Special Winter Break Edition!

@D114Stanton @D114Lotus @FLGSD114 #District114proud

This is an extra special Thursday edition...full of just the happy stuff. I hope you enjoy! 

Kudos to Melissa Williams who gathers coupons and buys items to donate back to students in need.

-From Michele Burgess

Joseph Fernandez and the cast and crew of Julius Caesar.  Let's not forget Meredith!!  We have no idea the amount of time and energy Joseph and Meredith put into our drama performances.  What an amazing team!!

and..

Stanton Faculty for your extraordinary efforts with our students!  

and..

Stanton Staff for being ready to do whatever it takes to help our students!

and..

Oner Medrano for leading our 8th grade boy's basketball team to a 3rd place finish in conference.  And for stepping up to the plate as the lead teacher while Gabby is on maternity leave.

and...

Liz Andersen and Beth Rendon for your leadership with Student Council and Karen Brnot for your leadership with NJHS!

and...

Chris Carvell for going above and beyond with a student - 2 X10!!

and...

Carmen Carbajal, Montse Huerta and Oner Medrano for teaming to provide a wonderful learning opportunity for our adult population!

and..

Rachelle and Natalie for coordinating our neediest students so that their holiday is special!

and...

Our Sp Ed Team for the great work you do everyday!!!  

-All from Jeff Sefcik

To Oner Medrano and Jamie Smeigh for your flexibility and willingness to do whatever it takes for kids--I know Gabby feels MUCH better knowing you two are taking over her classroom!

and...

To the incredible D114 Bus Drivers for your constant flexibility! I really appreciate our monthly meetings, and I appreciate you each and every day for making sure our kids' days start and end in a positive way!

and...

To our magnificent Kitchen staff for all you do for us and for students every day, and especially for the delicious holiday lunches on Wednesday. WOW! You took great care of us!

-All from Heather :)

Miss Norine, thank you for taking your time to come into our classrooms and create miniature Christmas trees with our kids. They turned out really cute and the kids loved it! Thanks! 

-From  Jackie Harmon and Erica Bender 

Mollie Herchenbach- thank you so much for working so hard and doing so much for the kids. When I’m out sick you take care of the class when they’re no subs and ALWAYS work hard throughout the day! I appreciate you

 so much and all you do! 

-From Jackie Harmon

When you have a kudo to share for someone, please just email me and I'll include it here! The goal is to create system celebrations--so your input is truly welcome!

And now for a little something special...

I've been blogging for awhile, and I try to write something loosely witty to launch winter break each year In an effort to ring this in for D114, I'm taking a shot at sharing some of my "best" work so far...I hope you enjoy!

The 10 Days of Winter Break

On the 10 school days we're on break, things we'll avoid will be:

10 picture schedules

9 CBM probes

8 walkie-talkies

7 squishy fidgets

6 Resource periods

5 IEPs!

4 field trips

3 parent emails

2 accommodations

and

a Google doc created by me!

And my favorite EVER (if I do say so myself...)

'Twas the Night Before Winter Break

'Twas the night before Winter Break and all through the schools

All of our staff were feeling pretty darn cool!

The papers were all filed in folders with care

In hopes that the auditors wouldn't be there.

The children were all packed up and in the green zone

Not sending selfies on their expensive cell phones.

And Heather in her jammies with red wine in her hand

Was nodding off enjoying her current favorite brand.

When the morning arrived, there arose such a clatter

We all started to run to see what was the matter.

Away to the hallways we flew like a zip,

Wondering what was going on with somebody's BIP.

The kids with their boots covered with snow

Led to slippery floors on which we had to go slow.

When what to our wondering eyes did appear,

But a group of rowdy students with clearly no fear.

They came stampeding, so loud and so quick

We knew in a moment this wasn't a trick!

More rapid than eagles they shouted their needs

"We're all in the RED ZONE, give us something, we plead!

Now, sensory! Now, motor! Now fidgets and breaks!

Graphic organizers, extended time, word banks and retakes!

Give us visuals! Give us CoWriter! Give us Chromebooks, too!

Or you'll hear from our parents and they'll tell you what to do!"

As papers that before the wild shredder begins

and get jammed in the conference room printer again...

