The Hilltopper Family will be wearing red to school on Thursday, May 1, in support of the Chatham community. We encourage everyone within our community to join us by wearing red.
In addition, the high school will be conducting a “Caps for a Cause” event on Thursday, May 1. Students may pay $1 in the office before
school to wear a hat that day.
Proceeds will go to the impacted families.
The BoE approved the school calendar for next year at the April meeting. You can find it on our website:
https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1378/CUSD23/5561074/2025-2026-MPCUSD23-Academic_Calendar.pdf
Special thanks to Mrs. Farris and Mrs. Tschantz in our district office! Happy Administrative Professionals Day!
We are cleaning out the Quonset Hut on Spring Street! On Saturday, April 26 from 8-noon, District Staff will be on site so that the community can peruse the shed for older desks, chairs (lots of varieties), shelving units & TROPHIES...There are lots of items to choose from...all FREE!! This offer won't last...after Saturday, the remaining contents will be disposed of. **Please note that there will be some items in the shed that are NOT be available for the taking, they will be marked with flags &/or tape. **
Our annual "Day of Service" activities are the morning of Friday, May 2, this school year. Our staff is excited for the opportunity to volunteer locally to make a difference! We will help out around the communities of Lincoln, Mt. Pulaski and Elkhart. All grade 9-11 students have been assigned a task on a team and each team is supervised by 1 or 2 staff members based on group size.
Student work locations are posted in the student's Google Classroom inside the "MPHS Information Hub" under the "Community Service" tab in "Classwork." These locations are also posted in the cafeteria, the lobby, and on the Ante Room doors.
Students who are assigned to Elkhart, Vonderlieth, and Lincoln locations will need to return a permission slip signed by a parent/legal guardian by April 30. Those permission slips will go home today with students.
On Friday, May 2, students should wear clothes they don't mind getting dirty and bring a pair of work gloves (if they have some).
Seniors have the option of completing an independent service project. Seniors who are doing their own service projects need to be sure to follow the requirements provided to them last month for being excused absent from school. This requires a form be returned to the school office prior to May 2. Seniors who choose not to do their own service project will be assigned to a group if they are at school on Friday, May 2. Seniors who choose not to do the independent project and do not turn in their completed form prior to May 2 must attend school on May 2 or they will receive an unexcused absence.
This is a great opportunity for students to learn the value of lending a helping hand. Please help us by encouraging your student to take part in the activities with an open mind and active heart.
If you have questions, please reach out by calling the school office (217-792-3209).
As a reminder, the School Board Meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, April 16 will be held at MPHS in the Media Center due to the Book Fair at MPGS. For anyone planning to attend, please use the Cooke Street entrance, and utilize street parking on Cooke & Spring Streets.
Due to the current weather conditions and water entering the grade school building, we must postpone tonight's scheduled District Strategic Planning/Board Meeting. The safety of our staff, students, and community is our top priority.
We will announce a new date for the meeting as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.
Stay safe, and we appreciate your continued support.
Parents-Please see this Parent Alcohol Newsletter for important information on underage drinking.
Attention all parents! Please consider taking the 5Essentials survey as a parent/guardian of a student in our school. We use the data from the parent report to help improve our school. Without ample parent participation, we do not receive data back to act on.
Your opinions matter and we want to use your opinions to improve our school!
We are looking for at least 25% parent participation. Right now we have had 12% of our parents respond. Thanks to everyone who has filled out the survey so far. We still need some more input though! Every parent/guardian is allowed to take the survey!
The survey window will close on March 28, 2025, so please plan survey administration accordingly.
Link for parents to take the survey: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/login/
If you have specific questions about the survey, please call 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874. You can skip the "email" blank (if you choose) upon sign in as well.
Thank you for helping us make our school a better place.
Sincerely,
Principal Heather Fricke
MPHS is looking for talent to add to our Special Education department for the 2025 - 2026 school year! Check it out:
https://www.illinoiseducationjobbank.org/Job-Posting/142874/Special-Education-Teacher/job-details
Reminder: No School on Monday, Feb. 17!
Happy School Resource Officer Day to Officer Pharis! Thanks for all you do to keep our schools and community safe.
