MMM: Monday Morning Memo--August 24, 2026--LOOK UP to Week 2!

Janene and Christine- Thank you so much with your patience this past week as I navigated everything! Your support and love was just what I needed to help get through a hectic week.

Caitlyn F, Kelly and Mary- Thank you so much for taking care of my classroom on Wednesday during meet and greet and making sure it was in beautiful shape for me to walk into the first day on Thursday. It truly meant the world to me.

To everyone who reached out with a text or a quick stop in the classroom...it was an amazing reminder of the quality of people I am surrounded by every day. District 114 truly has the most amazing people in it. Thank you so much for being my people!

-Maureen DeVoss--2nd Grade Teacher

Thank you to Leah Falster for getting the pizza boxes from Tammy's Pizza so we could kick off the year with a fun assembly for our students and staff!

-Jill Becmer--Administrative Assistant at Stanton

Kudos to Norm for being so flexible and helpful with all of the moving of furniture and classroom items, especially over the past two weeks, at Stanton. The building looks incredible!

Kudos to Don for being Mr. Build it and Mr. Fix it all summer long. The efforts are so appreciated!

Kudos to Jill Becmer for making the first ever Pizza Box competition become an awesome reality at Stanton School!

Kudos to Leah Falster for providing the pizza boxes!

Kudos to the entire Stanton staff for a truly incredible and memorable first week for our Stanton students.

Kudos to Michele Burgess for seamlessly handling the in school on boarding for new students and staff members.

Kudos to Sue, Emily, Yvette, and Al for tasty goodness while welcoming everyone back to the building this week.

Kudos to Adriana Ree-Jurek, Liam Fitzpatrick, Danielle Becker, and Amy Mizuchi for the enthusiasm and care you have brought to the building as new staff members this year.

Huge Kudos Kim Husko for making the playbook and assignments for lunch and recess supervisors for Stanton. It’s going to be a game changer this year!

-Tom Cardamone--Principal at Stanton

Many thanks to Mark Perlman and Hunter Banker for helping me move all of my lab tables when I was setting up my room. That was a huge help for me! Averie Schultz, thank you so much for helping me finish my bulletin board before Meet and Greet at the last minute with such a positive attitude! And a very special thank you to Jack Paladino for putting the black covers back on all of my lab table legs after we had talked about it being on my to-do list. What an awesome surprise! The lab tables look great!

-Karen Brnot--6th and 7th Grade Science Teacher

Thank you Mary Honea and Mandi Otte for teaming up and taking such good care of my class on day one. It was a huge relief to know they were well cared for.

-Cary Scarpino---1st Grade Teacher

Thank you Mandi Otte, Amy Olsen, and any other Paras that helped prep all of our copies, cut construction paper or sort through letter beads to help prepare us for a great start to the year.

-The First Grade Team

Caitlyn and Kelly for beautifully organizing the 4th grade meet and greet materials.

Ms. Dina for making 4th grade copies and checking in with one of my friends during their first day back.

Amy - For making copies for 4th grade

Amy and Mary Honea for helping me with whatever I needed before the Meet and greet.

Mandi for her impressive paper cutting skills.

-Kaitlyn May--4th Grade Teacher

Sue P.-thank you for helping me help a parent to register their child when I was scrambling to find anyone who could help me!

Thanks, Michelle M., for the reassuring words, calm, and reminders to breathe in assisting the parent of our little one!

A big thanks to Joe Braun. This is the best the carpet has ever looked in my office. Thanks for carpet cleaning it!

Thank you, Amber Olson, for collaborating already with me on students not even a week into school and just jumping in with all of the things. I appreciate your collaboration and expertise!

Thank you, Fiona Wisniewski, so much for helping me with the Pre-K IEP's and goals from our evaluations!

Thank you, Chad Ziarko, for helping me figure out the Pre-K IEP paperwork and all of the minutes and placement stuff!

Thanks, Alana, for the zucchini bread to get us over the midweek humpday!

-Kim Rauchfuss--District School Psychologist

A special thank you to my amazing paraprofessionals for such a great first week back! Your dedication, flexibility, patience, and willingness to jump in wherever needed does not go unnoticed. The first week can be a lot, and you handled every challenge with such positivity and care for our students. I am so grateful to have you on our team! Colleen Robinson, Misty Madura, Brooke Mangler, Gina C, and Candance!

