Meadowbrook Star News 9/26/25

Hello Meadowbrook Families!

Next week brings the close of September and the end of our fall assessment window. Our Huskies have done a great job settling into the school year. Next week, first grade will head to NBJH for a special gardening activity with our 8th graders and our 3rd graders are off to the Brookfield Zoo on our first field trip of the year. They'll be observing the way animals communicate and connecting their learning to our science curriculum.

We're about two and a half weeks away from parent-teacher conferences. The sign up will be shared on Tuesday--see details below. We're also looking forward to our first Husky Pack meetings today and another beautiful weather week ahead! We wish an easy fast to those who observe Yom Kippur next week.

Warmly,

Ginny

October begins next week and we're already hearing discussions about Halloween costumes! As a reminder, we do not allow replicas of weapons with costumes. Please also avoid overly scary costumes, costumes referencing alcohol or tobacco, or costumes with full face masks. Remember, we're celebrating with 5-10 year olds! Students should also be able to move comfortably in their costumes and take them on/off if needed to use the bathroom, etc. More details about our Halloween celebrations will be shared in the coming weeks.

We're excited to kick off our Husky Packs! All students and staff have been grouped into cross-grade level "packs" of 10-11 students and two or three staff members. These Packs will stay together as students move through their years at Meadowbrook, meeting monthly for fun activities to help build students' sense of belonging and connectedness. Our first meeting will focus on getting to know you activities and will give Packs time to create secret hand signals as a non-verbal way to acknowledge their fellow Pack members when they cross paths in the hallway. "Packs" are a practice already in use at Greenbriar and Westmoor and Northbrook Junior High (called "Crews"). We're excited to add our Huskies to their very own Packs!

In case you missed it, at the end of last month, Principal Hiltz was a featured guest on the district podcast, Insight 28. The episode, which was released last week, shares details on the construction happening at Meadowbrook as part of the district's Build 28 initiative. Click here to give it a listen!

In the meantime, the construction crew has been busy this week building our new gymnasium. Click the link above to check out our latest time-lapse video! Next week, they'll be pouring the slab for the floor of the gym. Remember that construction continues next Thursday when we are not in school--please do not allow your children to play unsupervised at Meadowbrook!

Projected Construction Timeline

• August 2025: Meadowbrook gymnasium construction begins
• March 2026: Meadowbrook gymnasium completed & construction of the new Meadowbrook School begins
• August 2027: New Meadowbrook School completed
  

Fall Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held October 15-16. Families will be able to schedule conferences online beginning Tuesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. The scheduling window will close on Monday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. Click here for more details!

Have 10 minutes to spare twice a month? The Birthday Sign Committee needs more volunteers in the following neighborhoods: Downtown, Sunset Ridge/Midway, and Shermer/Dundee. This committee is low commitment (~2 sign runs per month) and a great way to get involved. Let’s keep this tradition alive with YOUR help! Log in on our website, click on the”Volunteer” Tab, then “Volunteer for Committees,” and scroll down to “Birthday Signs.”

Read our latest monthly newsletter HERE.

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Subscribe to the Meadowbrook calendar at this link!

September 26: Husky Pack kick-off meeting

October 2: NO SCHOOL

October 8: Erin's Law presentations

October 8: PTO Meeting @ 9:30am, staff lounge or join via Zoom

October 9: PTO Pizza Day

October 15: Parent-teacher conferences 4:30-7:30

October 16: Half Day- Noon Dismissal Parent-teacher conferences 1:00-8:00

October 17: NO SCHOOL

October 23: PTO Pizza Day

October 24: Picture Retakes

October 24: Husky Pack meeting

October 28: Beginning Band Demo Night @ NBJH @ 7pm

October 29: String, Philharmonic & Chamber Orchestra Concert @ NBJH @ 7pm

October 31: Halloween! Parties @ 2:15 (K), 2:30 (1-5); Parade @ 3pm

District 28 invites local non-profit organizations and community government agencies to promote events for families and children. You can view the complete list of events on the district's Virtual Backpack web page. To submit an event, please email a PDF flier to Samantha Scheinman, Director of Communications & Community Relations, at sscheinman@northbrook28.net. All fliers are subject to approval.