Trimester 2 Newsletter

With Spring Break upon us, the rest of the school year is sure to pass quickly. At District 146 we are so lucky to have students that make us proud each and every day. Throughout the second trimester, they have excelled at learning, athletics, and citizenship. In the classroom, on the stage, and in the community, they continue to uphold the reputation of District 146.

Leading up to the holidays, students, families, and staff from each building collected clothing, toys, and food to be donated to local organizations. We are so happy to help local organizations like the Tinley Park Food Pantry and Together We Cope give back to our local communities.

This trimester we also hosted the District 146 Math Challenge and Spelling Bee. The 16 highest scoring students at the Math Challenge will represent the District at the South Cook Math Bowl in May. Fifth grade student Monica Jiang from Kruse became the District Spelling Bee Champion after competing against 10 of her peers. We were proud to have her represent the District at the South Cook ISC Scripps Spelling Bee.

We were also excited to celebrate Central’s Winter Guard team who has been racking up the wins this season. Their first competition was in January at Naperville North High School and their second was in February at Lake Park High School. The team won 1st place at both competitions. They also performed at the CMS Talent Show. Their 2025 show is titled "Iridescent Pop" and is made up dancing, and spinning flags, sabers, and rifles.

As you can see, we are so lucky to have such driven, dedicated, and caring students in our schools. As we begin the third trimester, I know we will have so much more to be proud of.

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District 146 is proud to announce our partnership with Panorama Education. Panorama Education is a student success platform that helps educators track student progress across academics, attendance, behavior, and social-emotional learning. While we won’t be gathering any new data on students, Panorama’s platform will put our student data all in one place. This will allow our staff to better communicate student progress to families and make informed decisions about supporting students.

Furthermore, Panorama offers research-backed surveys to gather data from students, families, and educators on topics like school climate, social-emotional learning, and family engagement. It also provides tools and resources to support SEL, including assessments, check-ins, and interventions. Our team is in the process of learning more about Panorama with the goal of implementing it during the 2025-26 school year. We look forward to sharing more about this new student success platform after familiarizing ourselves with all that it has to offer.

Curriculum Resources for Families

We are pleased to announce that the translated Curriculum Guides and Learning Targets are now available on the District website. These resources will allow families easy access to grade-level expectations and support materials for their children. The guides and targets provide a comprehensive overview of key academic goals, outlining what students will learn at each grade level. Additionally, the Learning Targets clearly define learning outcomes, making it easier for families to support their child’s learning at home.

You can access and review these documents on our website.

Illinois Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) Framework

We are also introducing the Illinois Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) Framework. This framework is designed to help students from middle school through 12th grade explore careers, plan for college, and understand financial aid. Per legislation passed in June 2022, all Illinois public school districts are required to adopt and implement the PaCE Framework, with career exploration activities to be fully implemented by July 1, 2025.

For students in grades 6-8, the PaCE Framework encourages exploration and planning to help prepare them for high school and their future careers. The framework, which is posted and translated on our website, is a valuable tool for both students and families as they begin to think about their post-secondary and career aspirations.

We would like to extend a special thank you to our Family Support Specialists for their hard work and dedication in translating these documents. Their efforts ensure that these important resources are accessible to all families.

The District is excited to announce a new partnership with ParentSquare. Beginning this summer, we will be transitioning our website and mass communications services from SchoolMessenger to ParentSquare. A new website that is easy to navigate and user-friendly is currently being designed and built. As the District prepares for the migration, some webpages on our current site may be unavailable at times. Look for more information on the new website in June.

The District will also begin utilizing the ParentSquare platform for our mass emails, texts, and calls. Parents will be able to choose whether they want emails, texts, and/or push notifications, and can decide if they want them delivered in real time, in a daily digest, or in a weekly digest. All communication will also be available in a feed on the ParentSquare app. The app allows parents to gather information and receive communications from different schools on one app. For example, if a parent has a student in one of our schools and a student in a high school district using ParentSquare, they can toggle between students on the same app without logging in and out.

As the District begins to migrate information to the new platform, parents with an email address already linked to a ParentSquare account may begin seeing District 146 on the ParentSquare app. However, no information or messages will be shared using ParentSquare until after this school year has ended. Additional information will be sent to families as the transition continues. We are excited to make communication and engagement with our families easier and more meaningful.

Congratulations to the following students who had the highest scores of their grade level at the District 146 Math Challenge! They will go on to represent the District at the South Cook Math Bowl.

1st Grade: Ibrahim Abusamra and Rudy Host

2nd Grade: Dhairya Patel and Maxwell McCaughn

3rd Grade: Kairo Metcalf and Elliott Allphin

4th Grade: Jacob Holbrook and Camden Haines

5th Grade: Monica Jiang and Arav Patel

6th Grade: Logan Rodriguez and Stephanie Llanos

7th Grade: Steven James Vanek and George Grivakis

8th Grade: Cullen Rapacz and David Adegbuyi

The Koepel Award is given to students who participate in the District 146 Math Challenge for all years in which they are eligible. This year, three 8th grade students were recognized: Gwenyth Sands, Addison Tarchala, and Evelina Gecevis.

The District's spelling bee finalists from each school competed in the 14th annual District Spelling Bee in February. After 15 rounds, Monica Jiang took the championship. Monica went on to represent the District at the South Cook ISC Spelling Bee.

We are so proud all of the spellers!

