Mount Pulaski CUSD #23

A message from our specialists at Chestnut Health Systems:

On December 19, Mount Pulaski High School is hosting Jessica Smiley from NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, to talk with parents about teen mental health. This event will be held at 6:15 p.m. in the Ed Butkovich Gymnasium at Mount Pulaski High School. It is open to all parents and community members. In addition to gaining information, we will offer other incentives to bring in as many community members as possible. We will have more details as we get closer to the date. If you have any questions, contact Melanie Hinson, MPHS School Counselor, at mhinson@mp23schools.com or 217-792-3209. nami.org

Semester Assessments are quickly approaching! There are 3 weeks left of this semester. As a reminder, those assessments will be given on Thursday, December 19, and Friday, December 20. Please avoid scheduling any type of appointments on these school days! Pertinent Handbook Policies for the End of the Year: ----------- ALL STUDENTS: Semester Grades The semester grade is the only grade recorded in the student’s permanent file. The semester grade is calculated as follows: Semester Coursework = 90% Semester Assessment = 10% Students who are absent from a semester assessment will be given an “I” (Incomplete) for the assessment grade and semester grade. The semester assessment must be completed within 5 days of the original semester assessment day. The 5 day window for Fall 2024 = all work turned in and the semester assessment taken by 3:15 p.m. on Friday, December 27, 2024. If you miss the scheduled semester assessment, you must contact Mrs. Fricke at hfricke@mp23schools.com to schedule your make-up session for the following week (as the school and office will be closed). Failure to complete the assessment as outlined in policy will have a consequence of a zero being recorded for the assessment. It is imperative to be in attendance for semester assessments as scheduled. -------------- SENIORS ONLY: Seniors who meet the following criteria at the conclusion of each semester will be completely exempt from taking the semester assessment in a given class: Must have a 90% or higher in the class No unexcused absences for the entire semester No more than 1 detention for the entire semester No in-school or out-of-school suspensions for the entire semester Students cannot be exempt from semester assessments given at Lincoln Community High School or for dual-credit classes. Students who are exempt from semester/final assessments do not have to report to school for attendance for class periods in which they are exempt. --------------- ALL STUDENTS: Family Trips A vacation or family trip taken during the school year is an unfortunate interruption to classroom work. We realize that the choice of vacation time may be dictated by an employer so that the student and parents are faced with a choice between a family trip during the school term and no trip at all. During the school year, such trips will be considered an excused absence if the following guidelines are followed: 1. No more than five (5) school days will be excused. Days in excess of five (5) will be marked as unexcused. 2. The office must be given at least one week's notice by the parents that their intention is to take such a trip. 3. The student will present a pre-arranged absence form to each teacher five (5) days prior to leaving in order to secure all work that will be assigned. 4. All work missed must follow the Assignment Make-Up Policy. 5. No absences will be approved during semester or final assessments without prior approval of the administration. 6. Pre-arranged family trips will count against the 9 allowed excused absences. Therefore, if you plan to miss one of the scheduled assessment days due to a family trip, the trip will be excused by the administration with the expectation that the assessments be taken BEFORE the trip. If this specific situation impacts your student/family, the student needs to see Mrs. Fricke as soon as possible to arrange taking the examinations earlier in the week. -------------- If you have questions about any of this information after reading through it thoroughly, please reach out to hfricke@mp23schools.com Here's to finishing 2024 strong, Toppers!

MPHS Hilltoppers - Boys Basketball Hype Video https://youtu.be/FgLlEJA6mQY

Bill Rucks Memorial Tournament - Saturday Schedule

MPHS is hiring! CUSTODIAN High School Diploma or GED Required

It will be a chilly morning on Thursday! Please be sure students bundle up for bus stops!

Interested in working at MPHS as a paraprofessional? There are several ways you can become a licensed para. To get started, you just need a high school diploma or GED. We are looking for a person who loves helping students be successful to join our team! The starting hourly rate is $20/hour. Interested candidates should email Principal Heather Fricke at hfricke@mp23schools.com https://roe17.org/licensure/paraprofessional-license-information-para

#4 Volleyball Program in the State (1974-2024)! https://www.ihsa.org/top50volleyball

On November 11, 2024, MPHS held its annual Veterans Day assembly to honor our veterans. The attached video was created by Rob Siebert and was shown during our assembly this year. Thank you to all of our veterans! And, thank you to the families of our veterans for the many sacrifices they make in order for their family member(s) to serve. We are blessed by the freedoms their service affords. https://youtu.be/7Rf-kC_UgsY

