October News

Important Dates:

October:

October 4- High School Late Start (9:00 am)

October 6-SIP in person attendance until 11:33 am

October 6-MHS Homecoming Parade/ Football Game

October 7-Homecoming Dance 7:00 PM

October 9-Columbus Day No School

October 10-MHS Fall Choral Concert 7:00 p.m. Fellheimer Auditorium

October 17-End of 1st Quarter

October 17-Grades 6-12 Band Chili Supper 5:00 PM MHS Commons

October 18-High School Late Start (9:00 am)

October 23-MHS Picture Retakes

October 25-Parent Teacher Conferences-Evening Only

October 26-NO SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

October 27-NO SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

October 30-NO SCHOOL TEACHER INSTITUTE

Attendance

Please use the Attendance Office telephone number when calling in students for absences, doctor appointments, etc.309-833-2484. Please call by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence.

Should a student become ill during the day, he/she must report to the school nurse in the infirmary. No student will be released from school without approval of a parent or guardian. If a student becomes ill during the lunch hour while he/she is away from the school campus, the parent or guardian must contact the Attendance Office the same day in which the absence occurred for the absence to be excused. Under no circumstances may a student leave school during school hours without securing permission from the school nurse or an administrator. After securing permission, the student must sign out in the Attendance Office or Infirmary.

Homecoming Week

Homecoming Week is here! There are LOTS of events happening - we hope to see you there!

Stunt Night: 10/5, event begins at 7:00 pm
Homecoming Parade: 10/6, parade begins at 4:00 pm
Homecoming Game: 10/6, game begins at 7:00 pm, homecoming court announced at half time
Homecoming Dance: 10/7, dance is from 7:00-10:00 pm
- Doors for entry are open from 6:45-7:15, no entry after 7:15, no re-entry allowed if students leave
- If students intend to bring a date from another school, a guest form must be submitted to the MHS office before the dance.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences will take place October 25 5:30-8:00 pm, October 26 12:00-4:00 and 5:30-7:30, and October 27-8:00-12:30. These will be offered both in person and on-line via Teams. More information will follow.

Vape Prevention Program

We are pleased to announce that MHS will be partnering with the McDonough County Health Department to provide vaping prevention education during our Health classes. Supports for the instruction come from the "Catch My Breath" program. Lessons are set to begin 2nd semester. More information about the program can be found at https://catch.org/program/vaping-prevention/#parents.

Skyward-Email Notifications

SKYWARD TIP - Email Notifications

Always know current grades, attendance and food service balances by opting in to

Skyward Email Notifications

SETTING UP EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS:

•To receive email notifications, go the district website www.macomb185.org and click on the Skyward icon.

•Log into Skyward with your credentials.

•In the right-hand corner guardians and students will see a link called My Account.

The My Account area is organized into three sections: Account Settings, Email Notifications and School Directory. If you scroll down slightly users will see the option to opt in to receive email notifications on daily attendance, grades, progress reports or when food service balance is low. These email notifications are dependent on your role as a guardian or student and also on the school building you attend.

Forgot your Skyward username and password??? Call the school office and they can assist you.

Counseling Department News

PSAT for Juniors

Every year the state of Illinois mandates that our juniors take the SAT in the Spring. Taking this exam is a state graduation requirement. College Board, the company that develops the SAT, is switching from paper & pencil to an all-digital format this year.

We expect the new format to be a learning experience, both for student testers and for us. In an effort to better prepare our students for the new digital format, we are paying for all Juniors to take the PSAT/NMSQT in October. The format of this test will be exactly the same as the SAT in the spring. In addition, there are other advantages to taking the PSAT. Students can then participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program, connect with college/career interest tools, and link their test performance to Khan Academy for SAT prep resources.

Below is some information about the timing and grouping of the PSAT/NMSQT:

Standard testing will occur during a three-day window from October 10th thru 12th. We will divide these juniors into three testing groups; each group will only test on one of the days.

Students testing with accommodations will be testing during a 2-day window, October 18th thru 19th.

If you have any questions, please contact your students assigned School Counselor.

