Superintendent's Message
Dear EPCHS Parents and Guardians:
On behalf of the Board of Education, administration, faculty, and staff at EPCHS, I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with good food, good health, and a spirit of gratitude. This year's celebration, like many other things over the past eight months, will be different. One thing that remains is all that we have to be thankful for.
For me, those things are:
Family. I have seen families enjoying time together more than ever before. Going outside for walks and exercise, playing games, and just talking has brought us closer to our families.
Community. As always, our community has come together to help each other in this time of need. Checking on each other, donating food, supporting local businesses and last, but certainly not least, supporting the education process as we adjust the way we educate our students.
Board of Education. Our Board of Education believes we should send our graduates into the world as well-rounded young adults. This year is no different and our Board is providing us with everything we need to educate our students and keep them connected to their high school experience.
Students. EPCHS has the most amazing students! They are smart, resilient, and kind. They continue to adapt during these trying times so that they can reach their educational goals for the 2020-21 school year. They continue their studies, work with their teachers, and ask for help when it is needed. I am so proud of them and thankful for them.
Faculty & Staff. I have always been thankful for our faculty and staff and the supports they have in place for students. Those supports were put to the test starting mid-March and every day since then our faculty and staff have worked together to provide increased technology supports, eLearning, health care, emotional supports, and communications about school events, activities, clubs, and athletics as well as updates about the pandemic.
Custodial/Maintenance Staff. In addition to their regular workday, our maintenance department continues to spend countless hours deep cleaning and maintaining our school so that it is safe for all. They have done all this and, for the fourth year in a row, helped us receive a perfect score on the South Cook Intermediate Service Center Health/Life Safety inspection.
Truly, there is much to be thankful for here at EPCHS. This year, more than ever, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Thomas O’Malley Superintendent
Adaptive Pause Information Reminder As of Monday, November 23 we returned to our Remote Learning Model. This continues for the next two weeks through Friday, December 4. As a reminder, we want to share the schedule for that two week time period.
Please refer to the 2020-21 Reopening Plan for the Remote Learning Model protocols. If you have any questions, please email Principal Sanderson at bsanderson@evergreenpark.org.
IDEA Advisory Period/Resource Period During Monday IDEA Advisory periods, advisory teachers will meet with every student to review their grades and check on their academic progress. The Monday IDEA Advisory period is a required class and all students must log on from 1:20-2:00 p.m.
If your student has an "F" in any of their classes, their IDEA Advisory teacher will review their schedule and ensure that your student is enrolled in the resource class(es) where they need support on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:20–2:20 p.m. Support could include a review of previously taught material, make-up work, and other supplemental activities to help your student succeed in the class. This intervention will give students the chance to work with staff and receive instructional support geared specifically to their needs.
Our goal is for every student to have an opportunity to be successful. By using the IDEA Resource period, this is another support to help your student meet this goal. Remember that the IDEA Resource period is available to all students whether they have a letter grade of an "F" or a passing grade. Any student can log in to their teacher’s Zoom link Tuesday through Friday from 1:20-2:20 p.m. for support.
Make-Up Work As we continue to work together to support our students academically, socially, and emotionally, we realize these are challenging times for all students and everyone is dealing with it differently. Many parents and guardians recently participated in our parent-teacher conferences and had a chance to speak with their student’s teachers about their current academic performance.
With many students struggling in general, or due to the pandemic, EPCHS has made the decision to allow all students the opportunity to make-up any assignments they may have missed. In addition students can retake or re-do any tests/quizzes and/or projects they scored low on from the beginning of the school year up to the end of the semester. This includes all nine-week classes that recently ended.
Perfect Score on Health/Life Safety Inspection The South Cook Intermediate Service Center (SCISC) conducted the EPCHS Annual Health/Life Safety inspection and awarded our school a Certificate of Excellence for achieving a perfect score with no citations. EPCHS was the only high school district to receive this honor, and this is the fourth year in a row that we have received no citations.
SCISC said, "It is apparent that student and staff health and safety are afforded top priority. District 231 does an outstanding job of continuous monitoring of conditions and continuous improvements of its educational facilities."
The maintenance and custodial staff are largely responsible for receiving this recognition due to the great job they do to maintain the building throughout the year. Congratulations to them!
Upcoming Holiday Events As we approach the holidays, our Fine Arts Department would like to share its upcoming virtual events with you. Ticketing and access information will be forthcoming so mark your calendar.
December 16 at 7:00 p.m. Winter Concert featuring Band, Choir, and Color Guard Free access via YouTube
December 18-19 at 7:00 p.m. "It's A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play" Small streaming fee required
December 21 at 7:00 p.m. "A Musical Christmas Card" from the Madrigal Singers Free access via YouTube
Evergreen Park Community High School 9901 S. Kedzie Avenue Evergreen Park, IL 60805
(708) 424-7400 |