Monday Morning Memo: December 2022

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Monday Morning Memo 12/19/22

For all those who do Medicaid billing, this is your reminder to do it! We need you to please stay on top of this!!! THANK YOU!!!! 😁

If you have no idea what this means...you don't have to do it! YAY!!!!

WOW! To the Giandonato family for the amazing lunch made with so much love for all of us. We were really treated to an amazing meal---THANK YOU for sharing your talent and TLC with us

-From your D114 family

Major kudos to Russ!! He came in immediately to remove a bookshelf that had become quite unsafe rather quickly. Thank you so much for making sure our classroom is safe. The students and I are so very thankful & appreciate you!

-From Kelly Roland

To my third grade team,

I want to give a tremendous kudos to each of you. Checking in on me, and reminding me that we are one team all in and to take it one day at a time. They truly showed me the support I need during this hard time. To Christine Spittler, thank you for taking such amazing care of my class while I was gone these past few days your care and support doesn’t go unnoticed

To the rest of my Lotus family: thank you all for checking in and sending your love and support. I am just so lucky to be apart of such a special community.

-Vicki Alper (3rd grade teacher)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Georgette Franco, Niccole Culbertson, Cassie Curtis, Liz Andersen, Katy Gardner, Lisa Shannon, and Norm Fisher for your help with the December Fox's Closet, and to Bryan Bailey for watching my Flex kids during your lunch so that I could be at 5/6 lunch. I couldn't do this without all of your help!!

Thank you Matt Shannon for your generous donation to the NJHS Mitten Tree. All mittens will be given out to our Stanton students.

From Karen Brnot (7th grade Science)

A huge shout out to Miss Brittany for using your amazing artistic talent to create the front display for 2nd grade. You are definitely someone worth "melting for," and we are so happy to have you on the team!

- Natalie, Mo, Emily, Sherry, Mike and Misty (2nd grade/ILP-A team)

Christine Spittler...kudos to you for stepping up and stepping in while Natalie takes care of the newest member of our team! We feel lucky, blessed and excited to have you join us!

- Emily, Mo, Misty, Natalie and Sherry (2nd grade/ILP-A team)

A huge thank you to Sue and Al Giandonato, who graciously volunteered to provide a holiday meal to all the staff in the district. How kind and generous of both of you! It was much appreciated!

Mary Santi (2nd and 3rd grade case manager)

Kudos to Abbey Kadera! Late on the blistery Friday afternoon, I accidentally opened my tailgate from my classroom while trying to remote start my car 🤦🏻‍♀️ Not only did Abbey wait near my car to make sure it stayed safe, she also cleaned the snow off my car while she waited. WOW! Talk about an amazing human being with an extremely kind & caring heart! Thank you, Abbey!

and

Kudos to Gayle McManamon (this one is way overdue) for instilling a love of art in our students! During conferences, a parent (new to our district) told me that before they came to Lotus her son was not interested in art. But now he is an avid art fanatic and it’s all thanks to Gayle. He told his mom that the reason he loves her class so much is because she gives very specific and personalized feedback that makes him feel truly special. Way to go, Gayle! Thank you for all you do for our kiddos

-From Kelly Roland (3rd grade)

Kudos to the Giandonato Family for an amazing Christmas Lunch!

Al you are an incredible chef!

Thank you to the Food Service Staff for helping and setting up for a beautiful, delicious lunch.

Thank you Norm for helping us setting up the tables.

Very Blessed to have an amazing TEAM.

Happy Holidays to you all, my loved Fox Lake District 114 Family.

-From Georgette Franco (Food Services Coordinator)

THANK YOU!! to Gayle McManamon for her invaluable help in getting the Choir assembly set up. Thank you for decorating and videotaping, and for encouraging the Choir kids in the way that only you can. I'm so very grateful for you!

AND

Thank you to Lisa Huck and Amber Mysliwiec for clearing the stage for the evening Choir concert. I appreciate it more than you know.

AND

to Russ Xhemaili for setting up for Tuesday's concerts as well as today's, and for supporting the Choir kids. Thanks to Kent Jorgensen and Tim Douglas for striking Tuesday's concert.

AND

to our incredible Kitchen staff, always, for all that you do for the whole building, and especially for accommodating my Choir kids at a different time so that we could eat together before our Choir Field Trip. You ladies rule!!

AND

to Don Ukleja for schlepping the Flipform risers here from Stanton so that my kids could perform on them this week. Thank you!!

-From Erin Connolly-Jordt (Music teacher at Lotus)

To Chris Brown for being such a light for us all.

and

To Matt Shannon for sharing your students' writing data with me. WOW!!! Lots to celebrate!

and

To Cheryl Schuck for being my critical friend about a situation to help me solve a couple problems.

-From Heather

Please send me your kudos for colleagues each week! I'll happily post them in this section!

Here's a link to all the ideas gathered for the HOW and WHY of the Friz 5...I'll keep adding as great ideas come forward.

Mid-year Reflection:

1. Which of the Friz 5 is going best for me? Why?

2. Which of the Friz 5 is the hardest for me? What can I do to work on this?

TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS...NO ACCESS AT SCHOOL

It has come to our attention from other IL districts that Teachers Pay Teachers has had numerous reports of infected files on their site. When they were confronted about the issue, they stated that their contributors' content is not their responsibility. This presents a clear network security risk. Please know that, when we return from winter break, you will NOT be able to access TPT at school due to these risks. I'm very, very sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

WINTER WEATHER

Please click here to view our current winter weather practices/processes. If you have any suggestions for improvement, please let me know. I'll be sharing these with the Board at the December 20th meeting.

Input Needed

I plan to work on a community newsletter over winter break. This will go via US Mail to all D114 boxholders.

Let me know what you think we should highlight! Would love to know your thoughts--please send me a quick email!

12/21/22 Details

I wanted to make sure everyone knows that our last day before Winter Break is Wednesday 12/21. It's typically an early release day, but this time it's also on a Wednesday.

We will NOT be doing Collaborative Team Time on 12/21...instead, everyone can head out and start their break as soon as you're ready once the students leave.

Instructional paraprofessionals, you can head out when the students leave. Anyone who rides a bus...no worries. We'll cover for you on this day and do our best to NOT mess stuff up for our amazing drivers.

Bus/van drivers, we'll need you to do your full shifts to make sure the kids get home safely. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS!

Custodians...we'll need you for sure for clean up after this exciting day, so please plan to work your normal hours. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Lotus Spirit Week

Lotus will be getting ready to kick off Winter Break with spirit days...see below!

Great Opportunity!

Please see below for a great learning opportunity, provided by an amazing, former D114 teacher!

Another Great Opportunity!
Check out the December Wellness Calendar! Thanks to Laura Livesay and Matt Shannon for doing this!

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

Attached to this week's Monday Memo email, you'll find an updated access flyer for the EAP program. Remember that this is FREE to all employees to provide a whole bunch of different supports (examples: mental health, finances, quitting smoking, etc.). ANY access of EAP is completely confidential. If you need any assistance or have questions, please reach out to Maddie Mercado.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback! Erica and Stephanie are sending out Lotus- and Stanton-specific supports, but I'll also post the link to a folder containing them all here so they are easy to find, everyone can see everything, and you're reminded to check them out!

We hope everyone has a wonderful winter break! Thank you for all you do and for your dedication to the district.

We will have our next EAFL spirit day on Tuesday, November 20th. Wear your shirt and then join us at the school board meeting that same night.

December 20--Board of Education meeting at 7PM

December 21--Early Release to kick off Winter Break!

December 22-January 8--Winter Break!

Please join us for January's PTA Meeting

When: Thursday, January 12th, 2023

Time: 6:30 pm

Where: Lotus School in STEM Rm 222

Can't make it in person?

We also will be providing a virtual option to listen in. You will not be able to vote virtually.

Click the link below to be admitted into the virtual meeting. (*you will need a Gmail account)

https://meet.google.com/rps-xjos-qnn

2022-23 Fencepost Standards all grades, all content areas!

22-23 Second Step Pacing Guide

PBIS World--This site is awesome for identifying strategies to use to support challenging behaviors!

2022-23 Early Release/Professional Development Planning Calendar

2022-23 Assessment Calendar

2022-23 D114 Calendar

2022-23 Parent/Student Handbook

Shared folder of resources

Link to D114 Business Office Share Folder

*check here for documents most frequently used/requested

Please let Heather know of suggestions for any documents to add to this

folder!

D114 Family Update

Work Order Request

Technology Support Request

CHALLENGE---try as many of these as you can over Break!!!

-Heather 💝

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Monday Morning Memo 12/12/22

For all those who do Medicaid billing, this is your reminder to do it! We need you to please stay on top of this!!! THANK YOU!!!! 😁

If you have no idea what this means...you don't have to do it! YAY!!!!

Thank you Bob Rogge for the treat Monday!! Thank you Amber for the new BEARS fanny pack! Made my day to see Max’s face handing it to me because he is a Packers fan! Feeling the love already and it’s only Monday!!

--From Sherry Tietjen (ILP-B teacher at Lotus)

I wanted to share an amazing Kudos to my third grade team. This past week I got Really sick in the evening and did not come in the next day. They got my classroom ready and made sure Spittler had what she needed with a plan for me since I was So sick. It’s times like this that remind me how amazing this community is.

Truly One Team All In

-Vicki Alper (3rd grade teacher)

Shout Out to Cheryl Schuck for filling in as our SpEd aide for transportation.

Whether it is planned in advance or a very last minute request, she is always

willing to help out. THANK YOU!!!!

and

Shout Out to Rusty, our van driver, for getting a call and leaving his home

immediately to be a midday aide, Thank YOU!

and

I wish I could list every single person for everything they do to

keep transportation running smoothly.

It's a daily challenge with many moving parts.

Thank you to everyone for all you do!

-With gratitude, Andrea De Matteo (Transportation Coordinator)

Huge thank you to Erica Barraza for all of her help in my classroom this week! Thank you for showing me so many good strategies for ELA and being so supportive of the 4th grade team!

-From Anna Morris (4th grade Teacher)

Karen Brnot and the NJHS for raising money through penny wars and buying tons of toys for the Toys for Tots Christmas program.

and

Everyone that subbed last week and to Rachelle for always putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

and

Andrea Sekulich and Vivian Hernandez for helping coordinate with some of our Hispanic families as they travel to Mexico for the holidays.

-From Jeff Sefcik (Stanton Principal)

Kudos to Kendra “Christmas Cheer” Smeigh who cleaned snow off of all of the Stanton Staff’s cars on Friday afternoon.

-From Michele Burgess (Administrative Assistant at Stanton)

~To Don and Russ, thank you so very much for keeping up with the snow on Friday, it was much appreciated to have safe travels for parent pickup and bus drop off. The both of you worked so hard to keep our kiddos safe! We appreciate you!

and

~To Eddie, thank you so much for helping keep our classroom clean and safe for our little learners. You are such a great help, and we appreciate all that you do every day. Your hard work is so appreciated!

and

~To Ellie, Fiona, Lisa and Stephanie, I am beyond thankful for your encouragement and support this past week with our new students. Your check-ins, adaptive ideas and positivity shine so bright in all you do! Thank you for being such a great team!

and

~To Miss Mary and Miss Mindy, thank you for welcoming a student from our classroom to visit with you numerous times during the day. I greatly appreciate your warm welcome and your positive feedback on how our student is doing within your loving classroom environment.

and

~To Ms. Colleen, Ms. Melanie and Ms. Deb M, I appreciate you all participating in my presentation for my college course, and your feedback on how we can use some strategies in our classroom environment. I am so thankful to have your support while I am on this journey!

and

~To Ms. Sue and Ms. Paula, thank you for being incredibly supportive every day. Your positivity and loving demeanors shine in all you do!

and

~ To Ms. Sharon, thank you for being so attentive and kind at the drop of a hat for our students. They love to see your smiling face, and and we are so lucky to have you at Lotus!

-From Erin Donovan (ECSE teacher at Lotus)

To Karen Brnot for making my day with all you do through NJHS.

and

To Katie Jalove-Fillipelli and Bryan Bailey for keeping Christmas magical for my Taylor.

and

To the Business Office team for putting up with me when I'm a little bit (or a lotta bit) intense and crazy.

and

To Cheryl Schuck for being so kind and positive when asked to jump on an AM bus route...and saying it was the thing you were grateful for. I'm grateful for YOU!
and

To everyone who was at the Kinder SST meeting last week. HOLY MOLY...you blew me away with your awesomeness. Kid by kid, skill by skill...such an inspiration.

and

To Jeff Sefcik for coordinating and facilitating an amazing learning experience for our 8th graders and the kids at Grant to learn from your amazing friend, Jim!

and

To the EAFL Exec Board for all you do. I appreciate your perspective, your advocacy, your willingness to listen, and the way we collaborate. It's a rare thing to have such a productive and "real" relationship and I truly appreciate it.

-From Heather 😘

Please send me your kudos for colleagues each week! I'll happily post them in this section!

Here's a link to all the ideas gathered for the HOW and WHY of the Friz 5...I'll keep adding as great ideas come forward.

A reflection...

This week, I taught the Friz 5 to my online group of 60+ educators. Since then, I've been asked to take our work and make a presentation of it to share at the RtI Summit because it's doable, research-based, and REAL. THANK YOU for bringing this to life. I was bragging about you SO HARD AND LOUD...it got a little weird. But I am JUST THAT PROUD!!!

WINTER WEATHER

Input Needed

I plan to work on a community newsletter over winter break. This will go via US Mail to all D114 boxholders.

Let me know what you think we should highlight! Would love to know your thoughts--please send me a quick email!

12/21/22 Details

I wanted to make sure everyone knows that our last day before Winter Break is Wednesday 12/21. It's typically an early release day, but this time it's also on a Wednesday.

We will NOT be doing Collaborative Team Time on 12/21...instead, everyone can head out and start their break as soon as you're ready once the students leave.

Bus/van drivers, we'll need you to do your full shifts to make sure the kids get home safely. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS!

Custodians...we'll need you for sure for clean up after this exciting day, so please plan to work your normal hours. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Lotus Spirit Week

Lotus will be getting ready to kick off Winter Break with spirit days...see below!

Info you've seen before but still important! :)

Great Opportunity!

Please see below for a great learning opportunity, provided by an amazing, former D114 teacher!

Another Great Opportunity!
Check out the December Wellness Calendar! Thanks to Laura Livesay and Matt Shannon for doing this!

Holiday Lunch for All

Oh wow! Be ready for an AMAZING holiday staff lunch for 12/16!!!! Thanks to the incredible Al Giandonato and family for making this happen for all our staff. Bring an empty tummy and be ready to eat!!!!

Student Council

Not only did the Stanton Student Council march in the Fox Lake parade, but they also got the 2nd Place Spirit Award!!!!!

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

One full week left! We hope everyone has a great one leading up to some well deserved time off!

If you are interested in learning more about our union happenings, check out the Region 49 newsletter.

We will have our next EAFL spirit day on Tuesday, November 20th. Wear your shirt and then join us at the school board meeting that same night.

Proactive Behavior Strategies for ESPs with 321 Insight: This Proactive Behavior Strategies for ESP session will be held on Thursday, Jan. 12 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Presenter Sue Lyons from 321 Insight will host. The session will provide strategies for IEA ESP members allowing them to implement the strategies to address the challenging behaviors and often preventing the behaviors from happening. Click here for further information and to register. Please contact Mary Jane Morris with any questions

IEA Awards nomination deadline is Dec. 15.

Online nomination forms can be found on the IEA website under Members/Benefits/Awards:

Bob Haisman Student of the Year Award: This award honors an undergraduate IEA Student Program member working toward a degree in education who has shown outstanding accomplishments in several areas.
Bob Haisman Teacher of the Year Award: This award, named in honor of former IEA President Bob Haisman, recognizes the individual contributions of a new teacher (a teacher with at least one year’s experience and not more than five).
Mary Lou and Keith Hauge Retiree Award: Given in honor of the late Mary Lou Hauge, first chair of the IEA Council of Retirees, and her late husband Keith, former editor of the IEA-R Informer, this award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the IEA as a retired member.
ESP of The Year Award: This award is meant to emphasize the contributions of education support professionals to their association, their schools and their communities.
Higher Ed Program Educator of the Year Award: This award recognizes an active higher education member who has shown outstanding accomplishments while promoting the association, publishing research, participating in community organizing or taking other actions that go above and beyond.
Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights Award: Named after former IEA President and NEA President Reg Weaver, an individual IEA-NEA member or an IEA-NEA group may be nominated for this award, which recognizes those who have performed an outstanding humanitarian/civil rights activity or community service above and beyond normal association endeavors.
Friend of Education Award: This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated commitment to the success of public education and to the ideals and mission of the IEA-NEA. The nominee, proposed by IEA members or IEA staff members, will be an external candidate who is not an IEA member or an employee of IEA-NEA