I want to say a huge thank you to Amber Mysliwiec and Lisa Huck for generously
sharing your gym and gym equipment with the Stanton NJHS, and to Mike Szotek
for setting up the technology for the movie, and to the Lotus office staff for organizing
the permission slips and money for the attendees, and to Natalie Udstuen for
making your building available and supporting the NJHS in pulling together our very
successful Parent's Night Out event. I also want to thank Jeff Sefcik and
Heather Friziellie for their support in making the event happen, and Jill Becmer and
Michelle Burgess for getting the word out to the parents in the district. Thank you all!
-From Karen Brnot
I'm so very grateful for the entire D114 team! It's so exciting to come back to this new year, and we have SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY to make amazing things happen for our students and our entire district in this second semester. There's NO ONE I'd rather do this work with...
so grateful for YOU!
-From Heather
Anyone can give a SHOUT OUT to anyone, so please send those positive notes to me and I'll publish each Monday!
Discipline Corner
I'm re-running the most recent post because January is the IDEAL TIME to review/set clear expectations with students, no matter what age.
Our kids face challenges and therefore can be challenging.
So, here's this week's focus for supporting our learners...
CLEAR PROCEDURES AND ROUTINES!
Our kids face challenges and therefore can be challenging.
CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
Thank you to Amanda Usyak (PreK) for sharing your classroom expectation chart. Our littlest learners know what's expected when it's build to meet them where they are!
GREAT WORK!
GREAT WORK!
So, here's this week's focus for supporting our learners...
CLEAR PROCEDURES AND ROUTINES!
"Routines are the backbone of daily classroom life. They facilitate teaching and learning…. Routines don’t just make your life easier, they save valuable classroom time. And what’s most important, efficient routines make it easier for students to learn and achieve more."
—Learning to Teach…not just for beginners by Linda Shalaway
Here are some amazing resources and samples to show how well a classroom runs when the procedures and routines are:
Clear
Consistently
Taught to Mastery
Here are two videos that demonstrate a teacher that has done the procedural expectations and routines with the class and you briefly see their room running smoothly.
This is a link to a whole collection of videos of different teachers setting expectations.
Also, see the attachments attached to this week's Monday Memo email for more tools. Thank you, Amanda Lorenz, for finding and sharing these!
Employee Assistance Program
Just a reminder that you ALL have a free benefit that can help in many, many ways. Our Employee Assistance Program through Perspectives is such a fabulous resource for each of us. This is FULLY PAID FOR by D114.
Attached to this week's Monday Memo email, you'll find a brochure of what our EAP through Perspectives has to offer.
The EAP program can support you with such things as:
Grief counseling
Mental health support
Smoking cessation
Weight loss tools
Financial management
and LOTS more!
As we come back from a busy (and oftentimes stressful!) holiday season and start the new year with new intentions, please use this resource to help you or your family members. Your participation remains COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL, so I strongly encourage you to check it out.
Please feel free to reach out to Maddie or me with any questions!
TOSA Corner
The Winter iReady Diagnostic will begin until Ja
Contract Negotiations Update
The negotiation team has come to terms with the BOE, however our agreement is contingent on the district's upcoming referendum passing in March 2020. If the referendum does pass on March 17th, we will present the proposed contract to our members during our spring articulation and members will have an opportunity to vote on the contract shortly thereafter. If the referendum does not pass, the negotiation team will resume negotiations with the BOE.
With that said, we cannot stress strongly enough the importance of our district being able to successfully pass the referendum on March 17th. Pass or fail, the outcome will have a significant, personal impact on every single one of us. Additionally, a successful referendum will allow for critical building improvements at both sites, including air conditioning at Stanton, and provide funds for the purchase of curriculum across several content areas.
In January of 2020 the district will begin its efforts to educate voters regarding the referendum. The EAFL is backing this effort 100% and it is our expectation that our members will contribute to the referendum efforts as well. We also have the support of other area locals, our Region, and the IEA. Please stay tuned for more information regarding opportunities to get involved with the referendum efforts and be ready to jump in and help. This is a critical time for our district and it is my sincere hope that with our collective efforts, we can successfully pass the referendum on March 17th.
Melissa Jakstas, President
Maureen DeVoss, Vice President for Certified Staff
Chris Brown, Vice President for Non-Certified Staff
Katy Gardner, Treasurer
Betty Cwiak, Secretary
Cathy Jawnyj, Region Representative
Kendra Smeigh, Stanton School Representative
Tiffany Tardio Weber, Lotus School Representative
1. Take Time To Reflect // Reflection is key for personal growth. Take time out of your day to think about what moments grew you, made you happy, or even made you sad. It’s important to recognize these things. Reflection helps to give you perspective, learn from your mistakes, and to get fresh ideas.
Related Reading: Why Taking Time To Reflect Matters
2019-20 Assessment Calendar--Winter iReady being moved to January!
D114 Friday Facts--Blog sent to all families each Friday--let me know if you ever have something you'd like added. Thanks to Sue Pinkawa and Jill Becmer for helping me with this each week!
*check here for documents most frequently used/requested
Please let Heather know of suggestions for any documents to add to this
folder!
Blue Cross Blue Shield:
SEL Pacing Guides
Wednesday, January 8--Referendum Core Committee Meeting, 5:00-7:00PM at Lotus
Tuesday, January 21--PTA Eat Out to Help Out and Board of Education Meeting
Tuesday, January 21--PTA Eat Out to Help Out and Board of Education Meeting
We are thrilled to welcome some new faces to our D114 team! They are:
Michael Fefferman--Special Education Paraprofessional at Lotus
Colleen Lofy--Guided (Special Education) Teacher at Lotus
Kim Mack--Social Worker at Lotus
They are all starting on Monday, so please make them feel welcome!
