Monday Morning Memo: October 2021

I'd like to give a shout out to Kelly for surprising me with some AMAZING Halloween goodies! And also for sharing your love of scary movies with me :)

-From Cortnee Snell

Kudos to Joe Fernandez!! A parent of a student I have this year in 3rd told me how much she appreciated Mr. Fernandez and said that he helped her daughter greatly with reading when she was in 1st grade. Way to go, Joe!! You left a special mark on this family

-From Kelly Roland

First shout out goes to Kelly Roland who always is so open to listen and clarify any questions! She does so much for our team and I’m so thankful to get to work for her!

Thank you for listening to me always and giggling with me!

and

Second, Erica Barraza

Thank you so much for always being so wonderful and answering any questions or clearing up any confusion with ARC! Thank you for coming in on Tuesday to watch my lesson and to give me feedback! She jumped right in for a wonderful teachable moment and to give me such great feedback! You are truly the best and I appreciate

your support!

-From Vicki Alper

I want to give a shoutout to Ellie Seyfert. She voluntarily started a "lunch girl's group" with a few of the 4th grade girls. I have seen how much it has helped my girls grow in their confidence and overall self esteem. Ellie is such a positive influence and brightens up any room she walks into. I am so happy to work with her!

-From Victoria Corrado

Thank you to Abbey Kadera for being my eyes at the copy machine this week. It jammed and I didn’t have my reading glasses on me to read what I needed to do to fix it. She was kind enough to stop and help. We started the day with a good laugh when she suggested I sing the Celine Dion song to her at the next staff meeting that has the verse “You were my eyes when I couldn’t see” Believe me…no one wants to hear that! So hopefully this sentiment is as meaningful.

and

I would also like to thank Mary Santi for being so kind and taking the time to help with the Kiddie Kottage and Kids' Success bus lines when the reading teachers are absent. We appreciate your help in making sure our kiddos are taken care of!

-From Joan Kantenwein

Thanks to Sue Pinkawa for solving a Halloween dilemma. I appreciate how positive you always are.

And

Thank you to those who truly supported students: Gayle McManamon for her observations about a student and taking action; Natalie Udstuen for getting a student some much-needed items; and Lisa Werner for helping a student to participate fully for the Halloween party. How lucky we are to have such compassionate staff members.

-From Mary Santi

Thank you to Erin Donovan for planning a fantastic Fall Festival party for our classroom. It was so much fun to have the excitement and "Joy" of a celebration back into the classroom.

-From Maureen DeVoss

Rachelle for covering for me 3 days last week. You’re the best!!

-From Jeff Sefcik

Thanks so much to Abbey Kadera for moving things around in her schedule to be with my class to translate so that one of my Spanish speaking parents could lead the class party!!

-From Tiffany Tardio-Weber

Just wanted to THANK Victoria Miller and Kim Jacobs-Leable for working in my classroom and with our students who need the most assistance.

Victoria will pull the white reading group and challenge them with some higher-level thinking skills or Depth of Knowledge questions. She has also pulled other groups in order to make sure the kids are remembering and meeting the reading goals set for them. I appreciate EVERY moment! She adds great value to our classroom! She will also help out on Wednesdays during our Math block! So nice to have her in there to work with a small group!!!

Kim pushes in for math multiplication, as well! She has also pulled several kids in order to have a small group writing. The children that she pulls respond so much better in a small group setting. She, too, is adding such great value to our room. I appreciate ALL that she does in order to make sure the ESL children fully understand! She is amazing as well! I am so grateful to have both stopping in regularly!

-From Theresa Kovach

Please send me KUDOS to give shout outs to colleagues! I LOVE to put them in the Monday Memo! 🎉

Furniture--Planning Ahead--WE STILL NEED MORE HELP (especially at Stanton!)

If you know any high school students in need of community service hours, this would be an AMAZING opportunity for them!

We are planning for the move out of our old furniture and the move in of the new furniture at both sites over Winter Break. As you can imagine, this will be a BIG task and we'll need some help!

