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News from Simmons
Sim
mons M
iddle S
chool
6450 W
. 95th
Street O
ak L
awn, IL
60453
708/5
99/8
540 F
ax 8
015 (sim
mons.rid
gelan
d122.co
m)
Octo
ber 2
011
/ New
sletter
Important Dates
October 6th—Parent/Teacher Conferences
5pm-8pm
October 7th—NO SCHOOL & Parent/Teacher
Conferences 9am—12pm
October 10th—NO SCHOOL—Columbus
Day
October 31st—NO SCHOOL—Teacher Insti-
tute Day
School Hours:
7:50AM Arrival/Entrance Bell
8:00AM Class Begins
2:30PM Dismissal Bell
If your student is absent for any reason
please call the attendance office at 708-599-
8540 before 9:00am or leave a message on
the Simmons answering machine.
Dear Simmons Families,
Our school year is underway and everyone is starting to get comfortable in their new surroundings.
We are so pleased with how well the beginning of the school year has gone. It was great to see so
many families come out for open house. Our PTA had record book fair sales this year thanks to the
support of our Simmons Families! As we go deeper into the school year we want to encourage all of
our Simmons Middle School families to stay involved with your children’s education. Here are just a
few of the ways that you can get involved and stay connected to Simmons Middle School:
1. Join the PTA—this parent-teacher organization sponsors many events that support our children
both educationally and socially. From book fairs to student socials to fundraising, our PTA sup-
ports the students and activities at Simmons Middle School. Please consider joining. Forms are
available in our office.
2. Attend Parent-Teacher Conferences—conferences will be held on October 6th from 5:00-8:00pm
and on October 7th from 9:00am-12:00pm. Please use this opportunity to pick up your child’s
ISAT report, MAP testing results, and their progress report and to meet with your child’s teach-
ers. Working as partners, we can help your child to succeed.
3. Visit our website– We are so pleased that Mr. Abramczyk is our new IT at Simmons Middle
School. He has already made some fabulous changes to our website and is constantly working to
keep it up to date. On our website you can check your child’s homework assignments, or catch
photos, video, and highlights from Simmons Events. You can also see our most up-to-date and
past newsletters and calendars. Be sure to check it out.
4. Sign up for Parent Portal—this online system will allow you to see your child’s grades, atten-
dance and help you to monitor your child’s progress. We will have additional signup forms
available at Parent-Teacher Conferences. If you are having any trouble using the system, please
feel free to contact us.
5. Attend Monthly Principal’s Coffees—We will be holding a casual monthly Principal coffee be-
ginning this October. This will give you the opportunity to meet with the administrative team
Simmons Middle School and hear short presentation based on educational topics. This month’s
topic will be Assessment. We will be discussing the upcoming Explore exam that our 8th graders
will be taking at the end of October. This test is used to help determine recommendations for
course placement at the high school level. J We will also be available to discuss ISAT results and
MAP data and to answer any questions that you may have about your child’s results. We hope
that you can join us on October 20th at 9:00am and 3:30pm.
6. Attend sporting events– Our softball and cross country events are coming to a close after an ex-
citing season. Girls Basketball and Boys Volleyball seasons will be getting underway so please
come out and support our Simmons Knights!
Yours for Children,
Mrs. Flood, Mr. McDermott, and Mr. Simpson
PBIS Lunch Time Website Updates
Promoting Positive Behaviors
Good Character, Good Decisions
PBIS is going strong here at Simmons Middle School. The
students are working daily on the 3 R’s (RESPECT SELF,
RESPECT OTHERS, and RESPECT PROPERTY). Dona-
tions for PBIS rewards are being accepted all school year.
Students can bring their donations to their first period teacher.
We are well into the school year and students are stopping by my
office complaining of sore throats, upset stomachs and headaches.
These are just a few issues that the students deal with on a regular
basis. Most of these complaints can be solved with simple remedies.
Our environment is loaded with substances that can irritate the
throat, especially if the student breathes through their mouth. Send-
ing a note with a few throat lozenges would be helpful. The student
can then stop in my office with the note so they can be cleared to
carry them.
Upset stomachs can be due to skipping breakfast, not drinking
enough fluids, and bowel irregularities. Students are allowed to take
a few minutes to rest, use the bathroom if needed, and have a light
snack from the cafeteria. They are encouraged to eat breakfast at
home or here at school .
