Gurnee District 56

Congratulations to the District 56 Middle School Concert Choir (7th & 8th graders) on earning a Division 1 rating at the Illinois Grade School Association District Contest this past weekend. Their score qualified them for the state contest later this spring.

The District 56 Wrestling Team did an outstanding job at Sectionals on Saturday. They finished 11th out of 30 teams. Three wrestlers qualified for the State Meet this weekend at Northern Illinois University. In second place was Kayden H., third place was Chrystian H. and in fourth place was Benjamin Z. Good luck to those 3 wrestlers this weekend!

The 7th & 8th Grade Symphonic Band performed very well at the Illinois Grade School Music Association Contest at McHenry Middle School on Friday. The students continued the tradition of excellence of our district by earning a division 1 rating, the highest rating an ensemble can earn! Congratulations to all!

TONIGHT! See you at Spaulding School Gurnee District 56 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for our Black History Month Celebration!

Earlier this month, River Trail School students had the opportunity to meet the author of the book “The Bravest Worrier” - Angelique Monet, who both wrote and illustrated the book. She met the students online and shared her knowledge on how to be brave when you're worried. Students were excited and engaged!

Viking Wrestling had a strong showing at the 2026 Conference Meet! The team finished 3rd out of 9 schools!

Congratulations to the following individuals who placed Top 6 in their weight class:
1st Place🥇Kayden & Travis
2nd Place 🥈Cooper, Chase, Chrystian, Braydee, Adriel, & Aksel
4th Place 🏅Rodrick, Meyson, & Tristan
5th Place 🏅Jorge, DJ B.
6th Place 🏅Kruze

Good luck this weekend at IESA Regionals!

During last week’s late start, the River Trail staff spent time working together as Professional Learning Communities to review student learning. They looked at what students are doing well and identified areas where extra focus is needed based on the Instructional Alignment Protocol. This work helps ensure we’re giving students the support they need to succeed.

Congratulations to Spaulding School’s preschool program for earning the highest rating for preschool quality by the State of Illinois! The Gold Circle of Quality is awarded to programs that meet or exceed standards for instructional excellence, family services, staff qualifications, professional development, and program administration.

Spaulding Principal Sara Rosheger announced the recognition during a staff meeting last week.

The rating is awarded by ExceleRate Illinois which is the state’s quality recognition and improvement system for early learning and development programs. ExceleRate unifies all the state’s early learning programs under a common set of standards across multiple settings to provide families with important information about quality early learning programs in their community.

The recognition notification from ExceleRate stated, “Achieving this designation demonstrates your school’s commitment to providing quality early childhood education to children in your district.”

Congratulations to River Trail fifth-grader Lexington and Viking School eighth-grader Grace who received the Exchange Club of Gurnee's Young Citizenship awards last week. These awards are presented to two fifth graders and two eighth graders each year based on school and community involvement, leadership, academics, and character.

Congratulations to the cast & crew of Beetlejuice Jr. on their outstanding production this weekend!

Beetlejuice Jr. hits the stage this week! Performances are Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13 at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 14 at 2:00 p.m. in the Viking School Auditorium, 4450 Old Grand Ave. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors.

REMINDER: No late start on Wednesday, Dec. 17!

Thanks to the District 56 PTO for providing goodies for our staff for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Staff enjoyed coffee, hot chocolate, tea & “grab & go” breakfast snacks/treats.

Thanks to the D56 PTO for hosting Free Movie Night last week at Spaulding. Students and families enjoyed pizza, popcorn, and Elio!

Thank you to all who donated to our D56 Veterans Day Coin Wars! We raised over $4,300 for Honor Flight Chicago and Lake County Honor Flight! This is enough to support four veterans' trips on an honor flight! We truly appreciate our veterans' service to our county and our D56 families' generosity!

A reminder! No school November 24-28 and Parent-Teacher Conferences are Monday, Nov. 24.

Due to the weather conditions, we have made the decision to cancel school for today, Monday, November 10. All after-school activities will be canceled. Stay safe and warm. Thank you

Students at Spaulding School enjoyed Halloween fun last week where students and staff enjoyed parties and a parade! Looks like so much fun!

Thank you to everyone who joined Viking School for Viking Quest at the end of October! Families enjoyed games, activities, and prizes — and most importantly, time together. We’re so grateful for everyone who came out and for the strong partnerships we share with our Viking families!

A big shoutout to The Exchange Club of Gurnee for recognizing the winners of this year’s Gurnee Days Rib-Eating Contest! We’re proud to share that D56 Tech Specialists Jon (Spaulding School Gurnee District 56) and Jonathan (Prairie Trail School) took home the trophy — marking the first-ever win for the district and the first time a school has won the contest! Thank you to the Exchange Club for hosting this fun community tradition and for celebrating our champions!