Monday Morning Memo: Monday Morning Memo 9/15/25

Tip (and Personal Story) of the Week

M-Make purposeful decisions

I know this is blurry, but it's good. This week, I had a few moments with a student who was super escalated, screaming, using ALLLLLLL the insults, and with whom--if I'm totally honest--I honestly felt a little scared and for sure on high alert myself.

The strategies that worked for me in the moment were:

4--Planned ignoring

9--Meeting privately with the student

And then once things were calm:

10--Focusing on my own self-care (took myself for a walk)

Our kids are great people who often come from HARD circumstances. I'm not at all excusing behaviors, and--in fact--the student still needs to repair the harm with me (Monday). But I don't intend to PUNISH him, as what happened reflects how he's learned to survive in a really hard home. CONSEQUENCES mean that he's held accountable for his actions, repairs the harm, and we make a plan for how to move forward and manage the same trigger in a different way the next time.

Is it hard? Yes.

It is worth it? Also yes.

Kudos to Meghan Reimers, Matt Shannon, and Lynn Smolen for the support and care shown for a student who had a rough day this week. The patience, even through the toughest of words expressed, care, love, and teamwork that was modeled can be a model for all of us. Thank you for being you and for being here for ALL of our students and for ALL of us!

Kudos to Kyle Altick for much needed laughter during recess supervision on Friday! Harry Potter???

Kudos to the Stanton GC for collaboration, problem solving, laughter…and the swear jar.

-Tom Cardamone--Principal at Stanton

Kim V. - Thank you so much for always being on top of all things PBIS! You make it look easy :)

Jenny Sundell - Thank you for all the time you took to set up the 504 meetings. It's a big task and I appreciate you coordinating all of it!

-Nicole Brinkman--Counselor at Lotus

Mark Pearlman for not forgetting to bring the medical bags back to school after the game. Proud of you!
Kaitlyn Goorsky for the caramel pumpkin k-cup, the perfect pick me up.
6th Grade Team for always talking things through and being there for one another.
Renee Evans for being so happy all the time and having a contagious smile.

-Dayja Wydzierzecki-6th Grade ELA Teacher

I wanted to send a kudos to Cathy for being an awesome mentor.

-Melissa Rattner--Special Education Teacher at Stanton

Thank you Kendra Logar for helping get my substitute off to a good start on Wednesday when I was at LETRS training.

Thank you to my first grade team for brainstorming ideas and persevering until we had a good system for our new UFLI centers! Hopefully it will run as smoothly as we think it will.

-Cary Scarpino--1st Grade Teacher

Thank you, Jillian and Sarah for your help and ideas with the promethean board! I appreciate you both!!!

-Sonia Miller--Kitchen Lead at Lotus

Cathy Jawnyj, you are awesome! Thank you so much for staying after school with me on Tuesday to set up our new Fox's Closet space. I couldn't have gotten that huge job done so fast without you! Thank you, Matt and Tom, for helping get the shelving put back up! Thanks, Niccole Culbertson and Renee Evans, for keeping our 7th-grade team organized and on task!! Niall, welcome to the team! Cynthia Tsarpalas and Cindy Hamilton, it's so great to have new science team partners. It's going to be great working with you both!

-Karen Brnot--7th Grade Science Teacher

Huge thank you to my “After School Car Club” friends..

CJ and especially Scott, Abbey K, Eddie, Mary MP, Monica, Tasha and Michelle! Thank you for helping out with my car issue Thursday! The help and support warmed my heart We sure learned a lot about cars!

-Dina Moczalla-Paraprofessional at Lotus

Thanks to everyone who checked on me Thursday and Friday when my partner in crime was on vacation.

Thank you Ms. May for coming in as a sub and working magic with my students.

-Sherry Tietjen--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Kudos to Brittany Luther for helping with all things Preschool in the mornings and being SOOOO flexible as we toss every different task her way and accepting it with a smile on her face!

-The Preschool Team

A big thank you to Monica McCollom for sharing her yummy snacks with me when I needed just a lil something sweet to get me through the day!

Jen Groot--1st Grade Teacher

Kudos to Russ for moving all the extra things out of my room! Thank you!

