Monday Morning Memo: Monday Morning Memo 4/22/24

The April Happiness Challenges are linked here!

Thank you Michelle Magness for lending me your boats and bowls for supplies for my groups. I appreciate it.

Thank you Teri as always for letting me just pop in whenever (even though I try not to be a distraction) to use your sink to help prepare for my classes. Your open door is always a pleasure.

My team...I don't know what I would do without you. Always there for me and supporting me. I don't know how I got so lucky. Thank you for being you <3

Courtney Maas..you are a rockstar! I appreciate your calm and patience with your kiddos and helping with all of the modifications in order to be successful in STEM! You truly are a saint.

-From Victoria Miller (STEM Teacher at Lotus)

Huge shout out to:

Betty Cwiak for lending an extra hand to help one of our 6th graders get extra 1:1 help reading

Katie Jalove-Filippelli for making it easier to track our 6th grade iReady Challenge Teams

Natalie Molidor for helping us reward our March Madness winners by picking up our pizza

and Dayja Wydzierzecki for hosting an outstanding Socratic Seminar about the Titanic!

-From LIsa Shannon (Special Education Teacher at Stanton)

I want to thank Oner Medrano for helping me find and implement a plan to motivate a struggling student to stay on task and stay in the classroom. Through CICO and earning time to play basketball with Oner, he remains in his classrooms and is more motivated to improve daily.

-From Maddie Friestedt (Special Education Teacher at Stanton)

Oner, Laura, David and Bryan for spending another long Saturday at the track! Your dedication is appreciated !

Karen and the NJHS for running the Knockout Tournament to raise money for Save-a-Pet.

Marla, Mark, Brian and Calista for filling in for our staff that were out last week.

-From Jeff Sefcik (Principal at Stanton)

Thanks to everyone who celebrated students at recognition at the Board meeting Tuesday. Thanks also to all who were there who participated in discussion with the Board during the meeting. It was so cool to have us all talk about what’s going on…our collaboration and connection was clear! I’m SO proud!

-From Heather 💓

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

Just a Reminder...

It's been a bit since we've checked in on the Friz 5! I'll be sharing some reminders on each of the 5 over the next weeks.

SEL Targets

I'm keeping this one this week...I'd like us all to focus on our OWN Social and Emotional awareness this week. As you know, you can't pour into others if your own bucket is empty.

So...please check out these Happiness Habits.

CHALLENGE:

Can you pick one (just one!) to give a try this week to keep you energized, positive, and...ideally...HAPPY this week? 😃

24-25 Student Registration

FYI, registration for next year will open on Monday! If families pose any questions that you can't answer or need assistance, please just direct them to the office. We got this!

24-25 Insurance

You'll be getting info from Maddie this week about the costs, plans, and details of open enrollment for insurance for next year. I can preview and let you know that HMO coverage is going up a little, and PPO coverage (all plans) will increase a lot...again. This is a result of rising costs everywhere in addition to the "experience" (aka total cost) of our pool of employees. Thankfully, by being part of NIHIP insurance group, we are also part of a much bigger group that helps us keep costs as low as possible and SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER than if we were not in NIHIP and tried to shop for insurance on our own.

Summer Curriculum Work
Hello!!! Just reminding you that it's that time of year...when I ask for your ideas and proposals for summer curriculum work! THANK YOU to the teams who have already sent in ideas! WOW....amazing!!!!!

Here's WHAT:

Summer Curriculum Writing:
What do YOU want to work on this summer?

Example Projects:
*Using Flash Back (will be created during upcoming CTT time) to plan to Flash Forward for next year
*SST Planning
*Fencepost work, including 3-2-1 unit designs and 15 day challenge plans
*Stuff YOU want to work on!
Here's How:

Email Heather:
Name(s)
Purpose of the work/intended outcomes
Proposed number of hours
Proposed schedule and plan for work

Notes:
Work must be completed onsite.
Artifacts of the work must be shared with Heather.
Timesheets must be completed, and pay rate is the curriculum rate/hour.

