News

Greetings Margaret Mead Community,
 
Please see below for information about how we continue towards ensuring the Mead community is Fostering Academic Achievement and Creating a Positive Culture.  
 
Fostering Academic Achievement
 
Spring MAP:  Our final assessment is coming up at the beginning of May!  Our students have done incredible work this school year doing the “hard things” that we have asked of them.  One of the “hard things” they did this year is set academic goals for themselves around their MAP achievement—we look forward to seeing them accomplish their goals on the following dates:

• May 1-3: MAP-Mathematics in their mathematics classrooms
• May 6-8: MAP-Reading in their language arts classrooms

 
Summer of 54: Keep the mind and body engaged and moving this summer by joining a Summer of 54 camp! District 54 students can build robots, design a t-shirt, learn a new sport, brush up on music skills, start a business, and so much more! Registration will open in your Parent Portal on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 9:00 am and will close on Friday, May 3, 2024 at 12:00 pm (Instrumental Music due by Friday, May 24, 2024). Seats fill up fast so sign up to be a part of the Summer of 54 Camp family! If you would like more information on each camp and the courses, please view the brochure at the link below:

• 2024 Summer of 54 Camp Brochure
   2024 Summer of 54 Camp Brochure (SPANISH)

 
Eighth Grade Student Information: Please see below for important information for our graduating Mustangs:

• Graduation Ceremony: The graduation ceremony will begin promptly at 4:30 pm on Sunday, June 2 at Wintrust Field (also known as Schaumburg Boomers Stadium) 1999 South Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg.  Graduates should arrive no later than 4:00 pm and report to the small parking lot on the southeast side of the stadium.   Families are asked to park in the south parking lot. A livestream of the ceremony will be posted to the District 54 YouTube Channel for those who are unable to attend the ceremony. All students’ names will be read during the ceremony, whether they attend or not. Students will be walking on the dirt path and grass on the baseball field and therefore should wear flat shoes (no heels). Please note that there is another District 54 junior high school graduation ceremony before our ceremony at 2:30 pm, so please be respectful of their exit when entering our ceremony. In the event of rain, we will hold our graduation ceremony on Monday, June 3 at William Fremd High School at 6:00 pm.  If we have to cancel the ceremony on June 2 due to rain, we will notify all families on that day.
• Graduation Ceremony Tickets: Tickets are required to enter the ceremony. Wintrust Field is asking that we assign each family to six tickets. Students will sit on the field with their classmates, while families will sit in the stands. We will be sending tickets indicating your assigned seats home with your graduate no later than Friday, May 31.  Families of graduates with last names A-L will sit along the first base line.   Families of graduates with last names M-Z will sit along the third base line.  
• Entering the Stadium: Families of graduates will enter the stadium at the “First Base Gate” on the south end of the stadium and will sit in their designated seats.  Guests with special needs can enter through the “Main Entrance” and once in the stadium a designated seating is available on the concourse.    
• Graduation Gowns: Graduation gowns will be distributed no later than Friday, May 31 during the school day. Reminder that if your student is participating in the ceremony at Wintrust Field, they are required to wear a gown in our school colors.  Please note that District 54 does NOT have graduation caps as part of our ceremonies—only gowns. We recommend that students wear dress clothes under the gown. If your graduate still needs to purchase a graduation gown, then please call our main office at 847-357-6000 and we can assist you.
• Graduation Practice: Graduation practice for our eighth-grade students will take place in the gym starting at 8:00 am on Friday, May 31. If your student is participating in the ceremony, then they are required to attend practice on this day.
• Yearbooks:  For those families that have purchased a yearbook for their student, it is our goal to distribute them to the eighth-grade students no later than Friday, May 31.
• Chromebooks:  On Thursday, May 30, eighth-grade students will be returning their Chromebooks and chargers. The last day for eighth grade students to access their Google account will be Friday, May 31. If your student is not participating in the graduation practice and ceremony, please return their Chromebook and charger to school on Friday, May 31.
• Last Day of School: The last day of attendance for eighth grade students will be on Friday, May 31. 
• Eighth Grade Dance: We are excited to announce that the eighth-grade dance is scheduled for Friday, May 17.        Thank you to our wonderful PTA for planning this special event!  More details to come.  
• District 211 has updated its comprehensive transition guidebook for the high school graduating class of 2027.  The guidebook highlights important information the families of current 8th grade students will want to know.  Each District 211 high school has a unique version of the Class of 2027 Transition Guidebook.  You can locate electronic copies of each high school’s guidebook on the District 211 webpage devoted to incoming freshmen information.  Please contact your student’s prospective high school for more information about the high school transition.    

