Monday Morning Memo: Monday Morning Memo 2/7/22

As we kick off 2022, it's time to share our "words" for the year. For 2021, mine was BELIEVE. I needed it... A LOT...during 2021.

For 2022, my word is PERSPECTIVE.

Here's a link to other words of the year! You can still share yours--just shoot me an email!

Major kudos to Kristie Paul for completing her first ever Civil Rights Data Collection report--it's a HUGE task, and it's done and certified ahead of schedule!!!!

and

THANK YOU to everyone supporting the super challenging student behavior situations at Lotus right now. The teamwork is unbelievable, and I appreciate your focus on safety so much!
-From Heather

The 4th-grade team made their Sports Fiction unit come alive by inviting athletes on a Google Meet and letting the kids interview them. The kids had so much fun and asked some really thoughtful questions. The best was hearing their loud cheers at the end! Way to go, fourth grade!

-From Erica Barraza

Kudos to Jessica Urban and Mike Sementa for helping plan and lead the mini lesson with me this week in CTT!!! It was great to collaborate with you both and come up with a great idea. I had a lot of fun working together!

-From Stephanie Kaye

Victoria - thanks so much for always being there to lend a hand and helping whenever in need. Very much appreciated. :)

and

Thanks Natalie Udstuen for always thinking of us on donations to the PBIS Store.

and

Thanks Don for following up with some repairs in library.

-From Kim VanHoorelbeke

Stephanie Kaye- Thank you for your collaboration and teamwork. I really appreciate our chats. I feel like our conversations- processing and teamwork have helped the kids to shine in my room. I have grown so much this year and your cheering me on has only encouraged me to continue seeking success with the kids. Thanks for being you and your teamwork!

and

SPED Team at Stanton- Thanks for your teamwork and collaboration. I appreciate you all as we support and check in with each other. I really appreciate our chats and teamwork. Thanks for all you do!

-From Dani Jones

Much gratitude to Joan Kantenwein for assessing a student. With little notice, you were able to give much needed information. You truly are an expert in your field and always so pleasant to work with.

and

A huge thank you to Paula Kvacik for her persistence in getting records for a student, especially with an extra-busy week in the office.

And

Thank you always to Abbey Kadera for her patience and understanding. You are always one step ahead.

From Mary Santi

Erica, thank you for sitting with my friend and helping him through his writing. You were just what we both needed right then! It is always wonderful sharing a room with you!

and

Amber, thank you for always stepping up and being on the ball when I am tied up with things. Your timing and dedication to everything you do is amazing!!

-From Maureen DeVoss

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

ROTARY CALCUTTA RAFFLE

If you/a team would like to buy a $100 raffle ticket to support rotary, please let me know! I'll get a you a ticket! See below for details...

COVID Updates

Please click here to read the communication sent out to staff and families earlier today.

Bottom line--all our current procedures remain in place until we hear on the appeal ruling.

Family Member Surveillance Testing

If you have a family member who would like to participate in weekly surveillance testing, we now have the capacity to send tests home for you to give them! We'll mail them in, and you'll get results back via email.

To participate, your family member(s) must register using this link:

Family/Community Member Consent Form

Please let me know if you have any questions!

PLEASE BE SURE TO LABEL THEIR SAMPLE BAG WITH FULL NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH.

Please check out this document for information on how quarantine is calculated under the new guidelines. We worked with all the other local districts to make sure we are all handling this consistently, and especially close contacts that occur at home.

Linked here is the most updated decision-making flow chart, provided by our legal counsel. This is what we are following. If you have questions, please reach out to me.

Current Local COVID Data

2/4/22 DATA
Current D114 Daily Data

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
643.33
7 Day Average Test Positivity Rate
Less than 5%
5.0%-7.9%
8.0%-9.9%
Greater than 10%
8.4%

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
598.7

7 Day Average Test Positivity Rate
Less than 5%
5.0%-7.9%
8.0%-9.9%
Greater than 10%
11.70 %

Check out all the growth our students have made in math! Way to go!

District

Stanton

Lotus

-Formative Assessment (updated bi-weekly)

Video

Relationships Matter

February is Black History Month: the celebration of African American history, contributions, and achievements that’s recognized annually across the United States and Canada.

For teachers, it’s a great opportunity to teach with intention, honoring the tradition and showing students its importance, along with the importance of Black history and culture.

And this year, it's more important than ever to uphold this tradition and celebrate Black history — no matter where your students are learning.

Use these 2 activities throughout the month (and the rest of the year) to keep Black history at the forefront of your lessons and encourage your students to keep learning more. Stay tuned next week for more!

Quote or Fact of the Day

~Say them aloud during your lesson, add them to your bulletin board or send them in an online message (or all of the above, if you’re feeling ambitious). After this, you can open a discussion with your class about the relevance of each quote or fact.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Maya Angelou

Person of the day or week

~Take time to talk about African American influencers and their accomplishments. Highlight a different person every day or week and center your lessons around them!

Actors
Artists
Writers
Athletes
Activists
Musicians
Politicians
Filmmakers
Historical figures
Heroes and iconic leaders
Scientists and mathematicians

Tip: Try to look beyond typical historical figures and popular celebrities. There are plenty of African American contributors students may not have even heard of yet — use this chance to introduce them!

-Community Builder:

Spaghetti Tower

Divide students into teams and provide them with ‘building’ materials, such as

dry spaghetti, marshmallows, string and tape. Set a time limit for designing and

building a spaghetti tower (one that’s structurally sound, of course). When their

time is up, the tallest freestanding tower wins.

-Weekly Cheer/Silly Sport/Brain Break:

As always, check out the Region 49 newsletter for the most updated information on happenings within our region and opportunities that the union offers.

If you are interested:

Three FREE PD Opportunities from the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM)

Descriptions and Registration Links for the following PD:

· The Power of Self-Compassion - Wednesday, Feb 16, 7:00-8:00 pm CT

· Mindfulness for Healing and Self-Care - Thursday, Feb 17, 12:00-1:00 pm CT

· Transforming Trauma into Healing: From Neuroception to Regulation (From Science to Love) - Tuesday, Feb 22, 3:30-5:00 pm CT

LOTUS UPDATES

* We will have a Mystery Hallway Monitor Friendly Competition. "

"Get caught walking quietly in the hall.... The classroom who is in the lead at the end of the month wins a Classroom Mystery Surprise. The lead totals will be put in the announcements. GOOD LUCK!!

* We will have a STAFF raffle on February 25th for awarding PBIS Points. There will be 4 winners. (2 certified staff / 2 non certified staff) GOOD LUCK, keep getting those stars

*MID TRIMESTER K-4th Grade Celebration will be the week of Feb. 21st.

Board Game Time!!!