Manhattan School District 114

Mrs. Kim Maher - Director of Communication, Development, and Safety:

• New Staff Orientation: Just over 30 staff members spent two days with our administrative team and instructional specialists during this year's new staff orientation. Over the course of the program, the new staff members spent time in small and large groups, job-alike and general trainings, participated in both district and building level learning, and toured all four of our schools. It was a great couple of days preparing our new staff for their new roles in MSD114.

• New Teacher Mentor Program: Our new certified staff were also welcomed by 15 veteran staff members that have taken on the role of new teacher mentor. Additionally, last year's new teachers have moved into year two of the mentoring program. While the second year is more informal, the first year includes regular meetings, checklists for time-specific preparation and guidance, and informal observations of instruction. We are grateful to the staff that assume the extremely important role of mentor in order to help us work toward our strategic goal of retaining high quality staff!

• Department of Comment and Economic Opportunity Grant: On September 9th we received a Notice of State Award for a grant that we applied for in the spring of 2024. This $60,000 grant is intended to match our expenditures for the MIS playground, added in the summer of 2024 to accommodate the transition of MIS to a 4th and 5th grade school. This was a long-awaited step in the process and the board will be apprised of the final grant agreement once it is presented to us and before we accept the awarded funding.

• Safety Week: In collaboration with Firefighter Jackie and our SROs, all four schools will participate in a "Safety Week" the week of September 29th. During this time, we will draw attention to safety preparedness for all of our MSD114 students. Over the course of the week, emergency responders and law enforcement will be present as students participate in several required safety drills. In addition to a disaster/storm shelter drill, the fire department will be present to run a mandated fire drill with their presence at each school and the police will also be present for a law enforcement (active shooter) drill. As always, students will be well-prepared by their teachers for these drills and age-appropriate language and expectations are used at all levels.

• Mrs. Cheryl Donovan - Director of Curriculum and Instruction:

• K-8 all began implementing Eureka Squared during the opening days of the school year. Thank you again to the board for your support with this adoption. A resource adoption is a heavy lift. Hats off to our staff!

• Pending approval at tonight’s board meeting, our PACE framework will be posted on the Manhattan 114 website. 

• During opening week our instructional coach, academic multi-tiered system of support, and social emotional learning multi-tiered system of support teams all met as individual teams to discuss and plan for the year ahead.  

• During the month of September, benchmark assessments were taken by all students. Following the assessments, team and individual data meetings will be held to discuss data. 

• 2025 Spring Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) reports are anticipated to arrive here in the district during the Month of November. This is later than years past. Historically we have received them in the middle or later part of September. ISBE created a parent document that is helpful in building an understanding of the work that was done and what to expect going forward.

Mrs. Julie Hantson - Director of Special Education: 

• Thank you to all the Student Services Staff for making it a great start to the 2025-2026 school year! 

• CPI training dates will be Friday, September 12th and the 19th for district staff chosen by their principal. 

• Our 2025-2026 Student Services Night is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2025 (5:30pm-7pm) at Wilson Creek School.

Ms. Cari Rohe - Wilson Creek: 

• Staff returned on 8/25 eager to start the new school year! We held our supply drop that evening with practically all of our students coming to meet their new teacher and drop off supplies.  New this year, we had stations set up in the commons for parents to stop by as needed.  Safety remains a high priority at Wilson Creek.  We wanted to provide more opportunities for parents to get their ID scanned using the Raptor system in order to attend events during the school day. We borrowed machines from Anna Mac and MIS to keep the lines down and most of our families stopped by that station.  Our car riders were able to pick up their car rider number signs and anyone who had transportation questions were able to get their questions answered. We also set up a curriculum table for families to preview the new math curriculum and the Girl Scouts joined us to recruit new scouts!

• Wilson Creek staff gathered together for institute day on 8/26.  We reviewed the strategic plan, safety procedures and shared out all of the new and exciting things for the 2025-2026 school year! Our building underwent a mini makeover and Character Strong characters and traits are now proudly displayed around the building. The Character Strong committee reviewed some areas we want to focus on this school year. One example is to all now use the saying “show me 4” when we ask for the attention of the students. Staff enjoyed some team building activities and their artwork is currently displayed in the Wilson Creek main office! 

