OLHMS Update (8/6/25)

OLHMS Families,

Welcome back to what is sure to be another fantastic school year at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School! We are the home of the Mustangs! I hope this message finds your family rested, recharged, and ready to embrace all the possibilities of the year ahead.

My name is Dr. Sean McNichols, and I am honored to continue serving you as the Proud Principal of OLHMS. At our core, we are committed to “Creating a dream and making it a reality!” This belief drives everything we do (culturally and academically) and ensures OLHMS remains a place where our scholars flourish and grow into young leaders who are ready to positively impact the world.

Last year, we affirmed that You Belong, and this year, we’re ready to LEVEL UP.
LEVEL UP is more than just a theme. This is a mindset that will guide our entire school community as we:

• Push for academic excellence and meaningful growth

• Lead with compassion, structure, and support

• Collaborate as one Mustang team

Our Mustang staff is passionate, positive, and dedicated to supporting every scholar’s journey. Together, we are focused on building strong partnerships with families, fostering a culture of reflection and growth, and advocating for a vision of excellence that lifts everyone higher.

As a father, I understand deeply the importance of these middle grade years. I want to thank you for entrusting us with your most precious gift, our children. Please know that your partnership means everything to us, and it will take all of us working together to make this a year filled with success and purpose.

This year, let’s continue to promote our Mustang Musts in every setting:

• Be Safe

• Be Responsible

• Be Respectful

Whether we’re nurturing student voice, innovating in our practices, or modeling the values we expect this year, we will rise. Let’s set the tone, build the momentum, and LEVEL UP together.

With Mustang Pride,

Dr. Sean McNichols
Proud Principal, Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School

Mustang Families,

We are a two weeks away from welcoming our scholars for our first day of the this 2025/2026 school year! We hope everyone enjoyed this restful and restorative Summer while preparing for an amazing year! Included in this communication you will find additional information to best support a successful start on Wednesday, August 20th at 8:30am! Please do not forget this is a half day of school and scholars will be dismissed at 11:30am.

We are very excited to welcome and introduce our new Associate Principal, Mrs. Tlusty to our Mustang Family!

We are excited to announce the upgrade to Qmlativ Family Access is complete and families can now log in to the new platform.

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. More information about schedules and teacher assignments will be available starting August 13, 2025.

If you are returning this school year, and this is your first time logging in 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.

Teacher Assignments, Schedules and Transportation

Homeroom assignments, schedules and bus routes will be posted in Qmlativ Family Access at Noon on August 13th. Please know there will be additional adjustments made to assignments, schedules and bus routes prior to or after the 20th. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and cooperation with any future adjustments. We plan to have all course secured at the end of our first full week of school.

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 page will be updated by the 20th. This is also the location for scholars to select club options. Trimester 1 club options will be made available the by the third week in school.

• 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 (delecta@sbcglobal.net)
  
• PTSA Facebook
  

• 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!

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. OLHMS leadership is 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.

We are excited to welcome back Office Craig, our School Resource Officer! 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.

Digital Hallpass: We are excited to continue using the digital system to support our entire school!

Grade level supply lists are linked below if you planned some shopping excitement between now and supply drop off on the 19th! Schoolkidz purchased at the end of the 2025/2026 school year will be ready in student’s advisory classrooms. OLHMS Student Registration/ Resources including supply lists.

Student Lockers: All students will be assigned a locker at the beginning of the school year. Please reassure our new scholars that they will be fine! Here is a locker support doc as well!

"The This and That of 6th Grade:" Helpful hints for a successful 6th grade beginning!

Sports Handbook - Here is the information you will need if your scholar plans to try out for one of many sports offered here at OLHMS.

Clubs and Activities: Our Mustangs use this quick LINK located on the student portal to stay up to speed with club options and registration each trimester. Located on this page is an example of club offerings last year!

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.

Parents and families dropping off and walkers enter the building in the back of the school on Oak Center Dr. Parents please be patient, follow guidance from support staff and do not block the driveways of our neighbors on Oak Center Dr.

• 6th Grade scholars use Door 4

• 7th Grade scholars use Door 6

• 8th Grade scholars use Door 5

Parking lots are for staff parking only. All parent/student drop off and pick up takes place in the back of the school on Oak Center Dr.

• Main Entrance: Bus entrance only and will be closed from 8:15-8:45am and 3:15-3:45pm to guests!

• Oak Center Drive: One-Way moving West to East for morning and afternoon drop off and pick up.

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!
  

Student attendance is critically important to our success! Please ensure our scholars are here daily and on time! Student tardies and overall attendance will be recorded and may impact student privileges! We look forward to working with our Mustangs daily!

Student Schedules (8:30am to 3:20pm)

Scholars follow a specific grade-level schedule. Each student will have a unique 10 period schedule consistent with their grade-level peer. All grade levels have grade specific Encore and lunch periods.

• Core Classes: All students have 4 Core class
• Math (80 mins), ELA (80 mins), Science (40 mins ) & Social Studies (40 mins)
• Daily PE (40 mins): All student have a PE period (Student must wear gym shoes)
• Spanish: Optional 3 year program
• Encore Classes (All 40 mins): All Encore are randomly assigned during Encore periods
• Global Studies, Connections, Communications, Art, Health, Music, Journalism, Multimedia Productions, Family Consumer Science and Financial Literacy.

Stress: How parents can spot and help reduce it in children: We all know this time of year can be very stressful! Our Counselors asked that I share a nice resource.

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Student schedules will go live in Qmlativ Family Access at Noon today!

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

OLHMS School Supply Drop Off

2:00pm - 3:30pm & 6:00pm - 7:30pm (Evening is optional for staff attendance)

• The Supply Drop Off is a relaxed opportunity for scholars and families to walk our halls, check out Encore spaces, find their advisory classroom and begin learning or relearning how to open a locker. SchoolKidz orders should be placed in scholar’s advisory classrooms.

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

First Day of School (½ Day, Dismissal at 11:30am)

• School doors open at 8:25am

• Classes begin at 8:30am

• Dismissal at 11:30am

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Regular School Day (Dismissal at 3:20pm)

• School doors open at 8:25am

• Classes begin at 8:30am

• Dismissal at 3:20pm

Friday, August 24, 2025

Regular School Day (Dismissal at 3:20pm)

• School doors open at 8:25am

• Classes begin at 8:30am

• Dismissal at 3:20pm

Thursday, August 28, 2025

OLHMS Open House. This is a wonderful opportunity to begin our learning partnership!

• Doors will open at 6:30