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@D114Stanton
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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!
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
17-18 Payroll Schedule--UPDATED 10/22/17
Blue Cross Blue Shield:
Guardian:
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
