OLHMS Update (9/23/25)
Mustang Families,
As you know, our theme this year is LEVEL UP! This mindset guides us to push for academic growth, lead with compassion, and celebrate together as one unstoppable Mustang team.
Our scholars have now finished NWEA MAP testing, and we are so proud of the effort they put forth in demonstrating their growth. These assessments help us better understand how to support each student on their learning journey, and our Mustangs truly stepped up to the challenge! A special thank you to our families for supporting scholars with encouragement, attendance, and routines that helped them do their very best.
As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping families informed, we also want to share an important update from NWEA. This fall, NWEA introduced the 2025 national norms, which are now being applied to all student data. While student RIT scores themselves have not changed, percentile rankings have shifted because overall performance has declined nationally since the pandemic. This may mean fewer students will qualify for Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions, while more may qualify for enrichment services. NWEA recommends this year be used as an observation period before making program adjustments. To support transparency, we are sending home a Family Letter in English, Spanish, and Arabic explaining these changes, why they happened, and how families can learn more. Staff have also been provided resources to guide conversations, especially as we prepare for family conferences in October.
In addition, District 123 recently had the honor of serving as a juror for the Illinois Association of School Boards’ 2025 Exhibition of Educational Environments in Springfield. This statewide competition showcases outstanding school design projects, and our participation gave us valuable insight into how districts highlight the impact of their spaces on student learning. These lessons will directly benefit our district as we prepare to submit the Early Learning Center renovation project for the 2026 Exhibition, ensuring our proposal is strong, competitive, and showcases the high-quality environments we provide for students.
We’re also excited to share opportunities for families to engage in our D123 Parent Universities, an excellent way to partner together in supporting our students’ success. Speaking of partnering, here is a LINK to the recent Village of Oak Lawn Ordinance for Scooters and E-bikes.
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
With Mustang Pride,
Dr. McNichols
School attendance is a huge predictor for school success! That said, we know as the weather changes that 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. We want our place here at OLHMS to be a healthy place away from home!
We’re glad to see our scholars taking pride in their hygiene and personal care! However, the use of cologne and perfume has become overwhelming at times and is occasionally being applied inappropriately during the school day. To ensure a comfortable learning environment for everyone, we kindly ask that students leave their scented products at home.
Please take a moment to discuss with your child the proper use and appropriate amounts of fragrance. While we appreciate the effort to smell nice, excessive scents can be distracting and overpowering in shared spaces. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a pleasant and respectful atmosphere for all!
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!
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 have completed our first Fire and Severe Weather drills. Please speak with our scholars about the importance of drills in the event of emergencies. We will complete our first Lockdown Drill this week in conjunction with the Oak Lawn Police Department.
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
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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
9/24: SEL Screener Opens
9/25: Music Booster Fall Fest
10/1: Music Booster Spirit Gear Deadline
10/9: PTSA Open Gym
10/10: Fall Picture Retake
10/16: OLHMS Music Booster Fundraiser- Panda Express
10/16 & 10/17 : Family Conferences
10/18: 6K Walk for Literacy
10/23: High School Fair
11/7: Veteran’s Day Assembly
Music Boosters Membership
Music Boosters Fundraiser
Music Boosters Spirit Wear
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
Check out the school link for upcoming shadow days and the school open house
Chicago Christian Lady Basketball Clinic
Chicago Christian High School Showcase
Sunday, October 19, 2025 | 1:45–4:00 PM
At Chicago Christian High School (12001 S. Oak Park Ave, Palos Heights, IL)
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
