Panther Pride!

Thank you to the over 50 middle school students who participated in our community service elective this year. 

We are thrilled to have expanded our robust elective offerings to include this service oriented leadership. 

Our middle school students have done an outstanding job supporting our primary students in their academic, social, and emotional growth. 

They have truly stepped up as role models!  There is so much for our community to admire and take pride in here!

Speaking of service to others.   

Thank you to 4th/5th grade Student Leadership for helping to clean up the neighborhood as part of the Clean Green Skokie initiative.

This is another wonderful example of the ways our students and school contribute to the interconnected wellbeing of our broader community!

We are East Prairie!

 As a school community our mission, fundamental purpose, is to “value the uniqueness of all and ensure the highest levels of learning.”  We seek to actualize these words by working together to ensure that EVERY child feels they are uniquely special, cared for, and valued, while also being supported in an ongoing journey to learn, grow, and improve.  We know this work is done most impactfully when it is done in partnership, together.

As we continue to closely follow developments impacting public education at both the state and national levels, we want to assure you that we are thoughtfully and fully prepared to continue delivering the highest quality education to all of our students.  Thanks to the care, compassion, and collaboration of our staff and community we have established an incredible school environment and stand ready to continue to meet any challenges as they arise.  Our focus remains on supporting students, staff, and families, and we’re confident in our ability to sustain the excellent educational experience and outcomes our community expects and deserves.

Paraprofessional Appreciation!!!

 

East Prairie is fortunate to have the most extraordinary team of paraprofessionals!  Each and every day this team goes above and beyond to support every child and grown-up within our community.  From the smiling faces that first greet your child(ren) each morning to every aspect of school that happens next, our paraprofessionals are instrumental in working alongside our teachers to ensure positive, impactful, and meaningful educational experiences for you child(ren).  Thank you to Mr. Ali, Mrs. Byron, Ms. Dickhut, Ms. Ford, Ms. Greco, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hopson, Ms. Mahmood, Mrs. Marin, Mrs. Murkis, Mrs. Nasreen, Mrs. Pak, Mrs. Poznanovic, Ms. Simkins, and Ms. Singer for EVERYTHING they do to make East Prairie the very special place it is!

Mentoring - We're Growing! (Cohort 3)

We are thrilled to have further expanded our mentoring program to our intermediate students. Many of our middle school mentees, who have successfully navigated the program for the past 2 years, now have the opportunity to serve as mentors to our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. These students are enrolled in quarter 4 mentoring elective class led by Mrs. Mortell that will help to further train and guide them in this work. 

This extension now includes 92 students in 3rd-12th grade helping to lead this work and actualize our mission “to enhance the academic, social, and emotional growth of the students in our community through meaningful connections with one another.”

Bravo!!!

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Shrek Jr. on a pair of phenomenal performances this week! 99 of our middle school students were involved in the acting, singing, dancing, set design, prop creation, lighting, sound, and technical work required to bring this story to life.

It is amazing to see the attention, care, and detail that went into making this production the smashing success it was! 

Thank you to Mr. Oliveira and Ms. Wade for their guidance, creativity, and leadership supporting every aspect of this endeavor.  Thank you to the East Prairie Education Foundation for the grant money to make the production possible. 

Thank you to our families for their involvement and support.  Above all, thank you to our students for sharing their talents with all of us.  Bravo!  If “all the world’s a stage” our students are more than ready to make it a great show!

Parents & Partnership

East Prairie is proud to have partnered with the ELL Parent Center for the sixth year to provide the Parent in Schools Program.  This program is a nationally recognized parent engagement model that builds deep and lasting relationships between students, teachers, and parents.   Thank you to Ms. Shoaib, Ms. Syeda, Ms. Hasan, Ms. Naz, and Ms. Oaida for their incredible commitment to our community.  Thank you to Ms. Hernandez, Ms. Kath, Mrs. Mehr, Mrs. Berkowitz, Ms. Wydmanski, and Mrs. Foti for opening their classroom doors to our families and this opportunity.

 

At East Prairie, this program has been a phenomenal way to involve parents within our classroom and further connect with our community.

Q3 is in the books!

 We officially wrapped up quarter 3 with pajama day and an all school pep rally. 

The pep rally brought us together to celebrate our students, teachers, teams, and accomplishments, while also having some fun! 

We were treated to amazing performances by our cheerleading team and the cast of Shrek Jr., as well as some fun games, competitions,

and of course pie - it is after all “pie day” (3.14) for our math loving friends :)