Eagle Nation Families -

I hope you have all been enjoying your summer break. I have had an eventful summer with many improvements happening in our building, and personally, I attended a large conference for Delta Omicron (my music fraternity). As I enter my 4th year as principal of Evans Jr. High School, I am even more excited to welcome back students and families to school this August. Our theme for the year will be "ELEVATE - Every Eagle Every Day," and we will use this to continue building our community and improving as individuals, teams, and a building.

What does it mean to ELEVATE?

Excellence in academics, behavior, and effort
Leadership through responsibility, kindness, and service
Engagement in learning, activities, and community
Value for every voice and identity in our school
Accountability for our choices and contributions
Teamwork between students, staff, and families
Empowerment of every Eagle to soar

How can families help ELEVATE Evans? You play a vital role in our school culture! Here are a few ways to partner with us:

Stay connected - Read school emails, check your child's progress in Infinite Campus, and follow us on social media
Encourage strong habits - Help your child arrive on time, come to school every day, stay organized, and set goals for their learning and behavior.
Celebrate effort and growth - Talk with your child about what they're learning and how they're making a difference.
Support school expectations - Reinforce our values of being respectful, responsible, and safe at home and school.
Engage with us - Attend school events, volunteer when you can, and reach out to teachers and/or staff with questions.

The purpose of our News from the Nest is to keep families informed about things happening at the school and to answer questions you might have about processes or events at Evans. Our next newsletter will come out on August 8th. Please enjoy the rest of your summer.

Kimberly Martin-Boyd, Principal

Evans Jr. High School

Mrs. Boyd, Principal

Mrs. Boyd was born and raised in Central Illinois and is proud to say she was a member of the FIRST graduating class from Normal West High School. Mrs. Boyd has received three degrees from Illinois State University: a Bachelor of Music Education, a Master of Music Education, and a Master of Science in Educational Administration. Currently, she is working on a Doctorate in Teaching and Learning, also through ISU.

With over 25 years of experience in education, Mrs. Boyd is excited about her 4th year as Principal at Evans Jr. High School. Her prior teaching experiences include teaching orchestra in Unit 5 schools (most recently at Normal West) and a brief stint at the collegiate level.

Mrs. Boyd is married and lives in Normal with her husband Chad and their two sons, Killian (attending the University of Missouri) and Cohen, who attends Normal Community High School. Mr. Boyd is employed by Centec Systems in Bloomington, Illinois. As a family, they love some friendly board game competition and traveling when time (and money) allows. The Boyds currently have 2 cats and an adorable Chi-Weenie at home.

Mr. Gliege,

Associate Principal

Mr. Gliege grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated from Victor J. Andrew High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in Secondary Education English from ISU in 2004 and began his teaching career in Chicago Public Schools before moving to the Bloomington area in 2008 to teach at Normal West High School. At West, he was in the English classroom for ten years before accepting a position as the Assistant Principal for students with last names H-O, and served in that capacity for six years.

Mr. Gliege is married and has two fantastic kids who are involved in a multitude of activities from solving staged murder mysteries to playing soccer and the viola, and from pickleball/tennis to mastering various Roblox games. He also has one extremely furry child named Benny, who has an ongoing unofficial war against all of the squirrels in Mr. Gliege's neighborhood.

In his free time, Mr. Gliege enjoys reading, just about all sports, traveling, and trying new foods.

Dr. Burt,

Assistant Principal

Dr. Burt was born and raised in northern Illinois and graduated from Hononegah High School. He earned his Bachelor's degrees in chemistry and biochemistry from Knox College, his Master's degree in biochemistry from the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign, and his doctorate in teaching and learning from Illinois State University. He began his career as a science teacher in the Chicago Public Schools before coming to Normal West High School in 2014. He joined the administrative team at Evans as an Assistant Principal for the 2024-2025 school year.

Dr. Burt is married and has an infant and two-year-old who relentlessly shares his love for all things Toy Story and Thomas the Tank Engine with us and with our dog, Belle, who both loves joining us on walks or hikes and is always up for being chased through the yard by her human sibling. In his free time, Dr. Burt enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching sports, reading, hiking, and traveling whenever possible.

2025-2026 School Registration

Infinite Campus Returning Student Registration Directions

Current Unit 5 Families: This link is for families that had a student registered with Unit 5 for the 2024-2025 school year. Log in to Infinite Campus Parent Portal, go to "More" on the left-hand side of the page, and click on "Online Registration."

