Washington School teacher, DJ Narvaez, was recently honored as the recipient of the Reg Weaver Human & Civil Rights Award. As the IEA states, “DJ is an extraordinary person, a humanitarian, and a professional teacher in the truest sense of the word.” His acceptance speech is certainly something to watch, if you haven’t seen it already! I say this often, but I truly believe our district and the community of D81 are blessed to have such dedicated, passionate educators. We are fortunate to learn and work among colleagues such as DJ who continue to inspire me to become a better person each day!

DJ references a sermon from Dr. Martin Luther King whose words echo in his heart and mind everyday…..

“Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. May you feel inspired today to seek out areas that you can be of service. May you forge a greater connection with your students, your fellow colleagues, your staff and parents. And may you truly embrace that you are great…because you are a teacher.”

Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights Award winner Delfidio Marvaez from IEANEA on Vimeo.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, April 28th
3rd Grade Field Trip to Field Museum
Reading Room Testing Begins
Spring Benchmarking Begins

Tuesday, April 29th
Wheel of Wisdom <–click for schedule
PEP Parent Meeting @ 6:00pm

Wednesday, April 30th
2nd Grade & 7th Grade Buddy Activity
TAPS Common Plan

Thursday, May 1st
1st Grade Field Trip to Kohl Children’s Museum
Kindergarten Young Authors Day
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm
Spring Band Concert @ 6:30pm

Friday, May 2nd
PreK Screening
RSVPs for Volunteer Breakfast are due! Teachers: If parents RSVP to you, please relay the message to our office ladies so they can mark it down! Thank you! 🙂
Happy Birthday Abelardo Cano 🙂

(05/03) Happy Birthday Molly Cattero 🙂
(05/04) Happy Birthday Abby Ptak 🙂 

Article Worth Reading:
7 Ways to Spread Sunshine in Your School

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, April 21st
Please type parent volunteer names into Google Doc by end of the day!
Happy Birthday Anna Kaminska (Yellow Bus) 🙂

Tuesday, April 22nd
Happy Earth Day
PreK Picnic
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm  <—click for agenda

Wednesday, April 23rd
1/2 DAY of SCHOOL
ABC Countdown Begins! 

Thursday, April 24th
Kennedy Singers Rehearsal @ LMS (8:50am)
District SLC/SLBC Metra Trip
PATS Field Trip to Navy Pier & Children’s Museum (Leave @ 3:45pm)
Spring Choral Concert @ 6:30pm (LMS)

Friday, April 25th
Spirit Assembly (Fairness)
Last Day of Pull-Out Reading Interventions
Last Day of Reading Room

Here are some Earth Day ideas for April 22nd. Click on each picture and it will link you directly to the source…lots of freebies on TpT & great ideas from Pinterest:

EarthDayLiteracyActivities

What will you be doing with your students to teach them about Earth Day?

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, April 14th
Keep your eyes open for easter eggs w/QR codes!
MAP Testing Begins: Click here for schedule.
Welcome Back Mayra Tellez 🙂
Buddy Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 109)

Tuesday, April 15th
Kindergarten Field Trip to Morton Arboretum

Wednesday, April 16th
3rd Grade Buddies to LMS
PATS/PreK Spring Feast (2:00pm-3:30pm)
Happy Birthday Tim O’Connell 🙂
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, April 17th
1st Grade Field Trip to see Little Red Riding Hood Play
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, April 18th
Spring Picture Day

(04/19) Happy Birthday Jacklin Vargas 🙂

Educating with Easter Eggs

Looking for Brain Break ideas? Click here to learn about GoNoodle.

Have you installed Google Drive on your iPad yet? Here’s a video on how to use the basic features of Google Drive iPad. At the end of the video, there’s a tip about using multiple sign-ins on shared iPads.

Welcome Back! It is my hope that you all had a restful, relaxing Spring Break. Please extend a warm welcome (back) to Jane Racek, who will be serving as the Interim-Principal for the remainder of the school year. Congrats to Allyson Greenenwald, who welcomed Baby Nicholas to the world on March 21st at 10:53am weighing 7lbs, 6oz and 21″ long. Congrats also to Elyse D’Andrea who got engaged over Spring Break! Any other exciting news for us to share? Please let Donna or me know so we can share your news!