Financial Aid Spoon River College

On Monday November 6 at 6:00 pm, representatives from the Office of Financial Aid at Spoon River College will be providing information on how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The State of Illinois requires that all seniors complete the FAFSA application to be able to graduate unless they choose to complete the FAFSA nonparticipation form.

FAFSA

FAFSA is undergoing some major changes and the window to apply will not open until December this year. At this informational meeting, they will discuss the changes and provide information that will help you to navigate the application process. Once a date is set to open the application window, we will hold a completion night where families can get help with the actual application process. That date will be shared once it is set.

Final Exams

Final Exams are set for December 18, December 19, and December 20. THIS IS NOT THE END OF SEMESTER. First semester ends January 5th.

COMMENDED STUDENTS IN THE 2024 NATIONAL MERIT® SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Scott Sullivan, principal of Macomb High School announced today that Lorelei Taylor-West has been named a Commended Student in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to this scholastically talented senior.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2024 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2024 competition by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). 1,487,233 juniors took the assessment nationwide.

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

"Chopped Lab"-MHS FACS Classes

Sergeants Lipcamon and Pratt of the Illinois National Guard conducted a "Chopped" lab September 28^th with the MHS FACS 6th, 7^th and 8^th hour classes. The sergeants brought MREs and all other ingrediets needed to complete the challenge. Pictured below are the winners in each class.

6^th hour: Adult Living I-Kitchen 5 thumbnail_IMG_4990

7^th hour: Adult Living II-Kitchen 4 thumbnail_IMG_4996

8^th hour: Home-Ec Orientation-Kitchen 3

thumbnail_IMG_5001

Choir News

♫ Macomb High School Choral Department ♫

♫♪♫ OCTOBER NEWSLETTER ♫♪♫

From: Mrs. Butcher

www.macombchoirs.org

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

♫ Congratulations to the Mixed Chorus Officers: President –Delaney Bartlow, Vice-President –Megan

Redding, Secretary– Sophie Hansen.

♪ Congratulations to the Concert Choir Officers: President – Sam Powell, Vice-President –Quinn Kurasz,

Secretaries –Kayla Ratermann & Abby Wallace, and Equipment Manager/Librarians – Andy Butcher & Celena

Mangalaraj.

♫ Please become a member of the Macomb Choir Boosters. (Membership forms can be found:

http://macombchoirs.org/boosters) Membership dues can be mailed to Macomb Choir Boosters, P.O. Box

117, Macomb, IL, 61455. Levels of membership include “Soloist”-$25, “Barbershop Quartet”-$26-$49, “Vocal

Ensemble”-$50-$99, “Chamber Choir”-$100-$249 and “Choral Society”-$250-up.

♫ Upcoming Events: ♫

Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023	Deadline for ILMEA District/All State Music Virtual Audition Submission	Virtual Audition videos will be submitted by this date.	Interested students
Thurs., Oct. 5, 2023	Stunt Night- Choir will sing	MHS Gym- 7:00 pm	9-12 Grade Choir members-required
Monday, Oct. 9, 2023	MHS Choir Fire	Horn Field Campus 5:30-7:30 pm	Interested Students
Tues., Oct. 10, 2023	HS Fall Choir Concert	Fellheimer Auditorium 7:00pm	9-12 Grade Choir members-required
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023	Culver-Stockton Honor Choir	Culver-Stockton College 9am-3pm	Selected students
Oct. 17-Oct. 31, 2023	Choir Annual Poinsettia Sale	N/A	All Choir students grades 6-12
Thurs., Oct. 19, 2023	National Anthem at the Varsity Volleyball Game	Report: 6:40pm Washington Street Gym	Interested Students
Sat., November 4, 2023	ILMEA District Festival	WIU- all day	Selected students
Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023	Choir Poinsettia Distribution	Fellheimer Auditorium- 2-5 pm
Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023	WIU Holiday Festival of Choirs Performances	Wesley Church- all day morning rehearsal-TBA 2:00 pm performance 7:30 pm performance	Concert Choir and Madrigals- required
Wed, Dec. 6, 2023	HS Winter Choir Concert	Fellheimer Aud.     7:00pm	9-12 Grade Choir members-required