A huge thank you to our amazing admin team for all of the time, effort, and organization that went into planning and coordinating multiple schedules for the start of the school year! We know how much work it takes to make everything come together, and your flexibility, patience, and dedication did not go unnoticed. Thank you for working behind the scenes to help make our first week back as smooth as possible. We truly appreciate all that you do! Erica, Matt, and Chad

A huge shoutout to our amazing Technology team for coming to the rescue these past few days! Thank you for finding me a document camera and for being so patient and helpful with all of the technology issues that came up. Your quick responses, problem-solving, and willingness to help made such a difference. We truly appreciate you always being there when we need you! Thank you for keeping us connected and up and running! Mike and Kim

A huge thank you to our amazing general education teachers who are welcoming and supporting our shared students who push into the general education classroom. Your flexibility, collaboration, patience, and willingness to work together make such a positive difference for our students. We truly appreciate you creating a supportive and inclusive environment where all students can learn and feel successful. Thank you for being such an important part of our team! Stephanie Kolk, Lillian Tosado, Cary Scarpino, Teri Valenziano, and Maureen Devoss.

Thank you to Abby and Kelly for being so helpful and going above and beyond to share programs for students needs in the WIN Program.

-Ashley Arff--Special Education Teacher at Lotus

Natalie Udstuen

Thanks for gracefully stepping in to help with a transportation issue! I appreciate you!!!

Sonia Miller

Thanks for being so on top of the game when it comes to student allergies! Your attention to detail helps keep our students safe!

Chad Ziarko

Thanks for calling public works to take care of the carcass issue in front of the school!

-Nicole Mild--Kindergarten Teacher

Ms. CJ for helping me clean up the lounge on Wednesday

Any para that helped with bus tags, shirts, folders and all the things before kids started

Lotus lunch bunch for 2 amazing breakfasts and lunch

Michele M. For giving me the page protector.

Ashley A for opening your heart and your room in welcoming me to your team. Even if it's only for a short time.

-Colleen Robinson--Paraprofessional at Lotus

Shoutout to Russ for looking up and helping me fix a light in my room. You rock!!!

-Lili Tosada--3rd Grade Teacher

Kudos to:

EVERYONE for an extremely smooth opening to the school year. WOW!

Mike and Tyler for always being right there to assist with all things technology.

Kim VanHoorelbeke for helping me solve my missing book problem on opening day.

Ashley Arff for always sharing her virtual rooms with everyone...it's sooooo cool and such an amazing example of how to co-labor for our students

Sue Pinkawa for taking the bus balloon I was just going to hang up and turning it into a full photo opportunity for our kids and staff at Meet and Greet...you always have a way of making things way more beautiful!

-Heather

Please send me your "Look Up" kudos by Friday at 4PM to add them to the next Monday Memo! THANK YOU!

Try some of these to keep LOOKING UP as we get ready for the first day!

Welcome Back Info

Here are slides I used to open the year if you need anything from them...

Opening Day

3+4+5=15 from Stanton Tuesday afternoon

ROE Site Inspections

Mark your calendars! Our site inspections will be done on SEPTEMBER 8 at both sites!

Here's an updated document to clarify expectations. This includes that Stanton DOES NOT need outlet covers.

Any questions? Reach out to Heather or to Natalie Udstuen

Stipends--Clubs, Coaching, and More...OH MY!

Interested in sponsoring a club, coaching a sport, seeing what opportunities are out there?

Check out this stipend folder and read this letter for information!

ATHLETIC COACHES PLEASE READ: There is a new timeline for applying for coaching positions. Coaches should apply prior to their season, and coaches will be notified as follows. Please contact Jill Becmer, Athletic Director, with any questions, please.