Looking forward to seeing your great ideas! Please send any questions my way!

Let's Get Running!!!!!

We are so excited to share that we are hosting a Girls on the Run 5K on Saturday, May 18 at 8:30AM at Stanton School. A team of 3rd and 4th grade girls from Lotus have been working hard towards their goals in the Girls on the Run program. We are going to celebrate their unstoppable strength, resiliency, and courage at our community 5K. Each girl is unique with her own personal goals, so it is important that we encourage girls to go at their “Happy Pace” and that the goal is simply to keep moving forward towards the finish line (time does not matter!).

FREE ways YOU can support our 5K:

Run and/or walk it with our girls *all participants will need to complete and sign a waiver

Cheer for our participants along the way and/or at the finish

Volunteer to help the event run smoothly

Here are some important details about this event:

Race is on Saturday, May 18 at Stanton School

Race starts at 8:30am

Parking is available in the Stanton School Parking Lot

Volunteers will be helping direct runners.

Runners MUST STAY on the designated course

We look forward to you joining us in our community celebration! Please reach out to Mollie Crow or Kelly Roland with questions. THANK YOU to Mollie and Kelly for making this amazing event happen!!!!

Field Trips

FYI--field trips are already booked on the following dates. No additional trips can be booked on these dates:

May 3rd - 3rd Grade - Legoland, will eat lunch on buses, 1Reg Ed, 1 SpEd bus

May 14th - 4th Grade - Camp Duncan - End of year class trip

May 20th - 8th Grade Class Trip

May 23rd - 1st Grade - Chicago Botanic Gardens

In Case You're Interested...

BPAC Multicultural Event

Illness Reporting

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 below. 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!

Stanton Book Fair

April 22nd-26th

THIS WEEK: On the stage during student lunch hours

May PTA Meeting

Thursday, May 9th, 2024

6:00 pm @ Lotus Library or Virtual

We are voting in new positions! Please attend.

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

Family Rocket Launch

Thursday, May 16th 5-8pm (Rain Date: Friday, May 17th)

Lotus School -Use the Events Entrance

Dinner will be served!!

*Bring a 2 liter bottle for your rocket!!

You will decorate and launch your rocket!! Enjoy some dinner and snacks to celebrate the end of the year!!

Don't Forget- Wednesday, April 24 is our Union Articulation meeting at Stanton School for all EAFL members. Things to remember:

-An updated agenda will be mailed out to all members on Monday.

- If you are traveling from Lotus, please do not arrive before 1:45 PM to allow for a safe Stanton dismissal.

- We will be taking nominations for new board members, so if you are interested, make sure that you ask your questions ahead of time, and have someone nominate you. Wer will be looking for nominations for a new non-certified Vice President, certified Vice President, Stanton representative and Treasurer.

- Come for the company and stay for a sweet treat.

Check out our Region 49 Newsletter

Items to check out:

The Disability Rights and Inclusion (DRI) program at NEA is currently accepting grant applications from local affiliates through May 15, 2024. Local affiliates are strongly encouraged to apply for grants of up to $25,000 to support initiatives promoting disability rights and inclusion. This is an opportunity to support local leaders and members working to advance accessibility and equity for students and educators with disabilities. The grant program landing page with more information can be found here: Disability Rights and Inclusion (DRI) Coalition Grant | NEA.

Supporting Migrant Students and Families: A Fireside Chat: Please join us on April 23rd, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., for a fireside chat with partner and member experts in supporting migrant students and families, moderated by NEA Secretary-Treasurer Noel Candelaria. Link here.

Autism Acceptance Month: April is Autism Acceptance Month, a reminder to support and celebrate all students, regardless of ability or disability. Check out (and share!) our introduction designed to guide educators to best understand, support, and teach their students with autism.

Earth Month: April is Earth Month, a time to celebrate and protect our planet. NEA has a variety of resources to help teachers educate students about the Earth.