The mission statement of East Maine School District 63 says a lot about who we are. Our staff works hard everyday to prepare children for a world that is constantly changing. By empowering them to make good decisions and to use their talents, we believe our students will succeed. To learn more about our specific programs for children, visit our website at www.emsd63.org.
I have created this blog to communicate with our community members. I look forward to hearing from you.
Dr. Clay
For more information about our district, click on the links below:
East Maine District 63 on Facebook
(Follow District 63 on our Facebook page for information, updates, and weather related closings.)
(Constant Contact will give you email updates from individual schools and the district including our Community Connection Newsletter)
East Maine District 63 School Board Meeting Minutes
This Saturday, May 19th from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in Center Court, Golf
Mill Shopping Center in partnership with the Niles Police Department and
Volunteers will hold a Child Safety event. Families who visit Center Court will
be able to pick up education materials such a complimentary book marks and
child safely packets. Families will learn about procedures to take if a child
is ever missing. Finger printing will be available as well. This event will
compliment the Press Conference set for May 25th at 10 a.m. in the Golf Mill
Center Court commemorating National Missing Children’s Day.
This past Spring Break Ms. Tyrrell, one of the Spanish
teachers at Gemini, led a trip of five students to Costa Rica. While there the
students were able to experience first-hand the ecological and cultural wonders
of this Central American country. Each day was jam-packed with educational and
fun activities. Ecological activities included visiting INBioparque, a botanical
garden exhibiting the various ecosystems from around the country. Students
learned how to distinguish between dry, rain, and cloud forests as well as
learned about different leaves of plants and what purposes they serve. Students
also spent one day hiking through the Santa Elena National Cloud Forest in the
Monteverde region where they were able to put their knowledge of plants and
leaves to the test.
Cultural activities included visiting a rural school where
they donated much needed classroom supplies. They also met with a resident who
shared his experience of surviving one of Costa Rica’s historic volcanic
eruptions. In addition, the students were able to watch and even participate in
a local Costa Rican Folklore dance on their final evening of the trip.
While the students were learning, they were also having fun
and participated in several different outdoor adventures. They kayaked in Lake Arenal
under the still active Arenal Volcano. They enjoyed a view from above as they
zip-lined through the canopy of the rain forest. Some also had their first
experience going horseback riding. At the end of these long days, they were
able to relax in the natural thermal baths, hot springs, and beaches found in many parts
of the country. All in all it was a great trip! Ms. Raczkowski and Ms. Tyrrell
are excited about planning another trip to Costa
Rica for Spring Break 2013. Please contact one of these
group leaders if you have any interest in helping sponsor one of the travelers.
On Saturday, March 31, Illinois EPA Interim Director John Kim honored a group of distinguished Illinois fifth and sixth grade students selected for their creative skills used to express environmental awareness, as part of the Agency’s 25th annual Poster, Poetry and Prose Contest. This year’s theme focused on storm water pollution and ways to prevent it with Going Green to Keep Your Storm Water Clean!
The writers and artists selected from throughout Illinois were recognized at a reception in the Howlett Building in downtown Springfield.
http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/contest/2012/index.html
The link below is for a video from the Cartoon Network on preventing bullying called Speak Up. Please consider watching it with your child.
Join us for the 33rd Annual Charity Basketball Game – March 16th @ Gemini Jr. High
Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
Game stars at 6:00 p.m.
Gemini staff will be playing East Maine School District 63
elementary school teachers and administration in this crowd pleasing charity
event. Funds raised will be given to Children’s Memorial Hospital for cancer
research. Since its inception, this event has raised over $120,000. Musical
entertainment, concessions, and a raffle will also be a part of this worthy
event. Gemini is located at 8955 Greenwood in Niles.
Congratulations to Melzer School for earning the Academic Excellence Award – 2011 Illinois Honor Roll. The Illinois State Board of Education commends you and your faculty on all the good work required to sustain academic excellence in your school.
Across the state, 438 schools earned the Academic Excellence Award for 2011.
To earn an Academic Excellence Award, a school must meet the following criteria:
• Schools must have made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2010 and 2011 as required by No Child Left Behind.
• In schools serving grades 8 and below, 90 percent of students must have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for the three most recent school years;
• In high schools, 80 percent of students must have met or exceeded state standards in both reading and mathematics for the three most recent school years.
At http://www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu you can learn more about the Illinois Honor Roll, which includes three categories of awards – Spotlight Schools, Academic Improvement, and Academic Excellence.
Follow the link to see a video of our Gemini Jazz Band playing at the Niles Public Library last Friday night.
Congratulations to Stevenson School, winners of the 2011-2012 Battle of the Books! And, champions of the Niles vs. Morton Grove Championship Battle.
The Gemini Jazz Band has been selected to play at this year’s Illinois Music Educators’ Association Conference in Peoria, IL. The selection of the Gemini jazz band as one of two junior high jazz bands to perform at the state conference was part of a rigorous selection process that involved sending in background information about the school and band program, accomplishments, and recent recordings of the band playing in different styles.
In November, the Gemini Drama Team competed at the IESA State Speech Contest for our region. We did very well at the contest and our kids were terrific.
Yesterday, I got notification that 2 of our entries received Judges’ Choice Awards. These are awarded to entries that the judges deem exceptional and there are only a few given out each year.
They are outstanding students and, as these awards show, exceptional actors.
Congratulations to our Gemini Students.