Early Fall: Cross-Country, Volleyball, and Soccer

Applications accepted through July 15, 2026
Announcement of Coaches by July 30, 2026

Late Fall: Boys Basketball, Cheer

Applications accepted through September 1, 2026
Announcement of Coaches by September 15, 2026

Winter: Wrestling, Girls Basketball, Scholastic Bowl

Applications accepted through October 1, 2026
Announcement of Coaches by October 15, 2026

Spring: Track

Applications accepted through November 1, 2026
Announcement of Coaches by November 15, 2026

Staff Device Upgrades

In an effort to streamline device replacement and get all students and staff into a predictable replacement cycle with devices that remain under warranty, we have a plan for making sure all devices are up to date, under warranty, ready to roll...all within our budget!

25-26--All support staff devices we replaced.

26-27--Lotus certified staff, Lotus office staff, and District office staff devices will be replaced. 💥

27-28--Stanton, it will be your turn! 😀

What does this mean?

*Given the fact that we are on Google platform, staff will be provided with Chromebooks. Staff who cannot do their jobs without a PC will be provided a PC (meaning they require specific programs/software that will only run on a PC).

Here's what you need to know...

By the time you trade in your current device, you'll need to follow the steps below:

Moving from Windows Laptop to Chromebook

In preparation for the move from Windows Laptops to Chromebooks, users will need to transfer any school related documents (from Desktop, Documents, etc.) that you would like to keep for next year to your Fox Lake School Google Drive.

Before uploading files to your Google drive, please take some time to do some maintenance/cleaning up by deleting any old/unused documents, pictures, and videos. All copies of files or anything that is over 2-3 years old should be deleted, if it is not going to be used in the near future.

Any personal files, pictures, or videos can be saved to a personal external drive if you want.

If you need help with the steps above, Mike Szotek (Lotus) or Tyler Fish (Stanton) will be happy to help and can partner with you by appointment over the summer or upon our return to school in the Fall.

All LOTUS certified staff will be expected to complete the device exchange by TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15.

WELCOME, PATH TEAM!!!!!

We're thrilled to welcome our new PATH program team to D114!!!! In the STAR room at Lotus and The DEN at Stanton, we'll now be hosting specially designed therapeutic programming ON SITE!!!! Think of it as a therapeutic school where we would enroll kids when our programming wasn't enough to help them learn expected behaviors and coping strategies...BUT RIGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS!!!! For more information, please check out this brochure.

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!

Absence Reporting

Please carefully review this updated document with all you need to know about reporting absences during this school year!

Welcome back to all of our D114 staff! This year is off to a great start and we can't wait to see all the amazing things that will happen this year.

Your 2026-2027 EAFL Board is as follows:

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

Vice President (Certified): Jen Groot (Lotus)

Vice President (Non-Certified): Gina Crosthwaite (Lotus)

Secretary: Tasha Pfau (Lotus)

Treasurer: Renee Evans (Stanton)

Regional Rep: Kendra Logar (Lotus)

Lotus Rep: Misty Madula (Lotus)

Stanton Rep: *open*

Early Career Rep: Stephanie Kolk (Lotus)

If you need any assistance, or have any questions, please reach out to anyone on the board and they will be able to help or lead you in the right direction.

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.

Stay informed by reading the Region 49 Newsletter

A Fun Fall Event for all Members: Fall Fest Flyer

What: The Palatine and Libertyville IEA Offices are excited to invite you to our 5th Annual Fall Fest. An event and opportunity to grow your union knowledge, build skills, and connect with fellow educators

Where: Schaumburg Professional Learning Center 522 E. Schaumburg Rd. Schaumburg, IL. 60194

When: Saturday September 26, 2026, 9:00am – 1:00PM

One Click. Endless Possibilities. A Union Here for YOU!

This school year, turn your commitment into action. Visit the IEA Leadership & Justice Department website to explore equity-focused opportunities, request professional learning, and stay up to date on trainings, events, and ways to get involved. Together, we can lead with purpose and create schools where every student thrives!

Mark your calendar!

EAT OUT TO HELP OUT event!!!! Wednesday, September 9th from 4-7 at McDonald's Spring Grove! We hope you'll join us, grab some dinner, and support our PTA at the same time!

We will need YOU to help make the evening a success, so please take a moment to sign up for a time slot if you're available. 9/9/26 sign-up

Also, if you are new or haven't in the past and would like to volunteer please let me know what t-shirt size you are! I might be able to get those ordered prior!

Thank you all so much for your continued support! I can't wait to see everyone there!

Sylvia Queen

Vice President