Monday Morning Memo: Monday-ish Morning Memo--September 1/2, 2025

Tip of the Week

When behaviors are challenging and communication is BIG...

Say, "Let me..."

I can't wait until Monday morning to let you know how Mrs. Reimers and Mrs. Mack's video was received. The kids in Evans class were all transfixed and I overheard others talking about it between classes!

A big thank you to Averie Schultz for all of her help with the 8th grade volleyball team. As a former player for Stanton, she has captured the trust of our players. Also, an equally big shout out to Daya Wydzierzecki, our 7th grade coach, who makes practices so enjoyable with her enthusiasm. Our season begins Tuesday night at 4:30 with the 7th grade game, followed by the 8th grade contest. Mark Perlman

Thank you to Dan Olson, Kaitlyn Goorsky, Renee Evans and Dan Miller, the soccer and cross country coaches respectively. They have such passion for their kiddos. Chatting with them about their teams, hearing how much fun they are having, getting to know them better, is a rewarding experience.

-Mark Perlman--Long Term Sub at Stanton

shoutout to Natalie (and the FLPD) for showing up to school on her day off when I set off the alarm? Thanks for always ensuring our building is kept safe!

-Melissa McCart--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Ashley B. and Sam - I am so excited to get to work with you both this year. You're already building great connections with your kiddos and jumping right in! I also appreciate the collaboration and am excited to learn and grow with you both.

Sonia - Thank you so much for going above and beyond to help provide clarity for a student and their family. You truly are an amazing human and our kids are so lucky to have you :)

Thank you!

-Nicole Brinkman--Counselor at Lotus

I want to thank the entire Stanton Special Education team for their collaborative work to meets the needs of our students! Thank you for always going the extra mile for our kids!

I would also like to thank Cathy Jawnyj for continuously checking to make sure students are given the best chance to succeed on MAP testing! Her attention to detail is second to none. Cathy, your help is greatly appreciated!

-Matt Shannon--Associate Principal at Stanton

Huge Kudos to our awesome Explore team at Stanton! New energy and engagement exists in our hallways at Stanton due to their passion and care. Amazing things happening in Art, Innovation Lab, Band, and PLTW all thanks to the amazing Kayti, Bryan, Kyle, and AJ!

-Tom Cardamone--Principal at Stanton

Thank you Erica, Chad, and Adisyn for your support with multiple students while I was subbing on Friday. It truly took a village!

-Mary Honea--Permanent Sub at Lotus

Huge kudos to Pam and Erin for thoughtfully walking us through our students’ goals and helping us gain a deeper understanding of our learners. Your guidance has made a meaningful impact!

Kudos to Stephanie and Sammie for generously sharing tips, modeling best practices, and providing training that supports our team and improves our students’ experiences.

And a very special shout-out to our incredible life skills paraprofessionals—thank you for jumping in with dedication and heart. Your commitment to getting to know our students, providing close supervision to ensure safety, and constantly change out schedules (among so many other wonderful things you do!) does not go unnoticed.

Thank you all for your hard work, teamwork, and care. I appreciate you!

Amanda Lorenz--Instructional Specialist at Lotus

Thank you Mike Szotek and Tyler Fish for all your help so far this year! Your promptness to help has contributed to an efficient start to my school year!

Thank you Christine Gardner for taking time to connect and collaborate with me regarding some of our mutual students! We are so lucky to have you and I am glad you are here :)

Thank you Kim R. for your thoughtfulness...Looking forward to collaborating with you again this year!

~Kimberly Mack--Social Worker at Stanton

Averie Schultz for helping with volleyball. The girls have been super receptive and you have been so helpful. It is much appreciated.

The 6th grade team for all that you do to help support us as a team.

To everyone at Stanton for the birthday wishes on Wednesday. It was a great day.

-Dayja Wydzierzecki--6th Grade ELA Teacher

Thank you to Cathy J. for all of the fantastic spreadsheet information she provided (at a glance) on her caseload students. This is so helpful to me! Also, thank you for helping me out with the NOCs for some last-minute meetings last week. I always appreciate your collaboration and support with our students!

Thank you to Nicole and Sammie for supporting our new staff in the special education department and helping them out so much with routines, procedures, and everything special education.

Thank you to Chad for all of his knowledge and support on all things special ed. for our students at Lotus.

