The February Wellness Challenge is linked here if you didn't get a chance to make notes on the form. February Wellness Challenges should be sent my way by FRIDAY, MARCH 7, please.

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The March Wellness Challenge is a new spin on things! Check it out...it's linked here!

You're entered in the raffle if you complete 20 of the days...and March 23 and 30 are YOU CHOOSE days!

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March Focus--Relationship Routines

This Week's Wellness Invitation: Write Thank You Notes

Write a thank you note (digital or handwritten) to three students or colleagues this week. Give them the notes without any expectation for a return response.

The 2nd grade concert was amazing! Thank you to Erin CJ, all the 2nd grade teachers and staff for coming to support. We had around 300 people attend and the kids absolutely rocked it! Behind the scenes, thank you to Sonia for helping us put out chairs and to Amber for getting the signs up on any equipment.

Nicole and Ellie, thank you both for your support in the office and with student situations!

To all staff- We know it has been extremely hard to cover all the positions when people are out sick (definitely that time of year). I want to thank everyone for their flexibility, it does not go unnoticed. It truly takes a village

-Natalie Udstuen-Assistant Principal at Lotus

Kudos to Matt, Paula, Russ, and Sonia for making our ACCESS Pizza Party a success once again! The kids LOVED it and had sooooo much fun! Thank you so much!

-Kim Leable-EL Paraprofessional at Lotus

Thanks to everyone who helped out when one of my littles got "sick" in the hallway. Special kudos to : FIRSTLY, Mr. Russ for the quick clean-up,

Jenny Groot for lending me her trash can, Ellie Seyfert for supervising purposeful play and Paula K for keeping the group calm.

-Nicole Mild--Kindergarten Teacher

Thank you to Erica, Joseph, Kim and Joan for helping to reorganize to best support our 2nd graders in the best way possible.

Chris Brown...you are amazing! Thank you for all of your help and encouragement daily.

-Maureen DeVoss--2nd Grade Teacher

Thank you!! to my Team for helping with 2nd Grade concert practice- you enabled me to focus on the kids onstage, which is what it’s all about!!

AND

Thank you to Colleen, Courtney, and Misty for their support in Music class, in the weeks preparing for the concert. The kids were all stronger because of you!

AND

Thanks to Amber and Jillian for their flexibility with practice, and to Gayle for coming to the concert- the kids were so excited to see you there! (So was I- thanks for the support!)

AND

Thanks to Sonia and Russ for setting up the chairs, and to Ed, Tim, and Sue & Al Giandonato.

You ALL helped make 2nd Grade’s FIRST EVER concert a success, and I am incredibly grateful!!! THANK YOU!!

-Erin Connolly-Jordt--Music Teacher at Lotus

Thanks to Norm and Carrie for the amazing job you both do each day!

To the wrestling coaches: Bryan, Chris, and Jack for their time, hard work, and dedication to our student athletes!

To Bryan, Jessica, Laura, and Oner: I’m looking forward to having the best track season ever! I can’t wait to work with the four of you!

To the 8th grade team:

You’re the best! You make coming into work each day fun! Thanks for being advocates for our students. Let’s close this year out strong!

-Matt Shannon-8th Grade ELA Teacher

A thank you to Matt Shannon for being collaborative as a co-teacher, taking risks with me to take our students to the next level academically and/ or emotionally. We became crafty with student needs and had positive outcomes with speeches. One student with high anxiety of speeches was able to say her speech in front of us and two trusted students. She came to school the next day excited about speeches and felt so much more confidence. The other student, nonverbal, was able to use text to speech for his voice and going forward, we plan to have him use this communication system with the program read and write. Great job Matt!

-Lisa Zabratanski--Special Education Teacher at Stanton

Thank you to everyone who came to help clean our room after we were hit with two different contagious germs on the same day! Thank you Monica, Mary Fischer, Russell, Courtney, Mary MP, Sarah, Mindy, and Lumi (after riding the bus). Thank you to Sonia and Russ for cleaning all the preschool rooms that day as well and staying late. I appreciate all your help!

-Michelle Magness--Preschool Teacher/PFA Family Coordinator

Thank you to Jill Rejczyk and her class for allowing us to perform a little reader's theatre as we practice our fluency skills. You were a fabulous audience!

Huge THANK YOU to my 5th grade team for delivering a Shamrock Shake when they thought I could use a pick-me-up. I'm sorry you had to give up your entire lunch to find a McDonald's whose ice cream machine wasn't broken. You absolutely made my day and put a smile on my face!

Kudos to Danielle Donelli for embracing 4 students being pushed into her ELA class at the start of the trimester.

Jessica, Jenny and Danielle - you 3 seem to always have a restorative conversation happening after exploratories, recess and lunch, whether you want to or not, and I find that AMAZING! Thanks for putting the needs of our 5th graders before your own - DAILY!!

Natalie Molidor, I do know where our team would be without you. You often touch base and always watch out for us, especially me! Thank you for all you do.

Michele Burgess, you truly are the QUEEN of Skyward! Thank you for adding our standard based grade options!

-Lisa Shannon--Special Education Teacher at Stanton

Hunter Banker- Every morning, without fail, you’ve got my back when it comes to printing anything I need. Your kindness and willingness to help set the tone for my day, and I truly appreciate you making those little tasks so much easier!

Connor Macko- Thank you for always being there with a helping hand, no matter the task, and your dedication to making everything run smoothly in the classroom never goes unnoticed. Your support and positive attitude create such a great environment for everyone, and I’m incredibly grateful for everything you do. Thank you for always going above and beyond!

