Monday Morning Memo: Monday Morning Memo 2/5/24

YAY! ORANGE you glad it's February!!

Click here for the January Happiness Challenges.

The 4 February Happiness Challenges are linked here! I hope you have some fun with them!!!!

Thanks to everyone who completed January Challenges! Your stickers are coming your way for your Award Board! Fun, right?!?

Our January Challenge raffle winners are...

Tasha Pfau

Molly Monk

Jen Leazer

Gayle McManamon

Let me know where you'd like a gift card to! 😃

Shout out to Kim V. for quickly pulling books for a new unit we are starting with our 4th grade friends :)

-From Cortnee Snell (SpEd Teacher at Lotus)

Thank you Abbey Kadera for helping me share positive news to a parent about an outstanding student! I know it made the mom happy and the student!

-From Amber Mysliwiec (PE Teacher at Lotus)

Karen Skorup for doing a great job leading our ILP-B classroom during her first 100 Days at Stanton School! Your calm confident approach is awesome!

-From Jeff Sefcik (Principal at Stanton)

JIllian Rejczyk and crew (Betty, Jamie and Laura) for always participating and modeling school expected behaviors during weekly Social Work push-in lessons. This is truly the highlight of my week and the positive energy from your classroom fills my bucket. And for providing time and space for one of our Grand High School student interns to join your class! She has enjoyed getting to know you and the students- and- also for you taking the time to provide her with opportunities to directly interact with the students.

and

Lora Viers for providing materials for one of my push in lessons! And for always reaching out to Meghan and I with any and all of the social and emotional concerns that you observe in our students.

and

Laura Livesay, Jen Leazer and Student Council for jumping on board with an idea to support the homeless. I am so proud of the effort, enthusiasm and care the kids put into the blessing bags. Your kind hearts and work ethic are making an amazing impact on our kids!!!

and

The 6th grade team for your time and effort in completing some outside assessments for a few of our students. I know how time consuming these can be. And also for your willingness to try new interventions for some of our struggling kiddos. Trying new things can be daunting and I truly appreciate your efforts in this.

and

Madeline Friestedt and Lisa Shannon Thank you for taking the time to connect this week to consult about students on my caseload. I appreciate your insights and updates!

and

Coach Carvell for your dedication in supporting our students to be the best that they can be. I appreciate you taking the time to connect with me in discussing our views on how we can best support the social and emotional needs of our students. Meghan and I truly appreciate each and every social and emotional concern you bring to our attention. It has helped so many!

and

Lynn, Jeff and Rachelle for the leadership, guidance and support you provide each and every day. I honestly could not do this job without your team oriented approaches in doing what is best for our staff and students. Thank you!

And

Meghan Reimers for being the best colleague a person could ask for. I truly appreciate the way we are able to work together as a team to meet the needs of our students. Thank you for your insights, ideas and the “glitter” you bring to our office space each and every day! YOU ARE THE BEST!

-From Kim Mack (Social Worker at Stanton)

WOW to Lotus!!!! Two groups of visitors last week and they were ALL so impressed by your practices and how the building feels as a whole! I know it's a LOT to have that going on, so THANK YOU for making it happen!!!!

and

Thanks to Stanton's ELA, Science, Math, and 5th grade teams for all meeting with me last week. I appreciate the time and all your efforts!

and

Thank you to Karen Brnot and the NJHS at Stanton for making and sending Valentine Cards for senior citizens!

-From Heather 💓

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

I was in an AMAZING training this weekend, and one of the first things we were asked to do was to think about our WHY for being an educator. It was framed like this:

I want to help __________________________

achieve/to ___________________________________.

Here's what I wrote:

I want to help all learners (big and small) around me achieve a state of active BELIEVE…the faith that they are fully supported to achieve their intentions, fail forward, and be GREAT in their own unique way.

What's yours? I'd love to see it if you're willing to share!

2024-25 Calendar Options

During CTT this Wednesday, members from the Calendar Committee will share our calendar options for input. You'll then have access to the options and a survey to give your input. Remember...you get to give input, the Committee makes a recommendation based on the input, but the Board of Education actually is who gives final approval on the calendar.

February 16 Institute Day

We are putting the final details together for the 2/16/24 Institute Day--I hope to have the DRAFT out to everyone this week for input. THANKS!

Summer School!

We are still 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:

PreK-8 Program

July 8-August 8

Monday-Thursday

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

Certified rate: $52/hour

Para rate: 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

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.

Masks are available in the office for all staff who wish to wear one.

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.

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...

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!!

Lotus Book Fair

Saturday, Feb 24th-During the funfair

And during the school week of Feb 26- March 1st

*We are looking for parent volunteers to help out during the day, the week of the bookfair.

If you are interested in helping, please email Katelyn at pta@foxlake114.org

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.