Fierke: Kelvin Falcatan and Ahmmad Sayouri

Fulton: Elijah Connell, Sabrina Hammad, and Kailey Mackrow

Kruse: Monica Jiang and Jackson Podrazik

Memorial: Charlotte Ly and Nora Novak

Central: Mareah Alharshawi and Majd Al-Khattab

Central’s 6th grade class raised over $1,500 for Water for Sudan, a not-for-profit whose mission is to "deliver sustainable quality-of-life services to the people of South Sudan.” The fundraiser was in recognition of Salva Dut, the founder of Water for Sudan. The Class learned about Salva’s struggles as a young refugee during the Sudanese Civil War while reading the book, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park. The book and fundraiser culminated with a “Walk for Water” where students walked laps around Central Middle School while carrying jugs of water, representing one of the main characters of the book and her need to walk for water each day.

The class has held this fundraiser for the last few years and recently found out they have raised enough money to co-sponsor a well in South Sudan. The school’s name will be added to the cement platform of the newly drilled well to be completed by this June.

Members of the Fierke Student Council aimed to spread good cheer to everyone in the community by making clay smiley faces with positive phrases. The faces were distributed to businesses around the community. This was an effort to show students that something small and simple can make a positive impact on someone else's day.

Community members who see one of the smiley faces and/or phrases in the community are encouraged to snap a picture and tag Fierke on social media to let the students know how it might have impacted their day.

Earlier in March, Fulton hosted a fundraiser for the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association (LWSRA). A group of Fulton staff members took on the LWSRA Hawks in a wheelchair basketball game. It was a night full of fun with the basketball game, intermission games for fans, and concessions all raising about $850 for the LWRSA.

Two district students, Dayna Cuervo and Ava Bronkema, are players on with the LWSRA Hawks, while Mrs. Mitera, Mr. Kociolek, Mrs. Inczauskis, Mrs. Picchi, Mrs. Boccia, Ms. Provost, Ms. Carpentier, Mrs. Flynn, Ms. Gross, Ms. Cotter, and Ms. Beck comprised Team Fulton. During the second half of the game, students Nick, Boston, and Ivy joined Team Fulton.

Students at Kruse recognized Black History Month by learning about African American individuals who made important contributions to America. In Art, students learned about Alma Woodsey Thomas. Thomas was an African American Art teacher and artist who developed a powerful form of abstract painting late in life. Each grade then created a piece of art encompassing the same characteristics and style Thomas utilized.

To end the month, students and staff enjoyed a "scoop" of custard donated by Andy's Frozen Custard. They learned all about Alfred L. Cralle, the inventor of the ice cream scoop, while they enjoyed their frozen treat.

As part of their social studies curriculum on Illinois, Memorial’s 4th grade students took an exciting field trip to Willis Tower. The trip gave students a firsthand look at one of the state’s most iconic landmarks, reinforcing their lessons on Illinois' history, geography, and economy.

From the Skydeck, they explored breathtaking views of the city while learning about Chicago’s role in the state's development. This hands-on experience helped bring their classroom studies to life in a memorable way.

Have you taken the 5Essentials Survey? Click above to complete your survey today!

The District’s Family Support Specialists would like to introduce their new Family Support Specialist Newsletter. This monthly newsletter will include information that could be important to our families.

Please click below to read this month’s newsletter:

English/español

Are you, or someone you know, looking for a job? District 146 has a number of openings that could be perfect for you!

The District has the following positions open:

• School Psychologist
• Learning Behavior Specialist
  
• 5th Grade Long-term Substitute
• Paraprofessionals
• Substitute Teachers
  
• Substitute Paraprofessionals

For more information, please visit district146.org/employment.

March

21: SIP Day – No School

24: Spring Break Begins

April

1: Students Return from Spring Break

3: Memorial Family Reading Night

7: Board Committee of the Whole, 4:30 p.m.

14: Board of Education Meeting, 6 p.m.

17: Half-Day SIP Day

17: District Band Parent Meeting, 5 p.m.

18 ISU Band Festival

18: No School

21: No School

24: Early Learning Screening

24: Young Authors Celebration, 6 p.m.

25: District 146 Special Olympics

30: Kindergarten Screening

May

1: South Cook Math Bowl (Grades 5-8)

2: South Cook Math Bowl (Grades 1-4)

5: Board Committee of the Whole, 4:30 p.m.

7: CMS Spring Choir Concert, 6 p.m.

8: CMS Spring Band Concert, 6 p.m.

12: Board of Education Meeting, 6 p.m.

13: Kruse Kindergarten and 1st Grade Concerts, 5:30 p.m.

14: Kruse Choir Concert, 5 p.m.

15: District Band Parent Meeting

20: District Band Banquet

23: No School – SIP Day

26: No School – Memorial Day

28: 8th Grade Graduation, 6 p.m.

June

2: Board of Education Meeting, 6 p.m.

3: Last Day of Pre-Kindergarten

4: End of Trimester 3

4: Half-Day/Last Day of School

Darcy Nendza, President

Julie Berry, Vice President

Rick Lloyd, Secretary

Dean Casper, Member

Patty Chlada, Member

Jill Dunlap, Member

Amy Hamernick, Member

Dr. Jeff Stawick, Superintendent

Dr. Wendy Wolgan, Director of Curriculum

Kelly Voliva, Director of Student Services

Jeff Charleston, Business Director/CSBO

Vern Bettis, Director of Technology

Matt Shanahan, Director of Buildings and Grounds

Brooke Dundas, Coordinator of Bilingual Education

Brianne Oliver, Special Education Coordinator

Carey Radke, Curriculum Coordinator

Dr. Damien Aherne, Fierke Education Center

Mrs. Megan Mitera, Fulton School

Mrs. Kim Hartnett, Kruse Education Center

Dr. Joe Trsar, Memorial School

Dr. Don Hantson, Central Middle School Principal

Mrs. Rebecca Ferrebee, Central Middle School Assistant Principal

Mr. Kevin Kuzanek, Central Middle School Assistant Principal