OLHMS Update (9/2/25)

Did you know that tomorrow is a D123 Late Start Day?

Throughout the year at each of our D123 schools we will have a late start time (1 hour) that provides D123 staff members the opportunity to collaborate and plan for our scholars. Our school day will begin at 9:30 am on Late Start Days. All schedules are adjusted by the hour.

Did you know that we love to celebrate the start and end of each week?

Every Monday around OLHMS is Mustang Monday! Remind our scholars that Monday is always a great day to show some school pride by sporting our school colors or school gear! We always end the week by acknowledging Future Forecasting Friday! We love seeing all the college, university and career gear!

Did you know that the start for the year can be stressful for our resilient scholars?

Here is a nice article, Supporting back-to-school mental health to assist our transition back to school and setting the tone for a tremendous year.

Mustang Families,

We hope the extended weekend gave your family a chance to recharge and rejuvenate as we are ready to keep the momentum going! 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.

Our first couple of week are off to a tremendous start with a full-school assembly, grade-level meetings, and an energized return. Thank you for making our Open House such a success! It was inspiring to see so many families connecting with staff and learning more about the year ahead.

This year, we’ll continue to live out our Mustang Musts everywhere we go:

• Be Safe

• Be Responsible

• Be Respectful

The energy is here, the excitement is real, and the best is yet to come. Let’s LEVEL UP together for an unforgettable 2025–2026 school year!

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!

• Membership(Click Here) is $7.00 per student and $10.00 per adult

• PTSA Meetings are at 6:00pm monthly

• PTSA Meeting- September 8, 2025 at 6:00pm
  
• PTSA Spirit Gear- Order NOW until 9/8/25!
  
• Reach out to Delecta Harris, our PTSA President for more information (olhmsd123ptsa@gmail.com)
  
• PTSA Facebook
  

Starting in the 2025–2026 school year, OLHMS will return to a Traditional Grading system. This decision was made after thoughtful consideration of feedback from teachers, parents, and students. We believe this change will help support our scholars by aligning more closely with the grading practices and expectations students will experience in high school, and allow for a smoother transition as students rise into the 9th grade.

Why This Change?

• To closely align with high school grading systems.

• To support efficiency and consistency in communicating student progress to OLHMS families.

• To respond positively to the preferences and feedback from the OLHMS learning community.While we transition to traditional letter grades, we remain committed to continuously monitor student progress toward grade-level standards through meaningful assessments and expanded opportunities for classroom feedback.

What Will the Traditional Grading System Look Like?

• Grading Categories & Weights

• 70% of the trimester grade will be calculated from: Summative Assessments (i.e. unit tests, major projects, etc.)

• 30% of the trimester grade will be calculated from: Formative Assessments (i.e. quizzes, exit tickets, classwork, homework, etc.)

• Grading Scale (No plus or minus grades):

• A = 90–100

• B = 80–89

• C = 70–79

• D = 60–69

• F = 59 and below

Please note: As a non-credit-bearing institution, OLHMS will not calculate GPAs or publish honor roll.

Additional Key Information:

• Traditional grades will be used across all subjects and grade levels at OLHMS.

• Qmlativ Family Access will currently serve as our platform for tracking progress and staying informed.

• Periodic progress reports will be provided to support consistent family-school communication.

• Retakes will be available for students in the Summative Assessment category. We are currently drafting building-wide retake procedures to ensure growth and mastery throughout the learning process.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teachers or a member of our administrative team. We are here to support our scholars and families through this transition.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s educational journey.

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 are planning to complete three safety drills next week (Fire, Severe Weather and Lockdown)

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. We plan to have all courses secured at the end of this week.

Student Portal: Our Mustangs utilize the this site to access their Google Classrooms, Google Drive, Gmail, Skyward and student apps. This is also where daily announcements are posted for students. This is also the location for scholars to select club options. Trimester 1 club options/ sign up will be made available soon.

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 based on the first week progressions.
• 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.

Main Parking Lot, Circle Drive and 99th Street: Family drop off and pick up is done on Oak Center Dr. If family members are helping out, please let them know to use the rear of the building for drop off or pick up. Students should not be dropped off in the morning or picked up during dismissal via the main parking lot while buses are present. The main parking lot will be CLOSED from 8:15-8:45am and 3:15-3:45pm daily.

• Designating a pick up and drop off area/ location for our scholars to meet their ride has been extremely helpful and allows families to avoid the congestion.
• Please do not have students run across 99th street or Oak Center Dr. to be picked up without adult supervision. We want to make sure all of our students and families are kept safe.
• The rear doors (Oak Center Dr./ Circle Drive) will close at 8:35am during morning arrival and the rear doors will be closed at 3:30pm during afternoon dismissal.
  
• School tardies will be assigned after 8:30am.
• Please be patient and courteous!
  

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

D123 Late Start

Monday, September 8, 2025

OLHMS Spirit Gear Order Deadline

OLHMS PTSA Meeting at 6:00 pm

Monday, September 15, 2025

Fall NWEA MAP Assessment Begins

Friday, October 10, 2025

Fall Picture Retakes

Saturday, October 18, 2025

6K Walk for Literacy