Dear Parent and/or Guardian:
As the 2022-23 school year winds down, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude for being the principal of Palombi Middle School for the past 8 years. For those of you who don’t know, I will be moving to the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning next year and Mrs. Angela Sisi will be the incoming principal for the 23-24 school year. Along with Mrs. Sisi, Mrs. Pozezinski will continue in her role as the Dean of Student Services and Ms. Kaitlin Koenig will replace Mrs. Sisi as the Dean of Students.
In my last month of principal, I am proud of our students for making great strides in achievement and their continued growth as individuals. In order to help with their growth as individuals and to address some of the recurring social challenges students across the globe are experiencing, Lake Villa 41 is planning on hiring another Dean that will be called the Dean of Culture and Student Discipline for the 23-24 school year. We see this new position as a proactive approach to working with students and staff in areas of anti-bullying practices, restorative practices, more consistent visibility, and working with staff on positive management strategies.
There are many great activities scheduled for the end of the year, and we hope that your child can maintain their grades, as well as their behavior to be able to attend these culminating events. Please continue to talk to your children about the importance of appropriate language, accepting different races, not utilizing social media for bullying, and keeping their hands to themselves. If we work together in this part, Palombi can flourish as an exceptional school.
In Partnership,
Dr. Vic Wight, Mrs. Angela Sisi, Mrs. Julie Pozezinski
Principal, Dean of Students, Dean of Student Services
Teacher Shout-Out What is a Teacher Shout-Out?
A Teacher Shout-Out is an unsolicited special recognition that acknowledges a Palombi staff member who has really helped you or your student or has been highly effective and motivating. Our staff takes great pride in helping students achieve their potential. Take a few minutes and let a staff member know how much you appreciate their work at the following link: https://forms.gle/frEKEExzJaVB...
Palombi Alumni Nominations
Palombi Leaders Today and Tomorrow Wall of Fame
Palombi has a Wall of Fame in our building! Currently, we acknowledge past students: Officer Mike Lill, Class of 1988, Professional BMX Racer Felicia Stancil, Class of 2009, NFL Player TJ Edwards, Class of 2010, Leader Meghan Butler, Class of 2015, and Bluecoat (Band) World Champion Christina Duffy, Class of 2008. We would love to add to these outstanding past students. If you know of other past alumni, please complete the following form to nominate Palombi alumni who have demonstrated leadership qualities throughout the community and beyond to be displayed on a wall in the school. Leaders of Today and Tomorrow Nomination Form
Notes from the Office
Health Office Summer is a great time to make sure your student(s) are current on their physicals for next year. Sports start the first week of school!!
Visit with Congressman Brad Schneider
Mr. Steve Feldman and Dr. Vic Wight met with Congressman Brad Schneider last week to discuss the frustrations of many educators across this county with respect to rising behavioral challenges, especially with social media. Students across the country are accessing sites such as Tik Tok, Instagram, and SnapChat at an age that isn’t appropriate for them. Some of the students are making anonymous accounts that target students and bully them. Despite investigating these accounts and reporting them to these platforms, little is done by these platforms. We find this despicable and appreciated that Congressman Schneider would be communicating this with these platforms from his level. Please continue to monitor your child’s social media accounts. There is a severe consequence for any student who shares, posts or owns these accounts.
Activities
Graduation Information
Since we will be utilizing the Lakes H.S. field house for graduation for the first time, we will be meeting with Lakes H.S. representatives on May 19th to plan logistics for the June 7th event. Once we have the logistics planned, we will share out the time that students should arrive to Lakes, parking information for parents, and any other pertinent information at that time.
Awards Ceremony
Each year, Palombi holds an 8th-grade awards ceremony. If your child is receiving an award, you will receive an email invite for June 2nd at 8:00 a.m. The ceremony will be live-streamed for anyone that cannot make it to the ceremony.
The 6th & 7th-grade awards ceremony will be held on June 2nd at 11:30 a.m. This ceremony will only be livestreamed and parents will be notified if their child is receiving an award to be able to view the ceremony.
Color Run
The Community Action Team would like to invite everyone to the Color Run on Saturday, June 3rd at 10 AM! This family walk/run event is now open to all District 41 students and families! Check-in, the start and end of the race will all be in Palombi's bus parking with the run/walk occurring in the neighborhood next to Palombi. The run/walk will start with a color celebration. The route will be marked as well as volunteers throughout the race to continually throw color at participants. Registration papers can be found in the front offices of all schools. We are extending regular registration to 5/19 and payment can be made with cash or check (made out to District 41). We also have an online registration and payment set up on the school online store! We are very excited to bring this event back to Palombi and hope to see you there!
Leadership Expo
Please join us for our Leadership Expo on Wednesday, May 24, 3-4 pm to see how our Action Teams have been making an impact on our community this year. Please enter through the activity entrance.
Dance Clinic
Universal Dance Association will be hosting a Dance Clinic in August (Date TBD) for grades 5-8. The fee will be $99 per athlete. Please contact Ms. Ashley Horn at ashley.horn@district41.org for more information.
IMPORTANT DATES Links to all dates can be found here: Palombi Full Calendar of Events
May 16 7th Grade Field Trip Group 1
May 17 7th Grade Field Trip Group 2
May 18 7th Grade Field Trip Group 3
May 23 Choir Concert 6:30 p.m.
May 24 LEAD Day - Students eat according to Friday Schedule
May 24 Leadership Expo - 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
May 24 Band Concert - 6:30 p.m.
May 26 NJHS End-of-Year Pizza Party after school
May 29 Memorial Day - No School
May 31 Jazz Band Concert - 5:30 p.m.
Jun 1 Graduation Gown Pick up - All graduation fees must be paid in order to
receive their gowns
Jun 2 8th Grade Awards Ceremony 8:00 - 9:15 a.m. (Parents will be invited)
6th/7th Virtual Awards Ceremony 11:30 a.m.
Jun 2 8th Grade Dinner Dance
Jun 3 Color Run
Jun 5 6th Grade Roller Rink Field Trip
Jun 6 8th Grade Picnic
Jun 7 6th Grade Picnic
Jun 7 Graduation Practice @ Lakes H.S. 9:15 - 11:15
Jun 7 Class of 2023 Graduation Ceremony - 7:00 p.m. @ Lakes H.S.
Jun 8 7th Grade Picnic
Jun 8 Move-up Day
Jun 9 Last Day of School for 6th/7th Grade - 7:30 - 10:30 a.m.