🐰 Here's the link to the April Wellness Challenge! 🐰

April Focus--Trust Routines

This Week's Wellness Invitation: Listen Without Interruption

Trust builders listen more than they talk. This week, listen without interrupting and commit to talking less. Take notice each day of how often you interrupt others. Demonstrate active listening by giving your undivided attention during conversations.

To me, this is listening to really HEAR what the other person is saying rather than listening to REPLY or say your piece. I'm always working on this, as it's not one of my strengths!

I want to give a shout-out to several people involved in an inspiring student-success story. Transportation was arranged that allows a couple of students to participate in an after school program, for I believe the first time. We have seen a transformation in these students, as they are receiving attention and a chance to get exercise and socialize with peers. We are seeing their true personalities and they are starting to talk more and become more lively, like a bud that has finally opened up :)

Thank you to Matt, for suggesting and initiating the idea, Natalie for getting things going, Andrea De Matteo for approving and arranging transportation, Amber M. for running this club, Mollie, Teri and the whole 3rd grade team for all you do to support your students. We are so grateful to see the wonderfully positive effect on these students' lives!

Thank you to Russ and Eddie for setting up and taking down tables for Sami's baby shower!

Thank you, Sonia, for being so helpful all the time and heating up the food for us for the shower.

Thank you to the Kindergarten team for organizing such a creative and thoughtful party. You ladies are incredible!

Thank you, Kim Leable, for doing little kind things all the time to brighten other people's days. Specifically, thank you for 2 surprise gifts this week-- the book and the zinnia seeds. You are so thoughtful and caring!

-Abbey Kadera--Bilingual Teacher at Lotus

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wish... My baby girl is officially 1!!! Thank you Jackie for the gifts she loves her unicorn and the noisemakers!!

Thanks Ashley Arff for monitoring gaga during recess to keep it fair and safe.

Thank you National board team for allowing Eliana to be at our meeting.

Thank you Sami for allowing Eliana to come to your baby shower!

-Sherry Tietjen--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Yee-haw! A Texas-sized shout-out to Michele Burgess, Jack Resnick, Hunter Banker, Connor Macko, Jamie Smeigh, Oner Medrano, Adam Schaefer, and Norm Fischer for helping me make the "Stanton Stables" come to life. What a fun way to recognize student achievement and kick off IAR Testing week!

I am mighty grateful for your teamwork. Thank you from the bottom of my cowgirl heart!

-Jill Becmer--Administrative Assistant at Stanton

Thank you to:

*The hiring teams at both buildings giving your time and talents to find our new Associate Principal for each site.

*My office team for putting up with me last week. I appreciate you all more than you'll know.

From Heather 🧡💛🖤

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

Here are two good ones I found for ANY time, but especially for during high stakes testing when our kids may struggle with stress, anxiety, fear, fatigue, or ALL the feels...

IAR Theme Weeks

IAR testing is this week, so please remember to:

*Cheer each other and the kids on!
*Remind our students how smart and how ready they are.

*Have fun with the theme weeks:

LOTUS

STANTON

Injury Reporting

If you are injured on the job, you MUST IMMEDIATELY do the following:

1. Report this injury to an administrator.

2. Report the injury to Company Nurse.

Thanks in advance!

Administrator Hiring Teams

Please let me know by the end of the day TUESDAY if you are interested in being part of the selection team for the Associate Principals at Lotus or Stanton. Please also send any questions my way!
Thanks!

Chrome Settings

To add an additional level of safety to staff Chromebooks and Chromeboxes (attached to panels), idle settings will be implemented to lock the device after 90 minutes. This will be in effect starting TUESDAY, APRIL 1.

If your device is idle for more than that time period, the device will be locked and you will need to log back in. You will not be logged off. When you log back in, any open windows will remain open. This same action will occur when you close the lid of a chromebook.

Stanton Playground

When we planned for the update to the Stanton playground a few years ago, the student committee who helped with the design and vision felt strongly that we needed to add some equipment for younger kids so that the site would be a safe place for them to play and a place for younger siblings and family members to have fun while Stanton students participate in outside events like cross country, soccer, track, etc. We took a pause on this for awhile, but I'm thrilled to invite you to check out the additions to the playground, inspired by our very own Stanton grads!

Skyward Updates (Maddie emailed this to you before break--same info below)

We recently migrated from Skyward SMS to Skyward Qmlativ. With the conversion, all the history housed in SMS was rolled over into Qmlativ. Your username and password remain the same as your current one in SMS. Within the next 24 hours you will receive an automated 'Welcome Email' from Qmlativ. This email will include your username and a link to reset your password. If you know your password, you DO NOT need to reset it. Simply follow the link to login.

Here is the link for your live Qmlativ database: 

https://skyward.iscorp.com/FoxLakeSD114ILBus

I am including a few videos below to assist you in navigating the new database. These videos are very brief. Please take a few minutes to review them to ensure you know how to navigate the new database.

Employee Access for Employees overview. In this course, you’re going to learn about how to navigate and utilize Employee Access. You’ll learn about the Employee Profile tile, where you’ll be able to see your demographic information and some assignment information. If your organization allows you to edit this information, you can do that from this screen.

Employee Access Quick Start Guide Video

Within Employee Access, employees have the option to view their payroll check history.

Viewing Payroll Check History Video

This video will demonstrate how to print a check stub within Employee Access.

Print Payroll Check Stub

This video will demonstrate how to estimate a check.

Processing Check Estimator

As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

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!

April 22, 2025!!!

May 17, 2025!!!

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

Here's the link to sign up for Jeff's event. All cash contributions directly offset costs or will be used as a donation. This is a not for profit celebration.

There will be a different sign up link for the Girls on the Run event, which you can run, walk, skip, dance, or whatever you choose for FREE!

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.

The Day of Service fundraiser is underway! Your children were sent home with envelopes to collect their pledges last week. Students will be asking family and friends for pledges for the service projects they'll be doing on Tuesday, April 22nd. Here are the projects the different grade levels will be working on:

Kindergarten: Planting flowers in the PreK/Kinder playground
1st Grade: Decorate bird feeders with Leisure Village residents
2nd Grade: Making goody bags and writing letters to firefighters and police officers
3rd Grade: Creating flower pots for community members
4th Grade: Creating suncatchers for retirement communities
5th Grade: Making dog treats, dog toys, and care packages for a local dog shelter
6th-7th Grades: Service projects in the community (community garden clean-up, planting flowers, cleaning up garbage, etc)

Our goal is to raise $20,000 with a portion of what's earned going to a fund to build a new playground at Lotus. Pledges can be made in cash or online here! Learn more about what Day of Service is here :) If you have any questions, please email the PTA board at pta@foxlake114.org.

We hope to see you at our next PTA meeting! It will be Tuesday, April 14th 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

April 22

Day of Service

May 2

Rocket Launch (Stanton)

Possible Star Wars Theme

Rain date May 9

Dates to Mark Down:

Tuesday, April 22 - 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

Benefit Highlight – CustomGuide Interactive Training Courses

Did you know IEA members and staff have access to the interactive online CustomGuide training library for free? Check out this week’s highlighted course to brush up your Business Skills:

Email Etiquette – Are your emails making the right impression? Write clear, concise, and professional emails with confidence. Learn to craft professional emails, use appropriate subject lines, apply proper formatting, and manage attachments effectively.

Self-register for an account then login to access this course and more! Reach out to Kelsey.Harms@ieanea.org with any questions.

April 18--District Closed

April 22--Day of Service, Early Release, and BOE Meeting

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.