🛫I hope you enjoyed Staff Appreciation Week and felt the TLC! I have one little surprise left for you...🛬

THANK YOU, Liz Andersen for making and sharing this Spotify list of the May Wellness Challenge songs!!!

🌼 Here's the link to the May Wellness Challenge!🌼

Congrats to April Challenge winners:

Caitlyn Fenton

Tasha Pfau

Please let me know your choice of gift card!

May Focus--Purpose Routines

This Week's Wellness Invitation: Consider Your Desires as an Educator

Consider your deepest desires as an educator. Agan, using alllllll your mindfulness routines, pause and reflect. What is it you want as an educator? Allow any sensations, images, feelings, or thoughts to come to. What do you aspire to????

Kudos to Jennifer Sutschek. I received a message from a driver on the road.

"I'm just calling because I'm driving on the road right now. One of your drivers is doing really good, they are very safe and very cautious and the number for the car is 11. It's about 3:05 in the afternoon and I just wanted to leave some good feedback for this driver."

Kudos to Alexis Nelson, Bus 7 for helping me change part of a route. The route sheet had directional information that was incorrect and has been updated. Thanks for going over it with me!

Kudos to all of Transportation, Lotus Paras, and office staff that help us get the students to school and home every day! It's a hard job with lots of responsibility and I just want to acknowledge all you do! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andrea De Matteo--Operations Coordinator

Thank you to my village!! I am a ball of stress with national boards closing just around the corner!!

Thanks Pam for checking on me! I'm a mess but I got this!!

Thank you to Mr.Peters & Ms.Ellie helping with a student break.

Thank you Ms.Megan for helping with Art, PE, & Lunch Friday.

Thanks Mr.Russel, Ms. Kim, Ms.Arff, Ms.Misty, & Ms.Courtney for watching the group for me to be at an IEP meeting Friday.

Thanks Ms.Colleen for getting all the work ready and easy for your vacation time. You will be missed for the week.

Thanks Ms. Courtney and Mr.Russell for packing the end of the year treats for me.

Thanks Ms.Arff for the pizza to celebrate Maps!

-Sherry Tietjen--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Thanks to :

The Lotus Special Education staff who met together with us on Wednesday to create a vision for our Life Skills program!

All the Stanton staff who are helping with interviews---your time and commitment are truly appreciated!

Everyone who does Medicaid billing! We got a huge shout out for being the ONLY district in the system who has ALL their data up to date!

From Heather

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

As we head into the end of the year, can you please set this as your own SEL target?

NEEDED--Summer School Teacher and Paraprofessionals!

Please let me know if you are interested in teaching summer school or working as a paraprofessional! You can also share this with others outside D114 who may be looking for summer work! Please have anyone interested reach out to me ASAP! THANKS!

Surveys

I sent out three surveys last week--can you please be sure to provide your input on or before May 23 on all that are applicable to you? THANKS! Please reach out with any questions!

25-26 Supply Money

Special Education Input

Paraprofessional Input for 25-26

Request

Our health offices have been busier than ever recently, so much so that the number of students visiting the office is impacting the level of care and attention our staff is able to give students.

Please make sure a student issue requires a health office visit before you send them. All classrooms should have a stash of bandaids for small cuts. If you need more, please contact the office and we can put some in your mailbox. If you're unsure if a student needs to come to the office, please call before sending kids down. See below for a quick guide help you BE sure of when to send a student down...

Road to the PEL

If you are interested in getting your PEL (teaching certificate) through a potential grant/District partnership, please check out any of these sessions:

Dates/Zoom links

Tuesday, May 13th at 5:00 pm - https://zoom.us/j/95016265060?jst=3

Monday, May 19th at 3:30pm -https://zoom.us/j/99753591245?jst=3

Tuesday, May 20th at 4:00pm - https://zoom.us/j/94741982393?jst=3

Much more info to come, and please send questions my way if you're not sure what this means!

Next National Board of Certified Teachers Cohort

I'm so proud of our staff wrapping up their National Board Certification after two years of hard work!!!!

Congrats to:

Maureen DeVoss

Amanda Lorenz

Amber Amber Mysliwiec

Emily Reczek

Sherry Tietjen

If you're interested in working toward your National Board Certification, please talk to any of these amazing educators to get more information and then let me know if you are interested!

Summer Sealcoating

Our lots will be patched, sealcoated, and striped this summer:

Stanton - Monday June 2nd sealcoat and Tuesday June 3rd for striping.

Lotus - Wednesday June 4th for sealcoat and Thursday June 5th for striping.

Friday June 6th will be a rain date.

FEEL FREE TO SHARE!

Summer Curriculum Work

Hello!!! 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!

Here's WHAT:

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

Example Projects:
*Planning for new resources as applicable
*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!

Open Enrollment for 25-26

Our annual open enrollment period will begin on May 5, 2025 and end on May 31, 2025. Benefits will be effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. All benefit eligible employees returning for the 2025-26 school year must complete the open enrollment process, even if you are not changing any elections or waiving coverage.

During open enrollment you can enroll, waive coverage, add family members or make necessary changes. It's also a great time to review beneficiary, address and other personal information for accuracy. Note: You must re-enroll into your Flexible Spending Plan every plan year.

Dental/Vision Coverage:

Employees are no longer required to take Dental/Vision Insurance through the district. If you do not use our Dental and/or Vision insurance plan, feel free to waive coverage.

I've attached the following Open Enrollment materials for 2025-26:

Benefit Summary Booklet
Self-Service Guide
Health Insurance Rates

Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Maddie

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!

May 17, 2025!!!

Here's the waiver link to sign up for the Girls on the Run 5K! At the Girls on the Run event, which you can run, walk, skip, dance, or whatever you choose for FREE!

Here's the link to volunteer for the GOTR event!

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.

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.

Next PTA Meeting!

Mark your calendars for the next PTA meeting! Monday, May 12th at 6:00 pm in the Lotus library!

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

Last Eat Out to Help Out Event for the school year: Dogs N Suds!!

Our last EOTHO event will be held on Tuesday, May 13th from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Miller's Dogs N Suds Drive in in Ingleside. 10% of all sales made between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm will be donated to the PTA! Come join us for a final fun dining experience and you might just see Rocky the Star and Stanton's Fox make an appearance!

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

Dates to Mark Down:

**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

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.