Monday Morning Memo--1/22/24

              

I hope you had a great weekend!

For the New Year, we'll continue the monthly challenges for anyone who wants to do them. Click here for the January Happiness Challenges. 

And--NEW!!!--you'll earn a sticker for each challenge you complete. You can put the stickers on this Award Board! Fun, right?!?

And I have LOTS of fun ORANGE YOU GLAD IT'S 2024 things planned...be ready! 🧡

Shout out to the first-grade team for making their UFLI review interactive and engaging with Quiz Quiz Trade! The students were learning some very tricky digraphs so making it fun really helped their learning stick. 

and

I want to give a HUGE kudos to Cortnee Snell, Kim Leable, and Chris Brown for supporting a complex instructional model with a group of students who need some very unique supports. There has been an extraordinary amount of planning, preparation, collaboration, monitoring, and communication that has gone into making this model work. As a result, these students have shown a great deal of growth in a short period and are so excited about learning! Thank you for being amazing!

-From Erica Barraza (Instructional Coach at Lotus)

I'd like to whole-heartedly thank Russ and Sue for coming in CLUTCH with helping me change my tire!  They are the real MVPs! 

-From Molly Monk (District BCBA) 

Don and Norm for all of their work removing snow and salting this week. 

and

The entire staff for connecting and engaging with our kids during the e learning day!

-From Jeff Sefcik (Principal at Stanton)

To EVERYONE for making eLearning happen so well on Tuesday! and

To Russ, Kim, Sonia, Matt, and Mike for making sure we were set up for Tuesday’s Board meeting!

and

To Becky Laverdure for starting up the buses during the super cold to make sure they were ready to roll on Wednesday!

and

To Kristie Paul and Jill Becmer for making the staff lunches on Wednesday happen!

-From Heather 💓

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

Why focus on connections, learning targets, engagement, and formative assessment with feedback? 

February 16 Institute Day

We are starting to plan for Institute Day. It's going to be a differentiated day, so please let me know if you have priorities or request for how to make this time as meaningful and effective as possible for you.

Summer School!

We are also planning for summer school. We will be building the enrollment lists via SST in the next couple of weeks and then will assign staffing after the class lists are built. To ensure that we meet the goal of CLOSING LEARNING GAPS, we will NOT open this up to the full community. Rather, we will limit to only the students you recommend as the most in need based on their benchmark data. 

HOWEVER, I do want to know who will be interested in teaching/working as a paraprofessional, so here are the details:

K-8 Program

July 8-August 8

Monday-Thursday

8-11 am daily (plus one hour of plan)

Certified rate: $52/hour

Para rate: TBD

PreK/Kinder Jump Start

Dates TBD

We are blessed to have unexpected grant funding to allow us to keep the hourly pay rate for this summer! 

Note: We cannot start the bulk of summer school until after July 4 so that much of the construction work can be completed. 

My goal is to have the class lists and staffing plan complete by Spring Break!

Questions--let me know!

Staff Illnesses

As you are well aware, germs and sickness continue to hit everyone. Please remember that the  following guidelines are in place:

1. Each learning space, bathroom, and lounge will be DEEP CLEANED daily, much like we did during COVID. This means:

• Disinfecting spray used
• All surfaces sanitized
• All doorknobs/sink hardware sanitized

2. All staff MUST follow the same sick guidelines we apply to students. These days are counted as sick days. The guidelines are as follows (linked here and copy/pasted below):

Sick Day Guidelines: Making the right choice!  

Dear Parents:  To help prevent the spread of illness, we would like to give you some guidelines to help with your decision on whether or not to send your child to school.  We ask that you keep your child home if he or she:  

• Has a fever of 100.4 (oral) degrees or higher 

• Has cramps and or vomiting • Has a sore throat with fever (see below) 

• Has a persistent cough (dry or productive) 

• Has diarrhea (three or more episodes in 24 hrs) 

• Has a rash or open and draining sores 

• Has symptoms that prevent him or her from participating in school, such as:  

o Excessive tiredness or lack of appetite 

o Headaches, body aches, earaches 

o Severe sore throat (could be strep-throat even without fever.  Other symptoms of strep throat in children are headache & stomach upset.  Contact your pediatrician to assess or diagnose strep throat).   

If your child has recently been ill, please be aware of the following guidelines before having your child return to school, athletic or social activities:  

• They should feel fit for at least 24 hours. 

• Be free of fever for at least 24 hours (without medication) 

• Be free of vomiting and or diarrhea for at least 24 hours. 

• If strep throat, they must be on the appropriate antibiotic for at least 24 hours. 

• If conjunctivitis, they must be on the appropriate eye drops for at least 24 hours or cleared by a physician.  