Headaches are often caused by stress and/or a lack of liquids. Stu-
dent at this age often do not drink enough water, juice or milk to stay
hydrated. With adequate fluids, a short rest period, most students
can return to class.
What about adequate sleep? Researchers at Stanford University
Page 2
Student Council
Nurse’s Corner
SIM M ONS MI DDLE S CHO OL
Congratulations to our new Student Council Representatives listed below. They will soon be attending a Leadership Training day in Oct.
We will then begin our work at Simmons Middle School.
Mary Quinn, RN ILCSN
Simmons Middle School Nurse
Just Say No PBIS 2011
This month we had our first meeting! We set dates for
the next few weeks and talked about the expectation of
the club. The students had some great ideas and we are
very excited to get started planning activities for the
school year. First on our schedule is Red Ribbon Week.
More information will follow about what we are doing
for Red Ribbon Week.
studied teenager sleep patterns. The results of the study showed
that teenagers need more sleep than their younger siblings. The
recommended time for sleep is between 9-10 hours per night. It is
believed that at this age students bodies are changing at a rapid rate
and hormones that are critical to growth are released mostly during
sleep. Signs of sleep deprivation are: difficulty waking up in the
morning; irritability in the afternoon; falling asleep during the day;
oversleeping on the weekend; having difficulty remembering or
concentrating; and waking up often and having trouble going back
to sleep.
As parents, you can set the rules about adequate sleep, healthy
foods, and setting a daily routine for your children. Together we
can promote healthy habits and look forward to a successful year.
Feel free to call me with any questions you may have.
Mo Abdelsalem
Alexandra Aguirre
Rawan Alsalhi
Jacob Asfour
Stefen Bernitt
Raneen Bishawi
Brianna Boseman
Amanda Bulow
Alex Cruz
Felix Cruz
Brendon Juarez
Madelyn Kean
Aseel Khatib
Jelana Kissling
Amanda Komperda
Jon Konopinski
Isabel Kozlowski
Patti Kucharska
Pawl Las
Mia Loya
Daisy Magana
Max Maturlak
Ryan McNamara
Alyssa Mellas
Izeaha Morales
Bernie Muransky
Suzy Nowak
Adem Osmani
David Pawlikowski
Eulises Pena Bello
Yaritza Porras
Joras Ramirez
Brett Risley
Adem Sabriu
Mohammed
Salameh
Yesenia Salvador
Yara Sarhan
Steven Sawicki
Javaris Shorter
Nicole Sowa
Olivia Stelter
Giselle Telles
Francisco Vazquez
Marianna Vazquez
Rudy Yates
Luz Cruz
Alexis Fernandez
Tommy Glodo
Kailey Greene
Ricki Guajardo
Samantha Izaguirre
Jake Janicke
Marco Jimenez
Lucas Jimenez
Tabatha Joechle
SI MM ONS M I DDLE S CHOO L Page 3
Athletics
Physical Education
SST will have its first meeting on
Tuesday, October 18. We will meet
in room 222 until 3:00. All new
members are welcome to come!
This first meeting will prove to be
very "cool."
NJHS SST
The Cross Country team ended their sea-
son on September 26th at the conference
meet. All of our runners improved their
times throughout the year due to their hard
work and dedication. Even better, our
team showed true character as athletes by
running alongside their teammates when
they were tired, teaching each other new
drills and looking out for one another at
practice and in school. We are so proud of
all our runners and can't wait to see you
back next year!
Coach Stanek, Coach Cosich and Coach
Demma
The Boys’ softball team has had a tough run
as of late losing two consecutive extra inning
games. With a record of 2-6, the Knights
look to gain momentum going into the SWIC
conference tournament. The offense has been
powered by Steven Sawicki and Marcus
Favila, while Marco Jimenez has been the
most improved player taking great strides on
the mound. Cody McGrath and Ryan Quinn
have been stellar on defense. Good luck and
let’s sneak up on some teams!
The Lady Knights have been
battling off the rain and the oth-
ers teams to stay competitive in
the SWIC Conference. Marisa
Loya has been dominating the
league in pitching and the
Knight’s bats have been steadily
improving over the season. The
Lady Knights are hoping to pick-
up a few more wins and momen-
tum before heading into play-
offs. The team has shown great
improvement and looks to finish
the season
with Simmons
first playoff
win.
