How are you doing at...
Tip of the Week
Get through it!!!! 😁
Kudos to Tyler Fish for all his help with ISA testing this week! He was quick to jump in and fix any issues we had during testing. Thank you for all you do!!
Kudos to Danielle Donelli, Jessica Lieber, and Cara Creager for always being there for me and each other, lending a listening ear, and working together to solve problems. I truly am blessed to work with all of you!
-Jenny Reiff--5th Grade Teacher
Kudos to Leah Falster for lots and lots and lots of help, support, and partnership with some individual students this week! EVEN giving up planning time to do so!
A GINORMOUS Kudos to Tyler Fish for all of his patience, partnership, and support with ISA testing!
Huge kudos to Wrestling Coaches: Jack Resnick, Niall Schoenfelder, and Bryan Bailey for the support and motivation given to our wrestlers and for helping them make their dreams come true of qualifying for STATE!
Kudos to Jill Becmer for coordinating the first ever Walk of Champions for our STATE qualifying wrestlers and to AJ Tripoli for the amazing PUMP-UP music!
-Tom Cardamone--Principal at Stanton
Kudos to Erica, Chad, Matt, Nicole, Sam and Ashley for helping Jillian and I navigate some tough situations with our friends this week. We appreciate your help and time to best support students in our space!
-Sarah Gallivan and Jillian Kility--PE Teachers at Lotus
Thanks to Everyone who sent good vibes for my stepdad's surgery! He is in recovery as of Friday Morning; Surgery was a quick 40 minutes!!!
Thank you Colleen for changing her schedule yet again to be in all the places at once. You are my superhero.
Thanks Pam for always checking on me and the family!
Thank you Dina for working with our shared kiddos and getting motivators to accomplish math goals!!
Thank you Christine for your openness and support to help our shared kiddos.
Ashley thanks for ALL you do for me and our shared kiddos. You are a rockstar
Thank you Anna for sharing the small victories and the big victories with the team to keep our shared kiddo on a path of focused independent work!
Thank you Kelly for the love and support always but especially these past few weeks.
-Sherry Tietjen--Special Education Teacher at Lotus
Kudos to Joe Fernandez for all he's doing in his kindergarten group. I have already seen so much growth in one of my students!
Kudos to Chad Z for sitting in on a conference with me to help answer questions.
Kudos to Lorenz for all her help in getting tasks boxes for a new student.
-Adisyn Illg--Kindergarten Teacher
Thank you Ashley and Brooke for watching my class in the hallway as I had to take care of an emergency!
Thank you Melissa for helping me with one of the students and making sure he got down to the office safely!
Thank you Matt and Nicole for working closely with me on finding ways for one of my students to be successful! Your expertise and ideas are much appreciated and I am thankful for the continuous support no matter how rough it can get!
Thanks Chad and Sam for listening, understanding, and always being there for support when one of my students needs a break to regulate!
Thanks Joseph for pushing into my class during reading/writing and giving your insight on important topics as we eview for IAR! My students enjoy the conversations you propose!
--Lili Tosado--3rd Grade Teacher
All paras and Matt Peters, who picked up extra buses over the last week.
Sonia for always making our snack days so special
Katilyn May, Mary MP, Mary F, Mandi, Dina, Sherry, Penny, Sonia, Adisyn, for helping me accept the new decade that I entered . Thanks for making it a true celebration!!
Fiona and Sammie for always listening when I have questions about our kids (and my own). Also for another great presentation.
-Colleen Robinson--Paraprofessional at Lotus
Big thanks to my supportive teammates Cary Scarpino and Kendra Logar for helping get everything set up for my sub- thank you Ms. Mae- while I was out sick! 
Michelle Magness, thank you for your help on Monday morning!
Pam Enright, my commute buddy, this is a long overdue kudos. I truly appreciate your positivity and cheerful spirit every morning. Also, thank you for checking in on me when I was out sick this last week!
Finally, a huge thank you to Kim V. for always being so flexible with our schedule and problem solving to make sure the kiddos still get to check out books. You are amazing!
Jen Groot -First Grade Teacher
Kudos to Brian Dungan for always being a joy around Stanton. You always know how to brighten someone's day
Kudos to Jackie Mathews for always being so kind and helpful. I appreciate you.
- Cara Creager--Long Term Sub at Stanton
AND...
To the fabulous Kim VanHoorelbeke for always advocating for our learners and for offering the Library as a space for students to regulate on Friday!
