Tri-Point Upper Elementary/Jr. High

School Reminder :
There is No School on 9/1/25

Documentation Due Dates :
9/2/25-Proof of Residency (6th grade )
9/2/25-Prek Documents (Birth Cert, Physical, Shot Record, Proof of Income)
10/15/25-6th Grade Physicals and Shot records

*Please turn in these documents by the dates provided , to avoid an interruption in student attendance.

Thank You

Documentation Due Dates :
9/2/25-Proof of Residency (6th grade )
9/2/25-Prek Documents (Birth Cert, Physical, Shot Record, Proof of Income)
10/15/25-6th Grade Physicals and Shot records

*Please turn in these documents by the dates provided , to avoid an interruption in student attendance.

Thank You

Attendance Reminder:
* Tri-Point CUSD 6J is dedicated to academic achievement and success for all students. Regular attendance is a necessary part of student success. High attendance rates result in improved academics, as well as social and emotional development.
-Students are allowed five call in days a semester without documentation. The end of the 1st semester this year is December 19th and the end of 2nd semester is May 21st.
-Doctors, Dentist, Legal, ect notes will not be held against the student’s absence total… But will be featured on letters and report cards ..so that parents can see how many days the students have missed total.
-Call ins should be made before 10:00 AM
-An auto call will be made at approximately 10:00 am if students are not called in.
-If a student is reporting illness to staff… a call will be made to the parents unless (parents have requested otherwise)
-Parents can choose to have their student remain at school; unless the student has been verified of having a temperature, seen vomiting or shows other symptoms of not being well enough to attend.
-If a student has excessive absences, the school will follow handbook procedures. Please see the student handbook for details.
-A student MUST be present all day (unless has a medical note) to play in a game the same day if in sports.
-If a student misses a Friday, the may play in a Saturday game if reason for absence has been resolved.
-All homework missed during those absences need to be made up by the student. Students will have as many days as they missed to complete the assignment (unless arrangements have been made with the teacher). To contact any teachers; please use Class Dojo, email or call the school at any time during the school year.

**If you have any questions about the attendance policies please see the student handbook available at the district website or call the office at 815-686-2247. **

Thank You

Documentation Reminder :
If your student requires the following documents, please turn it into the school offices as soon as possible.

Pre-K: (even if returning, needs updated )
-Birth Certificate, Proof of Income, Physical, Shot Records

6th Grade:
Physical, Dental exam - (or date of appointment letter ), Proof of residency

If you have any questions please contact the office at 815-686-2247

Thank you!!

Transportation :
Cullom/Kempton/Piper A.M. Shuttle times will be 7:25am-7:33am
Cullom/Kempton/Piper P.M. Drop off times will be 3:25pm-3:35pm

Stelle A.M. Pick up time will be 7:00am
Stelle P.M. Drop off will be 4:03pm

Cabery Post Office A.M.
7:17am (Karen's Bus) We will dedicate this bus for all HS students.
7:18am (Jim's Bus) We will dedicate this bus for all other students.

Cabery Post Office P.M.
3:48pm (Karen's Bus)
3:48pm (Jim's Bus)

Farley Street in Cabery
7:16am (Jim's Bus)

Farley Street Drop off in Cabery
3:50pm (Jim's Bus)


Shuttle Buses from Cullom
1st bus in line will shuttle to Piper City
2nd bus in line will shuttle to Kempton

Shuttle buses from Kempton
1st bus in line will shuttle to Piper City
2nd bus in line will shuttle to Cullom

Shuttle buses from Piper City
1st Bus in line will shuttle to Kempton
2nd bus in line will shuttle to Cullom

Remember as all times are approximate and may vary, so we ask that all students arrive at their bus stop 5 minute prior to bus departure. If you have any questions please contact Torin Mettille @ 815-689-2105.

