Middle Matters - Summer Communication: July 27th, 2021

  • Posted August 14, 2021

July  2021

Dear Brooks Parents and Guardians,

I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable summer thus far.  We are taking this moment to share some important information with you in preparation for the upcoming school year.  If you have questions about the upcoming school year, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].  You can also contact our Executive Coordinator, Ms. Tasha Guerino at [email protected].

Our administrative team: 

STUDENT SCHEDULES

Your child’s schedule will be e-mailed home on Monday, August 16th, 2021. All requested courses were considered and assigned whenever available.  If your student’s registration hasn’t been fully completed, including the uploading of all required documents, we will not be able to send your student’s schedule at this time.

BACK TO SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE EVENT

Our Back to School Open House will be held on Wednesday, August 18th. Please see this flyer for more details. Your student can attend with or without a parent/guardian during the student's assigned time frame. Plan for your student to spend 30-60 minutes to ensure they are able to swap out their district issued technology and associated charger and gather all the other important information. Please wear masks and maintain social distancing.

  • 8th Graders:  2pm to 4pm
  • 7th Graders: 4pm to 6pm
  • 6th Graders, Fully Remote 7th Graders Last Year and New Students: 6pm to 8:30pm

**If you are an incoming 6th grade student or a new student to Brooks Middle School, make sure you stop by the PTO table to pick up your Brooks t-shirt! 

6th GRADERS, NEW STUDENTS & FULLY REMOTE 7th GRADERS LAST SCHOOL YEAR ONLY

From 6:00pm to 8:30pm, incoming 6th graders, fully remote 7th graders last year and new students ONLY will have an opportunity to walk their schedule in a more informal setting, while fully masked and maintaining social distancing. Parents/Guardians will need to remain outside. Please pardon our dust as we will still be preparing the building for the first day of school, but students can feel free to navigate the building to be prepared for their first day of school.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

On Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 students will attend school from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. On the first day of school, all students should report to their FIRST period clsss. (This has been updated from the intitial communication)

SCHOOL DAY

We will be following a block schedule for the upcoming school year. Students will attend 4 of their 8 classes M-Th following an A/B Schedule (White Day/Blue Day) and on Fridays C Schedule (Eagle Day) students will attend all of their classes.  On the weeks where there is a day with no school, students will follow the A/B (White Day/Blue Day) schedule.  Here is the schedule rotation through winter break. 

ATTENDANCE

We strive to improve the attendance of all of our students. Each minute of each school day provides opportunities for learning and it’s noticeable when students miss time. Absences, even if they are excused, can add up to academic trouble.  Missing only 2 days a month (excused or unexcused), means your child misses 10% of the school year.  As a school district, our goal is to have students in attendance 98% of the time, which translates to about 1 absence per trimester.  Here is some helpful information to guide your decision related to your child’s health and school attendance. If your child is going to be absent, please notify the office prior to 9:00 a.m. by calling (708) 665-3074 or emailing [email protected].  When we do not receive a call or email from a parent/guardian, school regulations require that parents/guardians are contacted to verify the child's absence. 

PE UNIFORMS 

We will be starting the school year not using the locker rooms to limit students’ close proximity to one another. Students will need to wear gym shoes and clothing that would permit participation in PE on the days they are scheduled for PE. As a result, students will not be changing for PE and will not need to purchase a PE uniform this school year. We will re-evaluate the use of the locker rooms each trimester.  If the locker rooms become available, students can change into their own athletic wear or come dressed that day in clothing that will enable them to participate in PE.  Please be sure your student wears appropriate footwear and clothing on the days they are scheduled to attend PE class.

HEALTH OFFICE REQUIREMENTS

Incoming 6th-grade students and/or any new students who have transferred into District 97, MUST have a wellness physical and dental exam dated no less than one year prior to August 25th, 2021.  Your child's physical must have been performed after August 25th, 2020 .  Your child may not be admitted to school without these documents. Please submit the documents by mail or in person no later than August 25, 2021 to the following:

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

325 S. Kenilworth Ave.

Oak Park, IL 60302

Attn: Health Office, Nurse Nancy Radogno

SPORTS PHYSICALS – The State of Illinois Office of Education requires that any student who wishes to participate in interscholastic sports MUST have an Athletic Physical Examination, dated no less than one year prior to the first day of the current school year, anytime after August 25, 2020. It is MANDATORY that your child have this physical before they will be eligible to try out or participate in any interscholastic activity.

To access student health forms please visit http://www.op97.org/hr/health-requirements

BROOKS SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY 2021

Students in grades six through eight are welcome to join the cross country team. The Cross Country coaches for 2021 are Tom Rocco ([email protected]), Lary Grimaldi ([email protected]) and Kim Beader ([email protected]). Cross Country is a no-cut sport at the middle schools. Students who have all the necessary paperwork completed (sports physical-the Interscholastic Sports “yes” box needs to be checked, sports permission slip and concussion form) and turned in will be accepted onto the team through Friday, August 27th, or once the 75 available spots have been filled.  All students must have a copy of an updated physical to hand to the coach (we will not have access to nurse's files) before practicing for the 2021-2022 cross country season.   Please see the linked information from the coaches which outlines what is needed each practice and the calendar of practices for the month of August. Students will not be permitted to start with the team prior to all necessary paperwork being turned into the coaches.

6th GRADE MATH PLACEMENT

Math placement letters were emailed May 2021.  For those students who participated in the Summer MAP testing opportunity, we will be emailing updated math placement letters the first week of August.

SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST

Please use our School supply list to get the needed supplies for the upcoming school year.

ALL BROOKS GRADE LEVEL STUDENTS - DISTRICT ISSUED DEVICE TECHNOLOGY SWAP

All Brooks students should bring their currently issued district device and charger to swap for a new chromebook and charger when they attend the Brooks Back to School Open House on Wednesday, August 18th at your student’s designated time. See this flyer.

7th and 8th grade Students: If your student needs to replace their chromebook charger, you can pay for the missing charger ahead of time via revtrak: https://oakpark.revtrak.net/Middle-Schools/BMS/brooks-chromebooks/#/list

6th grade Students: If your student needs to replace their ipad charger, you can pay for the missing charger ahead of time via revtrak using the Hatch link regardless of the elementary school your student attended: https://oakpark.revtrak.net/Elementary-Schools/Hatch-Elementary/hatch-ipad/#/list

SCHOOL FEES

Fees may be paid online at https://oakpark.revtrak.net/Middle-Schools/BMS/BMS-School-Fees/#/list  Starting Thursday, August 12th, you may also pay fees in person at the Brooks Office during the week between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

  • Back Pack Give Back (sponsored by Triton and West40): Saturday, August 7th from 10am to noon; see details
  • Back to School Open House: Wednesday, August 18th; see flyer for details
  • First Day of School:  Wednesday, August 25th from 9:00am to 3:30pm
  • PTO Welcome Back Night: Wednesday, September 1st from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
  • Virtual Curriculum Night: Thursday, September 9th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
  • Conferences:  Thursday, October 21st from 12:45pm to 8pm
  • End of Trimester 1:  Wednesday, November 17th
  • Trimester 1 Report Card Emailed Home:  Friday, December 10th

Please look for an additional Back-to-School communication in August, which will include additional information connected to COVID-19 mitigations.

Yours in education,

April Capuder

Principal