that ensure students have a safe and supportive learning environment.

The role of a school board is to:

Hire and evaluate the superintendent
Adopt policies that guide how the district operates.
Approve budgets and oversee finances to ensure your resources are used responsibly.
Support student achievement by setting high expectations and ensuring equitable opportunities for all learners.
Engage with the community to represent the voices of parents, staff, and residents.

Our Minooka 201 Board of Education is made up of neighbors and parents who care deeply about our students’ success. Their leadership ensures we stay focused on our mission: to inspire learners to be responsible, confident, and successful.

We’re grateful for their service and commitment—it truly takes all of us working together to create the best schools for our kids!

We encourage you to visit the board of education's webpage on our website to meet the board members, view past meeting minutes and recordings, current agendas, understand the process to make public comments, and more.

Coming Soon: GPS Bus Tracking

We’re excited to share that Minooka buses soon will have GPS tracking available for families through the Zonar MyView app. This free smartphone app lets parents and guardians know when their child’s bus is getting close to home by sending a notification as the bus enters a set “alert zone.”

We will be rolling out this feature soon, and we encourage families to give this a try and share your feedback. Our goal is to make mornings and afternoons just a little easier for everyone!

Customize How You Hear from Us

We want school updates to reach you on your terms—and ParentSquare makes that easy!
Here’s a quick breakdown of how you can tailor your notifications to fit your schedule and preferences:

What You Can Control:

General Announcements & Messages
Decide how often you want to receive these:

Instant — get notified the moment something is posted.
Digest — receive a daily summary of all posts in one evening notification.
Off — opt out of non-essential messages (but rest assured, emergency alerts still come through).

School Alerts
These are important but non-urgent messages—like reminders or updates. You can choose to turn these on or off.

Urgent Alerts & Notices
These include emergency messages such as school closures or health notifications. They cannot be turned off—you’ll always receive them promptly.

How to Update Your Settings

From a web browser:

Log in → click your name → select My Account.
Click Notification Settings.
Adjust your preferences for messages and alerts.
If you've listed multiple emails or phone numbers, you can choose which one receives notifications.

From the ParentSquare mobile app:

Tap the menu (three lines) → go to Account → Notifications.
Turn Custom Settings on or off to apply preferences across all schools or to specific ones.
Choose your channels (Email, Text, App) and timing (Instant or Digest).

Why This Matters

Stay informed, your way — get fewer distractions or real-time alerts as needed.
Feel in control — knowing you won’t miss an important message, but also won’t be overwhelmed.
On your schedule — Digest mode is our recommended setting for streamlined communication.

Here's a very helpful how-to video to get you set up!

Download ParentSquare Mobile App for Apple or Android

Click here to download the app to your Apple or Android device.

With the expansion of our safety and security position and the addition of Mr. Bill Lipke as our School Safety Coordinator, we have invested into making all of our buildings safe and welcoming places where kids can learn and grow.

This commitment is strengthened through our continued partnership with all of our local Police and Fire Departments, as well as other community agencies who share our dedication to protecting and supporting students. Together, we work proactively to prepare for and respond to potential challenges.

In addition, our School Safety Officers (SSOs) and building monitors participate in ongoing, best-practice training to ensure they are ready to keep our schools safe each day. Their work, combined with our staff and community partnerships, allows us to create a culture of safety where every student can focus on what matters most—learning and growing!

When students miss school, they miss out on learning. When kids miss even one day of school they can fall behind. Kids with health problems miss more school. Even an excused absence with a doctor’s note counts as a missed day. You can help manage these common health problems to make sure your child is healthy and ready to learn!

Click here to view our approved Snack List for K-4th students.

The list is reviewed quarterly

Monday, September 1
No School! (Labor Day)

Thursday, September 4th
Bilingual Parents Advisory Committee (BPAC) Kickoff and Awards Ceremony, Minooka Primary Center, 5:00 p.m.

Friday, September 5th

Coffee and Chat with Superintendent Kinder

Wednesday, September 10th

Engage 201 Chat with Superintendent Kinder

Saturday, September 13th

Champ-alooza at Minooka Primary Center

Monday, September 15th

Board of Education meeting
Wednesday, September 24

School Improvement Day (early dismissal)

Friday, September 26th

Teacher Institute Day (no student attendance)

The QR code gives you access to the District website and social media pages. This includes: the schools' websites, job openings, and the academic calendar. Don't forget to follow us! For mobile users, please click the link below to access the Minooka CCSD 201 Linktree.

First Day of School

First day vibes!

Spotlight 201

Each month we'll feature the people, places and things that make Minooka 201 special! Our first feature: the brand new little library and benches built by MJHS alum and Eagle Scout, Miles Kantorski.

Don't worry, they got this!

A few of our Minooka 201 kindergarteners putting their grownups minds' at ease!

Connection