Community Consolidated School District 21 (“CCSD21”) will be offering free, healthy lunches throughout the summer for any child 18 years of age and younger. Lunch will be served Monday through Friday, beginning June 5 through August 4 from 10 a.m. to noon as part of the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program. Lunch will not be served on the following dates: June 19 and July 3, 4, 7, 14, 21 and 28. CCSD21 in-person summer school students will receive meals on site. Current menus are posted at ccsd21.org and updated monthly.
The locations of the free, healthy lunches can be found here.
2023-2024 registration for returning CCSD21 students
As of May 1, you may register your returning CCSD21 student for the 2023-2024 school year! We are implementing a new procedure for registration. SnapCodes will no longer be implemented for registration. You would need to login to your Parent Portal account by clicking here. Once you are logged into your account, on the left-hand side, you will see a link stating “2023-2024 Returning Student Registration.” This link will automatically take you to our registration portal. Fees for the 2023-2024 school year will not be collected during registration.
Please take time to complete this critical step for next school year.
Thank you!
CCSD21 posts tentative amended budget for FY2023
The CCSD21 board on May 18 approved the posting of the tentative amended budget for fiscal 2023. The amended budget will be on public display for the Illinois State Code requirement of 30 calendar days before it is considered at the June 22 board meeting. The district is also scheduled to host a public hearing that same night for interested CCSD21 citizens to present questions regarding the budget.
The proposed budget amendments are necessary to account for changes in expected revenues and expenditures, especially as it relates to the District’s actual property tax and other State and Local revenues received, Federal Grant dollars received and expended as well as the plans for summer construction.
Roughly 25% of Holmes’ roof to be replaced as part of summer work
Approximately 25% of the roof at Holmes Middle School will be repaired and replaced during the summer following repeated damage from high-wind incidents, one of many projects scheduled for completion across the district over these next few months.
GRADUATION PHOTOS: Below are links to Google Photos albums for each of our three graduation ceremonies, and you are free to download photos of your students or the event as they become available. Thank you, and congratulations to our graduating eighth graders once again!
CCSD21 will celebrate its 75th anniversary this summer, and we want you to aid us in that celebration. The district is asking former students and staff, as well as current staff members, to send a recorded video (or photos) of your experience with our district. You have all held a special chapter in our district and we are delighted to share your special memory with our community. To contribute, visit this link.
Three named as student representatives to board of education
During its monthly meeting on May 18, the board of education welcomed Mario V. of Holmes Middle School, Vicki G. of Cooper Middle School and Brandon C. of Jack London Middle School as the new student board representatives. The three now eighth graders will join the board for a one-year term to provide a unique lens and valuable insight on life as a student in CCSD21 for current board members as they conduct their business.
CCSD21 honors upcoming retirees, Recognizing Distinction and Celebrating Excellence award recipients
Before the board meeting on May 18, CCSD21 celebrated staff members with the annual Retiree, Recognizing Distinction and Celebrating Excellence awards. The nine retirees represent each district employee’s passion for the community and commitment to our standards and families. Recognizing Distinction acknowledges the hard work and efforts of educational support personnel, while Celebrating Excellence acknowledges licensed staff members for demonstrating and advancing district values of a professional learning community.
CCSD21 middle schoolers travel to state capitol on May 10 for Student Advocacy Day
Staff and students from Holmes and London Middle Schools traveled to Springfield in May for Student Advocacy Day at the Illinois State Capitol. Holmes students presented on their student media club, while London students presented on HomeStories, a project that began in Chicago and helps people around the world get to know one another by asking them to talk about where they feel most at home. HomeStories is used at the middle school to get to know students new to the U.S. and help them feel rooted in their new community.
Two organizations collecting gift cards for families of BGHS crash victims
Moe’s Cafe, owned by Whitman parent Odalys Uriostegui, and Alianza Hispana are collecting gift cards for the families of the victims from the May 16 car crash. CCSD21 board member Staci Allan, along with other community leaders, are organizing a gift card donation campaign to benefit the families affected by this tragedy. No amount is too small. Everything helps and will be distributed equally to the families.
Longfellow fifth graders end school year with persuasive/service learning projects
To say the fifth graders in Heather Popilek’s classroom at Longfellow Elementary School have blown her away with their social science/persuasive writing integrated service learning projects would be an understatement, according to Popilek.