When: Monday, December 20

Time: 7:00AM-appx 3:00 PM

Our fabulous custodial crew will be onsite, but if you're willing to be part of this effort, we will pay $15/hour to those who are willing to help make the plan happen.

Let me know if you are interested!

Paraprofessional Hours during Parent Teacher Conferences

Here's a schedule to clarify working hours for paras. All paras are expected to work a total of 15 hours between the two conference days.

Please review the schedule below and follow your start time:

6:15 am - 6:45 pm Meal break: 5-6 pm
7:15 am - 7:45 pm Meal break: 5-6 pm
7:30 am - 8:00 pm Meal break: 5-6 pm
8:00 am - 8:30 pm Meal break: 5-6 pm

Total paid hours - 11

All paras will work 8 am - noon on the second conference day for a total of 4 paid hours. Please let Maddie know if you have any questions.

COVID Updates--NEW COMMUNICATIONS!

To streamline communication and ensure transparency, we will now be sharing with classroom teachers when there is a positive COVID case in your classroom. Below, please see what will be sent when this happens:

Who sends:

Principal or Assistant Principal

TO:

Classroom teacher(s)

Specials/Exploratory teachers

CC:

Sharon or Lora

Heather

Principal/AP who isn’t the sender

Good morning/afternoon/evening!

I’m writing to let you know that (student) has tested positive for COVID-19. (He/she) will be out until at least (date) and should have access to remote learning.

Next steps:

To help us identify close contacts, please reply to this email to share the names of students who were:

*Within 3 feet with masks in the classroom for more than 15 minutes.

*Within 6 feet without masks for more than 15 minutes while eating.

and staff who were:

*Within 6 feet with masks for more than 15 minutes.

Please notify all related service providers and support staff who were in your classroom and who had direct contact with the student.

Your instructional space will be thoroughly sanitized by our custodians.

Make sure all mitigation strategies continue to be implemented to the very best of your ability. This includes masks being worn over noses and mouths, social distancing, hand washing, seating charts in place for all situations (especially when students are eating), and--as needed--wiping down of surfaces.

Should you have any symptoms or notice students showing symptoms, please notify the nurse immediately.

Please remember that this is confidential information and share ONLY with the need to know staff listed above.

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions or for additional guidance.

Thanks for your attention to this!

(Signature)

CLOSE CONTACTS and "Test to Stay" Reminders...

"Test to stay" can ONLY be used when masks have been worn consistently and properly at all times in the school setting. "Test to Stay" applies to SCHOOL-BASED close contacts ONLY. We can apply "test to say" in classroom situations and the bus. We CANNOT apply it to situations where staff/students are eating and within 6 feet of each other.

We will ALWAYS notify you directly and immediately if you are identified as a close contact.

If you OR students in your room are identified as a classroom/school based close contact and:

*You/students are not vaccinated but do not have symptoms, you MAY access "test to stay" to monitor your status following the timelines set by LCHD, which require Binex testing on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after exposure. DUE TO THE ISSUES WITH BINEX AVAILABILITY, WE CANNOT TEST MORE FREQUENTLY THAN THIS MOVING FORWARD. Please do not ask Sharon or Lora to do so. If you do not wish to participate in "test to stay", you must quarantine, and Sharon/Lora will provide timelines for this. For students, parents/guardians must give permission for "test to stay" testing to be done.

*You/students are vaccinated or unvaccinated and test positive for COVID, you must isolate. Sharon/Lora will provide timelines for this.

*You/students are vaccinated or unvaccinated and have COVID symptoms, you must quarantine. Sharon/Lora will provide timelines for this.

*You/students are vaccinated with no symptoms, you are fine to stay. You MAY also access "test to stay" to monitor your status following the timelines set by LCHD, which require Binex testing on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after exposure. DUE TO THE ISSUES WITH BINEX AVAILABILITY, WE CANNOT TEST MORE FREQUENTLY THAN THIS MOVING FORWARD. Please do not ask Sharon or Lora to do so. For students, parents/guardians must give permission for "test to stay" testing to be done.

Please see Heather with any questions!

Current Local COVID Data
10/31/21--Click here for Daily D114 COVID data.

