Monday Morning Memo: Monday Memo 9/21/20

A big shout out to Mike Szotek and David Roat for everything A-Z since March to present, they have been non-stop. We are so fortunate to have 2 amazing Technical Geniuses in our District 114.

and

Thanks Victoria/neighbor for helping me in the Virtual Google Classroom World. :)

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Jessica Urban (STAR Leader) / PBIS Team & Staff - thanks for your support and being a part of the new Virtual PBIS Rewards Program to help launch, proctor and collaborate for our students. It takes all of us and we'll get there!

and

The Dynamic Duo team at Lotus Office (Sue & Paula). There are no words and we truly appreciate you every second of every day.

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Thanks to Michele Burgess for keeping our list of missing books up to date. It is truly appreciated.

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Thanks Andrea De Matteo for helping with PO's and all you do for our transportation world.

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Thanks to all the teachers for helping support/guide the students with Keyboarding Program.

-All from Kim VanHoorelbeke

Thank you Russ for helping us load the food in the buses.

We appreciate YOU.

From Lunch Ladies

Thank you to the Food Service Team Michelle, Karen, Yvette, Jo, Sonia, Penny and Yesenia, for going above and beyond to get things done, and Special thanks to our Transportation Team for helping us deliver the meals, we appreciate your partnership.

We are ONE TEAM!!

-From Georgette Franco

The 8th Grade Team for a wonderfully collaborative meeting on Friday. We discussed Critical Questions 1 and 2. The team worked through some issues and showed great support for one another!

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The Para Squad who continues to go above and beyond - both supporting students and staff and each other!

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Rachelle and David for their coordinated effort with MAP testing and to all staff that assisted with the effort in any way!

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Gizelle Wells for advocating for a student in need!

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Michelle Serini for joining me visiting the home of a student that has struggled to connect!

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Dani McCarthy and Lynn Smolen for teaming to assist a parent dealing with a struggling student!

-From Jeff Sefcik

Kudos to Chris Brown for stepping in while I was trying to get into my KIndergarten

Google Classroom- you're the best!! And thanks to LIsa Huck for loaning me her laptop, and Amber Mysliwiec for troubleshooting.

-From Erin CJ

Thank you to all the teachers and admin who are administer MAPS. It has been a bumpy ride and you all are handling this with so much grade. Keep those heads up and keep up the great work. :) We're almost there.

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Thank you Russ, Tina, Tim, and anyone else who jumped in to help set up and take down for Kelly's Bridal Shower Thursday. It went off without a hitch.

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Thank you to my awesome team and working together to come up with a plan to help our kiddos during specials and how to assess them with consistency. :) Love you ladies. ;)

-From Victoria Miller

Ellen Stirrat- volunteering to help us when we are in need of a sub and it is extremely appreciated for the schedule flexibility

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Victoria Miller- accommodating her schedule to meet the needs of students

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Mike Fefferman, Chris Brown and Brittany Mason- brainstorming a tough situation to ensure we do what is necessary to always put students first

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Lynn Smolen- being present in both buildings when needed

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Matt Peters- taking on all the extra "everything that comes up" this week

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Becca Strandberg- inviting me to join her class to gain some perspective on the navigation and balance of online/on site learning

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Amanda Usyak- inviting me in to relationship build with a student that needs a little extra TLC

-From Natalie Udstuen

Liz Andersen for trying out a Jamboard the first week of school as a check-in for Flex

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Karen Brnot for creating and trying out a Jamboard game on bullying during Flex/SEL

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David Roat for being awesome and helping me learn something new everyday regarding technology

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Katy Gardner for being willing and open to try new technology programs and then sharing her findings

-From Stephanie Kaye

David Roat for talking me through MAP frustrations

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My 5th grade team- for ALL of the support and PATIENT planning as we navigate through Remote learning

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Stephanie Kaye- For being a great resource!!

-From Rich Bressett

Thank you to Oner Medrano for helping a new 5th grader with his fitness log... I appreciate the time you took to help him, he's been doing a great job!

and

Thank you Janette Jennings for your help, energy and enthusiasm during PE... you knock out those push-ups like they are nothing!

-From Melissa Jakstas

Mo- for all of your help over the past few weeks. I would not have gotten through last week without you.

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Jenn, Pam, Gina, Mary and Brittany - for supporting, helping, guiding, and keeping me going through all of the crazy that has been the past few weeks.

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Kim- for supporting me with a few students who need extra love.

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You are all incredible.

-From Kibs

Heading Closer to the 9/30 Update

Wanted to share some key pieces related to the update we've promised for 9/30--updated this week:

*A small group of us has worked to develop a local "dashboard" to show the status for re-opening specifically based on our own zip codes. The intent is to use this as a weekly tool to show how COVID data aligns with our position. Here's what the data indicated using Friday's data--the health department updates each Friday:

Using the parameters of this data for our zip codes, we are clear to proceed with Hybrid planning!

