Newsletter for the Week of November 13
Dear Julian Families,
It is hard to believe that the 1st trimester will be coming to an end in less than 2 weeks. Please encourage your student to finish strong by completing all assignments and to also have them take advantage of the opportunities to get additional support from their teachers before school, after school, and sometimes even during lunch if they need it.
Here is some information about things happening in our building.
Julian Middle School "Pays It Forward"
What is “Pay It Forward?”
- Over 1,900 individuals throughout the Oak Park River Forest Community complete the request to have a little holiday cheer spread to them. This event is coordinated through the Oak Park River Forest Community of Congregations and is also known as the Holiday Food and Gift Basket Program.
- Julian has once again agreed to sponsor over 50 families!
- Each advisory picks one or two families to sponsor. This means that the advisory buys and wraps all the gifts for everyone in the family.
- The goal is to have 100% building participation so this means we have kids bring in gifts, tape, wrapping paper, wrap gifts, etc...so everyone feels a part of it.
- All the gifts have to be new and we encourage teachers/students to get gift receipts with their purchases.
- The work that goes into coordinating this project occurs during advisory classes through December 10.
"Pay It Forward" is closely linked to the following IB Learner Profile attributes that we strive to help our students develop during their time at Julian Middle School-Caring, Principled, Open-Minded, Balanced, and Reflective.
If you are interested in "Paying It Forward" to a family in the area, please contact Patty with the Oak Park Community of Congregations at [email protected].
It is the week of West Side Story!
CAST is excited to present the timeless classic West Side Story tonight, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern day New York City, as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart wrenching and relevant musical dramas of our time. Come support our Julian students as they sing and dance their way into your heart!
Tickets are available here.
This year, we are also celebrating CAST's 30th anniversary which is very exciting. Julian's theater program which originally served 30 students and began by presenting 2 shows has now grown to our current program that works with over 200 students and presents 9 shows each year. Please read the great article that ran in Chicago Trib Local that can be found here.
For news about our CREW kids, please read our CAST Summer Twitter page here. So many thanks to all our CREW members for all their hard work behind the scenes for each show. We love CREW!!!
Spoken Word Program in Action at Julian
Over the course of November, our 7th grade language arts classes will be spending approximately 3-4 LA periods with Julian's Spoken Word teaching artist Ito Osaigbovo. The work that is being done with our students in November will be highlighted at a Poetry Slam on Thursday, December 10 during 1st and 2nd period in our auditorium. As the year progresses, students from all grade levels will have the opportunity to join the Spoken Word Club that is being led by the Oak Park Education Foundation (OPEF). Please check out this link to see some pictures of Ms. Chu's 7th grade students in action.
Upcoming Events
No School--November 25-27, Thanksgiving Break
Sincerely,
Dr. Todd Fitzgerald
Principal
Percy Julian Middle School
Email questions to Principal Fitzgerald.