MacArthur Musings

October 21, 2022

Dr. Camron Nystrom
Principal

Ms. Stephanie Gage
Assistant Principal

MacArthur Middle School
700 N Schoenbeck Rd
Prospect Heights, IL 60070
T: (847) 870-3879
F: (847) 870-3881

Attendance:
(847) 870-5375

Principal's Welcome


Welcome to MacArthur Middle School, home of the Marauders!


Please join us at Family Fest tonight outside of MacArthur and Sullivan schools. There will be food, games, and other activities from 4pm-7pm!

The weather is warming up nicely this week after the cold November start.

Speaking of November, it is time for Parent Teacher Conferences. These are scheduled on November 3rd and 10th from 4:30-8pm. There will be signup forms coming out in the next week or so.

Also in November, we typically shift our arrival and dismissal plan to be one where the students aren't outside in the mornings. All car drop-offs and pickups will use Door 1 (front of school). All bus riders and bike riders will use Door 6 (by the cafeteria). Walkers can use either door based on your direction. This will begin the week of 10/31.


I look forward to seeing you at Family Fest this afternoon for another engaging reason we are all #PROUD2BD23!

Prepared Respect Integrity Determination Engaged
MacArthur empowers all learners to thrive!

Exploratory Update

Preparing for tonight's Family Fest, Dr. Angelaccio stops by Chorus to lend a voice to rehearsal!


What is that delicious smell wafting through the halls?

It must be cinnamon roll day in FACS class! Did any samples make it home to you?


Next week, Art and Spanish will be collaborating on a special project to celebrate "dia de los muertos".

Student Senate Hot Chocolate 5k

7th Grade Science

The 7th graders are currently finishing up their Earth Science Module.

In these units, students have come to a better understanding of the rock cycle and the three main types of rocks, delta formations and other natural features formed by weathering and erosion, geoscience processes caused by plate tectonics, and finally natural hazards. During the rock cycle we used crayons to model the different processes that rocks undergo as they change from one type to another. 

Delta formation was modeled in the lab using a lot of sand and erosion by wind, water and ice. Plate tectonics led us to use graham crackers and frosting to demonstrate the differences between transform and convergent plate boundaries to form earthquakes and mountains.

As we finish up Earth Science over the next couple of weeks, the 7th graders will be asked to research, understand and develop a fictional newscast report on a given natural hazard, including how to stay safe and mitigate property damage. Coming up in Trimester 2, 7th graders will move into the Physical Science Module, which will focus on forces, motion, and energy, with a heavy emphasis on the Engineering Design Process. 

6th Grade Math

Our math students are finishing the first unit of study: Expressions and Equations. At the beginning of the unit, they learned how to find the area of parallelograms, triangles, and irregular polygons, as well as calculate the surface area of 3-D shapes. Later in the unit, they explored writing and evaluating algebraic expressions, learned the definition of exponents, and applied these concepts to solve problems with unknown quantities. Finally, they learned about the concepts of greatest common factor and least common multiple, and used these strategies to solve real-world problems. These skills provide students the opportunity to reason abstractly and quantitatively, as well as look for and make use of structure. In the upcoming unit, students will be expanding their knowledge of the number system through dividing decimal numbers and performing division with fractions.

Veterans Day Assembly

Our school-wide Veterans Day Assembly is returning! This is a great way for our Marauders to learn about the history of our nation, its traditions, and honor those that have served. After a few years of modified ceremonies, we are back to the live performances for all to experience.

If you are a veteran or know of one in the area, please call us to reserve a seat in the experience. We would love to have you!

8th Grade

All 8th grade students will take the PSAT on 10/29. You should have gotten information from your high school this week. Please contact the high school for questions about this process. They will be the best contact for support.

The first step in becoming a Wildcat or a Huskey is completing an Online Pre-Registration by this Thursday (October 20th). This guarantees a spot for your student for the PSAT Testing which is one of the measures we utilize to place your student in the appropriate core classes their freshmen year. If you've already done this step, you are set to go!


The second step in preparing for your students freshman year is to attend the Class of 2027 Elective and Academic Evening at Wheeling or Hersey High School on Wednesday, December 21st from 5:00-8:00pm. This evening you will bring your students original birth certificate or passport for staff to make a copy. Then you will attend a session about core classes and have the opportunity to tour electives. Before your family leaves, you will submit your selection for classes.  

District News and Update

District 23 is focused on continuous improvement and creating opportunities for all students to grow.


Our Strategic Plan, based on input from community stakeholders guides this work. At the request of the Board of Education, the administrative team is investigating fiscally responsible opportunities to serve the community, meet unmet goals, improve safety and security, repair and maintain facilities, and expand early learning educational programming.

Four preliminary areas of need were identified and a potential solution has been developed. The District will be seeking additional community input in Fall 2023 to refine the plan so we can best support ALL of our students, their families, and the communities we serve.

Please attend an informational meeting to learn more and share your thoughts. All sessions will take place Eisenhower School on:

October 27 7:00pm - Eisenhower School (as part of the PTO Meeting)


For more information, you are also encouraged to visit our

BUILDING A BETTER D23 Website.

Important Dates 2022-23

-Institute Days: 11/7, 1/9, 4/10

-School Improvement Days: 5/12

-Holidays: No School

  -Thanksgiving Break: 11/21-11/25

  -Winter Break:12/23-1/6

  -Martin Luther King Day: 1/16

  -Presidents' Day: 2/20

  -Spring Break: 3/27-3/31

  -Memorial Day: 5/29

-Additional Non-Attendance Days: 11/8, 2/17, 4/7

-8th Grade Promotion (tentative): 5/31

-Last Day of Student Attendance (if no emergency days used): 6/2

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