To Cara Creager for giving 110% (and more) to help meet our needs for LBS1 support.
To Adalia Tate for inviting me to be a Mystery Reader. Best part of my Friday for SURE!
To Ashley Brown for a "real talk" conversation.
-Heather 💙
Just for Fun...
Click here to get to the BINGO board. Read the directions and let's play BINGO!!!!
Summer School 2026
Please let me know via email if you are interested in working Summer School 2026! We need certified staff, paraprofessionals, related service providers, bus/van drivers, and bus paraprofessionals!Here are the details you need for our site based programs:July 6-30Monday-ThursdayLotus 8-11Stanton 8:45-11:45Certified Pay Rate: $45/hour (3 hours per day of instruction and 2 hours per week of planning)Support Staff Pay Rate: Your 26-27 hourly rate of payPlease email if you are interested.In the upcoming weeks, we will firm up the class lists for:Extended School Year--students with IEPs who are guaranteed access to summer programming due to predicted regression (documented service in their IEP)Summer Intensive--students our teams recommend for summer remediation and reteaching based on qualifiers like:*Current need for academic/SEL targeted interventions*Multilingual students who would benefit from summer intensive support*Absenteeism*Data indicating lack of progressThere will NOT be a separate program for our multilingual learners.Please reach out with questions or interest.
Please Share!!!!!
Employee Assistance Program Updates
Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) partner, AllOne Health, has launched a new Member Portal.
The updated portal is easier to use and aligned with the AllOne Health App, making it simple to access counseling, mental health resources, and well-being support.
What’s new:
- A refreshed, user-friendly portal
- Easier access to EAP and well-being services
- One login for both the app and the portal
You can access services at AllOneHealth.com/portal.
You may notice that new materials reference updated landing pages. If employees use an existing or bookmarked link, it will automatically redirect to AllOneHealth.com/portal—no action needed.
If you already use the AllOne Health App, log in with the same credentials. If not, create an account—your login will work for both the app and the portal.
Please review the attached flyer for sign-up instructions and watch the short orientation video here:
Orientation Video
Confidential support remains available 24/7 for employees and their household members.
If you have questions, please contact me.
Thanks,
Maddie
Lake County Educator of the Year Nominations---PLEASE HELP!
The Lake County Regional Office of Education in partnership with the Lake County Regional Office of Education Foundation will be hosting the fifth annual Educator of the Year Ceremony. The Ceremony will be held at the Lake County Fairgrounds on May 6th, at 6:00 pm. Doors open at 5:00 pm with a social hour then dinner to follow. The awards ceremony will take place after the dinner. Tickets will go on sale March 30th, information will be shared once the link is live.
I have included all of the information about the EOY in this email. The information can also be found on the ROE shared drive under the Educator of the Year folder and on the ROE website under the tab Educator of the Year later today.
There will be 9 categories for nominations. Districts can submit 1 nomination per eligible category, all paperwork must be included for each nomination to be considered. Nominees will receive a free ticket to the EOY Ceremony. Electronic nomination packets are due by Friday, March 20, 2026.
Here are links for the 2026 EOY.
Educator of the Year Letter (1 page introductory letter on the EOY)
Educator of the Year Power Point (Powerpoint explaining the EOY nomination guidelines)
Educator of the Year Nomination Form (This form must be filled out and submitted with your nomination packet)
Educator of the Year Nomination Submission (Link to submit your nomination packet for EOY)
Absence Info
Please refer to this document for all things absence reporting. Please send any questions to Maddie Mercado or me.
THANKS!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be sure to enter absences as far in advance as possible! WE HAVE A POOL OF SUBS who can fill spots that are entered!!!! We're working on adding even more, so PLEASE enter your absences as soon as you know you'll be out.
REMINDERS
1. If you know you're sick, please put in your absence ASAP. This helps us plan for coverage more effectively. The more we have to react to in the morning, the more crazy the start to the day for everyone.
2. If scheduling personal tasks, it would be amazing if you could try to avoid THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS whenever possible.
3. If you are asked to cover for someone, please know that you're being asked as part of a bigger plan to meet the needs of kids. Unless there's a truly extraordinary situation, you are expected to say YES when asked. We only ask when it's the best answer for kids.
Please direct any questions to me about this. Principals and Associate Principals are charged with creating the plans that best meet the needs of our students. If you have questions or issues with this, they should come to me for discussion.
