Welcome to this week's Monday Morning Memo! On Monday, we get to welcome all our NEW STAFF to D114!!! THANK YOU to all the mentors who are joining us to help welcome and support our new D114 family members!
Kudos to Tyler Fish, Jamie Smeigh, and Mike Szotek for the hours and hours of time and care put into setting up our student and staff computers, all while transitioning into a new space at Stanton.
The Foxes are lucky to have you!
and
Kudos to the Super Stanton PBIS team for coming together to reimagine our upcoming opening day with students and staff. We can’t wait to see your awesomeness in action while we SOAR into the new year!
-Tom Cardamone--Stanton Principal
Don, Thank you so much for painting the extra lines on the gym floor and for all the work you did to install the projector. We truly appreciate your work over the summer!”
-Jillian Kilty and Sarah Gallivan--PE Teachers at Lotus
Sarah, I’m so excited to work with you! I appreciate your willingness to jump right in on curriculum and all things PE! I can already tell this is going to be a great year.
-Jillian Kilty--PE Teacher at Lotus
Ashley Arff for priming our stools do I can paint them
Sherry Tietjen for keeping me updated on things I need to know from summer school and beyond
Sami Lear for knowing I needed baby snuggles and offering up Zeke without me even asking.
To everyone who prayed, offered a place to stay for my brother and family, gift cards for gas and food and words of encouragement for my nephew after his terrible accident this summer. He is out of the hospital after 6 weeks and back to his old self.
-Colleen Robinson--Paraprofessional at Lotus
A huge thanks to Al Giandonato for once again going above and beyond by making his amazing homemade pizzas! It was a great and delicious way to finish summer school! 
-Jill Becmer--Administrative Assistant at Stanton
Thanks to everyone at Stanton that made summer school such an enjoyable experience 
-Mark Perlman--Long Term Sub at Stanton
Ashley Arff, thank you for helping to create a beautiful supply list visual that Pam and I can share with our parents for the upcoming school year! Your help and enthusiasm for technology made our day! We appreciate you!!
My ELC/Fox Lake partners-Pam, Sherry, Ashley, Karen, Jillian, Kim, Stephanie, Sammi. THANK YOU SO MUCH for leading the path to a successful start of the new year for me. I’m beyond blessed to have you during this transition. Your guidance, assistance and humor through it all are greatly appreciated! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this school year!
My fabulous Life Skills ESY staff: Alexis, Megan, Brittany, Mandi, Kim R and Amber: We did it! You all helped to support a totally new concept this summer. Your shared expertise and experiences helped to support and enrich an amazing program that will assist the most amazing little learners! Thank you for your time, thank you for your positive energy, thank you for your consistency and compassion-we had a successful summer at ESY because of all of you!
Kim R, Ellie, Karen L, Stephanie, Sammi, Erica, Chad and Matt- Thank you all for your tremendous support this summer for ESY! The students enjoyed the time you all took to build and make connections: whether it be popping in to support or by offering to hold a students hand to assist during arrival. You all were always a step ahead, and it is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Kim R, Ellie, Karen L, Stephanie, Sammi, Erica, Chad and Matt- Thank you all for your tremendous support this summer for ESY! The students enjoyed the time you all took to build and make connections: whether it be popping in to support or by offering to hold a students hand to assist during arrival. You all were always a step ahead, and it is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Amanda L, you have a beautiful way with Google sheets and are the ultimate puzzle solver. Thanks to you, our classroom schedule made sense for ESY. I appreciate partnering with you for the school year to take in consideration special factors. You have a calm, comforting way of explaining all things…and I’m looking forward to partnering with you this school year!
Sonia, thank you for sharing visuals that will assist the Life Skills program for the entire school year! Your heart is so amazing, and I appreciate your support! Thank you!
-Erin Donovan--Special Education Teacher at Lotus
Misty thanks for helping me this summer!!
Colleen, Illg, & Brittany thanks for helping with my new crayon art display!
Mr. Russ thanks from making sure I had a paper towel dispenser and clean floor & rug before summer school when I was on vacation the week before!
Thanks Ashley for being my uber to Vernon Hills! Also thanks for the summer school snacks & all the support and collaboration even in the middle of the night!
Thanks ELC clan for the great conversations during our 2 days!
Thanks Stephanie Kolk for collaborating on a student so he is ready for success day 1!
Thanks Stephanie Kolk for collaborating on a student so he is ready for success day 1!
Thanks Ellie for helping a student at summer school when I wasn’t there.
Thanks Sue & Kristie for helping a parent get registered!
Thanks Erica & Chad for scheduling help.
Welcome back D114 family! Also welcome “home” to the 18 new “family” members too!
-Sherry Tietjen--Special Education Teacher at Lotus
Thank you Matt, Chad and Erica for helping me move furniture on Friday. I couldn’t have finished it without you.
-Russ Xhemaili--Head Custodian at Lotus
Kudos to Sonia Miller for EVERYTHING you do. We are blessed to have such a caring, hard worker at Lotus. You’re a rockstar!
-Penny Brown--Kitchen Staff at Lotus
Please can you give a shout out to the fabulous Ms Erin (pre school) for always being there putting up with me and all my questions when my grandson was going thru testing and being diagnosed with Autism. I don't know what I'd do without her!!