NJHS is off to a great
start! We held our first
few meetings and are
ecstatic at the great turn-
out! NJHS members
please remember we will
meet each week on Fri-
day’s for approximately 20 minutes after
school. Before inductions in 2012, second
year members must have completed 40 hours
of community service and first year members
must have 15 hours. We are hoping to have a
fun-filled year completing some great projects
and fundraisers. If you have any questions,
please see Mrs. Velasco or Mrs. Garcia.
PE uniforms arrived late this year but have been distributed to all students. Please remind your child to wear their uniform daily and have
gym shoes. Some of the activities the students will be participating in this tri-semester include kickball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, yoga,
hockey, flicker ball
and more.
NJHS Car Wash Fundraiser
September 24, 2011
gym
In literature, we are reading "Casey at the Bat" and creating baseball cards for the main character. In language arts, the yellow team just
completed their Museum of Me presentations and wrote their "Dear me" letters. Mrs. Valerio's class is just finishing up their Museum Of
Me presentations. We are learning a plethora of interesting facts about each other. In science the students have just finished learning about
lab safety and are leading into their first lab! They will learn the parts of the microscope and get to use them to look at animal cells! In
math we are into Chapter 1 of our Math textbooks. The students have just finished learning about variable expressions and exponents. We
will be moving into the Order of Operations, where the students will be SINGING the "rules" to the Order of Operations to try and remem-
ber it easier. Parents should be aware there will be another song being sung at home besides their Spanish alphabet! Spanish students are
currently learning numbers as well as how to ask someone's age and where they are from. In social studies students are discovering the Age
of Exploration by taking on the role of an explorer and creating an artifact to share with their classmates.
Page 4 SIM M ONS MI DDLE S CHO OL
8th Grade
7th Grade
Greetings 8th grade parents and students. The first trimester is off to a great start! Here are the interesting things happening in 8th grade. 8th grade literature students are studying a variety of literary terms
and analyzing their favorite children’s book to identify all ele-
ments that we have covered. Following these projects, we will
begin to use these elements to comprehend and explore Paul Zin-
del’s novel, The Pigman.
Advanced literature students will be analyzing critical story ele-
ments in their favorite children’s stories and poems. They will use
this knowledge to comprehend and examine elements in Of Mice
and Men by: John Steinbeck.
In language arts, students will be giving speeches about them-
selves. They will be creating personal portfolios, and will present
objects that have had an impact on their lives which have allowed
them to grow into the young adults that they are today. Following
these presentations, students will focus on word choice and sen-
tence structure to communicate clear ideas in their 100 word sto-
ries.
During Spanish we have been learning to identify items in the
kitchen and at the kitchen table. We’ve also learned to express
obligation, wishes and preferences. In addition we’ve learned so
much from the Venezuelan cultural such as their famous exporta-
tion items, famous waterfalls, and their delicious food. We are
currently learning what ingredients are used in making "Arepas" a
In the sixth grade there are many wonderful things happening in
class. We are working to make this transition to Middle school
easier for each student. We have worked on locker organization
and moving class to class. We have implemented a stamper tracker
for all of our students. The students will have the ability to earn
stamps from the teachers and there are various reward activities
they can participate in. We are reading many wonderful short sto-
ries in Literature class and working on our reading strategies pro-
vided by our consultant, Gretchen Courtney. In Language Arts, we
are writing, writing, and writing some more. We are working on
making strong sentences, proper use of grammar in the context of
our writing, and vocabulary. In math class, the 6th grade will be
6th Grade
covering number patterns, fractions and fraction operations. During
social studies class, the 6th will learn about how geography, espe-
cially rivers, affected civilizations. In Art, Purple Team students just
finished a drawing of their name using the rule of Perspective to
create a 3-D effect. Students are beginning a Pop-Art Self Portrait
that will focus on the pen and ink technique of stippling and use of
value to create a realistic form to their face. Weather and Climate is
the first book that we will be covering in sixth grade Science. We
will learn all about weather cycles and even learn how to predict
weather. We have learned all about the layers of the atmosphere and
how it heats itself. We will also learn all about air pollution and how
to prevent it.
traditional Venezuelan dish.
8th grade Science is working on matter and the states of matter. One
of the questions we are investigating is "Does air take up space?" If
not, then is air matter? Shortly we will be learning about the ele-
ments on the periodic table and the structure of the atom.
In social studies, students are studying the reconstruction era in our
history. The students are learning that bringing our country back
together after the civil war was not an easy task. The south was tat-
tered and torn by the war. Houses, plantations, and railroads were
burnt to the ground. The southern economy was in ruins. Many
years went by before the south could function again.
