I see the school year as a marathon, not a sprint. There are long stretches at the beginning and end, then those long days where winter’s cold temperatures (especially in Chicago) and lack of sunlight drain us. When viewed within the scope of an entire school year, 18 days isn’t really that many. However, 18  is the exact number of days that we have with our little Kennedy Kubbies before Winter Break.

• For some of our students who will say “it’s almost break” and lack motivation, it is time to push them & keep them excited and eager to learn.
• For our students who come from challenging circumstances at home and are feeling anxiety about not being at Kennedy for over two weeks (and acting out because of it), it is time to show them how much you care & make the most of these next 18 days.
• For our students that just keep smiling & working hard each day, it is time to pull them aside and tell them how much you appreciate them (Positive Postcard?)

In these 18 days, we have a lot of work to do & lots of wonderful learning experiences to provide our students.  We’ll continue to persevere as the professionals that we are! No matter what your title is, what grade you work with, or what you do at Kennedy, please look at these next 18 days as times to deliver the highest quality service to our students, parents & community.

Be proud of what we’ve accomplished with our students so far this year, but please keep your ‘eye on the ball’ and keep the focus on learning in your classrooms as we return from Thanksgiving Break. In addition, I’d encourage you to:

• Take a second and tell a colleague that you’ve noticed how hard they are working and that you appreciate them working so hard.
• Make time to reflect on some of the positives that we’ve had this year that may have been overlooked as we have overcome the challenges of not having enough time.
• Set a tone for your students that regardless of how much time is left before a long break that all of us will work hard and make the most of our school days.
• Celebrate being a member of our Kennedy School family

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, November 28th:
Welcome Back!
Please turn in any parent/teacher conference surveys to the office.

Tuesday, November 29th:

Wednesday, November 30th:
Common Plan (TAPS)

Thursday, December 1st:
Happy Birthday Lindsay Zinkann 🙂
Kennedy Singers @ 2:20pm
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm (LMS)

Friday, December 2nd:
Pre School Screening
District Holiday Party

(12/4) Happy Birthday Michelle Miro 🙂

**Just a friendly reminder to schedule 2nd round of observations, as they must be completed before Winter Break**