PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
It has been energizing and uplifting to have more students back in the building these last two weeks! Students and staff have worked together to make this undertaking a success by following rules around mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand washing/sanitizing; and although it has taken considerable planning and effort, being able to welcome students who wish to attend in-person is the reward. I want to thank everyone in our community for supporting our efforts to keep students safe, both in school as well as those who are working hard virtually. Truly, Maine East has a heart bigger than the actual building itself!

The positivity of welcoming more students back was temporarily marred by the shocking appearance of hate speech, hateful images, and pornographic images that were anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic on our District and school websites last Thursday; additionally, a few students and parents received offensive email messages through a hacked email account at that same time. Our prior communication about this event explicitly denounced the messages of hate and the inappropriateness of the images on our websites.

I want to take this opportunity to clearly center and affirm the beauty and brilliance of each and every student and staff member in our school community. This stage in a young person’s life is about shaping and defining identities and coming to understand and embrace gifts from family, culture, history, and spirituality. This is a significant formative time when students evolve to create a unique sense of self. To those of us who are entrusted with the care and support of your teenagers, this process is among our very highest priorities. Furthermore, to see the identity of ANY member of our community attacked hurts as much as seeing them physically harmed. We unequivocally denounce such attacks.

In our school community, we embrace Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, Buddhists, Sikhs, and many more people of faith. We respect the values of all of our students: liberal, moderate, and conservative. We cherish our students who identify racially as Black, white, Latinx, Asian, indigenous, biracial--or any other identifier that conveys identity and belonging. We welcome our families of every configuration and structure and offer partnership in nurturing and supporting students together at home and at school. We admire families who speak multiple languages and who send students to school with multiple tools and diverse abilities for contributing to and navigating the world. We honor and support students who identify as female, male, nonbinary; cisgender, transgender, gender fluid; gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, or any other identity. 

Maine East is a community high school. We serve every member of this community. Each and every member of our school should be afforded the opportunity and support to shape who they are for themselves; this is the definition of freedom and a bedrock value of our diverse nation. Maine East, along with the other D207 schools, stands for and defends that freedom for each and every member of our school community.  

Finally, to everyone in the medical field keeping us healthy and alive, thank you! To everyone working to keep us safe, including police officers, firefighters, military personnel, and first responders, thank you! To everyone working the national supply chain and grocery stores, thank you!

As you plan for the upcoming holiday season, please keep our local businesses in mind and offer your support. Our patronage will go a long way. Thank you for helping us continue to fight COVID by observing the travel guidelines to help flatten the curve. Together, we can beat this. Please stay safe!

Dr. Mike Pressler

#Maine_East #StrongerTogether #207NOW
UPCOMING EVENTS
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR
MONDAY (ODD BLOCK) & TUESDAY (EVEN BLOCK)

Monday, November 23
At-Home Learning for ALL Students -(ODD Block Schedule)

Tuesday, November 24 -
At-Home Learning for ALL Students - (EVEN Block Schedule)

November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL

December 1 - Womxn in the Workplace Panel

December 4 - Junior Class Council Netflix Watch Party

Special Winter Sports Update

Dear Blue Demon Families, 

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced today that the state will move to Tier 3 COVID-19 mitigation measures as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, November 20th. These new restrictions, meant to help slow the state’s ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases, prohibit all youth and high school group sporting activities. As a result, at the conclusion of practices on Thursday, November 19th, ALL in-person Maine East athletic activities will be on pause until further notice.


 
While we recognize that this is discouraging news to many, we remain optimistic that we will resume our season at some point this winter. In the meantime, we encourage the entire community to do what we can to remain safe.

Be Well, Be Safe & Go Blue Demons!

Thank You,
 
Kendall Griffin
Athletic Director
Junior Class Council has planned a Netflix Watch Party of Enola Holmes on Friday, Dec. 4th at 5pm. Please sign up at this link for more information! We will contact you with further instructions to join the party!
Womxn in the Workplace Panel
The D207 Career Coordinators are hosting a Women in the Workplace Panel on Tuesday, December 1st from 3 - 4:30 pm. Students can hear from industry professionals about their successes and tips to achieve their career goals. The panelists will share personal stories and answer questions about empowering yourself as a woman in the workplace. Industry panelists include: Immigration Law, Sports and Recreation, Graphic Design, Non-Profit, and a VP of a Healthcare Supply Optimization company. 
Students can register at: bit.ly/WorkplacePanel
Parent Career Industry Experts
The Maine East Career & College Resource Center is always looking for new ways to partner with industry professionals - which includes our Maine East parents! Are you willing to share your career path story or want to get notified of our job shadow, guest speaker, panelist, and internship opportunities?

If you're looking for a way to connect with students interested in your industry, contact Kylie Mussay at KMussay@maine207.org
NEWS FROM THE LRC
November is Native American Heritage Month
Explore the books the LRC is featuring in honor of Native American Heritage Month. All titles are available in the Digital Library, or if you prefer a physical copy please email Ms. Cochran (ccochran@maine207.org) or Ms. Aasi (raasi@maine207.org) and they’ll help you get in touch with your public library.
CLUBS & ACTIVITIES SPOTLIGHT
Maine East Cares
Sponsor - Rachel Samlan
ME Cares is a student-led group which identifies humanitarian needs within our community and presents these needs to the school community. After the school community selects a cause, we spend the school year developing community outreach and fundraising opportunities to support our annual campaign. Notable activities dine and shares, with local restaurants, our holiday auction, and an annual charity basketball game. Club Video from 2019-2020
Quick Links