Parents & Students! Check out this video! We will be doing a Brain Break Trial Week next week - November 18 through November 22 ! This will allow our students to take a brain break immediately following 2nd period. It requires our start time adjust to 8:05 a.m., so students need to be preparing in advance to be in their classrooms five minutes early. We will get feedback from our students and staff to determine if it's a great thing to add permanently next semester. This trial week has been approved by the Board of Education. Please check out the video and reach out to me at the office if you have any questions. Sincerely, Mrs. Fricke, Principal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPE0P3zhlls

Mount Pulaski High School has an opening for an Administrative Assistant with a Bookkeeping focus. The starting rate of pay is $20/hour, non-negotiable, with health/life/dental/flex available. There will be pro-rated sick/personal leave for the remainder of the school year. Preferred start date is November 18, 2024, (to allow for adequate training). Application deadline: Sunday, November 10, 2024 Only qualified candidates will be considered based on the job description below. If interested, please email a cover letter and resume to Principal, Heather Fricke, at hfricke@mtpulaski.k12.il.us. Please include the names of at least 2 professional references on the resume. Attention to detail is required in this position! ----------------------- QUALIFICATIONS: Minimum Education: High School diploma Experience: Bookkeeping experience is required. REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS: Reports to Building Principal TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT: All days school is in session (176) plus three weeks prior to the beginning of school and two weeks after the end of school (for a total of 210 days). Work day is 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. with a 30 minute duty free lunch. FLSA STATUS: Non-exempt POSITION SUMMARY: The high school administrative assistant (bookkeeper) provides a wide range of clerical duties, including working with varying computer programs (TeacherEase, Google, SDS, QuickBooks) & answering phones. This position is very public facing and greeting visitors, students, and staff to the office is an important aspect of the job. POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES: Greets and assists all students, staff, and members of the community. Maintains a positive and productive relationship with staff, students, and community. Answers and directs calls to appropriate personnel. Provides clerical assistance to the administrator as needed. Assists principal with typing and distribution of reports and correspondence. Orders and maintains inventory of office supplies. Assists with contacting substitute teachers on behalf of the building principal. Updates and maintains records and files for building principal. Updates and maintains student records via TeacherEase. Acts as custodian of all activity funds and accounts for the building. Prepares cash boxes for all school events and deposits profits from all school events. Enters purchase orders into the SDS system and assists staff with entering purchase orders, when needed. Monitors staff attendance and submits monthly staff attendance report to the building principal. Processes requisitions and purchase orders. Assigns and programs key swipe cards for staff, board members, coaches and activity sponsors. Acts as an administrator of the security camera software system (iVMS4200). Capability of performing additional tasks in the event of the absence of the other administrative assistant. Identify & report risks. Analyze identified risks. Select techniques to minimize risks. Monitor and, when necessary, modify selected techniques designed to mitigate risk. Must be in good health. All other duties as assigned by Administrators.

Tuesday, 11/05 - No School Friday, 11/08 - 11:30 Dismissal

All veterans and their families are invited to join Mt. Pulaski High School at our annual Veterans Day assembly to honor our veterans!

Student Council will be trick-or-treating for canned goods on Halloween!

Hoops For Hope Night! 12/12/2024 Come join us to help support Reese Volle and his family! Please contact the school if you would like to donate items for the silent auction event. Order your shirts here: https://topper-tees.square.site/

Come out to the Unity Christian football game tonight! It's Senior Night and Homecoming. Our senior football player, Gaige Turner, will be honored before the game at 6:40 p.m. The Homecoming Events and Cheer Routine will happen during half-time. Join us for the last home game of the season!

As a reminder, this evening's school board meeting is at 7pm in the Media Center at Mt . Pulaski High School. Please enter through the Spring St. or the Gymnasium entrance.

On Thursday, October 17, the 8th grade students will not be going over to the high school for any afternoon classes due to a Life Skills event going on at the high school. All 8th grade students will be dismissed at 11:24 a.m. from the Grade School on Thursday, October 17. Any student who is picked up will need picked up at the Grade School. Bus riders will board their regular bus at the grade school.

The Abe Lincoln Region is now accepting nominations for administrative awards this school year. If you have an individual that has made a positive impact on you, your student, or your family, please consider nominating that outstanding leader. Here are the award categories: Elementary Principal of the Year Junior High / Middle School Principal of the Year High School Principal of the Year Assistant Principal of the Year Herman Graves Award Reaching Out & Building Bridges Award Criteria, the nomination form, and more details are available on the IPA website: https://ilprincipals.org/awards/ Applications are due by October 31st.