Thanks!
Referral GPS--Reminder!
We are committed to creating a culture of well-being of students, staff,
parents, and community. In an effort to continuously support this
commitment, the district has entered an agreement with Referral GPS.
ReferralGPS is a web-based service focused on assisting our students,
staff, and community in finding local mental-health and substance use
related treatment. The service compliments the districts existing
systems of support as a tool for student service teams and families to
connect with treatment. Along with a searchable database of treatment
options, Referral GPS provides Care Navigation to assist families in
triage, appointment setting, and follow up care.
School families may access Referral GPS in two ways:
1) Contact Student Services (social workers, psychologists,
counselors) to seek out treatment options.
2) Visit this link at https://referralgps.com/find-help/D114 to
search for treatment resources or connect with a Care
Navigator anonymously.
ReferralGPS takes into account all types of private and public insurance
including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, Medicare, and families who are
uninsured or underinsured. The platform also filters by age, gender, zip
code, and special requests.
ReferralGPS is available for use by district students, staff, and families at
no cost. All information entered on the ReferralGPS tool is completely
confidential and securely stored.
If you are interested in seeking counseling-related services at this time,
please consider visiting https://referralgps.com/find-help/D114 or
reaching out to the Student Services team.
Field Trips
If you are planning for a field trip, please remember:
All field trip requests must be submitted to the principal no later than the 15th of the previous month of your trip.
Example: Trip is in March, Form must be in by February 15th. This allows time for approval and our drivers to select trips.
1. Complete the Field Trip Request Form.
2. Submit the form to your Principal for approval.
2. Principals, if approved, submit to NATALIE UDSTUEN to arrange transportation.
Work Orders
When you have something you need the Facilities Team to handle for you, please complete a Work Request. Be sure to include the LOCATION in the "summary" field.
Injury Reporting
If you are injured on the job, you MUST IMMEDIATELY do the following:
1. Report this injury to an administrator.
2. Report the injury to Company Nurse.
Thanks in advance!
AND...don't forget
See what your membership has to offer! Go to ieanea.org to see all of the happenings and most up to date information on union matters. Go to ieanea.org/benefits/ to explore discounts and deals that are offered to you with your membership. Stay informed by reading the Region 49 Newsletter
Good morning, District 114!
Thank you for joining us last week for our Eat Out to Help Out at Culver's! We appreciate the support!
Continue on for important updates:
- April PTA Meeting
- Date: Monday, 4/13/26
- Time: 6:00 pm to ~7:00 pm
- Location: Lotus Library or Google Meet
- Seeking Nominations!!
- Our current president's term is ending at the end of the school year!
- Nominations for a new president are needed!
- Do you know someone who would make an excellent president? Are you that person?
- Send us an email at pta@foxlake114.org to let us know who you nominate!
- We'll vote in our new president during the May 11th PTA Meeting!
- Day of Service
- Fundraising begins Monday, March 23, 2026
- Envelopes due back to school, Tuesday, April 21, 2026
- Family Rocket Launch
- Wednesday, May 20, 2026 (Rain date: Thursday, May 21, 2026)
- 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
- Lotus Cafeteria and Outside
Here's what you need to know:
- Dues are $10 for the whole year! That's less than a dollar a month!
- You'll receive a District 114 PTA Calendar featuring student artwork
- Join here today!
- Join the PTA and help enrich your child's educational experience this year!
Make sure to join our Facebook Group Page!
YOUR PTA Board
THIS WEEK
Monday, March 16--Board of Education meeting at 7PM at Lotus or via Google Meet
Looking Ahead...
March 23-27--Spring Break
April 22-DAY OF SERVICE
May 22--Last Day of School for PreK
May 26--8th Grade Promotion Ceremony
May 27--Last Day of School
Paste the URL below into your browser:
https://edtomorrow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Governors State University will be hosting a few virtual informational sessions to discuss the LBS1 endorsement and the Master of Arts in Multicategorical Special Education program. The master’s program has initial licensure and advanced licensure options.
The session will begin promptly at the scheduled time and will include detailed information about the completely online programs and how to apply by the program coordinator, Dr. Sara Jozwik. Questions will be encouraged!
Please share the registration links below with your staff, and/or post the flyer attached to this email
- Wednesday, March 4th at 5:00 pm
- Thursday, March 12th at 6:00 pm
- Thursday, April 23rd at 5:30 pm
Proud to be...