Algebra is off to a great start. Students had been working on expres-
sions, equations, and inequalities. We have also been facing our fear
of large word problems and tackling them head on! The students have
been working in groups and with partners to explain their thinking in
order to develop an understanding for mathematical problems instead
of just memorizing formulas. Also try to visit classzone.com; it is an
excellent resource for extra practice and tutorials. Math is like an old
friend, consistent is very ways, sometimes frustrating, but it is AL-
WAYS there!
Ayyob Mustafa
Zuzanna Nowak
Donald Nugent
Miles O’Brien
Jennifer Ogrodny
Christina Oprzedek
Karoline Para
Yaritza Porras
Gabriell Prochaska
Larissa Ptak
Natalia Rafacz
Qamar Rihan
Alexis Safstrom
Jasmine Schutt
Alejandro Serna Villal-
pando
Taylor Skala
Shaquira Smith
William Stubitsch
Rodrigo Zavala-Avalos
PT
A
Anthony Glover
Jennifer Gonzalez
Alexis Gratsonis
Aleksandra Gronski
Enrique Guajardo
Mahmoud Hussein
Olivia Jebreal
Madelyn Kean
LeAnne Kommenich
Jonathan Konopinski
Isabel Kozlowski
Alexis LaBarbera
Shane Land
Eduardo Liquez
Isayah Liquez
Diamond Mitchell
Ahmad Mohammad
Yasmeen AbuSamra
Makenna Arnold
Moises Avila
Tamara Benson
Alyssa Bitner
David Blacha
Zandra Bledsoe
Conor Burke
Adrian Castillo
Raymond Castillo
Jesse Compean
Maria Delgado
Timothy Doran
Allison Dusek
Luis Fierros
Karolina Galica
Anna Gil
Join us in wishing our students a Happy Birthday!
Octo
ber
September Student of the Month
Blue Team—Christian Calderon
Green Team—Muneer Awad
Red Team—Michael Cieczak
Yellow Team—Alexis Safstrom
Orange Team—Alex Correa
Purple Team– Maddy Kean
Thank you to the parents and faculty that stopped by the PTA table during the open houses whether it was to purchase
donuts, register, or just introduce themselves.
The Scholastic Book Fair was a success! Thank you to everyone who visited the book fair and to the parents that donated
their time to assist with the book fair. It looks like our students will start the year off with some good books to read! The
Orange team brought in the most change and won a few books for the team! Way to go!
We are looking forward to the 6th, 7th, & 8th grade socials. There will be a drawing for gift baskets at each dance; one for
boys and one for girls.
Upcoming PTA events……
October 13th—PTA Meeting 2:45pm
October 21st—6th Grade Social 2:30pm—4:00pm
November 4th—7th & 8th Grade Social 2:30pm—4:00pm
The vender fair that was scheduled for October 21st has been CANCELLED!!!!
Students gather outside Friday, September 9th to
remember the victims of September 11, 2001 P
rom
eth
ean
Bu
s V
isits
Sim
mon
s
Simmons Softball
6th GRADE
PURPLE TEAM
Mrs. Bentley
Ms. Cosich
Mrs. Kirk
Mr. Kuzanek
ORANGE TEAM
Ms. Korkosz
Ms. McGraw
Mrs. Skendzel
Ms. Stanek
Mr. Wichert
7th GRADE
RED TEAM
Mrs. Brooks
Mrs. Dasbach
Mrs. Poetz
Ms. Sauter
Mrs. Small
YELLOW TEAM
Mr. Blabas
Mrs. Chavosky
Mrs. Demma
Mrs. Valerio
8th GRADE
BLUE TEAM
Ms. Borchers
Mr. Gath
Ms. Hornik
Mrs. Valderrama
Ms. Wells
GREEN TEAM
Ms. Barry
Mrs. Chavosky
Mrs. Garcia
Ms. Price
Mrs. Vieni
PE/HEALTH
Mr. Burton
Mrs. Cherco
Mrs. Francis
Mr. Hunt
Mr. John
Ms. Rusch
Administrators
Mrs. Flood
Mr. McDermott
Mr. Simpson
Social Workers
Mrs. Daglas
Mrs. Wilson
Nurse
Mrs. Quinn
Speech
Ms. McNally
ELL
Ms. AbuRabah
Mr. Yasin
SIM M ONS MI DDLE S CHO OL Page 7