As we enter the final 8 weeks of school, these  weeks can be quite challenging both for students & staff, as (hopefully) the weather gets nicer & we all catch “Spring Fever”. Let’s make a commitment to finish the school year strong & continue with positive momentum until the end of May. As we return from a week away from Kennedy, it’s important to revisit classroom routines/norms with our Kubbies. The more you stray from your normal classroom schedule/routine, the more antsy your students will become. If you keep focused, they will follow your lead. Let’s make these next 8 weeks productive for all!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, April 7th
Welcome Back!
Happy Birthday Mirta Cruz 🙂

Tuesday, April 8th
PreK & 4th Grade Buddies (9am)
PreK & 3rd Grade Buddies (1pm)
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm
Happy Birthday Sharon Muntova 🙂

Wednesday, April 9th
Common Assessment CPT

Thursday, April 10th
Art Fair/Taste of Kennedy @ 6:00pm-7:30pm

Friday, April 11th
Pre School Screening
Reading Room Plan Day

Click below for this freebie on TpT:

Google Tip: How to Freeze Rows & Columns in Google Spreadsheets
(Tip may come in handy for those teachers tracking MAP data in Google)

Spring Break always arrives at the perfect time of the year! As we head into the final 5 days of school prior to break, I’m hopeful that students & staff will take full advantage of their time off, resting and rejuvenating and spending quality time with family & friends. Regardless of how you plan on spending the break, I hope you soak up every single moment and come back re-energized in April for the home-stretch! Safe travels for those of you who are flying or taking a road trip. Donna & Jane look forward to welcoming you back on April 7th!

PS: Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and emails about Baby Alexa’s arrival. I can’t wait for Alexa to meet her Kennedy Kubbie family! 

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 24th
Cycle 5 Assessments This Week
Celebrations Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 104)

Tuesday, March 25th
1st-3rd Grade to LMS to see Seussical @ 9:00am
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm (LMS)
New Kindergarten Student Information Night @ 6:00pm
Happy Birthday Diane Serio 🙂

Wednesday, March 26th
SLC/SLBC Outing to Jewel
2nd Grade Young Authors @ 11:00am

Thursday, March 27th
Happy Birthday Lindsay Dudal 🙂

Friday, March 28th
Spirit Assembly (Integrity)
1st Grade (Room 110) Young Authors @ 12:00pm
1st Grade (Rooms 100, 102, 108) Young Authors @ 12:30pm

(03/29) Happy Birthday Eric Humbles
(03/31-04/04) Spring Break
School Resumes Monday, April 7th

Ideas Worth Checking Out….
Safely Using YouTube in the Classroom: Have you ever wanted to pull up a You Tube video on your Promethean Board, but were afraid of what links were going to appear next to it? Click on the link above to learn a tip on how to get rid of those side-bar “related videos” that can sometimes be inappropriate!

March Madness: Book Edition: This blogger uses the excitement of the March Madness college basketball tournament in her classroom by creating brackets and having a march madness with books! Check it out!

Some Neat Classroom Management Ideas: Looking for some new classroom management ideas to excite/motivate your students? Click on the link above to see some ideas from Pinterest, pinned by a fellow principal.

Google Ad-Ons: Recently, Google added their new Add-ons feature into Google Docs & Sheets. Ad-ons are new tools created by developer partners that literally “ad-on” capabilities to your Google documents & spreadsheets….and they’re FREE! Check out the video below:

**Update**
Over the weekend, I’ve been experiencing contractions & went to the hospital late Saturday night, only to be sent back home, as it wasn’t time yet! I plan on being home this week until Baby girl K decides to make her arrival. As always, please email me should you have any questions, as I’ll remain in close contact during my leave and in close communication with Donna and Jane (who is set to begin as Interim Principal on April 7th). 

