Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity to cheer on our Kennedy & Washington friends who participated in the Special Olympics individual basketball competition at Deerfield High School. I’m excited to share some wonderful news! Our own Juan from 117 and Gabriella (Washington) earned GOLD MEDALS and Cassidy, Ahmed & Ana (Washington) earned SILVER! 🙂 Please join me in congratulating these talented children the next time you see them! Thank you to all the faculty and staff who made it out bright and early to support our students as they participated in this memorable event!

Soaking in today’s experience and observing how the children, families, siblings,  and spectators cheered on ALL participants made me think of this poem entitled Kids Who Are Different. The next time you look at your students, think about what you see. See where they have grown, understand their needs, see their possibilities and most of all appreciate & celebrate who they are.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 30th:
3rd Grade Field Trip (Rooms 205/206) to Museum of Science & Industry
2nd Grade Field Trip (Rooms 104/105) to P.F. Changs
Paraprofessional Meetings @ 2:30pm & 3:30pm (Teacher’s Lounge)

Tuesday, January 31st:
Buddy Committee Meeting @ 7:30am (Room 109)
Multiage Field Trip (Rooms 103/107) to P.F. Changs
8th Grade Visits with 3rd Grade for Buddy Activity
Faculty Meetings @ 2:30pm & 3:30pm (*Agenda will be emailed out Monday afternoon*)
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm (LMS)

Wednesday, February 1st:
SLC to Super Low
Health/Life Safety Visit
TAPS Common Plan
District Calendar Meeting @ 3:45pm
Happy Birthday Christa Henkel 🙂

Thursday, February 2nd:
Groundhog Day! & 100th Day of School
SLBC to Super Low
Health/Life Safety Visit
3rd Grade Field Trip (Rooms 203/204) to Museum of Science & Industry
Kennedy Singers @ 2:20pm

Friday, February 3rd:
Pre School Screening (NO PREK STUDENT ATTENDANCE)
Reading Room Plan
3rd Grade Field Trip (Rooms 201/202) to Museum of Science & Industry

(02/04) Happy Birthday Anne Weinthaler 🙂

I wanted to share this recent blog post by Krissy Venosdale:

I don’t think anyone knows the meaning of the phrase “Only so many minutes in a day!” better than someone in education.  There is always something waiting for us. Meetings. Papers. Calls to make. Email to answer. Things to file. Things to look up. Lessons to plan. Committees. Grad classes. Tech tools to figure out. Family. Commitments. PD.   There may be days when we are stretched to the limit, feeling more like some human version of Stretch Armstrong with our arms pulled in different directions, about to break off.   But, at the end of the day, it’s true.  The things that matter?  We make time for them.   Those people that say,  ”Oh, I don’t have time for that…”  Is this an insinuation that some of us just have more time than others?   Time is not something we just ‘have,’ it’s something we make.  It’s something we make when things matter to us.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 23rd:
SLC Swimming @ YMCA

Tuesday, January 24th:
PreK Field Trip (Room 112) to Make-A-Messterpiece
RTI Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 118)
Event Planning Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 115)

Wednesday, January 25th:
HALF DAY (K-3 students dismiss at 10:55am) – In-Service Topic: RTI — Agenda will be emailed via Kennedy Conference.
1st & Multiage Buddy Activity with 6th Grade @ 9:00am
Happy Birthday Brooke Gorowski 🙂 

Thursday, January 26th:
NO PRESCHOOL
2nd Grade Field Trip (106/116) to PF Changs
Kennedy Singers @ 2:20pm
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm
Family Game Night 6:00pm-7:30pm

Friday, January 27th:
NO PRESCHOOL
Spirit Assembly (Respect)
Multiage Field Trip (101/109) to PF Changs
Kindergarten Field Trip to Disney on Ice

We’d like to welcome everyone to come cheer on our District 81 athletes participating in the Special Olympics Individual Basketball Skills Competition on Sunday, January 29th @ Deerfield High School. Opening Ceremonies begin at 8:30am.

I hope you all had a wonderful 3-day weekend!
Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 16th:
No School

Tuesday, January 17th:
Happy Birthday Cheri Grimaldi 🙂
ACCESS Testing Begins >> REMINDER: NO READING ROOM
(Faculty Lounge Closed from 8:30am-10:00am)
PreK & 4th Grade Buddy Activity @ 9:30am
Faculty Meetings @ 2:30pm & 3:30pm ) *Agenda will be emailed*
SLT Meeting Immediately After Faculty Meeting
RTI Committee Meeting @ 3:00pm (Room 118)
Reading/ELL Committee Meeting @ 3:00pm (Room 110)

Wednesday, January 18th:
SLC to Aracely’s Bakery
PreK Field Trip to Make-A-Messterpiece (Room 133)
Theme Common Plan
Event Planning Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 115)
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm (LMS)

Thursday, January 19th:
PreK Field Trip to Make-A-Messterpiece (Room 135)
Faculty Lounge Closed from 8:30am-10:00am for ACCESS Testing
Kennedy Singers @ 2:20pm

Friday January 20th:
PreK Field Trip to Make-A-Messterpiece (Room 134)

Happy Birthday Michelle Morgan (01/22)

Explainia is a very cool website which features hundreds of animated explanations & videos on a variety of topics. You can also embed these videos onto your own classroom webpages for students to access on your classroom laptops or at home.