• Wednesday 8/27 was our first day of school. The students were so excited to be back or excited for their first day at Wilson Creek!  The teachers spent most of their time reviewing procedures and getting to know their students! We ended the week on Friday 8/29 with an outdoor school wide assembly to kick off Kindness Week. We reviewed school rules and sang school signs. The students and staff had no idea that a surprise was planned. Music started to play and out of the building ran 10 staff dressed up in giant inflatable costumes! The staff and students cheered with excitement as the inflatables raced! Returning Wilson Creek students were heard saying this was the best assembly ever! Fun was had by all with reminders of what it means to be kind spread throughout.

• First grade and Kindergarten began their new math curriculum. Huge shout out to Cheryl Donovan and the instructional specialists for getting everyone ready to implement the new curriculum!

• The 2025-2026 school year is up and running at Wilson Creek and we couldn’t be happier to have the students back in school!

Mrs. Elise Kirk - Anna McDonald: 

• Meet the Teacher/ Supply Drop Off: We had a wonderful turnout for supply drop-off and meet the teacher night. It was wonderful to welcome all of our new families. We received lots of positive feedback about the updates to our school!

• First Days of School: We welcomed roughly 400 2nd and 3rd grade students on August 27th. The joy that filled the halls was electric! These first few weeks have been a team effort, where every single staff member has gone above and beyond. We are excited for an amazing school year!

• Fall Benchmarking: September 8th kicked off fall benchmarking. Students at Anna McDonald are evaluated using Star and AIMSweb. Data days will follow later in the month and parent reports will follow.

• PTO- Thank you to our PTO and parents who donated items to our staff lounge. The pop-up was an amazing way to start the school year!

• Respectful Rhinos- During the month of September we have been learning about Respect during our Character Strong lessons. Our Respectful Rhinos are shining bright! Many students have earned a character ticket for our weekly raffle. 

• Front office- A major shout out to our amazing secretary, Mrs. Judy Tierney! She keeps the school running smoothly and creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for students, families, and staff! 

Mr. Ryan McWilliams - Manhattan Intermediate, Director of Buildings and Grounds:

• We had an exceptional turnout to the Meet & Greet on Tuesday, August 26th. Thank you to our kids & parents for all the smiles. 

• Opening Day went according to plan and was a fantastic start to the 2025-26 season. Thank you to all the MIS staff for being present in the halls to welcome our kids and thank you to Mrs. DeBoer for handling all the transportation needs, issues, and updates. Our first day drop-off & pick-up went smoothly. 

• Picture day went well. Van Gogh took student & staff photos effectively & efficiently in less than 2 hours. It's going to be a great sophomore season at Ole MIS!

Mr. Vince Perillo - Manhattan Junior High:

• School Opening: Manhattan Junior High School welcomed 621 students back to school on Wednesday, August 27th. It was fantastic to see the students and staff back in the building, making the building a school! Thanks to all our staff for their efforts in getting prepared to open the building for the start of a new school year! 

• MJHS Expectations Night - On Thursday, September 4th, MJHS hosted its Expectations Night. The evening began in the gym with parents learning about school wide information. Then, parents were able to walk their students’ schedule, meeting with all of their children’s teachers to hear more details about all of the different classes. Thank you to our staff members for their efforts in preparing for the night. 

• Technology Update: Thanks to the tireless work put in by Michele Hallihan (with the help of MANY others), all students received their school issued devices. Monitoring the devices and ensuring the students are safely using their computers is a priority, and Michele has provided professional development on programs such as Hapara, which enables staff members to see students’ screens from their own computer. 

• Principal’s Cabinet / New Student Breakfast - Our 8th-grade Principal’s Cabinet (formally LEAP) had a busy summer, helping with the Summer Bridge Program, Locker Move-In, and more. These students were identified by the staff as individuals who exhibit leadership qualities, making our school a better place. 

• On Thursday, September 11th, the Principal’s Cabinet planned for and hosted a New Student Breakfast. During their time together, the combination of students got to know each other better while also answering questions and sharing information about MJHS. 

