Share up the pair-ups!

 Pair-ups continue to be an outstanding way to bring our students and staff together throughout the building!  They provide us the opportunity to connect, learn from, and have fun with one another.  Thank you to our teams for planning merriment and meaning into today's activities.

Pump the pep!

 We "wrapped up" today with a pep rally to recognize, celebrate, and simply have some fun all together!  We had a pumpkin rolling competition (way to go middle school!), listened to the band perform our school song and Taylor Swift, heard from our Student Council leadership, and of course had our annual mummy wrap challenge. 

We also used the time to revisit this months’ Kindness Challenge and celebrate the many ways in which small acts of kindness add up to a big difference for all of us.  We extended this discussion to expound upon care and the role that every member of our school community plays in creating the community we strive for, share, and build together.  The work of making our school, community, and world a safe, caring, and inclusive space is the responsibility of all of us!

East Prairie/Niles North Mentoring Program

The mission of the East Prairie-Niles North mentoring program is to enhance the academic, social, and emotional growth of the students in our community through meaningful connections with one another.

In its first year, the program will connect 25 middle school students with high school athletes serving as mentors. There will be a total of 6 in-person meetings - 3 at East Prairie, 3 at Niles North - with regular communication occurring between visits. 

Through connecting our students with a high school mentor who directly reflects their identity and interests, we seek to help each child envision and develop the best version of their future selves.  The longer term goal of this endeavor is to expand access to approximately 25% of our middle school students involving a wider range of high school disciplines (drama, band, orchestra, choir, fine arts, global languages, etc.), as well as, to then develop a reverse mentoring program whereby our middle school mentees would serve as mentors to East Prairie students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.  Thus ultimately establishing a leadership pipeline involving over 100 third through twelfth grade students.

Needless to say, our "kick off" session was a "slam dunk!"

Dads & Donuts (version 2.0)

 

Thank you the EPS Dads Group and PTA for hosting a sensational second annual "Dads and Donuts" family event!  This Saturday morning spectacular was open to ALL families, and has quickly become one of our most popular community activities.

The paper airplane contest, open gym, donuts, and coffee combination drew hundreds of panthers out on a rainy day for what was an energetic and uplifting start to the weekend!  Thank you to our Dads Group for their planning efforts and hard work, as well as, to Dunkin' Donuts for their very generous donations and support!

It is connection events like this that actualize the fifth goal of our strategic plan - "further explore community opportunities and partnerships that enable East Prairie 73 to become the epicenter of the community that benefits the students and all stakeholders" - making our school community truly exceptional and unique!

Panther Pride

Congratulations to our girls' volleyball, boys' soccer, and cross country teams on their fabulous fall seasons!

Thank you to Ms. Hernandez, Mr. Karpesnki, and Mrs. Everly for coaching volleyball. Thatnk you to Ms. Ingrassia for "running" cross country and Mr. Stein for "heading" soccer.

Thank you to Mr. Ali, Mrs. Hayes, and Mrs. Everly for helping to support supervision and keep everyone safe.  Athletics are a phenomenal way for students to further showcase their talent and shine! 

Fall Fest Fun!!!

Thank you for the fantastic show of support at last weekend’s Fall Fest!  It was wonderful to bring our community together to play games, catch up, and just have fun! 

A huge thank you to the PTA for organizing and generously sponsoring this family event!