The January 8, 2025 Board of Education meeting video is now available.
Meeting Video Includes:
Open Session Meeting
Visitors to be Heard
Superintendent & Committee Reports
January 2025 Highlights
Auditor Presentation of District’s Annual Financial Report
Special Meetings of the Board of Education for the purpose of the Superintendent Search will take place on January 13, 15, and 23.
Administrator Reports
Mrs. Kim Maher:
14 staff members were CPR trained before winter break. These staff members will make up our building Cardiac Emergency Response Teams in compliance with the Cardiac Emergency Response Plan, required by the state of Illinois as of 1/1/2025. Reference information for ALL staff will be shared and posted near all phones this month.
New teachers continue to work with their mentors. We appreciate the support of all of our MSD114 staff in supporting the new staff on their teams and in their departments. New staff will participate in check-in meetings on January 22nd or 23rd.
Our administrative team has been planning for the upcoming Early Release and Teacher Institute Days to maximize the use of time for learning and collaboration among all MSD114 staff.
Mrs. Cheryl Donovan:
Winter benchmarking will take place over the next two weeks. Our MTSS team has ensured that this process is smooth and effective.
We are starting our exploration of two math resources, Eureka Squared and Envisions. Look for more information from me soon.
Mrs. Julie Hantson
The students in Mrs. Tooley, Mrs. Pierce, and Mrs. Dunlap's rooms did an excellent job performing their Christmas Plays before the break. These students will be starting their food drive for the Manhattan Food Pantry soon!
Mrs. Raymond’s junior high class did a great job performing in their music program. They sang Christmas songs and had a great time. We also went on a field trip to Dollar General and the students did great working on their budgeting/money skills and picking out amazing gifts for their families.
From Mrs. Palonis (MIS) - We’re thrilled to share that three of our fifth-grade students have completed a special reading challenge during winter break! Jazmine, Haylee, and Lexi not only read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever but also engaged in additional activities to demonstrate their comprehension of the story. Their hard work and dedication are a testament to their commitment to learning, even outside the classroom. Congratulations to these outstanding students on this impressive achievement! They will be rewarded for their hard work with an Amazon gift card!
Ms. Cari Rohe
It was very busy at Wilson Creek leading up to the winter break! Preschool students and their guests had a blast at their Winter Involvement Day! The students made a craft, had their picture taken, read stories and other activities with their guests. There was a 100% turnout for this event! Kindergarten students enjoyed their Gingerbread theme! Their unit concluded with students rotating through each of the Kindergarten classrooms to hear a different story about Gingerbread! Meanwhile, First Grade had lots of fun with their Grinch unit and wearing Grinch attire/watching The Grinch!
All of the students and staff enjoyed the 10 winter spirit days as they were able to wear pajamas to school, wear winter hats, dress like a candy cane, etc! Wilson Creek staff were celebrated with the 10 Days of Winter Cheer! Each day, there was a winter treat in the staff lounge (hot cocoa bar, frosty, grinch punch) or a fun activity planned (cookie decorating, winter bingo and trivia, peppermint in the pocket). All of Wilson Creek came together for our monthly pride assembly at the end of the 10 days to celebrate our family of the month, The Brannons. Students sang holiday songs from around the world they learned about in Mrs. Miller Amato's music class!
This month, K and 1st have their benchmark testing and the staff will be meeting with the instructional team for their data days! The month ends with an early release with professional development for staff.
Mrs. Elise Kirk
Music Club- 2nd-grade music club students put on a lovely holiday show with songs and instruments, while 3rd-grade music club students caroled to different classrooms. Thank you to Mrs. Bloom for going above and beyond and bringing the power of music to our students.
Pack Council- Thank you to our pack council for providing wonderful treats and notes of appreciation to our staff during the holidays. The lounge brought joy to everyone.
Holiday Parties- Thank you to our PTO and families for a wonderful holiday party. The students enjoyed games, crafts, and plenty of laughter.
THANK YOU- A big shout out to our staff for going above and beyond during December to make the holidays extra special.. Between holidays around the world in 2nd grade and STEM gingerbread houses in 3rd, it was a fun-filled month! I appreciate your continued dedication to creating magic at Anna McDonald.
Mr. Ryan McWilliams
Hope everyone had a nice relaxing break. Time to get back after it.
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time on 12/20 for holiday parties.
