5th grade mathematicians recently created board games as a way to review and apply learned math concepts!
This goal encompassess yearly school improvement planning, trimesterly benchmark data reviews, and unit assessment analysis. Accomplishments within this goal include:
-Data analysis at the district and school level to develop yearly School Improvement Plans at each of our three schools (This process has been presented at multiple state and national conferences by our very own Mokena staff members this year!)
-Updated district wide processes and systems for the review of Tier 1, 2, and 3 data sets through the work of the district’s MTSS Committee
-Grade Level Data Analysis meetings held each trimester in which benchmark data is reviewed to identify students as risk for not meeting standards and to plan for interventions needed
-Common summative unit assessments in core content classes that are analyzed by classroom teachers to identify strengths and areas for growth and instruction adjusted accordingly
The Early Start and Early Childhood "Pajama Jam" was so much fun last night at MES! Scribble Monster had our students jamming in their pjs all night! 🎸⭐
Come out to the Frankfort Culvers tonight to support the MES Student Council. MES teachers and staff will be serving you!
This goal focuses on how funds are budgeted based on student, school, and district needs as well as a focus on financial stewardship. Ongoing activities and accomplishment within this goal include:
-District continues to receive a “Financial Recognition" profile score from the Illinois State Board of Education for sound, responsible fiscal stewardship (the highest score one can receive)
-Annual budget development with district department leaders and school administrators focused on allocations of funds related to school and district improvement goals and needs
-5 year financial projections within Board of Education approved parameters of between 33% and 65% of fund balance to expenses
-Cash flow is monitored and projected to enable the district invest and accrue the
maximum amount of interest income
-Published financial highlights on a monthly basis in BoardBook
-District financial reports posted on the district website’s Transparency Page
Our March Kinderbuddies event included a writing project craft! It is so fun to watch the buddies' bonds grow each month!
Please take a few minutes to complete the 5Essentials Parent Survey before it closes on Friday. Visit: https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ .
We are currently at a 9% parent response rate and need at least 20% to receive a parent report. Thank you in advance for your feedback!
🥈 Congratulations to 8th grader Danny Moses (middle), the 8th Grade 2025 IESA State Chess Tournament runner-up! He is our first Meteor to place at state ever! 🥈
❤️ Our community is AMAZING! MES and MIS students raised a grant total of $60,844 for the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge! Thank you to our "Heart Heroes" for their generosity in this record breaking year! ❤️
Today was an exciting day in Kindergarten as students had a special visit from the Morton Arboretum! Each class experienced a hands on program to extend their ELA learning about trees. Students learned new facts about trees and looked closely at different leaves, seeds, roots, and tree cookies (sliced tree trunks)!
Thank you to the PTA for sponsoring this curricular event for our students!
7th grade scientists are having fun learning about amps, voltage and different circuits. 💡
Seven OUTSTANDING Kindergarten students presented their "Tree Research Projects" at our Board of Education meeting last night! We are so proud of their hard work, new learning, and public presentation skills. Let's give a big cheer to Rory, Layla, Maverick, Chloe, Cruz, Mack, and Josie as well as our Kindergarten teachers for a job well done!
Thank you to our crossing guards for keeping our students safe!
Save the Date! Informational Meetings will take place on April 29th to share updates to our programming for Advanced Learners for the 2025-2026 school year.
The Jazz Band and Choir performed a few songs at Bee You Therapy in Mokena. We had a great time performing for those in attendance and were grateful for the opportunity!
Thank you to Mrs. Spasojevic and Mrs. Stojak for coordinating our MIS Book Fair. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to get some great books, not to mention the funds that come back to the school from Scholastic.
Our Book Fair will be open all week.
Quality literature is the cornerstone of our reading and writing curriculum. 6th grade students are currently reading the novel "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen.
This novel not only supports students learning the reading standards, but also opens doorways to meaningful reflection and discussion about decision-making as students see how characters navigate complex situations and in turn it helps students learn to think critically about their own choices.
"Sometimes you're going to be faced with situations where the line isn't clear between what's right and what's wrong... In the end, all that's left is to look at both sides and go with your best judgment." (f)rom Carl Hiaasen's novel "Hoot")
This goal area aims to provide students with more opportunities to extend learning through exploratories curriculum areas. Accomplishments include:
-Addition of an Orchestra program at MIS and MJHS that started in 2022 with 28 students and now has 86 students!
-Project Lead the Way program adopted within the STEM exploratory at the junior high that includes the following classes: Design and Modeling, App Creators, Green Architecture, and Computer Science
☘️ Issue 2 of "Mokena Moments" has been published! You can view the new issue in your email inbox or by visiting our website at: https://www.mokena159.org/page/district-newsletter . ☘️
On Friday, our Administrative Assistant for Payroll, Diana Lopez-Cosme, our Transportation Coordinator, Ervin Walker and our Chief School Business Official, Dr. Teri Shaw presented at the state Bookkeepers Conference on "Payroll: Start to Finish for Transportation
'.
They were part of a roundtable discussion with four different school districts discussing their procedures for processing payroll for the transportation department.
We are very proud to have representation from Mokena 159 at the Illinois Association of School Business Officials Annual Bookkeepers Conference to share their collective wisdom!