 
Academic Support:  If your student requires support with mathematics, language arts, science, or social studies or just help with organization, then please see below on various ways that we provide support at Mead to ensure your student’s success.

• The District 54 Infinite Campus Parent Portal provides access for parents and students to information including viewing assignments, attendance, grades, academic schedule, and teacher comments.  If you currently do not have a Parent Portal account, please email [email protected] or you can call our front office at 1-847-357-6000 and our secretaries can assist you.  If you have previously created a Parent Portal account and cannot recall your username or password, then you can reset them yourself from the parent portal by selecting “forgot password”.  You can also pay for optional instructional device insurance and/or milk purchase through your parent portal account.  
• Chromebooks: We use the organizational tools on the Google platform via Chromebook to help develop your student’s organizational skills and learn responsibility. This platform also serves as a communication tool between home and school.  Please remind your student to charge their Chromebook nightly and to bring their power cord with them to school every day.  For more information about Chromebooks, please click here: What is a Chromebook?   In addition, please click on this link: Parent/Community Instructions for Accessing their Child’s Google Calendar for helpful information for you to help your student manage their Google Calendar.  
• Mead Homework Website:   On a daily basis, you can see what assignments your student has to complete and to see when they have upcoming tests/assessments by visiting our Mead homepage and clicking on our Mead Homework Website—you can click on this LINK to begin using it now.  Be sure to bookmark this site to stay up on your student’s assignment list!
• After-School Academic Content Study Halls:  Our language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science teachers will be hosting after-school content study halls that will be open to all students who either need academic support from content specialists or just want a quiet place to study with peers at Mead.  The study hall schedule will be provided to your student soon—we encourage them to take advantage of these opportunities.  Please know that teachers are also available by appointment by emailing your student’s teachers to request extra help either before or after school.  
• Class Work Support Program: If your student has 5 or more missing assignments, then your student will take part in our Class Work Support Program to support their missing assignment completion.  The Class Work Support Program includes some or all of the following:
  1. A Class Work Guide (Mead staff member) may meet with your student to develop a plan to complete their missing assignments for the week. 
  2. An optional Afterschool Class Work Support Study Hall may be required for your student to attend after-school on Monday or Tuesday to provide a protected time afterschool to hold them accountable and support them in completing their missing assignments. 
  3. A daily check-in with a Mead staff member to review a daily homework sheet to support your student’s organization. 
  4. A Class Work Mentor (Mead staff member) may be assigned to them to work with them on organizational skills.   

 
 
Creating a Positive Culture
  
PTA: Please see below for important information from our wonderful PTA:

• Thank you to the following parent volunteers who have donated their time to serve our Mustangs lunch recently: Priya Patel, Dee Politis, Lizzie Simantz, Shiho Tokunago. Yuka Sugiyama, and Saadia Abdul.
• If you are available and interested in volunteering to serve hot lunches to our Mustangs, please click on the link HERE. Hot Lunch is served every Thursday. We have 2 sessions to volunteer: 9:45-11:00 am and 11:30 am-12:15 pm.  
• The Mead PTA is looking for members interested in being a part of the Staff Appreciation Week Committee.  If you are interested, then please email [email protected]
• Thank you to our wonderful Mead PTA for creating our brand-new Mead Spirit Wear Shop!  To access the online shop, please click on this LINK and shop away–the spirit wear shop is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year!  Once you have placed your order, your items will be delivered to Mead JH.  For current Mead students, we will send your ordered items home with your Mustang.  For our future Mead students, we will inter-school mail your ordered items to be delivered to your student’s elementary school office to be sent home with your future Mustang.  A portion of the purchase will support the Mead PTA.
• The Mead PTA has set a goal to increase the number of PTA members at Mead this school year.  Please join the Mead PTA by clicking HERE!  
• Please visit our Mead PTA Facebook page for information including how to join the PTA and how to sign up for volunteer opportunities through our PTA. 