Throughout the school year, Holmes AVID teacher Marny Schwartz coaches her students on two very important social skills: teamwork and cooperation. “We do a mixture of individual and team activities all year long and I encourage them to work with different classmates each time,” said Schwartz.
Middle school students learn first-hand about solar power
Solar panels are being installed at all three middle schools in CCSD21 as a way for students to learn about renewable energy. Each school will have three panels affixed on the exterior south wall or roof of their building.
Head to the Indian Trails Library for its Summer Library Adventure!
The Indian Trails Library launched its Summer Library Adventure on June 1. Open to all ages, guests can sign up and track their reading and complete activities to earn prizes. The pick-up dates for completion prizes will run from June 19 to July 31. Students can also receive a completion postcard to give to their teacher!
The library will also host a kick-off event on Saturday, June 10.
Main Library – 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Branch – 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information, visit the library’s website or call (847) 459-4100.
HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES
Becoming a Substitute in District 21
We had some wonderful new sub candidates that applied to work with us this past year. Many of these subs are right from our community! We’re excited for these additions to our sub group but we’re not done yet. We are continuing to hire subs this summer. Please let your neighbors and friends know that we are hiring year round.
Whether you want to help us out one day a week or every single day, the choice is yours.
It will be a sense of deja vu for Jenny Lagunas come July, as the CCSD21 alumna – and former Hornet herself – returns to the halls of Holmes Middle School not as a student, but as its new leader.
MY WHY – Patricia Zelasko, Fifth Grade Teacher at Kilmer
For as long as Patricia Zelasko can remember, she wanted to be a teacher. As an alumna of Whitman Elementary and Holmes Middle Schools, Patricia – like many others – dreamed of coming back to the district that raised her to help the next generation of students.
CCSD21 to upgrade network infrastructure as part of regular refresh cycle
CCSD21 will, over the summer, upgrade major network infrastructure components as part of a regular refresh cycle. The current network infrastructure was installed in 2017 and is due for replacement, according to Chief Technology Officer Mike Frantini.
Like previous summers, all students returning for the 2023-2024 school have taken their district-issued Chromebook home for the summer. We are happy to be able to provide this learning tool to students and families over the summer to allow for expanded learning opportunities at all times. We do ask that you please keep the device in a safe place and provide care for it over the summer, as this device will be needed and used for the upcoming school year. If you have any specific questions regarding this process, please reach out to your child’s principal. Further information on the CCSD21 1:1 Chromebook Program can be found here which will include links to our 1:1 Chromebook Parent and Student Handbook and our Student Care Presentation.
As a reminder, students that will NOT be returning for the 2023-2024 school year will still need to return their Chromebook to their school if they have not already done so. Please reach out to your child’s school or the district with any questions or concerns.
SUPPORT SERVICES & SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATES
CCSD21 to install more security cameras in high-traffic areas
When students and staff return to CCSD21 in the fall, they will likely notice an increased presence of security cameras throughout each of the district’s 13 schools.
Mount Prospect Police hosts Beat 3170 spring meeting at Frost
Internet safety, the human services department and an upcoming neighborhood camera system were the topics of discussion at the Mount Prospect Police Department’s Beat 3170 spring meeting at Frost Elementary School on May 22.
CCSD21 hosts ‘Empowering Families with Knowledge and Skills to Make Healthy Food Choices’ workshop
CCSD21, in partnership with the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, hosted a workshop titled “Empowering Families with Knowledge and Skills to Make Healthy Food Choices” in May.
Topics covered included healthy food, nutrition education and pantry referrals. According to Nora Molina, family engagement liaison, the workshop was so successful that the presenter is looking to bring a mobile unit to register families in the program.
“The parents had many questions about nutrition from birth to adulthood and just did not want to leave,” Molina added.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
May 18, 2023 Board Meeting
The livestream video of the May 18 Board of Education meeting can be viewed here.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting of Community Consolidated School District 21, Wheeling, Cook County, IL, will be held on June 22, 2023, 7 p.m. at the CCSD21 Community Service Center and Administrative Office, 959 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL 60090.
CCSD21
EMPOWERING EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY
