Monday Morning Memo: Monday Morning Memo 4/3/23

CLICK HERE to see another fabulous team sharing their chart!

Updated 3/19/23

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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!!!!

Lynn Smolen for going way above and beyond for a student this week.

and

The Giandonato family for always being available to sub in the kitchen and as custodians. Sue even helped out on her birthday!

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The entire Stanton Team for 3 quarters of tremendous teamwork. Great job greeting and engaging our students every single day! We’ve got nine more weeks to continue to connect with and challenge our students…and we get to do it in a building with AC!!

-From Jeff Sefcik (Stanton Principal)

Thank you Mike Szotek for everything you do! Anytime we need something you’re always there. You are greatly appreciated!

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Thank you to all the amazing ladies in the office to help with everything to do with skating.

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Thank you Sami Harshaw for having great conversation with me over what’s best for the students and how we can make that happen!

-Amber Mysliwiec (PE Teacher)

HUGE thank you to my specials team for including me in our meeting even when I wasn't there. Knowing you had my best interest at hand, all of our POV are the same, it truly shows how well we all work together. :)

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HUGE thank you to everyone who subbed for my classes when I was gone! I truly appreciate it and all your feedback. :)

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Thank you Kelly Roland for being my paparazzi and photographing during Pie in the Face. :)

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Thank you to Mike and Paula for always working hard on the back end to prepare for IAR testing to get things ready to go, and hopefully smooth as possible for teachers and students.

-From Victoria Miller (STEM Teacher at Lotus)

Enormous thank yous to everyone who contributed in any way to the amazing data presentation shared with the Board at the March meeting. There were SO MANY PEOPLE who made it happen, I'm worried I'll leave someone out if I try to name everyone. So...you know who you are and I am truly grateful for your time and energy!

and

Thanks to Kim VanHoorelbeke for giving a great training on how to use fire extinguishers and AEDs. You always give 110% to our district, and we are so very, very lucky that you are here!!!

-From Heather 😘

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

Here's a link to a sunset video I took from our San Diego condo last week. Thought you might enjoy it, too. We did Taylor's dream vacation (with a splash of "mom loves the beach")! It was magical! Feeling refreshed and very, very blessed.

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.

Here's a link to a quick and helpful refresher on the PGD with some new strategies in it!

Please remember the importance of positively greeting learners at the door...it makes a difference!!!!

Coursework Hours!!!

Here's a GREAT and inexpensive way to get additional coursework hours! Please remember that any and all coursework reimbursement requests or lane changes MUST be submitted by June 30!

Coming Soon

After Spring Break, we will be initiating 2-step verification for all D114 employee emails. This is SUPER easy, and we'll walk you through it. This creates an additional layer of account safety for YOU and for the District...and it keeps our liability insurance provider happy, too!

Mark Your Calendar!

May 17--Open Enrollment meetings will be held at both sites for 23-24 insurance plans/pricing/opportunities! More details coming soon!

SNEAK PEEK--SUMMER SCHOOL 2023!

Summer School 2023 is right around the corner! Here's what we know so far:

6 weeks

Monday-Thursday, mornings only

Both sites

Weeks in session

6/12

6/19 (Monday off for Juneteenth)

6/26

Off the week of July 3

7/10

7/17

7/24

Pay rates comparable to last year, which were:

Certified staff--$52/hour (this pay rate uses the end of our ESSR funds, and the rate is higher than other elementary districts in our area)

Support staff--hourly rate + $75 weekly bonus for each week with perfect attendance

Please email me if you are interested in working summer school this year!

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!

Welcome Back! We hope everyone had a wonderful spring break!

Union Articulation Reminder: Our next union articulation meeting will be at Stanton on Wednesday, April 12 @ 2:00 PM. Please do not arrive earlier than 1:45 PM, to help the dismissal traffic flow at Stanton.

Items we will be discussing:

- negotiations

- elections for the Union Board

- end of the year activities

- additional updates

Also...There will be a special treat for all attendees!

Finally, please remember that union members are expected to be at the meeting, as the district is giving us time to meet, so the expectation is that you are at the meeting during this time and that is how your day finishes.

If you have any questions, please reach out to a board member.

An opportunity!

Registration is open for the 22^nd annual Closing the Gap Conference.

Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Time: 8:00 a.m. - 3:10 p.m. (Check-in: 7:30 am)

Location: John A. Logan College, Carterville, IL

The Southern Illinois PreK-20 Education Alliance proudly presents an innovative opportunity to focus on the feelings of cultural tolerance and cultural sharing, unity, and supporting each other in our efforts for self-care, self-awareness, and emotional well-being.

Breakout Sessions will target topics such as ACEs, building resilience, building community from within, stress levels on the body, self-regulation, stress responses, self-care, and many more!
Participants will learn about the importance of relationships in education and the impact stress has on the developing brain and its capacity to learn, as well as gain insight, tools, and strategies that will benefit all educators and ESPs in efforts to support the students they serve.
View and share the flyer
Register Here