Katie Jalove Filippelli - Thank you for always being there when I need help, especially when the bracket assignment just wasn’t clicking. Your support, guidance, and patience made all the difference in bringing everything together. I’m so grateful for your teamwork and for always having my back when I need it most! You rock!

Natalie Molidor - You are always there to offer support and help whenever needed, and your positivity never goes unnoticed. You truly are a bright light in the workplace, and your kindness and willingness to lend a hand make such a difference. Thank you for being an amazing coworker and for always spreading good vibes!

6th grade team: Katy Gardner, Katie Jalove Filippelli, Cathy Jawnyj and Dayja Wydzierzecki - This week of collaboration has been amazing, and I’m grateful for all the support we’ve shown one another!

Kaitlyn Goorsky - 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher

Gina, thank you for always making sure my class had copies for activities and we are ready to go to research!

Thank you to Erica and Amanda for subbing in ILP, the kids absolute;y adore you. Erica thanks for also taking our friend who was eager to be tested in IRLA again. Made his day to level up!

Thank you Sonia for the afternoon coffee, it was a much needed surprise! && delicious!

THANK YOU to my paras, Misty and Courtney, for showing up each day and guiding our students to success. I couldn;t do it without you. Never forget how important and amazing you are!

Thank you Sherry and Colleen for always being there for support. I am so lucky to work with such wonderful people like you. Also, the snacks are a huge plus :)

Thanks Kim for always taking the time to read to our class and have meaningful conversations with them!

Thank you to my amazing SPED team for everything that you do and the continuous support!

-Ashley Arff--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Thank you, Kim Leable, for organizing our ACCESS pizza party, packing up our ACCESS materials, keeping us on schedule during testing, and helping me problem-solve with how to best help a student this week. You keep everything in our EL department going, and I am so grateful!

Thank you, Paula, for ordering our pizzas for our ACCESS party, Sonia for getting cookies & juice for our kids and helping us set everything up. Both of you ladies are always so eager to help, with a positive attitude. Thank you for all that you do for our students and school!

Thank you, Russ, for getting the cafeteria ready for our party and cleaning up twice!! Thank you for all that you do for us!

-Abbey Kadera--Bilingual Teacher at Lotus

Thanks to Natalie Udstuen, Ellie Seyfert, and Nicole Brinkman for finding the funny with me on Friday when somehow the right answer was MAKING SLIME! What???

Thank you to STANTON for showing resilience, care for kids, and collaboration. I know there are lots of unknowns, but what I KNOW without question is that the Stanton family gives their hearts and souls for kids each and every day!

From Heather 🧡💛🖤

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

When students get loud (in any way), we have to get more and more quiet (calm)...here's a reminder on that and an affirmation that you're doing it right as you try. It's not at all easy...but it's so important!

Summer School 2025

As you know, we used our ESSR funds to a large extent to build a phenomenal summer school program--including increasing salaries for staff to be more than the hourly curriculum rate. While we can't match the salary we've been able to offer for the last few years, we are budgeting above curriculum rate for certified staff.

So, the pay rates for this summer are:

Certified staff=$45/hour

Support staff=your 25-26 hourly rate

Knowing that, if you are interested in working summer school (July 7-August 7, Monday-Thursday mornings), please email me to let me know!

Mark Your Calendars!

May 17, 2025!!!

Come celebrate our GOTR program AND Jeff Sefcik's retirement! There will be food, fun, music, and community! More info coming soon!!!!

Upcoming Events...

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.

Good morning, District 114!

We'd like to send a special shoutout to all our volunteers who helped out during last week's Scholastic Book Fair at Lotus!

Jeremy Serna
Nicole Harbaugh
Brandy Robinson
Christina Flores
Justina Breest
Kristine Schlicht
Shelley Muntaner
Kelley Bartlett
Jen Bray
Nikki Infante
Ashley March

Thank you for all your help!! This was our biggest book fair ever! We could not have done it without you!

Mark your calendars for our next Eat Out to Help Out Event at Culver's on Tuesday, March 11th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Make sure to mention you're with District 114! The PTA will earn 10% of sales :)

We hope to see you at 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!

Key 2024-25 Dates

April 22

Day of Service

May 2

Rocket Launch (Stanton)

Possible Star Wars Theme

Rain date May 9

Dates to Mark Down:

Tuesday, March 18 - Board of Education Meeting and EAFL Spirit Day

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 & their local associations to collaborate and create opportunities for community service/school projects APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2026 SCHOOL YEAR WILL OPEN APRIL 1, 2025

PD Calendar: Take a look at all the PD training 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

March 18--Board of Education Meeting at Lotus

March 24-28--SPRING BREAK!

April 22--Day of Service!

April 23--EAFL Articulation Meeting

May 17

District 114 CARES

At District 114 Fox Lake, the well-being of our students and families is our top priority. Understanding the critical role mental health plays in student success, we have launched District 114 CARES—a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving access to quality mental health services across our community.

Treatment Request

What is District 114 CARES?

District 114 CARES stands for Community, Advocacy, Resilience, Engagement, and Support. This program is specifically designed to provide essential mental health resources and support to students and families, with a focus on those facing financial challenges.

Our mission is to ensure that every student has the tools they need to thrive—both emotionally and academically. By addressing barriers to care, we aim to empower students to reach their full potential in and out of the classroom.

Our Commitment

Through District 114 CARES, we reaffirm our dedication to fostering a supportive, resilient community where every student has equitable access to the resources and support they need to succeed.

ICE and D114 Plans

Please see the document linked here, which outlines exactly how we will respond should ICE come onsite.