
Here are your Illini Central Grade School Students of the Month for March!
Congratulations to each of these terrific kids!
Front Row: Beau Kennett - Kindergarten, Lena Francisco - Kindergarten, Lana Toland - Kindergarten & Amaerie Olivarez - 1st Grade
Middle Row: Kennedy Parr - 3rd Grade, Elle Swaar - 3rd Grade, Audree Schoonover - 2nd Grade, Saylor Clark - 3rd Grade & Leo List - 1st Grade
Back Row: Beau Altshue - 2nd Grade, Johnnie Lee - 1st Grade, Aireona Scott - 5th Grade, Sierra Pomrenke - 4th Grade, Kai Billen - 4th Grade, Kash Thomas - 2nd Grade & Tylie Bruce - 5th Grade


Join us for the Illini Central School District Fine Arts Fair on Wednesday, April 30th from 4:00-7:00. The fair will display work from all buildings!



Today, the 8th-grade students spent a day in the life of freshmen. Each student received a freshman schedule to help them transition from middle school to high school. It was a great learning experience and hopefully made them more comfortable with and excited about coming to high school next year.



Illini Central Schools will dismiss at 11:30 tomorrow for professional development activities.
Students in Grade School are encouraged to participate in the "Vacation Wear" dress-up day tomorrow!
Pre-K will have their Cozy Half Day Event for all morning and afternoon students tomorrow from 8:00-10:30 am. There will be no busing for Pre-K. Students must be brought and picked up from school.
Happy 4th Quarter!

On March 10th, the Illini Central Education Association hosted Meet the Candidates for upcoming school board election. Those vying for a seat on the board were given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the community and share what motivates them to run. They were also asked an impromptu question.
Pictured are the candidates who were in attendance.
Front row, left to right: Gina Horn, Dennis Hull, Pamela Pherigo, Amilee Bradshaw, Nancy Robertson
Back row, left to right: Antony Newton, Scott Entwistle, Brooke Reece, Chelsey Lemme
Not pictured: Kole Renken
Follow the link below to read the candidates' answers to the question regarding why they are running for Illini Central School Board.
https://5il.co/3bfp0
The election will take place on Tuesday, April 1st.
*Illini Central CUSD #189 does not endorse any particular candidates.


ACT Testing is Wednesday, April 9th. Make sure your student is in attendance and on time for school on this day or they will miss instructional time to make up the test. Make sure Chromebooks are fully charged for testing. We have very few extra Chromebooks.
Seniors will have a Capstone Workday - They will be bussed to the Reimagine Building to work on their Reverse Career Fair presentations that are due April 30th.
Students may leave early from testing but must have a signed permission slip to do so.

It's not too late to get your student-athlete signed up for the FREE heart-screening event next week! https://www.whoweplayfor.org/illinois-mason


We are seeking a few parents or guardians willing to participate in a Focus Group conversation regarding our communication platforms on Wednesday, March 26th, at 6:00 pm. If you are willing to participate, please email Superintendent Jennifer Durbin at jdurbin@illinicentral.org. Thank you!


The city made us aware of a tree that is about to fall on Pine Street just east of the school. Students and parents should avoid the area on their way home.

Illini Central Schools will dismiss at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, March 12th. Also, Spring Break is next week, March 17-21, 2025.

Congratulations to our January and February Students of the Month! Keep up the great work!
January: Drake Ratliff, Isabel Shields, Laikyn Miller, & Erika Boyd
February: Olivia Bitner, Lilly Cook, Remi Vonderheide, and Landon McGinnis



A HUGE thank you to Onken's Inc. for designing, creating, and donating this beautiful piece to the new Illini Central Grade School office! It is the perfect finishing touch on our new addition.


Regional Championship Apparel Pick-Up!
The apparel that has been ordered can be picked up in the HS/MS using Door A2...look for the sign to buzz in.
Pick-ups will be from 1 to 4:30 this afternoon.
If you have any questions...call the HS/MS office at 217-482-5180.


Next week...March 10th through the 14th will be Spirit Week in Illini Central Grade School.
You can find the dress up day themes on the graphic included in this post.


Good Morning,
Parent/Guardian input is important for the success of our school. This is the twelfth year the Illinois State Board of Education will implement this survey across the state. This survey is based on 30 years of research at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. The survey asks Parents/Guardians about their experiences with the school, giving school leaders critical parent/guardian input to help develop school improvement plans.
Please use the following link to take the survey: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/
The survey closes on March 28th

Get your 2025 Illini Central Cougars Regional Championship Apparel at the following link: https://justicegraphics.net/collections/illini-central-cougars-regional-champions-2025
Your order needs to be in before 2 p.m. tomorrow...Monday March 3rd.
Remember the boys play in Brimfield on Wednesday v. the Peoria Christian Chargers at 7 p.m.


This past week, the Kindness Club and the grade school held a Random Acts of Kindness Challenge. Each day, they had to complete a random act of kindness. If they completed the task, their name was put into a basket and a winner was chosen for each day.
Our day 1 challenge winner for doing something nice for his family was Carter Cooper.
Our day 2 challenge winner for writing a kind note to someone was Kyelinn Myers.
Our day 3 challenge was to write 5 things we love about ourselves. Day 3's winner was TJ Bagby.
Our day 4 challenge was to do something nice for the environment. Our winner was Sloan Nissen.
Finally, our day 5 challenge was to make something nice for someone in a care home. We created letters, cards, and art projects for residents of the Mason City Nursing Home. Our day winner was Mason Bradshaw.
Thank you to all of the grade school students who participated! It was great to see all of the kids doing random acts of kindness.






On Monday March 10th, the Illini Central Education Association will be hosting a Meet the Candidates evening in The Cougar Center.
The ICEA will introduce the ten candidates for the upcoming election and allow them to share their visions for the district as a potential Illini Central School Board member.
This event will begin at 6 p.m. Please park on the west side of the building and enter through the new ICGS entrance.


Illini Central has hired a new bus driver!!
In an effort to reduce the number of students on our San Jose buses, we are splitting the afternoon routes into 3 routes instead of 2.
This will help us get students home more efficiently.
Monday, March 3rd will be the start date for this change. Check your Skyward for pickup and drop-off times.
Any questions email Mr. Francis at sfrancis@illinicentral.org or call 217-482-5180 EXT 1404


Reminder: tonight, February 26th from 5:00pm - 6:30pm, the counselors will hold a workshop for all Seniors who have not completed their FAFSA application. Full details can be found on the flyer. Make sure to RSVP or contact the counselors with any questions.