New students to the district registration information can be found with this link - New Student Registration. If you are new to Unit 5 or need help with registration? Please contact our student services office starting the week of August 4th at (309) 557-4694 to set up an appointment for registration assistance. Appointments will be set up during the week of August 11th.

If you need help prior to August 4th please contact the Unit Office 309-557-4000, or reference the Registration Information Website

Evans School Supply Lists

Student Schedule Information

Schedules will be available to students and families electronically through Infinite Campus on Friday, August 8th, after 4 p.m. Please note that all schedules are subject to change; however, no team change requests will be accepted. Team letters can be viewed HERE!

For questions about Math Placement, please refer to Unit 5 Math Placement Information. Information on our daily Advisory lessons can be found here.

If you notice an error on your schedule, you can use this form to let us know the issue before August 15th. Errors we need to be aware of include duplicate classes or missing classes (e.g., the student is in the tutorial but should be in the choir).

Locker Decorating Days

Students who would like to decorate their lockers or review their schedules have the opportunity to visit the school on August 12, 13, or 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here are some reminders about locker decorating:

All decorations should be placed inside your locker.
All pictures should be school-appropriate.
No tape or glue of any kind should be used; only magnets are permitted.
Lockers are required to have locks (we will have some for sale if you do not already have one!)

You will have access to your schedule by this date, but it is recommended that you bring your own copy or reference it on your phone. We will NOT be printing schedules for this day. Please do not ask the office staff.

If you can't attend these days, you could also take time on Nest Fest (our open house night) to decorate your locker.

All lockers without locks after Friday, August 29th, will be zip-tied and considered unused. Students can show their AP a lock and have the tie cut off to use their locker again. As a reminder, students MAY NOT carry backpacks during the school day.

Before School Supervision

Please note that we will be offering a before-school supervision program for families that are interested. Students will be supervised by a teacher from 7:20 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. At that time, students would join the rest of the students in the gym/cafeteria. Parents will be responsible for transporting their child to school each day.

The program fee is $85.00 per quarter (which equates to about $2.00 per day). The fee must be paid prior to the start of the quarter. There will be no refund if a student does not attend on any given day. Students who are causing continued disruptions may be removed from the program.

You must register for before school care with this LINK

Unit 5 2025-2026 School Calendar

Bus Route & Transportation Information

Bus route information will be available on August 15th thru your Infinite Campus Parent Portal . Once logged in to your parent portal, click on "More" on the left-hand side, then click "Transportation" from the drop-down menu in the center of the page. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 309-557-4287 (4BUS). We ask that you recheck this information, prior to the first day as sometimes changes occur.

Families choosing to drop off and pick up their students will do that by driving to the back of the school building and following signs and staff directions. Parents/Families are NOT to park and/or exit their vehicles, you should pull as far forward (towards the end of the sidewalk) as possible and the student will either walk back to the door or will walk forward to your car. By doing this you allow for many students to load or unload at one time. Students are NOT allowed to cross the drop off traffice or bus lane to go to cars that are parked in parking spaces.

NEST FEST - OPEN HOUSE

Our Back to School Open House event - NEST FEST - will take place on Monday August 25th from 530 - 7 p.m. This is a time for families to come together, see the building, walk schedules with students and meet staff members. You can come and go as you would like during that evening, but we will close promptly at 7 p.m. to allow our staff time at home with their families.

During this time you are encouraged to visit the food trucks we will have on site (why not skip cooking dinner or have a snack!); visit our PTO table to find out how to be more involved, tour the building (which looks amazing thanks to our custodial crew) and walk your child's schedule.

This event is not required, but strongly encouraged for families to get connected to start the school year - we look forward to seeing you August 25th.

Evans PE Clothes Orders

PE Clothes for the 25-26 school year are now available to purchase!! This order will be open from now until Aug 22.

Ordered clothes will be delivered to school near the beginning of the year.

Students are REQUIRED to have black shorts and a Grey shirt.

We have provided OPTIONAL sweatpants and sweatshirts for those colder days.

Please reach out to Coach Curby at curbyd@unit5.org

https://selectspiritwear.com/collections/evans-jr-high-pe

Evans Athletics Updates

Softball - Tryouts 7/28-7/29 Registration Closes 7/25 - Coach Kelley - keeleydm@unit5.org

Baseball - Tryouts 8/4-8/6 Registration Closes 8/1 - Coach Scornavacco - scornavaccor@unit5.org

Golf - Tryouts 8/4 Registration Closes 8/3 - Coach Maropulos - marcopg@unit5.org

Cross Country - Practice begins 8/4 - Registration closes 8/22 - Coach Shutt - shutte@unit5.org