*We WILL NOT launch the full hybrid model as our first step. Rather, we will strategically add a little a time to make sure we can sustain. This will likely look like a grade or two at a time, along with other priority groups (example: EL/bilingual, IEP). More to come on a proposal for this--will share during CTT on 9/23 for your feedback.

*We WILL re-survey parents on in-person/remote after the 9/30 update, as their positions may have changed since we last asked in July. I'm guessing we will have more who want in-person than we can safely accommodate, so we'll have to create a "first come, first assigned" list.

*During team meetings, you will be asked to create priority list of students who--if their families are ok with in-person--should get first take at a seat. The students you identify as priority will get a seat before others, so please consider this carefully. Priority should be assigned based on 1) data and performance (how you're seeing them DO on the work) and 2) engagement (how you're seeing them ENGAGE ONLINE).

*Yes, doing all of this will possibly bust up the class configurations in place right now. We went with content specialists from grades 2-4 so students would get time working with many/all teachers on their grade level team, making the shift a little easier as/if needed.

*There will be at least 2 weeks between announcing/setting a date for return and the actual return of students. This allows us all time to survey parents to determine who still wants remote, determine who from the onsite preference list we can safely host, plan for instruction, and get ready for the change. This means that any add recommended on 9/30 would actually start on 10/19 to launch with a full 5 day week schedule.

*After setting classrooms, it appears that, in general, we can have 11-12 students in a room at a time while keeping a teacher desk and teaching "station" so you can use interactive boards.

We know that having students on site is the BEST place for them to be and learn. The goal remains getting our kids back on site for learning, with a continued focus on balancing safety and learning. Your questions, suggestions, and feedback are welcome. This impacts us all, so there's no time ever that it's been more important to remain ONE TEAM...ALL IN.

Clocking In and Out

Hourly employees should clock in and out each day you are onsite. This helps us know who is in and also is used to confirm payroll. THANK YOU!

If You Are Sick/Need to Be Out

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let your principals know ASAP if you are ill/know you need to be out. This means that--if you have a fever on a Friday--DO NOT WAIT UNTIL MONDAY to inform us. We have to plan for you, and knowing as soon as possible allows us to do so. The same is true if you know you have to be out. It's more complicated than EVER to plan for absences, so advance notification is key. We are reaching out to our subs and trying to get really creative on this as well, but we are also counting on YOU to communicate with us.

Remember, we expect staff to be onsite on the days you've indicated. We are counting on you on this.

Wednesday Calendar

I'm sharing the Wednesday CTT calendar with you here. It's a work in progress, but you can check back in to see how times are added. Please note that there will almost always be a mini-lesson and then time for your teams to work.

Laptop Purchase Requests

We have had a few staff members request an option to purchase the retired staff laptops (model: HP Probook). A limited number are available to purchase for $80. However, the following must be acknowledged and agreed upon before purchasing:

Once a device has been purchased, it will no longer be supported by D114 for troubleshooting hardware or software issues including but not limited to:

Battery
Screen
Keys
OS updates
Software installs or program licensing of any nature
Port functionality
Charger

Since the operating system (Windows 7) and other software currently installed on the laptops is licensed to the district, the laptop will be wiped entirely of the operating system and all data. Therefore, the buyer will need to purchase the operating system software and any other software needed. The buyer is responsible for determining the minimum system requirements of the laptop to meet the needs of the new operating system purchased.

If you are still interested after acknowledging the aforementioned, please let me know.

COVID-19 SAFETY PROCEDURES

If you are concerned that you have COVID-19 or have been exposed to COVID-19 and have been

or are scheduled to be onsite, please let your principal, Maddie Espinoza, and/or me know

immediately so we can partner with you for your safety and for the safety of others.

You can trust that we will keep all this information confidential, balancing staff privacy and system

safety needs.

All staff MUST wear masks AT ALL TIMES

when onsite and in public spaces.

If you are working in an office/classroom

with the door closed, you may remove your

mask. It must be worn when anyone enters

that space with you.

In addition, the steps below (from the CDC website) MUST be taken if you have been diagnosed with or

exposed to COVID-19:

COMING ONSITE:

You MUST complete the daily self-certification form.

Social distancing of 6 feet and following handwashing

procedures--inside and outside--remain expectations and

a priority for your safety and the safety of those around

you.

Remote Learning Transition Credits from the IEA

The IEA received an overwhelming response to the opportunity to earn remote learning transition credits (over 14,000) and are still working through the submissions. If you have not yet received your credits, and would like to let me know, I can try to look into your specific submission. Otherwise, please know that they are still working on processing the submissions!

The IEA and EAFL encourage all members to VOTE! Be sure you are registered for the upcoming November election. You can find more information using the links below.

IL Voter Registration Page

WI Voter Registration Page

Link to IEA COVID Resources and Information Page

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

Michelle Serini, Stanton School Representative

Tiffany Tardio Weber, Lotus School Representative