• Character Strong: MJHS has implemented two sessions of Character Strong, our district-wide Tier I SEL curriculum, during Morning Advisory already. Staff members and students have been highly engaged in the collaborative activities to build strong relationships with one another. 

• House System: Another structure MJHS has in place to promote a positive and welcoming culture is our House System, which places all students and staff members in one of five Houses that promote Demon P.R.I.D.E. On Friday, September 12th, MJHS held a House Reveal Activity where 6th-grade students and students new to MJHS were placed into their Houses and met with their groups. On Wednesday, September 17th, we will be holding our first Small Group House Meeting, and on Friday, October 3rd, we are planning on hosting a Fall House Olympics! Thanks to our SEL Committee Members for their help with everything House System! 

• Cross Country: The coaches and runners have had a successful start to their season, full of PRs at races. The Demons will also once again host the Cross Country Conference Championship on Wednesday, October 1st as well as the IESA Sectional meet on Saturday, October 11th at the Round Barn Farm. Thank you to the Park District for working with us to make this a possibility for our students and community. Special thank you to coaches Miranda DeMasi and Traci Ethridge for working tirelessly to set these events up as well as Athletic Director, Geno Sepulveda for taking the lead on these events as well. 

• Boys’ Baseball: The Boys’ Baseball team continues to work hard during their regular season games. In a very talented conference, the Demons have competed and upset many schools, such as the conference tournament champ and a team that was previously undefeated. Thank you to our coaches, Mr. Marotta and Mr. Gloude for their dedication throughout this season! 

• Girls’ Softball: The MJHS Girls’ Softball team has continued their strong showing this season. The girls and coaches put in a lot of work this season and have played hard. They are the number two seed in a loaded IESA Regional, and they will be playing in the Regional Championship Saturday, September 13th. Thank you to coaches Mr. Stadter and Mrs. Campos for all of their hard work thus far!Good luck to our Lady Demons! 

• Blue Crew: Our Blue Crew, a student-led spirit group, planned for and hosted a “Pack the Bleachers” night for a home baseball and softball game. It was great to see so many students and staff cheering on the teams, and Demo, who made an appearance, was a fan favorite, especially amongst the little fans in attendance. 

• Girls’ Basketball: Girls’ Basketball recently held tryouts and will begin their season. 6th grade girls’ basketball tryouts were held on September 15th at MIS, and this year, 5th-graders were able to tryout. Thank you to 8th grade coach, Mr. Stadter, 7th grade coach, Mr. Minuth, and 6th grade coach, Mr. McWilliams as they embark on another season ahead. Good luck to our girls as they begin their seasons! 

• Boys’ Volleyball: 18 student-athletes made the 25-26 Boys’ Volleyball team coached by Ms. Hallihan and Mr. Shiffer, including three 5th-grade student-athletes. The team started their season already and has shown tremendous growth already! Good luck to our Demon Volleyball players as they continue putting in the work throughout their season! 

• Band: The MJHS band has been busy since August! Great job to the Marching Band that performed at Lincoln-Way West on Friday, August 29th, at the football game, at the Round Barn on Sunday, August 31st, and then the Manhattan Labor Day Parade on Monday, September 1st. The entire band also performed at the end of summer band camp concert at MJHS! All levels did a wonderful job playing to a packed house! Congratulations to Mrs. Pedziwater and Mr. Quaoit on a great start to the year! 

• Orchestra/Choir: The Orchestra and Choir are busily preparing for their upcoming concerts. The choir and orchestra concluded their summer program with a community concert for a packed MJHS gym. Congratulations to Ms. Perkne on an excellent performance and a great start to the year! 

• STAR Fall Screening: Staff administered the Fall STAR Tests for Reading and Math during the week of September 8th. Meghan Petschinsky will be leading staff members through a round of data day meetings in the upcoming weeks to continue getting a better understanding of our learners, how to support them, and how to improve our instructional practices. Thank you to Mrs. Petschinsky and all of the case managers for working to get testing accommodations set up in order for our students to be successful.