Toward the Gym we all started to rush

Hoping that this was the solution to help the kid crush.

And then, in a twinkling, we heard as a group

The prancing and dancing of another small troop.

As we shook our heads and then turned around,

To the room the pack came with barely a sound.

They said, "For us, it's the BLUE ZONE, you see

Revved up we clearly need your help to be!"

We offered them bouncy balls and trampolines that were round

And things they could throw and toss off the ground.

Their eyes—how they twinkled! Their smiles, how merry!

Their faces lit up, so red like a berry!

And just when we thought that the end was near

Along came another group who also were dear.

They said, "We don't know our zone. We can't figure it out!"

We all heard this part and then started to shout,

"THESE KIDS ARE SO SPECIAL! THEY ARE REALLY SO FUN!

OUR WORK WITH THEM WILL NEVER BE DONE!

WE'RE LUCKY TO KNOW THEM AND HELP THEM ALONG.

IN FACT, WITH THAT, LET'S BUST INTO SONG!"

Then we looked at each other and started to grin

Because we know each day is a "win"!

And just then all the kids came together as one

And said to us something that just was so fun!

All different sizes, some small as elves

That we laughed when we saw them, in spite of ourselves.

A wink of their eyes and the words that they spoke

Made our hearts grow so big that they just about broke.

They spoke just six words, words that were so keen

They told us "YOU KEEP US IN THE GREEN!"

Just then, Heather awoke and jumped up from her dream

Thinking, "Wow, that was weird. Wonder if I let out a scream?"

You see, no matter how rough some days are,

We're lucky to work with our special stars.

And what a gift to have each other, too,

To do this work that we get to do.

So know that you are really all OUTTA SIGHT

Happy Winter Break to all, and to all a good night!

Please know how much you are appreciated! Thank you for all you do!

From my family to yours, have a wonderful two weeks and a Happy New Year! See you in 2018!

Hugs,

Heather

GOOOOOOD Monday Morning!

@D114Stanton @D114Lotus @FLGSD114 #District114proud

Five more wake ups 'til WINTER BREAK!

I want to give thanks to Mrs. Rash for helping with MAPs tests last week and Ms. Wedl for taking extra time to ensure our student did his best work! 

and...

We had a student re-take his MAP and he raised his score 21 points! Kendra made a big difference there, took her morning to work with him, take breaks with him, and even washed his very dirty winter coat while he tested! SO sweet! 

and...

We've got great people taking great care of kids here, and it makes me so happy! 

-From Greer Lally

Congrats to Jessica Lanners on getting your vision and hearing certification!

and...

Thanks to Joseph Fernandez for all your hard work on the Julius Caesar production at Stanton.

and...

Huge props to Lisa Huck and Amber Mysliwiec for an OUTSTANDING effort in getting the claiming wall for Lotus! Amber--great presentation at last week's PTA meeting!

-From Heather :)

Thank you to bus driver Ms. Cheryl, who noticed one of our students riding her bus didn't have an appropriate winter coat and purchased one for the student.  The mom of the student notified me to tell me how special it made the student feel and that every little bit of help for that family is needed right now.

-From Natalie Udstuen

Several compliments were given to John Norris, Driver and Tammy Littleton, Aide of Bus 97!  Three different staff members from Kirk mentioned they love John and Tammy and how they feel “so safe” when they are in the bus. The parents are also so happy!  We've got a great team here in Bus 97.  Thank you John and Tammy for going above and beyond!! 

-From Maureen Koenig

Kudos to Erin, Fiona, all Kinder teachers, aides and chaperones for all your help with our annual Christmas Field Trip to see Santa, Sing for local Retired Residents at Lakeland Apartments AND this year our Mayor at Village Hall!!​

-From Tiffany Tardio

Thank you Samantha Rusciolelli for allowing band to take over your classroom for the past few weeks.  The band instructor and student musicians truly appreciate it!

and...

A special thanks to Natalie Udstuen and Lynn Smolen for always being so supportive and a great team to work with!  I also appreciate all the efforts you've put into the PFA grant and preparing for the upcoming audit!

and...