Kim Rauchfuss--District School Psychologist

Thank you Corinne and Fiona for covering the class while I was out sick! I knew the kiddos were safe and taken care of while I was gone. <3

-Lora Faro--Blended Early Childhood Teacher

Life Skills Team: Thank you ALL for your flexibility and grace the past few weeks. Things can change day to day, hour to hour and at a moment's notice. Your flexibility and advocacy to assist students is awe inspiring, and I couldn't ask for a better team to work with.

Amanda L and Erica: Thank you for your constant check ins and support to ensure that our new life skills program runs smoothly and is as successful as it has been thus far. You are both amazing at our craft, and you are so appreciated for all you do!

Pam: My heart is so happy to have you by my side this week. We have bounced ideas, supportive words, memes and jokes with each other, and I appreciate your positivity each and every day! Some moments we have are brief, but you always make the most of it! Thank you for being incredibly supportive, I appreciate you!

-Erin Donovan--Life Skills Teacher at Lotus

A long overdue thank you to Michele and Sue for answering my neverending questions and solving my Skyward problems with kindness and patience. I appreciate you both very much!

-Kristie Paul--District Administrative Assistant and Registrar

Thank you Sonia for making a lunch reward board for Ms. Arff's class. You are genuine and show such compassion to them.

-Misty Madula--Paraprofessional at Lotus

Big THANK YOU to my classroom paras for believing in the process and always being on the same page! Courtney, Misty, and Brittany you are truly amazing and I couldn't do it without you! Also thanks for being so flexible with your schedule always changing to make sure we are giving our students our most support.

Thank you to Sherry for your collaboration on students and always giving the best support. Thanks for setting up our class shared field trip and all the paperwork that comes along with it. Thanks for alao twinning with me!

Thank you Amanda Lorenz for taking the time to help me with benchmarking and finding IRLA levels :)

Thank you Ashley Brown and Nicole Brinkman for the wonderful teamwork in aiding a student in a crisis moment.

Thank you Colleen for always letting me vent and sharing great ideas on how to help our students.

Thank you First Grade Team for collaboration and making sure I always have what I need :)

-Ashley Arff-Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Kudos to Ashley Brown for creating a detailed plan to help one of our students with transitions! She was right on top of it and is a true professional!

-Serene Madison--4th Grade Teacher

My kudos to Maureen DeVoss and Christine Spittler:

Thank you for all the support you've provided me as a new second grade teacher. You ladies have been so helpful and supportive. I couldn't ask for a better team to work with! Thank you for all the laughs and debriefing sessions as well!

-Janene Leicht--2nd Grade Teacher

Stephanie Kolk your class is amazing. Glad I get to push in with them.

Mr. Jeff for always being on top of things With our students on the bus

Mr Z for coming to my rescue with the bus schedule

Sonia for your help in the lunchroom everyday

Sherry thank you for always knowing what we need--students and staff!

Thank You

-Colleen Robinson--Paraprofessional at Stanton

Thank to EVERYONE who has voted for my brother as athlete of the year! He has made top 5 so this is the last week to get votes in! If you would like to vote, here is the link! It’s free!

Ashley Brown thanks for changing your schedule last minute for an overlap I didn’t notice!

Thank you Chad for laughing with me then moving your car the next morning

Thanks to my WHOLE Lotus FAMILY for a great first SST!

Thanks Alana for taking the lead on a social story to help a student be successful!

Thanks Ashley Arff for always being there for me!! Plus twinning me this week!

Thanks Colleen for EVERYTHING but especially watching my wild child so that curriculum night was a success! Also twinning me this week and last!

Mary MP thanks for always making the room smell good after our boys, smelly feet & farts

-Sherry Tietjen--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Thank you to my fifth grade team and admin who continue to be a wonderful support!

-Melissa Rattner--Special Education Teacher at Stanton

To...

Our PreK team, who--once again--earned GOLD LEVEL STATUS for programming as measured by last spring's audit!!! 🥇

EVERYONE who has done their Curriculum Night! I've heard AMAZING feedback on your awesomeness!!!! One more to go!!!!

Colleen Robinson for your leadership and leaning in to support ALLLLLL the things.

Mike Szotek for dealing with all my questions, time crunch demands, "one more thing" requests, and doing so much for BOTH sites. Even though I know I make you crazy, you are always calm and kind, and I really appreciate it.

