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@D114Stanton
@D114Lotus
@FLGSD114
#District114proud
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Welcome back, everyone! I truly hope you had a fabulous winter break! Looking forward to a tremendous 2018 and wishing you nothing but happiness!
To Donielle Williams--Welcome back! We're so glad you're back!!!!
and
To the Custodial Team for all your hard work over break and your patience with the alarm at Lotus!
and
To Rusty, Bob, and Hallie for driving our guy to and from Metro Prep over break!
-From Heather
I have a couple kudos to share!
My first grade team - you rock! Thanks for putting together sub plans and getting everything ready for multiple days without hesitation.
and
Mrs. Sue - Thanks for always finding us subs (even with as little as 5 minutes of warning). I know it's not an easy task, but I can't tell you how much we all appreciate it here at Lotus!
-From Amanda Lorenz
I would like to thank the Lotus staff members that helped me by taking video clips for our PBIS video. It turned out great! I can’t wait for you to share it with our students!
and
I would also like to thank Mike Szotek for uploading the PBIS video to a private YouTube channel for everyone’s viewing pleasure. It so nice to not have to burn 30 DVDs anymore!
and
A BIG “Thank you!” to Sarah Ferens and Cindy Carlino for creating the posters needed for the respect lessons we are doing during our PBIS Booster Session today.
-From Joan Kantenwein
Kudos to Jim O'Toole for taking care of my very well loved rocking chair in my classroom over break! You Rock!
-From Shar Wade
Welcome back to D114 to Fred Miller! We're glad to have you back at Stanton as a paraprofessional!
-From Jeff Sefcik
-From Jeff Sefcik
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
Support staff---we're continuing to work working on your letters and will get them to you ASAP! We're going line by line, person by person, to check for accuracy. As with the certified staff, 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.
Thanks to all on your patience in this.
Insurance Rates
As we've gone through benefits and deductions and checked everything for accuracy, we found that billing for insurance rates has been incorrectly processed and entered for payroll deductions.
THIS IS GOOD NEWS, as these new rates are lower than the original pricing quoted in the benefits booklet! This results in a cost savings for everyone taking medical, dental, or family vision from the District, retroactive to October 1!!!!
For staff who we owe money back to because of over-payment, we'll process imprest checks as part of the 2/12/18 payroll in order to square everything up. Otherwise, you'll see your deductions change to reflect these adjustments.
If you see your deductions and have any questions, please see Becky or me.
Payroll 1/12/18
Just a reminder that our next payroll will be processed for 1/12, as 1/15 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
W2 Forms
We have W2 forms and will get them to you in the near future so you can get going on taxes!
National School Psychology Week=Positive Power for Our Children!
The theme of this year’s National School Psychology Awareness Week is Power Up! Be a Positive Charge.” The phrase “Power Up!” emphasizes each individual’s ability to plug into the talents, skills, behaviors, and mindset that will help them grow and contribute to the quality of their school and broader community. A key objective is to teach children that they have the power to bring about positive changes, both for themselves as individuals and for their communities as members of classrooms, peer groups, families, teams, and clubs.
For more information, please reach out to Cindy Carlino and Sarah Ferens! So excited to see this effort come to life for our students!
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. If you'd be willing and able to help with this event, please let me know. More to come...
NEW NEW NEW!--Thanks, Abbey Vraney!
FACILITIES UPDATES
Lotus Alarm
So...the alarms at Lotus continue to be a work in progress. At least one of the problems relates to the motion sensors in the classrooms. If you had things hanging from the ceilings, they've likely been taken down and, when the heat turns on, these things set the alarm off. Moving forward, I'd ask that you limit hanging items from the ceiling...and thanks so much for your understanding!
Keep watching here for updates!
Education Association of Fox Lake News and Updates
We hope everyone has a wonderful break!
TRS Executive Director's Message:
Summary: While TRS will have enough money to pay obligations for the "foreseeable future," due to a reduction in the State's pension obligation in the new budget, the financial future of TRS remains "guarded."
Region Representative Apprentice Needed! We are still looking for a person interested in possibly filling Barb Brown's role as our region representative when her terms is up and she retires this spring. The Region Representative is responsible for attending monthly region meetings (typically in Libertyville), sharing any information from our local, and bringing information from the region back to our local. Additionally this person would serve as an EAFL executive board member. It would be great if an interested person could attend the next few meetings with Barb to ease into the position. If you might be interested, or just would like to attend a meeting or two to see what it's all about, please get in touch with Barb Brown or Melissa Williams for more information.
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...
What does this quote mean to you?
"No, it's the consistency of doing small things that matter more than doing one grand gesture."
Click this link to read a POWERFUL article on the power of kindness:
Thanks to Kristine Shanahan at Lotus for passing this along to me! :)
January 16--Board of Education Meeting at Lotus
January 19--D114 Holiday Party...
Long Range Planning Committee
Dates:
January 23, 30
February 6, 13
Likely times 6:30PM-8:30PM
January 27--Rotary Chili Cook Off!
Congrats to Gabby Smith on the arrival of Baby Pauly! He was born was born on 12/23/17 and was 9 pounds, 19.25 inches long! Isn't he precious?????
And here's a peek at even more cuteness with adorable babies to come...here's the troop of fabulous pregnant moms at Lotus!
Looking forward to seeing everyone! WELCOME BACK!
Hugs-
Heather
