New unit ventilators are in the process of being installed in the south (early childhood/preschool) and south central hallway classrooms at MES. These updated heating and cooling systems are replacing unit vents that are 50 years old is many of these classrooms!
Summer is the time to get our buildings and grounds projects completed while students and teachers are not in the schools. There are many projects happening this summer and we will be sharing progress over the coming weeks through a "Summer Projects Update" series. Be on the lookout for our first update tomorrow!
On July 1st, we welcome two new assistant principals to Mokena SD 159!
Stephanie Levy is joining the district as the Assistant Principal at MES! Mrs. Levy has most recently served as instructional coach and elementary teacher in Flossmoor SD 161. She brings over a decade of experience in education, demonstrating a strong track record in teaching, instructional leadership, and school coordination. Stephanie has two master's degrees, one in elementary education and the other in educational leadership. She replaces Mrs. Pierik, who is moving with her family out of state where she has also accepted a principal role.
Betty (Kiki) Panos is joining the district as the Assistant Principal at MJHS! Mrs. Panos brings six years of assistant principal experience along with additional years of experience as a dean, special education teacher, and general education teacher. Mrs. Panos has two master's degrees, one in special education and the other in educational leadership. She replaces Mr. Munch, who is becoming the principal of MJHS.
We are hiring for the 2025-2026 school year! Visit our website for more information and to apply today!
The Board of Education recognized our 2025 Galaxy Award Winners at last night's meeting. Congratulations to our award recipients Melissa Chevalier, Brittany Kocher, Lindsay Robbert, Mike Rolinitis, and Sharon Youngblood!
Did you know our district at-a-glance calendar for 2025-2026 is available on our website? Go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/14VEC8k9l6TCE4yC3nJ2v1xARTpnERVyD/view .
The Will County Regional Office of Education is hosting a Back-to-School event on August 1st in Manhattan. This event will feature free backpacks and school supples, generously donated by local businesses, to help ensure every child starts the year ready to learn!
Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! The system will be down from June 16th through July 14. Please log into your Skyward account to register your child(ren) for the next school year today! Visit https://sites.google.com/mokena159.org/enrollment-and-registration/home for more information!
MIS students had so much fun the last week of school celebrating the year's learning and friendships! Go Rockets!
The MES Carnival was a wonderful end-of-year event for our Stars! Rain or shine, students had so fun together!
MES students decorated hundreds of Kindness Rocks as a end-of-year activity with Mr. Hippleheuser. These rocks will continue to be hidden throughout Mokena over the summer. Head over to the "Mokena Rocks!" Facebook page for clues from Mr. H on where some may be hidden and to share your finds! Have you found any of our MES Kindness Rocks yet?
The annual MIS Kickball Tournament was a blast! Congratulations to the grade level champions:
🏆4th Grade: Mrs. Berndt's Class
🏆5th Grade: Mrs. Frainey's Class
Get ready for the 2025-2026 school year!
Congratulations to the eleven MIS multilingual students who reached language proficiency on the most recent administration of the ACCESS assessment! We are very proud of you and Ms. Al-Takriti for your hard work!
Registration for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! The system will be down from June 16th through July 14. Please log into your Skyward account to register your child(ren) for the next school year today! Visit https://sites.google.com/mokena159.org/enrollment-and-registration/home for more information!
We recognized our retirees one final time at our End-of-Year Staff Celebration with a special speech from a colleague and a gift of appreciation from our District and Board of Education. Thank you again to each of these individuals who have given so much to our district over the years. We wish you all of the best as you are now officially retired!
School may have just gotten out for the summer, but please save the dates for our back-to-school events in August!
Thank you to Andy's Frozen Custard in Mokena for donating vanilla custard cups for all of our students and staff to enjoy the last week of school!
The Mokena Chamber of Commerce awarded the Teacher of the Year Awards to three teachers in Mokena School District 159. One award is given to a teacher at Mokena Elementary, Mokena Intermediate, and Mokena Junior High Schools. The awards are voted on by the students. Congratulations to the award recipients!
At our End-of-Year Staff Celebration, we recognized many staff members with Service Awards. Thank you to these recognized individuals for their commitment and dedication to our students and the Mokena SD 159 community!