• Rash illnesses should be assessed by a doctor.  If chicken Pox is suspected, keep home for at least 5 days after the appearance of the rash or until all blisters have scabbed over. 

3. If you test positive for COVID, please let me know immediately. You may return to work as soon as you meet all the criteria above. I am not asking for a 5 or 10 day window at this point; rather, you must meet the return to school criteria listed above. You are STRONGLY encouraged to wear a mask upon your return to prevent the spread of illness to others. Please alert me as to your date of return. Any days out are sick days. 

4. Masks will be available in the office for all staff who wish to wear one. 

Please reach out to me with any questions, for clarification, or for support. Your safety and the safety of our students remains our utmost priority! 

Reporting Absences

All employees are expected to enter all absences in Frontline, even if you text/call/email others to let them know you will be out. This is a professional responsibility! 

In Case You're Interested...

In case you or someone you know/love lives in Wisconsin and would benefit from respite care to support caregivers for individuals with complex special needs, please click here for more info. Val Donnan, the current SEDOL Superintendent and one of the kindest humans I know, is start this amazing business and will be SUCH a support to Wisconsin families. 

Beyond Limits has been serving Walworth since 2024. Founded by Dr. Valerie M. Donnan Ed.D., Beyond Limits provides individualized respite care to support caregivers. Through working on service projects within the county and by staying active, individuals are provided a safe and supportive experiences while caregivers get a well deserved break.

Email us today to see if we have availability!

POSITION VACANCY

We are currently looking for a Secretary position and are needing someone to fill it as soon as possible.

 If you have been thinking about getting more involved, like to plan events, and 

communicate information! This job is for you! Email us at pta@foxlake114.org if you are interested.

Skate on Grand FUNdraiser

Sunday, February 4th, 3:30-5:30pm

See below flyer for more info!! 

February PTA Meeting

Thursday, Feb 8th, 2024

6:00 pm @ Lotus Library or Virtual

Use the link to join: https://meet.google.com/rps-xjos-qnn

Family Fun Fair

Saturday, February 24th,2024 

11am-3pm

Lotus Gymnasium & Cafeteria

*This event is  FREE and FUN for the whole family! Come and stay as long or little as you like!! 

Don't forget to join us virtually at the Board of Education meeting tomorrow evening at 7PM.  

Join the IEA Region 49 Facebook page. This is another great way to learn about the different happenings in our region and to communicate with other educators: 

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS FACEBOOK PAGE

2024 Aspiring Educators Spring Conference RFP - If you or someone you know someone who would like to be considered to present a 1-hour professional development session to Aspiring Educators at their Spring Conference on April 5-6, 2024, please forward this link to the application. Proposals are due no later than January 31, 2024, with notifications of acceptance going out in February. Staff and members are welcome to apply!   2024 Aspiring Educators Spring Conference RFP Form

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

BURROUGHS EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP: $2,500 for College-Bound Seniors

(Sponsored by Woodruff Johnson Evans & Haugen Law Offices)

Deadline to apply is Jan. 31  

 

The Burroughs Education Scholarship is named in honor of Dr. Stacy Burroughs, past Director of the ESP Program at the Illinois Education Association. Applicants must meet the following requirements: 

·         Be a graduating high school senior heading to college

·         Have at least one parent or legal guardian who is a school employee

The scholarship is awarded based on academic achievement, career goals, and character. www.woodrufflawyers.com/giving-back/scholarships.  

February 4--Skate on Grand (see PTA section for more details)

February 8--PTA Meeting--6PM

Friday, February 16--Institute Day

Monday, February 19--School Closed--Presidents' Day

Tuesday, February 20--Board of Education Meeting at Lotus--7PM

Monday, March 4--SCHOOL IN SESSION--Emergency Day Make Up

Second Step Pacing Guide 23-24--updated 1/16/24

Work Order Request--please use this to ask for help with anything facilities, room, cleaning related!

2023-24 Certified Staff Evaluation Documents 

2023-24 D114 Calendar

Business Office Shared Drive

  

(OR GREAT STUFF WE HEARD OR SAW LAST WEEK!)

I was letting one of my first grade reading students know that I was sending home extra books for her to read because I was not going to be at school on Thursday and Friday. I told her, "I am going to a reading teacher's conference."  She looked at me and said in the sweetest little voice "I think you are going to win." She thought I meant contest. She made my day and filled my bucket!

Thank you, Joan Kantenwein, for sharing!

I was wearing a striped sweater, and a student at Lotus told me I looked like I was wearing what "those people in jail wear." Misty Madula---you know the moment I'm talking about. So glad you were there, too! -Heather

Please email me to share your funny stories, moments, and quotes (from kids or adults) so I can include them!!! (Ask permission first, please!) 

I truly appreciate each of you and all that you do!
Heather