Mollie Crow--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

A big THANK YOU to Mike S in Technology. He was so quick to jump to action when I had a very scary message roll across my laptop screen. I appreciate your knowledge, expertise and your assistance in a quick manner, Mike! Thank you for explaining and educating me in the process. I appreciate you!

A big THANK YOU to Mary F and Ashley B for assisting in cleanup after a student got sick. Your quick action and teamwork helped in the moment, and your assistance to cleaning detail in the aftermath was so helpful and considerate.

A big THANK YOU to the PTA and all the volunteers who helped to make our EOTHO a fun night out on Monday. It was great to see so many students, their families and staff participate.

A HUGE THANK YOU to the Life Skills team as a whole including all the providers, Amanda and Erica. You all have had fantastic input and suggestions to make a successful program. Thank you for being flexible, open minded, compassionate and considerate of last minute changes that benefit the needs of our diverse learners.

-Erin Donovan--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Shout out and Kudos to Mrs. Burgess for helping me address, stuff, and stamp all the 6th grade non compliance letters. This helps me get ahead of the game when stats are due for reporting in October. I appreciate all the support you give me.

-Amy McKendry--Health Technician at Stanton

Kudos to Russ for getting the three HEAVY boxes moved out of my room! Thank you!

Thank you to Christine, Mo, Janene, Donna, Adalia and Serene for your flexibility all week while I pulled small groups for MAPs testing!

-Melissa McCart--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Jack Resnick- Congratulations Jack on having an excellent start to the new school year and your student teaching experience. You have a great rapport with students and you have shown responsibility and flexibility on a daily basis! Your hard work and dedication to students and the 8th grade team is noticed and appreciated! Way to go!

-Walter Nickles--7th Grade Social Studies Teacher

To...

Everyone who has asked about Braden and shown such TLC. He's now on a 12 day course of prednisone because his headaches haven't gotten much better. So, he's now out for the HOCO game and sees the neurologist on 9/25. Hoping that, after that, he's cleared and get a helmet back on with a goal of playing again on 10/3...and feeling better and able to handle school and coursework. Thankfully he's a junior and this isn't his senior season. Please keep sending good vibes for my guy.

Russ Xhemaili for bravely facing the snake on Friday and keeping Matt from having to wrangle it!

Don, Norm, Russ, and Natalie for all the time and help working with Wight to do the work for our 10 Year Health Life Safety Survey. We got the preliminary list of "opportunities" back, and there were very few surprises. Looking forward to using this to help us move forward strategically to improve our facilities!

EVERYONE who joined our PTA and families at McTeacher Night! THANK YOU for giving your time to support our district!

All our van and bus staff for your endless flexibility, "do what it takes", and care for the job!

Heather

NEW INFO

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!

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!

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, SEPTEMBER 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!

Thank you to all who were able to join us for our first PTA meeting last Monday. We got to meet some new members, adopted our budget for the year, heard about what's happening at both schools, and talked about some of our upcoming PTA events! See our meeting highlights here!!

We had a terrific turnout at our first Eat Out to Help Out of the year at McDonald's last Tuesday! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out and see lots of teachers and our principals handing out orders, encouraging folks to say they're with the PTA, and selling pies! A special shout-out goes out to Ms. Kelly Roland, Principal Tom Cardamone, Ms. Adalia Tate, and one of our PTA kiddos, Bentley Scroggins, for dressing up as a McDonald's Apple Pie!! What a fun night!!

We currently have 66 members, including 37 teachers and staff, and 29 parents/guardians. 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
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:
October PTA Meeting
Monday, October 6th at 6:00 pm (usually ends by 7:00 pm)
Lotus Library or join us on Google Meets!
Fall Book Fair at Lotus
October 20th through October 24th
Setup will be on October 17th
Sign-up information will be sent out soon!
Family Reading Night
Wednesday, October 22nd
Held at Lotus
More details to come!
Stanton Halloween Dance
Friday, October 24th
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Open to 5th through 8th graders
$5 admission
Admission includes entrance, a slice of pizza, lemonade, and popcorn
Make sure to join our Facebook Group Page!

Have a great week!