Thank you Lisa Huck and Amber Mysliwiec for such an amazing and thorough presentation to the PTA.  Your hard work and efforts have paid off and I look forward to seeing the new climbing wall in action.  This will be a great experience for our students.

and...

Thank you Kelli Kuehn for once again organizing the Lotus School Snowball Fight for Box Tops.  The program is well-organized and quite successful!

and...

Thank you Mike Szotek for preparing all the new Chromebooks and getting them in the hands of all of our 4th grade students!

-From Matt Peters

Thank you Jeff and Rachelle for being out and about during the school day as much as you can.  I have heard several subs mention in the past few weeks that they think it makes a big difference in the behavior of students and "it's not like that at other schools I go to."  Keep up the good work!  

-From Melissa Williams 

When you have a kudo to share for someone, please just email me and I'll include it here! The goal is to create system celebrations--so your input is truly welcome!

                                                       

News from the Business Office

Contract Letters

All certified staff members should have received a contract confirmation letter last week, or a request to meet with me to discuss and resolve issues. 

If your contract letters looks good, please sign and return to Becky Allard's attention at Lotus. 

If you see any issues or have any questions at all, please email or call Becky or me. 

Support staff---we're working on your letters and will get them to you ASAP!

Thanks to all on your patience in this. 

We've found many, many errors--some going back a number of years, so I'm very, very glad we're going through each employee's status with great detail. 

Tax Deduction Changes

As with everything, I learn every day about things that have been done in the past. While trying to honor many of those things, there are some that just have to change.

One relates to changing income tax deductions. This specifically came to light on stipend payment request forms on which staff asked that no taxes be withheld. It seems this was a very informal process in the past...

The issue with this is that any tax processes are governed by the IRS. To adjust wages related to withholdings, a new W4 form MUST be completed and the setting formally changed in your Skyward profile. There's no if's, and's, or but's around this. 

If you have questions, please see/email/call Becky Allard or me. THANKS!

Payroll 12/22

Just a reminder that the January 1 payroll will be issued this Friday, 12/22. The next payroll will take place January 15, so please be sure you plan accordingly...this creates a long period between pays. 

Friday Details

As has been past practice, instructional staff is welcome to start your Winter Break at dismissal on Friday, 12/22. Office staff--as soon as the buses are clear, your break begins! To our custodial staff, please leave an hour early so that you get a jump start on break, too. 

Bullying Response Plan

Attached to the blog link email, please find a draft of the District’s Bullying Prevention Plan. In accordance with Illinois School Code, all districts must have a plan for responding to bullying available on their websites. In addition, each district in the state is required to post an analysis of bullying incidents from each school year at the beginning of the next school year--look for this data next fall!

STEM Event!

I'm thrilled to share that, in partnership with Grant, Big Hollow, Lake Villa, and Gavin, our fabulous district will be working with NIU to offer a full day STEM event!!! This will be a full community experience where families can come in and experience hands-on STEM activities....for FREE!!!! It will be very much like STEM Fest, which is offered at NIU. 

Here are the details so far:

February 10 

Grant High School

Set up 8:30-11

Volunteer training 11-12

Event open 12-5

Demo of super cool activities 2-3 by the NIU team

We're going to need LOTS of volunteers and will be doing lots of publicity for this. I'll also be leaning on the RD Sayles Foundation for support, as they have strongly advocated for events such as this for our students. 

The superintendents and I are meeting next week to divide responsibilities, but I wanted to share this info with all of you now so you're in the loop and can help support this amazing effort. 

If you'd be willing and able to help with this event, please let me know. More to come...

FACILITIES UPDATES

Univents

In order to regulate temperatures, please, please, please let the univents run. Each time one is turned off then back on, it will blow cold air for up to 5 minutes to get the flow of air corrected. If you need assistance with the temperature in the room, please let Don know via a work request. Thank you!

Keep watching here for updates! 

Education Association of Fox Lake News and Updates

Have a wonderful and well-deserved Winter Break!