Thank you!!
-Karen Simon--Van Driver
To every single person who made summer school happen – You made it run so smoothly! There was learning, light, laughter, and so much collaboration. Thank you for creating such a positive experience for our students.
To Misty, Alexis, and Jillian – Thank you for spending your last day of summer school cleaning and organizing the Life Skills rooms and taking care of all the little (and big!) things to help us start the year strong. Your hard work and teamwork are truly appreciated!
-Erica Barraza--Associate Principal at Lotus
Thank you to the PreK team, Corinne, Carmen, and Laura, for all your amazing work this week! I’m so excited for this school year with you!
Thank you to Erica for being so involved in all things Prek. It’s amazing to work alongside you as we get the school year started!
Thank you to Sonia Miller for making the teacher lounge so beautiful so we have a relaxing space to enjoy!
-Michelle Magness--PreK Teacher
Kudos to the amazing Summer School team at Stanton that I got to work with this summer! Thank you for the laughs, guidance and fun! I feel like I got to get to know some of you, as I don't always get a chance to talk or work with you all as much throughout the year!
Kudos to my amazing 5th Grade Team for putting our heads together to plan for this upcoming year with our new schedule. As well as building a schedule and being present to do a 5th Grade Orientation for our soon to be kiddos!
-Danielle Donelli--5th Grade Teacher
Kudos to the amazing Summer School team at Stanton that I got to work with this summer! Thank you for the laughs, guidance and fun! I feel like I got to get to know some of you, as I don't always get a chance to talk or work with you all as much throughout the year!
Kudos to my amazing 5th Grade Team for putting our heads together to plan for this upcoming year with our new schedule. As well as building a schedule and being present to do a 5th Grade Orientation for our soon to be kiddos!
-Danielle Donelli-5th Grade Teacher
Thank you, Kent for scraping the double sided mounting tape off the whiteboard. You saved my nails.
Thank you, Melissa for helping me arrange the new space. Many laughs were had watching you and your daughters helping 
-Mollie Crow--Special Education Teacher at Lotus
Thank you to sherry for being my life saver when my car broke and making sure I had a ride to ELC. Also taking me to the bank and just being an absolute joy to have in my life!
Thank you to Brittany and Mandi for the beautiful masterpiece they made on my classroom door! Let your dreams take flight!
-Ashley Arff--Special Education Teacher at Lotus
Kudos to the Summer School team! It was a great summer with some amazing co-workers!
-Renee Evans--7th and 8th Grade Math Teacher
To Sue Giandonato and Sonia Miller for ALLLLLL things food service!
To Natalie Udstuen for already ROCKING her new role as Director of Business Services!
To Mike Szotek for all the work it takes on the tech side to get us ready to open for the year...especially with me asking you do also do a million extra things.
To Sonia Miller for pouring so much heart and soul into all you do...you make a difference for all of us (and a VERY comfy, clean, and updated Lounge at Lotus)!
Heather
Welcome to 25-26!
You'll find this letter and the working copy of Welcome Back schedule in your home mailbox later this week, but in case you want to peek ahead...and YES, I DO have the read aloud for the year already selected!
If you haven't already done so, please email me:
One picture that shows you letting JOY into your summer? A song title that screams YOU...like your walk up song?!?! In case you missed it, here's this year's welcome back letter! 💗
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Transportation Updates
We are currently in the middle of setting up even better Transportation plans for 25-26. I anticipate being able to share the full plan with everyone on TUESDAY. Thanks for your patience as we work to build this!
Staff Lunch Prices
As the costs of literally everything go up, please know that we have had to increase our price for staff lunches to $5/day. Sorry, but we just have to go up to be able to keep up with costs. 😢
Tight Budget and Extra Time
Speaking of finances, we are in a VERY tight budget this year, as federal funds have not yet come through and it looks like our Evidence Based Funding from the state may be lower than anticipated, too. This means we have to tighten up all the funds, but especially the Education Fund (people, time, benefits, materials). So...please know that any and all extra time MUST be preapproved by your administrator. There are NOT exceptions to this. If you have any questions about the budget or our finances, please reach out to Natalie Udstuen.
Staff Absence Guidelines
Please check out this document for stuff that CANNOT be in your classrooms. It's our hope that having this information now will help you with set up. These come directly from our Compliance Checklist from the Regional Office...and they are things that we get dinged on in the site visit that happens early each Fall. Thanks in advance, and please direct any questions to Natalie Udstuen, Director of Business Services.
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!
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.
In this section, you'll find updates from our AWESOME association, the EAFL! Info coming soon!
August 11 and 12--New Staff Welcome
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August 13--
AM--5th Grade Orientation at Stanton
PM--Special Education Collaboration Time 11:30-4:00 at Stanton
August 14--All Staff First Day!!!!
August 15--Building Based Time
August 18--Work Day/Meet and Greet
August 19--FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL K-8!
Curriculum Nights
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Paste the URL below into your browser:
For Primary, use: https://www.edtomorrow.
For Secondary, use: https://www.edtomorrow.
2025-26 Certified Staff Evaluation Documents--coming soon
Proud to be...