Welcome Back!!!!
Upper Elementary/Junior High Supply Drop Off :
Friday, August 15th 2-4 PM
-Students and Parents are invited to come drop off their school supplies!
If you are unable to attend , students can bring supplies on Tuesday, August 19th (the first day)

Reminder :
***All 6th graders are due for physicals, copy of immunization (or signed wavier) and dental exams this year.***

Please turn into the JH Office at supply drop off or first day of school . Students can drop them off.

Thank you!

JH Cross Country Practice :
6-7 PM @ JH -Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
No Practice Wednesday
4-5 PM @ JH -Friday

5th Grade Band :

JH Cross Country today… will be in Cullom from 6-7pm

JH Softball Bus Times: Today’s bus time is 2:55 in Piper and 3:15 in Cullom Friday's bus time to St. Anne is 2:30 in Cullom and 2:50 in Piper.

Parents,
If you have not registered your students for the 2025-2026 school year ..
Please do so as soon as possible. This can be done by logging in to parent's Teacherease accounts or by going to the District Office.
It is important to have your student registered as soon as possible, for their schedules for the upcoming school year to be completed.

-The first day of student attendance is August 19th.
-Please look on media sites for upcoming messages about the start of the school year.

*If you have any questions please contact 815-686-2247 ext 200

Thank you

https://www.teacherease.com/common/Login.aspx?

JH softball practice has been moved to Kempton . The practice will still be from 3:30 - 5:30.

JH Sports Reminder : Tri-Point Junior High fall sports are right around the corner. Softball and cross country are starting soon. Softball will have their first practice on Monday, July 28 from 3:30 - 5:30 in Cabery, and will practice at the same time for the remainder of the first week. Cross Country will have their first practice on Wednesday, August 6 at 6:00 at the junior high in Piper City. Practice schedules for both sports will be handed out at the first practice. A reminder, in order to participate in practices, students must have an updated physical (given to coach at first practice ) , fees must be paid, and they have to be registered for school by July 25th to attend first practice.

Two Rare Prairie Cicada Species Discovered in Kempton “I hear one over here,” said Pru Davies, a student at Tri-Point High School, while looking for a rare species of prairie cicada south of Kempton. Ball’s prairie cicada , Okanagana balli, is known to be found from less than a dozen old prairie sites in Illinois, mostly in the Chicago region. This species was never observed at this site or elsewhere in Ford County until this week, when Tri-Point students Pru Davies, Phoebe Davies, Hunter Davies, and Luke Tompkins began searching for it with science teacher Scott Saffer, art teacher Akiko Thorson-Saffer, and Mick Montoya. Shed exoskeletons were found near Sugarloaf, the glacial hill south of Kempton, and the group surveyed the railroad and prairie sites that Don Gardner has reconstructed there. This small cicada is about an inch long and makes its quiet buzzy call from thick clumps of prairie plants. The species is on the Illinois watch list and has been proposed for the threatened species list in Illinois due to its rarity and loss of habit. Only .01% of original prairie remains in Illinois, and those sites are threatened by invasive species and disturbance. English Prairie and the railroad adjacent to it have allowed it to survive here, and Don Gardner’s restored prairie sites at Sugarloaf and in Kempton are adding more habitat. The group heard several of the rare insects calling, and collected one from Sugarloaf. Dr. Katie Dana, research biologist with US Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Champaign and expert on prairie cicadas in Illinois, confirmed the initial identification and will be processing DNA to confirm it. Dr. Dana had previously documented a population of these rare cicadas at Weston Prairie Cemetery in Mclean County. Phoebe Davies also caught one of the little grass cicadas, Cicadettana calliope. This ¾ inch long cicada is only a little more common, and has been proposed for the Illinois watch list. Both cicadas will be deposited in the Illinois Natural History Survey insect collection. The students also plan to continue their reintroduction project with the larger prairie cicada, Megtibicen dorsatus, at Don Gardner’s prairie in late July. This will be their fourth year reintroducing them, and they are still waiting to see how long it takes for them to emerge from the ground and establish a population in the prairie. The group has presented their work at wildlife conferences and to Master Naturalist classes, and plan to publish their research in scientific journals once completed.