Melissa Williams, President 
Maureen DeVoss, Vice President for Certified Staff 
Chris Brown, Vice President for Non-Certified Staff 
Katy Gardner, Treasurer 
Betty Cwiak, Secretary 
Barb Brown, Region Representative
Matt Shannon, Stanton School Representative
Tiffany Tardio, Lotus School Representative

STIPEND MEMO--Updated 12/10/17

Hourly Stipend Payment Request Form--Updated 12/10/17

Flat Rate Stipend Payment Request Form--Updated 12/10/17

Business Office "Who Do I Go To"

Work Order Request

Technology Support Request

17-18 Payroll Schedule--UPDATED 10/22/17

Mentor Expectations

Mentoring Log Sheet

Mileage Recording Form

Early Release Plan 17-18

Blue Cross Blue Shield:

www.bcbsil.com

Guardian:

www.guardiananytime.com

Workshop/Conference Request Procedure

Questions for thought as you read...

How will you take care of YOU over Winter Break???

3 Ideas For Taking Care of Yourself Before the Break

By George on Dec 12, 2017 03:37 pm

As many educators across North America are about to go on Winter break, I know that the holidays do not necessarily mean “no stress,” but for some, could be a different kind of stress.

The week before the break can be exhausting and John Spencer, recently wrote, “Ten Creative Alternatives to Showing Movies Before the Break,” that may give you some ideas before the end of the calendar year. Not only does he provide excellent ideas to stoke the wonder of your students before the break, but this little reminder:

Let’s just put it out there. December is exhausting for teachers. The days are shorter. The weather grows colder and (at least here in Oregon) wetter. Students are anxious — whether it’s a buzzing excitement for vacation or a sense of dread that some kids feel in homes that are unsafe during the holidays.

And teachers are tired. They’re tired of redirecting behaviors and tired of the mid-year pressure of the test and simply tired of the sheer energy it takes to be a teacher.

So to build on that, I want to give a few ideas of things to remind yourself before the break, that I have been working on personally.

1. It’s okay to need a break. There is often a lot of “teacher guilt” that goes into the breaks. Many of the students that we serve in education see school as not just a place of learning, but one of the safest places in their lives.  What you may be looking forward to, students may be dreading.  That being said, students need their teachers at their best, and many people are like elastic bands; if you stretch them too much, eventually they could break.  As teaching has become more complex, the mental health of educators has seemingly suffered (read this great piece from Dean Shareski, “When Will We Get Serious about Teacher Stress?“).  Of course, you shouldn’t cheer daily in front of your students that you are finally getting some time for yourself, but I also don’t think that looking forward to recuperating is negative.  Give it your all until the break, but then try to take a break, whatever that looks like to you.
2. Learn to say no. This is a hard one for not just educators, but anyone.  It is great to be helpful, but there are limits to what any person can do.  I have found that if I say “yes” too often, that I am often saying “no” to myself and my family.  You can’t be all things to all people, and having someone disappointed is much better than pushing yourself past a limit that you can’t come back from.
3. Take care of yourself. This is something that I have struggled with tremendously.  You work so hard and put your head down, and then all of a sudden, you seem like you have lost yourself.  Lately, I have focused on scheduling time daily to workout hard and just have some time for myself to read.  While people feel that it is hard to find that time as it takes away from other things, I have learned that taking this time not only gives me more energy, but the time spent with those I care about I am in a much better mood.  I wouldn’t want to spend MORE time with someone that is miserable, but in some cases, that is what was happening to me.  Find time to read, write, exercise, watch a series that you have missed, surround yourself with people that lift you up (this is an important one…see quote below as a nice reminder), or whatever fills your cup.  Taking care of yourself will lead to better moments with others for an extended period of time.

If you look at the three ideas listed above, basically they can be summarized by “take care of yourself.”  Although I know it is easier said than done, I think that educators are extremely giving of themselves, while also being their harshest critics.  This will take a toll.  We can quickly lose ourselves while helping others, which is good for no one.

https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/7921

December 19--Board of Education Meeting (approve levy, review audit)--7:00 PM at Lotus

December 20--Collaborative Team Time Celebrations during Early Release Time

Strategic Planning Committee

Dates:

January 23, 30

February 6, 13

Likely times 6:30PM-8:30PM

Had a wonderful time with Santa this weekend. Here are some pics of my cuties with the Big Red Guy!

Hoping you have a wonderful week!

Heather