Monday Morning Memo: Monday Morning Memo 2/17/25

The February Wellness Challenge is linked here!

CONGRATS to the January Challenge winners:

Alana Carlson

and

Niccole Culbertson

Let me know your favorite gift card spot!

Thanks to EVERYONE who participated!!!

February Focus--Mindfulness Routines

This Week's Wellness Invitation: IPractice Mindful Breathing

Try daily mindful breathing this week. Simply focus your attention on your breath as you inhale and exhale. For example, try to push your breath into your belly so that your stomach expand on the inhale. Pay attention to (and maybe even record) how you feel before and after you pause for a mindful breath.

Remember this guy...

Kudos to Fiona and Alana for your willingness in helping 2nd grade on Wednesday. We appreciate it so much!

-Natalie Udstuen--Assistant Principal at Lotus

A big thank you to our amazing bus aides! We truly appreciate everything you do to support us and our students. We’re so grateful to have you on our buses. A special thank you to all the aides and everyone at Lotus and Stanton for staying with us during the snowstorm!

--Love, D114 Bus Drivers

Thank you, Mrs. Brown, for checking on all the buses at dismissal to make sure every bus has an aide, unless of course you're already on a bus yourself. We truly appreciate you!

--Love, D114 Bus Drivers

KUDOS to Mike S. for troubleshooting my old Lexmark printer so it could keep printing for me!!!!

Thank you to ALL the staff at Lotus for being so flexible with our ACCESS testing schedule! We so appreciate it!!!

KUDOS to Abbey K. for finishing the ACCESS testing schedule while I was out having knee surgery! You are the best!

-Kim Leable--EL Paraprofessional at Lotus

Thank you Katy Gardner for fixing my glasses!

Thank you Fiona and Alana for doing the PD with me today and last weekend! I enjoy hanging out with you and talking about our sessions.

Thank you, Kelly Rolland, Molly Crow, Kaitlyn Goorsky, and Natasha Pfau, for getting everything together for GOTR. I can't wait for it to start!!!

-Karen Lobo-Speech/Language

Big Shout Out to Al Giandonato for helping us at Lotus with the Super Bowl luncheon, covering both kitchens and coming in for Teacher institute Day in a really short notice. We appreciate all you do, from covering custodians, kitchens, doing concessions and helping with social events!!

THANK YOU!!

Kudos to To Tracy Giandonato for covering the kitchen at Lotus!! We appreciate your hard work!!!

Thank you to the Food Service Teams for going above and beyond serving our kids and staff and making wonderful catering for our Staff.

I appreciate you so much!!

Thank you to Natalie Molidor and the great Team of Social Squad for bringing the Spirit UP at Stanton.

Thank you Sherry Tietjen for all you do to coordinate collections for our staff.

Thank you Sue Pinkawa for coordinating the Meals Train for Kent!

-Georgette Franco--Food Service Coordinator

Thanks to EVERYONE who navigated the crazy weather last week! Special thanks to :

-Don, Russ, Norm, and Tim for keeping our grounds safe and ready to go

-Our D114 drivers and bus paras for being out in the snow getting everyone to and from school safely

-The Lotus paras who stuck around to ride on Wednesday:

Bus 1 Cheryl

Bus 4 Chris Brown

Bus 7 Kristine

Bus 8 Haley

Bus 9 Courtney

-Karen Lobo and Amber Mysliwiec for being willing to jump on a bus had we not had staff who stepped up

-EVERYONE who shared a kind word of understanding or support with me about navigating and communicating in weather situations. I realize that you may not like or support the decisions made, but I do the best I can to factor in all the things and make the best call I can.

To those of you who took time to say thank you for the communication or for pretty much anything, know that you filled my bucket. I appreciate you all more than you know!

Thank you to everyone who made Institute Day happen and to everyone who leaned in to learn!

From Heather 🧡💛🖤

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

Check out this message from students. Which Friz 5 does this video highlight for you? What is one thing you'll try this week after watching?

BIG Tuesday Events for Stanton

Two big things are happening for Stanton at Tuesday's Board meeting (which is AT STANTON)!

First...

We will also be making our recommendation for the new Stanton principal! They will be there to meet everyone, too!!!!

Family Fun Fair

It's time for some Fun! We are reaching out to ask you to support the PTA Family Fun Fair event by volunteering.

The event is scheduled for:

Saturday, February 22nd 11am-3pm

We will have carnival games from Bellas as well as some of our own creation, a photo booth, Book Fair and carnival food.

The Fun Fair will have Free Entry for families!

Please let us know if you have any questions at all. We look forward to sharing some fun times together!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mindy Auld at Mindy.Auld@foxlake114.org or or the PTA at pta@foxlake114.org.

Calendar Change

Just making sure everyone knows...we will now be IN SESSION on Monday, March 3! Since we needed to close on Tuesday, we will now be open for Casimir Pulaski Day. Moving forward, we'll do our best to send home devices and plan for remote learning when there's the possibility of a snow/cold closure.

Remember the Employee Assistance Program!

The EAP is typically a great place to start when you need care and aren’t sure what support you or a family member might be needing. They can guide you to specific care and even set up the appointment for you. Take advantage of this confidential and supportive service to address any

personal or work-related challenges you may be facing by calling Perspectives at 800.456.6327.

THIS SATURDAY! The annual Family Fun Fair will be this Saturday, February 22nd from 11am to 3pm in the Lotus gym! Admission is FREE!! Join us for:

Carnival-themed food!
Inflatable obstacle course!
Exciting games!
Face Painting!
Get your picture taken in the Library!
Visit the book fair in the Library!

Mark your calendars for our next PTA meeting! It will be on Monday, March 10th at 6:00 pm in the Lotus library!

Can't join in person? Join us on Google Meets!

Don't forget to join our Facebook group to see the meeting highlights and more, and while you're at it, join the PTA here! Membership dues are only $6 for the whole year!

YOUR PTA Board

Key 2024-25 Dates

February 22

Family Fun Fair (Lotus)

April 22

Day of Service

We'll be forming a committee of parents and staff to plan this event for the SPRING of 2025

May 2

Rocket Launch (Stanton)

Possible Star Wars Theme

Rain date May 9

Date to Mark Down:

Tuesday, February 18th- EAFL Spirit Day and BOE Meeting @ Stanton

Wednesday, April 23rd- EAFL Articulation Meeting @ 2:00 PM at Stanton

Interested in getting more involved on the Union Board? We would love to have you. At the April Articulation meeting, we will be looking for nominations for some new board members. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to any current board member with questions. It is a great way to know what is going on with your district and your union and a great group of people to work with.

**Don't forget about your NEA no cost benefits! To check them out, you should go to Deals and Discounts: www.neamb.com/start

*Additional benefits and deals can be found at ieanea.org

Region News:

Want to know what is happening in the Region? Check out the Region 49 Newsletter!

**Get your SCORE GRANT applications in!! Grants for up to $1,000 are available for IEA members and their local associations to collaborate and create opportunities for community service or school projects APPLY HERE

PD Calendar: Take a look at all the PD trainings we lined up here at IEA by clicking here : The IEA is an ISBE approved provider for Professional Development Clock Hours. Clock hours are offered at trainings that meet the PD requirements set by ISBE. Events on the calendar are hosted by IEA or vetted by IEA