Team Stanton for a great launch of MAP testing!

Kim Husko for supporting my football mom madness and just getting it. I really appreciate you! 🏈

Heather

NEW INFO

Survey Says...

Thanks to everyone who completed the input survey about special staff meals. Here's the data:

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!

Recently, some staff have questioned the need to call or the meaning of "injury". In hopes of clarifying on all counts, please see below:

If you have any questions whatsoever, please contact me so I can explain and clarify! Thanks!

Regional Office Health Life Safety Audits

Each Fall, our sites participate in safety compliance checks. This year, these official visits are set to take place on Monday, September 8. Please do not be surprised when Natalie and I come around prior to this to do a "dry run" walk through and provide feedback. The fewer findings we get on the audit, THE BETTER.

As a reminder...

Please check out this document for stuff that CANNOT be in your classrooms. 😕

NOTE: ANY type of light (LED, lamp, string lights) MUST have this label to be used:

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.

REPEAT INFO

Absence Reporting

Please refer to this document for all things absence reporting. I'll put hard copy in your mailbox and will send in email as well. Please send any questions to Maddie Mercado or me.

THANKS!

Communication with Families

For your protection and for the protection of the District, please DO NOT use your personal cell phone to text or call families. You CAN block your number if using a personal cell to make a call.

Google Voice is a GREAT way to communicate while maintaining a separate line. I'll send directions in an email and put hard copy in your mailboxes. You'll need to set up a Gmail account for this, and we cannot do this using your D114 account, as it would cost $10/month/person to do so, and we just can't swing that.

Using things like Dojo or other tools is absolutely ok!

If your habit has been or you have already sent communication using a personal cell phone, an appropriate communication could sound like,

"Dear _______. I'm so sorry, but D114 has informed me that I can't use my personal cell for communication anymore. However, I can communicate with you using (name how you'll communicate) and look forward to staying connected with you!"

Any questions--please reach out to me.

Transportation Q and A

In the spirit of "clear is kind", we have drafted this Transportation Q and A document to help get ahead of some questions. Please review and let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement!

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.

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.

Welcome back to all of our EAFL members!

Your EAFL board members are (with the building that they reside in):

Co-Presidents: Maureen DeVoss (Lotus) and Kendra Smeigh (Stanton)

Non Certified Vice President: Gina Crosthwaite (Lotus)

Treasurer: Katy Gardner (Stanton)

Secretary: Tasha Pfau (Lotus)

Regional Rep: Kendra Logar (Lotus)

Lotus Building Rep: Misty Madula

Stanton Building Rep: Renee Evans

Any union questions or concerns can be directed towards any one of these people. Thank you to this wonderful team for dedicating your time and efforts towards our membership.

Date to Note:

Union Articulation on Wednesday, August 24 @ 2:00 PM in the Stanton Cafeteria: This is a time for us all to get together for celebrations and to get union information. If you are a union member, your presence is expected since we are being given the time to meet. If you are not a member, you are expected to work your regular schedule in the building on this day. An agenda and more specific information will be provided in the upcoming weeks.

See what your membership has to offer! Go to ieanea.org to see all of the happenings and most up to date information on union matters. Go to ieanea.org/benefits/ to explore discounts and deals that are offered to you with your membership.

Good morning, District 114!

We hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend!

Help us meet our membership goal of 90+ members this school year!! Here's what you need to know:
Dues are $10 for the whole year! That's less than a dollar a month!
You'll receive a District 114 PTA Calendar featuring student artwork
The first 50 members to sign up will be entered into a raffle to win $100 in Scholastic Dollars for your child's classroom teacher!
Join here today!
Join the PTA and help enrich your child's educational experience this year!

Mark your calendars! We have some exciting things happening in the next few weeks:
First PTA Meeting of the year!
Monday, September 8th at 6:00 pm
Lotus Library or join us on Google Meets!
First Eat Out to Help Out Event: McTeacher Night
Tuesday, September 9th, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
McDonald's in Fox Lake
Come see your favorite teachers work at McDonald's for the evening!
Make sure to say "I'm here with D114!" 20% of food purchases will be donated to the PTA!
Be sure to bring cash for Apple Pies! 100% of apple pie donations go to the PTA!
Make sure to join our Facebook Group Page!

Have a great week!

YOUR PTA Board