Message from Dr. Scarsella
I love that the holiday season is upon us! The first few months of school can be stressful but having the opportunity to spend time with family and loved ones always helps me reduce my stress level and put life back into perspective. That’s not to say holidays can’t be stressful but smelling the aroma of turkey coming from the kitchen and laying around in elastic clad pants watching bad television sure is chicken soup for this superintendent’s soul. I wish all of you a very happy holiday season and hope to see you at many of our upcoming events in December.
This month, our three schools received their first annual tier designations from the Illinois State Board of Education under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability plan. I am pleased to report that all three of our schools were rated “Commendable,” which means our schools are high achieving and that none of our student groups are underperforming. While commendable is good, at Palos 118 we strive to be great. I can assure our school community we are hard at work to raise the bar even higher as we strive for “Exemplary” status for this school year.
Last week, we held our first round of parent teacher conferences. I hope you had the opportunity to meet and dialogue with your child’s teachers. Our schools are successful because of the strong partnership between home and school. Parents are essential members of our Palos 118 team. Thank you for your active involvement in your child’s education. Working together, we can ensure each and every Palos 118 student is prepared for the challenges of high school and beyond.
Speaking of partnerships, our auxiliary organizations continue to provide programming that is simply outstanding. Some of the many events our auxiliary groups are sponsoring this year include:
- Educational Assemblies & Safety Presentations
- Art Chat Program
- Reading Programs & Author Visits
- Holiday Room Parties
- East/West Spirit Lunch & South Theme Lunch
- Mother/Son Bash, Father/Son Bash, Father/Daughter Dance & Mother/Daughter Tea
- Mom's Night Out
- Eighth Grade Graduation Dance and Ceremony
- Santa’s Breakfast and Workshop
- Back to School Picnic
- Harvest Fest
- Hospitality tables and support at music program events
- Back to School Picnic
Palos 118 Educational Foundation
- Laps for Literature
- Trivia Night
- Amazon Smile Program
- Giving Tuesday Event
- Back to School Picnic
If you haven’t joined one of these amazing organizations, please consider doing so. They help make all three of our schools special places for our students.
As I do every November, I’d like to take this time to say how thankful I am for this amazing school community, our outstanding dedicated educators and staff, and our talented students. When my alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. every day, I can honestly say I spring out of bed with the same excitement and drive to do everything I can in my capacity to make Palos 118 a great place to learn and work – unless it’s a snow day! Let’s hope we don’t have too many of those this year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dr. Anthony Scarsella
Superintendent
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