 
Coffee & Conversation: Activities for the Summer: You are invited to join us from 5:00 – 6:00 pm on April 17 at the District 54 Professional Learning Center as District 54’s Multicultural Parent Advisory Council presents a session for parents on “Activities for the Summer”. Join us as we share information about different activities and resources that are available for students and families in the summer. Translators will be available in Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Mongolian and Ukrainian. To register for the event, please complete a Coffee & Conversation RSVP Form.  
 
Pizza Day Facilitator Needed:  Thank you to Dee Politis for running our Pizza Day program the past two school years!  She has set up a wonderful system ready for a new volunteer facilitator to jump right in to.  This person will work with our front office team to serve pizza to our Mustangs every Tuesday.  If you are interested, please email me at [email protected] or call our front office at 847-357-6000!  
 
Boys Volleyball and Track and Field are in full season!  Boys Volleyball plays 4/15 vs. Keller, 4/16 @ Eisenhower, 4/18 @ Addams, 4/23 vs. Frost, 4/25 vs. Lincoln Prairie, 4/30 @ Keller, 5/2 vs. Eisenhower, and 5/3, 5/6, and 5/7 @ D54 Tournament.  Track and Field competes at the D54 track at Eisenhower Junior High School on 4/22, 4/25, 4/30, 5/13, and 5/20 @ D54 Conference Meet (Conant HS).  
 
March to Mead Made: Your students have worked extremely hard this school year—we are excited to end the school year strong and ask for your continued support.  The students have been a part of our “March to Mead Made” program that runs until the end of this school year.  The program reward students who show Respect, Responsibility, and Resilience every day at Mead.  The details of the program are below for your reference.  Your student’s Advocacy teacher will be in communication with your student about their point progress in each of these areas.  In addition, if your student is not on track to make our school-wide goal, then your student’s Advocacy teacher will be in touch with you to let you know so you can reinforce the importance of ending the school year Mead Made!  Please review the program details below and let me know if you have any questions.   

• Goal of the March to Mead Made program is to help our students end the school year Mead Madeso they can be eligible to participate in the following year-end events:
  • Friday, May 17: 8th Grade Dance
  • Wednesday, May 23: 8th Grade Field Trip
  • Wednesday, May 29: 7th and 8th Grade Field Day
  • Sunday, June 2:  8th Grade Graduation Ceremony
• Students will be awarded points weekly.  On Wednesdays during Advocacy, each Advocacy teacher will share your student’s total points with them and how many more points that they will need to participate in the end of the year events.  Students will be required to get at least 80% of possible points to be eligible for the end of year privileges above. The points will be awarded in three areas:  

1. Every week, students will be awarded points in RESPECT

• • • Receiving ONE (or less) minor referrals in a week
    • Receiving ZERO major referrals in a week

1. Every week, students will be awarded points in RESPONSIBILITY

• • • Having FOUR or less tardies to class in a week

1. Every week, students will be awarded points in RESILIENCE

• • • NOT being required to participate in the Class Work Support Program for significant missing assignments during the week

 
Clubs and Intramural Sports:   Please encourage your child to get involved in these upcoming offerings: Aspiring Teachers Club, Service Club, Drone Club, Club Unify, Softball Club, Tennis Club, Garden Club, Prairie Partners Club, Anime Club, Game Club, Mustang Movement and Meditation, Pride Club, and Mead TV.  Please visit our Clubs and Intramural Sports page on our website for more information and downloadable permission slips for these clubs and intramural sports! 
 
Important upcoming dates: 

• May 1-3: MAP-Mathematics
• May 6-8: MAP-Reading
• May 17: 8th grade dance
• May 22: Half-day of student attendance; Mead Charity Event
• May 23:   8th grade field trip to Harper College for Career Fair
• May 29: 7th and 8th grades Field Day
• May 31: 8th grade graduation ceremony practice and last day of school for eighth grade students
• June 2: 8th grade graduation ceremony at Wintrust Field 4:30-5:30 pm
• June 3:   Last day of school for 7th grade students

 
Please visit our Mead JHS Website for the building calendar.  Don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and watch our YouTube Channel to stay updated with the latest news and information about the great things happening at Mead.  As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for your continued support and commitment to ensuring your student’s educational success.
 
Have a great week,  
 
Scott