Neal Math and Science Academy is soaring to new heights to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness and beauty of our students. On October 9th, the NMSA community celebrated our first Family Festival, with a special spotlight on Hispanic Heritage Month. The first NMSA Family Festival showcased the culmination of Hispanic Heritage Month with dance, songs, artwork, games and fantastic food! Approximately 400 guests attended, including many wonderful parents, siblings, and special relatives of our students. It was great to see our community come together and we look forward to more upcoming multicultural events.

The gymnasium was transformed with banners of paper flags hand-cut with care by the students of Ms. Lundstrom’s art classes and paper flowers designed by NCCP After-School Enrichment Program youth, in honor of the rich and vibrant histories within Latin America. Creativity continued during the event. Teachers and community volunteers facilitated craft and game stations provided by North Chicago Community Partners. Families enjoyed traditional Mexican bingo, as well as Pirinola Toma Todo, a game popular throughout Latin America. Children also created decorative skulls for Day of the Dead to God’s Eye ornaments, an ancient symbol made by the Huichol of Mexico and the Aymara of Bolivia.

While the activities ensued, the Mariachi Band and Folklore Dancers were a hit. Students in the Mariachi Club with Mr. Rivera were inspired to continue developing their skills. Families listened while enjoying beef Barbacoa tacos courtesy of The Otherdoor in Lake Bluff, while others got up and danced! Between Mariachi sets, Folkloric dance routines were performed by Flor de Corezon, sponsored by Opportunities for All.

Families brought the fun home with crafted Pirinola games to play and an assortment of rice, beans and fresh produce to cook together, accompanied with recipe books by students in the Fresh Start Program.

NMSA is proud to reveal our student VIP room. Students with positive behavior in class are nominated to visit the VIP room each week. Special thanks to our student support team for putting this together!

First quarter report card conferences are quickly approaching. We at NMSA are looking forward to seeing all of our parents and guardians to review your students progress to date. As a reminder, the 1st quarter conference will take place on Thursday, October 24th, from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. & Friday, October 25th, from 8:00 – 11:00a.m.

Parents, did you know that the Illinois Department of Labor, passed the School Visitation Rights Act? This law provides parents the right to unpaid time off of work, to attend these conferences. For more information, please click here. The school visitation leave form is attached to this posting.

Se aproxima la fecha de conferencias para el primer cuatrimestre. Nosotros en NMSA esperamos ver a todos los padres y guardianes para hablar sobre el avance de su hijo/hija en sus clases. Por favor recuerde que las conferencias se llevarán a cabo el 24 de Octubre de 3:00 a 7:00 de la tarde.

Padres, ¿sabían que el Departamento de Labor de Illinois pasó la Ley sobre Derechos a Visitas Escolares? Esta ley provee a padres el derecho de conseguir permiso para salir del trabajo y asistir conferencias escolares. Para más información, haga clic aquí.

On Friday, August 23rd, Neal Math and Science Academy hosted the first dance of the school year! All students in all grade levels were invited to attend and welcome the new school year, and for the sixth graders enjoy their first middle school dance. There was a huge turnout from all grade levels, so much so that that concession stands SOLD out of pizza and juice! Many staff report that the Welcome Back dance usually has the highest turnout for students.

6th grader, Lianna Reed described the dance as “very lively, if you were in a bad mood, all the bad emotions stopped at the door.” Additionally, this was Lianna’s first dance and she says “it was really quite amazing, and I hope to see more!”

Lucky for Lianna, the PBIS team at NMSA plans and hosts multiple dances throughout the school year as celebrations for positive behavior and maintaining SOAR behavior. The next dance is tentatively planned for Halloween and PBIS looks forward to seeing just as many students as they did for the Welcome Back Dance!