10/29/21
CDC thresholds and local data for Lake County
Indicator
Low Transmission
Moderate Transmission
Substantial Transmission
High Transmission
Current Status

Incidence Rate:
Total new cases per 100K persons in the last 7 days
0-9
10-49
50-99
100 or greater
112.27
7 Day Average Test Positivity Rate
Less than 5%
5.0%-7.9%
8.0%-9.9%
Greater than 10%
1.78%

D114 Local Zip Codes Data from Northwestern University COVID Dashboard--ALL DATA INCLUDES ACTUAL AND PROBABLE CASES!
Indicator
Low Transmission
Moderate Transmission
Substantial Transmission
High Transmission
Current Status

Incidence Rate:
Total new cases per 100K persons in the last 7 days
0-9
10-49
50-99
100 or greater
184.4
7 Day Average Test Positivity Rate
Less than 5%
5.0%-7.9%
8.0%-9.9%
Greater than 10%
3.67%

Teaching & Learning

*iReady VS Ready Math Classroom are two different resources. iReady is the online component that offers our students individualized instruction on the computer. Ready Math Classroom is the core instruction which includes the workbooks, teacher manuals, and resources shared in the “Teacher Toolbox.”

-November iReady Updates

Here are some updates from iReady:

Reporting Updates

5-Level Placements Added to Growth Reports: With 5-Level Placements available on all Diagnostic Growth reports, educators can better target students’ needs and understand students’ growth over the course of the school year.
Personalized Instruction Updates
Accessibility Enhancements for Grades 4–6: As part of our ongoing efforts to make i-Ready even more accessible, we are expanding keyboard navigation coverage and enhancing color contrast in Grades 4–6 lessons.
i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Updates
New Spanish Interactive Practice Available for Grades K–2: Educators using i-Ready Classroom Mathematics can now reinforce Spanish speaking students’ understanding and fluency on grade-level math concepts by assigning new Spanish Interactive Practice for Grades K-2.
-November iReady GOALS:
Everyone: Please be sure to check your classroom data for any students with “flags”.
What:
A Yellow Flag = a student has failed two lessons in a row
A Red Flag = a student has failed three lessons in a row and a Domain has been turned off
Why:
Students need some kind of intervention because they are not understanding the concepts
How to Help:
Sit and do the lesson with the student a 3rd time and reteach as you go, download resources in the toolbox, 1:1 conferring/reteach, open the quiz on your end and do it together, then turn the Domain back on

THIS WEEK:

LAST WEEK:

-Formative Assessment (updated bi-weekly)

Organizer

Video

Relationships Matter

-This Week’s Tip:

-Community Builder:

Guess-Who Paper Balls:

Have students write three clues about themselves on a piece of

notebook paper and then toss into a bucket. Students randomly

choose a paper ball from the bucket, read the clues aloud, and then

try to guess who wrote the clues using what they know about their

classmates. If students can't guess who their paper ball belongs to,

they can ask a friend for help.

-Weekly Cheer/Silly Sport/Brain Break:

A Great Opportunity to Get Involved:

We are still looking for anyone interested in being a delegate for the IEA RA. Nominations and interest need to be completed by Tuesday, November 2nd. Here is more information about the RA delegate position:

**The 167th Illinois Education Association Representative Assembly (RA) convenes on April 7-9 (Thursday- Saturday) 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Rosemont. The debates and decisions made by the assembled delegates set the direction of IEA for the coming year. The region provides funding for delegates. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain experience and insight into IEA structure and be a collective voice in the decision-making process. Learn more about the IEA RA in this informational video. If you have questions about the IEA RA or the election process, please contact your region council representative.

Looking for an additional Board Member:

Our region is also asking that we add a member to the executive board. This is a new position and we will be amending our bylaws to include this position. It is an Ethnic Minority Representative for the Education Association of Fox Lake. If you are interested in joining our union board and holding this position, please contact Cathy Jawnyj or Maureen DeVoss for more information.

Don't forget to check out the IEA members only section of the web page for discounts, deals and an opportunity to earn CPDUs. Go to www.iea.org