Mokena School District 159

Save the Date for Parent-Teacher Conferences!

On Friday, 6th graders completed their catapult challenge as part of their Energy, Forces, and Motion science unit. Not only did students try to create a catapult that would throw a ball the farthest, they also tried out their creativity in their designs as well!

November 3-7 is National School Psychology Week! This year's theme is "Finding Your Path" and recognizes the ways that school psychologists take an active role in helping students determine their paths to learning, growth, and overall well-being. Through their deep expertise and training in consultation, collaboration, and evidence-based practices, our school psychologists empower others to set their destination and find a route that fits their needs, all while sharing tools to help them thrive along the way! Thank you to our three school psychologists: Dr. Lucas-Nihei, Ms. Darling, and Mrs. Montgomery!

The district-wide spirit week honoring Veterans Day starts tomorrow!

🕷️🧛 Happy Halloween from Mokena School District 159! 🎃👻

"When one runs, we all run!" 🏃‍♀️💨 MJHS students never hesitate to jump in and support their peers during the PACER Test — that’s true Meteor spirit! Today there was one runner left and many students volunteered to stand in a line and run down and back with the remaining runner to motivate them to keep going!

6th grade scientists are builiding and using fan cars to learn about Newton's Third Law of Motion!

👻 What a spooktacular night! The PTA's Junior High Halloween Dance Party was full of amazing costumes, great music, and tons of fun!
A big thanks to everyone who helped make it a night to remember! 🕸️

Thank you to Fire Marshal Tom Murray for joining MIS Monday and Tuesday. All of our students participated in his presentations, which were both educational and engaging. The focus varied by grade level; our 4th graders discussed proper addressing and our 5th graders participated in a review game show.

🎶 Our Meteor Bands, Orchestra, and Choir put on a fantastic fall concert Thursday night! 🎵

4th grade students enjoyed their field trip to Big Run Wolf Ranch where they learned about animals and their defense mechanisms. This trip provides students with real life background knowledge for their next ELA module all about this topic! Thank you to the Mokena PTA for sponsoring this field trip for our students!

Congratulations to Dr. Kristin Johnson (Assistant Superintendent for Instruction) for presenting at today's Illinois Association for Gifted Children's Annual Conference. She presented a session to other leaders about our district's programming review with Northwestern University, our Advanced Learner Task Force's work, and the implementation of recommendations to strengthen advanced learner services in the district!

8th graders in Ms. Horsch’s Tech and Design class participated in a Zoom Q & A presentation with Dr. Marty Purushottam, one of the electrical engineers involved in TIME Magazine’s Most Innovative Inventions. During the event, students learned about his career path that led him into robotics and working for Figure AI.

Thank you to MJH substitute Mrs. Burns-Casey for helping to organize this opportunity!

Today is World Occupational Therapy Day! We thank our district's occupational therapists for all they do for our students in helping them to improve their physical, sensory, cognitive, and social-emotional skills!

Kinderbuddies got into the Halloween spirit this week crafting spooky witches and fun memories!

Our preschoolers enjoyed a "Fall Scavenger Hunt" on our Early Release Day! It was a chilly fall day, but they did a great job finding all of the fall items around the playground!

🎃 So much creativity and spirit at tonight's Pumpkin Decorating Contest hosted by the Mokena PTA! 🎃

7th grade scientists are using their microscopes to observe cells upclose to determine if they are plant or animal cells!