Here is an awesome opportunity for high school and college students. It's called Slices and Startups (S&S) and it's a great chance for students interested in entrepreneurship to get their feet wet! Here's the calendar and the theme for each month's S&S: February 20th: Celebrating Black Entrepreneurship in Peoria March 20th: AgTech April 17th: Fashion May 15th: Culinary June 19th: Robotics & Automation July 17th: Beauty & Wellness August 21: Non-Profits September 18: Toys & Games October 16: Healthcare & MedTech November 29: Apps, Software, and Video Games December 18: Slices & Startups Christmas Party & Giveaways! Again, this is open to all students in high school and college. The evening will consist of the following general structure, but is mainly student led in the direction of conversations: 1. Meet & Greet with Local Founders & Entrepreneurs 2. Q&A and/or Demos w/ those Founders 3. Celebrating Failure: How We Can Use a Stumble To Do Better 4. General entrepreneurship lessons 5. Tour of the Distillery Labs Innovation Center 6. Pizza Time! 7. Open Chat & Networking If you have any questions, connect with Jeffrey Inman: jinman@greaterpeoriaedc.org or Ashlie Inman: ashlie@distillerylabs.org. This event is an open collaboration with the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Center, the Women's Business Development Center, the Minority Business Development Center, the Greater Peoria Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Pekin Chamber, the Morton Chamber, the Greater Peoria Manufacturing Network, and of course our hosts at Distillery Labs!
There is an upcoming event that will provide SENIOR students and parents the opportunity to learn more about the Prairie Land FAME Program and connect with sponsoring employers.
The event will feature stations where participants can engage directly with employers to gain insights into their industries and roles. Additionally, representatives from Richland Community College will be present to assist with the application process and answer questions about grants, scholarships, and financial aid. They will also provide valuable resources, including interview prep, resume tips, and mock interviews to help students prepare for future career opportunities.
To make the event even more engaging, they will be offering refreshments, and each student will receive a bingo card upon check-in. Students who visit each employer station will have their bingo card stamped, and those who complete the card will be entered into a drawing for exciting giveaways. Winners will be contacted after the event.
This event is the evening of Thursday, February 27, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Richland Community College in Decatur, IL.
Please find two flyers attached with more detailed information.
Dear MP CUSD 23 parents/guardians,
We have received confirmation from the City of Mt. Pulaski and local law enforcement that the gas leak has been capped and safely secured. Our buildings and grounds director has turned all the power and HVAC back on to the high school building and students have been transported back to the high school.
We greatly appreciate the quick and professional response of the city of Mt. Pulaski as well as everyone's patience and understanding as we navigated through this safety concern.
Sincerely,
Jason Spang
Superintendent of schools.
Dear MPCUSD #23 parents/guardians,
This morning at 9:35 a.m. we were made aware of a natural as leak at the new township building across from MPHS and we made the decision to evacuate students. Students were transported to MPGS and all students and staff are safe.
Law enforcement and city officials were immediately contacted and promptly responded to investigate as safety is our #1 priority. Once we receive a clear signal, we will assess and make decisions at that time. At this time, students are not being dismissed for the day.
Rest assured, we have detailed safety procedures and protocols for this moment and have followed those guidelines today.
We greatly appreciate the quick and professional response of the city of Mt. Pulaski and will continue to work with them through this matter.
Sincerely,
Jason Spang
Superintendent of Schools
If you are a community member participating in the strategic planning meeting at MPHS on Saturday, February 1, we are meeting upstairs in the Learning Center. You can park in the multipurpose Main Gym lot and use the central stairs OR you can use the northeast entrance on the corner of Spring and Cooke if you park out front or on Cooke Street.
The main office doors will not be unlocked on Saturday, February 1.
The MPHS Drama Department will present The Wizard of Oz:
- Friday, February 28 at 6:30PM
- Saturday, March 1 at 2PM
- Saturday, March 1 at 6:30PM
The Multipurpose Gym Doors open 30 minutes prior to each event and will be the only entrance used for these events. Tickets are $8 for Adults and $5 for Students/Seniors. This musical is based on the novel by L. Frank Baum and the Classic Motion Picture with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, background music by Herbert Stothart, dance and vocal arrangements by Peter Howard, orchestration by Larry Cane, and adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shgakespeare Company.
As previously notified by the Superintendent, MPHS will be observing an eLearning day tomorrow (Tuesday, January 21, 2025). Please read these documents thoroughly as they outline student expectations for attendance. LTEC is also conducting an eLearning day. RAS-Abe Lincoln Academy will not be in session.
Decisions about extra-curricular events/practices will be made tomorrow and communicated through the office of the Activities Director, Mr. Jordan (jjordan@mp23schools.com).
The weather forecast for tomorrow, January 21st, predicts extremely low temperatures and wind chills of -20 or possibly colder. I have been in contact with other area superintendents and our transportation director and Mt. Pulaski Schools will be utilizing an E-Learning day tomorrow, Tuesday, January 21st. All extra-curricular decisions will be communicated through Mr. Jordan tomorrow once we have an update regarding the most up to date forecast. Thank you for everyone's patience and understanding. Have a good evening.