Dec. 19th was the day-long holiday dodgeball tourney. Congrats to the classes of Mr. Galassi and Mrs. Paskauskas on grade-level championships
Benchmarking will take place the week of Jan 13 with data days last week in January
Before the break, the ComEd lighting project at AM & MIS was completed. Lights look sharp and give both schools bright lighting & a clean, updated look
Thank you to the B&G crew for getting some odds and ends completed over break.
All light bulbs across buildings have been checked & filters changed
Fire sprinkler systems at WC & MIS have been inspected
Gym floors at AM & MIS have been cleaned & polished & sealed
The Syserco platform for HVAC was updated on January 6 & 7
Mr. Vince Perillo:
Winter Benchmark STAR Testing / DESSA Screener: In January, all students will take their Winter STAR Benchmark Tests in ELA and in math. Staff members will then look at the data in the following weeks to have conversations and decide how to best serve all of our students, especially leading into preparation for the IAR Test, which will be taken this year in March. Thanks to Mrs. Cheryl Donovan, Mrs. Meghan Petschinsky, Mrs. Amy Goberville, and Mrs. Joyce Watson for all their efforts in planning for STAR Testing as well as working with staff members on analyzing the data.
During January, staff members will also complete the DESSA-Mini Screeners on students as well. The DESSA forms help staff members identify students who need extra support from a social-emotional standpoint. Thanks to Mrs. Hantson, Mrs. Schoppe, Mrs. Klaric, and Mrs. Worth for their support with the DESSA screeners. Thanks to Mrs. Leppin, Mr. Glunz, and Mr. Butler (along with Mrs. Hallihan) for all of the time they spend on the technology side of things getting all tests set up for the students and staff.
8th-Grade Graduation: We are excited to be hosting our 8th-Grade Graduation at MJHS this year! The tentative time and date for the graduation ceremony is Tuesday, June 3rd, starting at 5:30 outside at our track and field field. More information will be shared as we get closer to the Spring.
7th-Grade Springfield Trip: The deadline for families to register for the 7th-Grade Springfield trip has been extended to Friday, January 17th. The trip, which is managed by the tour group WorldStrides, is a voluntary opportunity for our 7th-grade students to tour the state’s capital. Thanks to Ms. Podlesny worked with the tour group to arrange the trip, which is in April.
Music: The band, orchestra, and choir presented their Annual Holiday Concert on Thursday, December 12th. This was the first time before the pandemic that our amazing music programs were able to host the event at our school! All performers did a terrific job in front of a packed audience at MJHS!
Rooms 500, 502, 503, and 505 News: Rooms 500, 502, and 503, under the instruction of Ms. Tooley, Mrs. Pierce, and Mrs. Dunlap, performed their annual Christmas play in a new space this year right before Break. The performance continues to be hilarious and a staff favorite. The students did an AMAZING job. At the conclusion, the class had their annual “Snowball Fight” (softer snowballs this year) against staff and spectators - especially administrators! Later in the day, Room 505, led by Mrs. Raymond and Mrs. Campos, held their Christmas Caroling Performance. All singers and performers did a tremendous job bringing holiday spirit to all those in attendance! A huge shout out to Mrs. Pedziwater and Ms. Perkne who accompanied the signers in the show!
Scholastic Bowl: We are happy to start up our Scholastic Bowl team again for the 2025 season. The MJHS team has 15 students in grades 6-8. The Scholastic bowl team is scheduled for competitive matches with our conference schools beginning in February. The season runs through May. Mrs. Watson and Mrs. Hallihan appreciate your support for the program!
Mrs. Gina Burlison:
Good work to our Boys' Basketball teams as they continue on through their seasons. On Wednesday, January 22nd, our 7th and 8th grade teams will be playing against Liberty at Lincoln-Way West!
Our Girls' Volleyball teams' competitive seasons begin on Tuesday, January 7th at home against Minooka. Good luck to our Lady Demons!
Our MJHS Wrestlers have already been hard at work competing in several meets and invites. Congratulations to our lady wrestlers on their performance at our first all-girl invitational in Yorkville before winter break! All of our wrestlers continued their season this past weekend in Bloomington at the Tyler Johnson Memorial Varsity Tournament.
More information will be coming on our Bowling team soon. Students should check their emails for more information soon from Coaches, Mrs. Lamont and Mr. Glunz.