Monday, October 5th at 7 pm
Serena Middle School Gym
🧦Serena Middle School Student Council is collecting NEW socks! 🧦
All socks collected will be given to area shelters.
There are bins near the SMS office for all donations.
We appreciate your help!💜
7th Win 23-13
8th Loss 24-39
Reagan dropping 5 buckets from the arc!
An important part of the presentation was helping students understand that asking for help is a sign of strength.
Students were also reminded that being a good friend does not mean they are responsible for solving another person's problems. Instead, if they are concerned about themselves or someone else, one of the most important things they can do is tell an adult and seek help.
It is our hope that the students left the presentation with a greater understanding of the importance of mental health, a stronger awareness of the people and resources available to support them, and the confidence to reach out when help is needed.
Above all, we hope that every student knows that they matter, they belong and there are adults who care about them and are ready to listen and help.
CUSD #2 is accepting sealed bids for a 2010 Chevy Suburban
See info below
If you are unable to join in person, you can join virtually via the following link:
Video Call Link: https://meet.google.com/ign-jtmp-dok
Phone Call: 1 -475-441-8391 PIN: 447 406 459#
Hope To See You There!
5th in a nailbiter 16-15 win and 6th with 33-15 win
7th and 8th Girls Basketball started their season on the road with loses against Milton Pope.
7th Lost 32-13 with Arie getting 6 points and Reagan putting up 7.
8th Lost 28-10 with Sophie earning 4 points.
Soccer also on the road had a lose to Hinkley Big Rock, 5-2. Junior 10 Tournament bracket expected to be released tomorrow.
9/26-Laura Tirevold.
Thank you all for the continued support to Serena Middle School students and staff.
Soccer Game Monday at HBR (make up from heat) 4:30pm. Junior 10 Soccer tournament information will be released as soon as it's received.
5th-8th Girls Basketball have games this week, be here Monday for 5th/6th home opener!
5th/6th Cheer starting practice and parent meeting after practice in cafeteria, Tuesday, Sept 29th at 5 pm.
Our SMS cheerleading shared their bubbling personalities by joining in the High School Homecoming Parade...gif #1
Starting this school year, students at Serena Middle School in LaSalle County are getting earlier exposure to FFA and agricultural education.
The school launched its own FFA program, commemorating its founding with an official charter signing ceremony Sept. 11 during the Sandwich Fair. All eight Serena Middle School FFA Chapter officers participated in the celebration, along with officers from the high school chapter and three Illinois FFA Major State Officers.
“We wanted to bring FFA into our middle school to provide a lot more opportunities for our students,” Ben Temple, Serena Middle School FFA adviser, said of the decision to establish the new chapter.
Temple told Farm Week involving students in FFA at a younger age provides earlier exposure to the organization and can “set them up for success” in high school.
The Serena High School FFA Chapter, which includes about 90 members, “has been around forever,” Temple said. He hopes the two chapters will remain closely connected. He also hopes participation in the middle school program, which has more than 50 members, will encourage students to join the high school chapter in the future.
“It’s a dream come true to get to grow this program,” said Temple, who is in his fourth year of teaching in Serena and grew up in the community. “When I got the chance to come back and teach here, that was cool enough. But now that I get to have this role of expanding the program and hopefully leaving a lasting impression, that is, in my mind, even more amazing.”
Serena is one of four schools chartering middle school FFA chapters this year. Carthage, Salt Fork and St. Mary’s in Pontiac also launched new programs.
Jenny Wold, District 2 program adviser for Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education (FCAE), said Illinois now has 34 stand-alone middle school FFA chapters, and about 134 schools in the state offered ag classes for fifth through eighth grade students as of the 2025-26 school year.
“What we’re seeing is that once a middle school program starts, the other districts around that program start to see those kids are being engaged and participating in school leadership and teamwork activities and science-based activities, and they want more,” Wold said of the continued growth of middle school ag programs.
Interest is also expanding among those wanting to teach at the middle school level. Wold said serving as a middle school FFA adviser can offer better work-life balance because it typically involves fewer conferences and contests, leaving more time for family.
Wold noted one concern that has been a part of the middle school conversation is whether early participation could lead to burnout by the time students enter high school. To prevent this, she said the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers’ middle school committee has been working to modify FFA events to make them more “bite sized” for younger members.
“We shouldn’t be expecting middle school students to compete in the exact same contest that a high school student is competing in,” Wold said.
Events such as a middle school mixer at the Illinois FFA State Convention and Middle School Mania, which features abbreviated versions of FFA contests, give students a chance to explore leadership and career development opportunities while maintaining enthusiasm for FFA in high school, she said.
Illinois FFA also hosts multiple middle school conferences for seventh and eighth grade students at community colleges across the state each year.
“I think there’s a double benefit in these middle school conferences,” Wold said. “Kids get to go to this conference, have early exposure to FFA, early exposure to college options, early exposure to college students and the whole experience.