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 17th
Happy St. Patrick’s Day 🙂 Donna & I wish you a very special, lucky day! Enjoy the sweet treat in your mailboxes!
Book Fair (browse day) continues
March Buddy Event

Tuesday, March 18th
NO SCHOOL: Teacher Institute Day

Wednesday, March 19th
Book Fair (buy day)
Dress Rehearsal for Talent Show @ 9:00am
SCOTY Awards @ 4:00pm (West Leyden HS)
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, March 20th
Book Fair (buy day)
Talent Show @ 9:30am Teachers are welcome to bring their students to the gym to see the performance. It should last 1-1.5hrs. If you are unable to stay the entire time, or the gym is already full when you arrive, we will be emailing a link to the Kennedy Conference where you can watch the Talent Show via the web being streamed live on your Promethean Board.
Talent Show @ 6:00pm (Doors will open at 5:00pm and Book Fair will be open before/after show)

Friday, March 21st
2nd Grade/7th Grade Buddy Activity
Happy Birthday, Karolina Gicala 🙂

(03/22) Happy Birthday Sharon Heitz (red bus)

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 10th
PATS Field Trip to Wonder Works
Buddy Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 109)
Project Unify Basketball Game @ LMS (3:45pm)

Tuesday, March 11th
Multiage (101/109) Young Authors Day @ 10:00am
Multiage (103/107) Young Authors Day @ 1:30pm
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm

Wednesday, March 12th
CCSS Common Plan

Thursday, March 13th
PreK Field Trip to Brunswick Zone
Talent Show Practice (2:20pm-3:50pm)
Baby/Bridal Shower @ 2:30pm (Cafeteria)

Friday, March 14th
Reading Room Plan Day
Spiritwear Sale Ends (turn in any orders to the office)
Kindergarten Field Trip to Field Museum
Luncheon for Staff in lounge sponsored by the ABC Parent Group 🙂
Book Fair Preview Day
ISAT Testing Window officially over! Phewww!
5 by Friday! Let’s send those positive postcards home! 🙂

Here’s a great article about formative assessments & using assessments thoughtfully by  Carol Ann Tomlinson entitled “The Bridge Between Today’s Lesson and Tomorrow’s” from this month’s Educational Leadership magazine.

Google Apps Tip:
Do you use Google Forms but hate the way the ‘survey’ results look in a spreadsheet? Check out this tip to make your Google Spreadsheets easy to read!

Front Row: A differentiated math program Erin Klein writes about in her blog Kleinspiration

Spread the Word to End the Word is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics to inspire respect and acceptance through raising the consciousness of society about the R-word and how hurtful words and disrespect can be toward people with disabilities.

The campaign, created by youth, is intended to engage schools, organizations and communities to rally and pledge their support & to promote inclusion and acceptance!

When one student has an attitude of acceptance & inclusion toward people (especially fellow students) that is a wonderful thing. When that one student becomes many….when an entire school has a climate of acceptance and inclusion…it becomes a powerful community! Ultimately, when a school climate conveys and fosters understanding, inclusion and respect for all, the students internalize those lessons for their lives both within and beyond school.

Our goal is to educate the Kennedy students, staff and community that we should love everyone for who they are and accept all differences. Please be sure to check out the email Donna will be sending regarding Kennedy’s approach this year to teach our Kubbies about diversity, acceptance & perseverance. On Wednesday, we will “Spread the Love” by having students sign a pledge, promising to use kind words. Our theme this year is “Respect is the Key”.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 3rd
ISAT Testing Begins (There will be NO announcements during ISAT. Please check your email in the Kennedy Conference to see if it will be indoor or outdoor recess*) Alternate specials schedules begin today & Reading Room will be on a cart!
Spiritwear Sale Begins
Happy Birthday Natalie Barcas 🙂

Tuesday, March 4th

Wednesday, March 5th
“Spread the Love”: Students will sign a pledge banner promising to use kind words
National Day of Awareness use kind and respectful language.

Thursday, March 6th
Happy Birthday Debi Cesario 🙂
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, March 7th
Non-Tenured Teachers: Summative Conferences