If you aren’t already on Pinterest, what are you waiting for? (Disclaimer: It can be a time consumer) Here’s a blog post that explains a little bit about it. There are many teachers on Pinterest sharing lesson plans, classroom photos, ideas and inspirational materials with others in the profession. You can either sign up on your own, or request an invitation from a co-worker …there are many Kennedy staff members already using Pinterest!!!

Keyboarding Zoo is a fun and educational activity to help early elementary age students learn the keyboard. Children are encouraged to use their index finger or pointer finger to match letters on the screen to their keyboards. Uppercase letters, numbers and symbols are coming soon!

 Happy New Year and Welcome Back! I hope you enjoyed a restful, relaxing break~! Of course it’s that time of the year when we make New Year’s Resolutions. It seems that we are constantly setting new goals and we often do this before we have reached our previous goals. Throughout the year, we have opportunities for new beginnings and setting new goals. January is an obvious time where we set new resolutions, in June we set goals for the summer, and in August we make new goals for the beginning of the school year.  What have you been successful at accomplishing? What caused challenges along the way? I encourage all of us to look back at some of the goals we began reaching back in August on our “suitcases” during the 1st in-service and reflect on our progress towards reaching those goals.

Ali Edwards started the “One Little Word” project which has spread like wildfire:

“A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be a ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp or biting or rich and soft and slow. A single word can be a catalyst for enriching your life!”

She began a tradition of choosing one word each January–a word to focus on, reflect upon as one goes about daily life. Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2012? It can be something tangible or intangible…it could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you.

My one word for 2012 is POSITIVE and I’ll share with you 20 Tips to a Positive New Year I found online in addition to 11 Benefits of Being Positive. What’s your one word for 2012?

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 9th:
School Resumes
SLC Swimming

Tuesday, January 10th:
Winter Benchmarking Begins
Happy Birthday Ricardo Cano 🙂 
Classroom teachers: Drop off laptop w/star on it & 1 charger to lounge after school

Wednesday, January 11th:
Happy Birthday Nicole Smit 🙂
SLC to Dollar Tree
Winter MAP Testing (Faculty Lounge from 8:30am-10:30am)
Assessment Common Plan (Go over Cycle 3 Assessment Results)
District Calendar Committee Meeting @ 3:45pm (District Office Conference Room)

Thursday, January 12th:
PATS Field Trip to Museum of Science & Industry
Winter MAP Testing (Faculty Lounge from 8:30am-12:00pm)
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, January 13th:
Happy 3-day weekend! (No School Monday, 01/16)

Happy Birthday Ami Freeman (01/15)

Let’s all keep in mind some classroom management basics as we embark upon a new calendar year at Kennedy, where our students are blessed to receive quality instruction on a  daily basis in safe and orderly classrooms. Below are some articles from Responsive Classroom that might be helpful to revisit this week, as behavior expectations and classroom routines are revisited. I appreciate your efforts with reinforcing behavior expectations.

Reflecting on Classroom Routines 

Revisiting Hopes & Dreams In the New Year  

Questioning Your Assumptions

The break for the holidays is right around the corner, and if you’re like me, you are looking forward to taking some time away and re-charging. Connecting with family & friends, sleeping in past 5:00am…..:) I wish you and your families the most joyous of holiday seasons. Thank you to the entire Kennedy staff for always caring and and taking pride in what you do! Thanks for persevering through the stressful times. Thanks for finding blessings & positives all around you. It has been a fantastic 2011; I’m already looking forward to seeing you all again for what promises to be an even brighter 2012! We have made a difference with our work here at Kennedy School because we Teach With Passion each day!

At this time of the year, it is appropriate that we reflect on the past year. Last week, Google launched their 2011 Zeitgeist site, which features a menu of the most-searched terms of 2011. Below is the year in review video, which features a lot of short video clips and pictures of the year’s biggest stories. What were YOUR highlights of 2011?

*Cycle 3 Assessments this week!
Happy Belated Birthday to Lauren Paar (12/16)

Monday, December 19th:
Santa Visits Kennedy: Arriving @ 8:30am (Classrooms will be called down to lobby)
**Remember to remind students to be ready to tell Santa 1 item they want for Christmas 🙂 Teachers, thank you in advance for helping make this run quickly and smoothly, as Santa needs to visit other Schiller Park friends 🙂
SLC to YMCA for Swimming
SLBC to Choo Choo Diner

Tuesday, December 20th:
Kindergarten Buddy activity with 5th Graders
Happy Birthday Danielle Standa! 🙂

Wednesday, December 21st:
Spirit Assembly @ 9:00am
POLAR EXPRESS DAY!
Common Plan: Curriculum Checkpoint

December 22nd-January 8th: WINTER BREAK
Happy Birthday Jimmy Kennedy (12/29)
Happy Birthday Elise Lagattuta (01/05)
Happy Birthday Mayra Tellez (01/06) 

Monday, January 9th: School Resumes

 **Resources Worth Checking Out**
We Give Books :  A website where students can read books online (great to show on the Promethean Boards-Thanks for passing this along, Carrie!)
Holiday Ideas : A collection of some fun, holiday activity ideas from the blog, Second Grade Shenanigans.

As the holidays are around the corner, here are a couple of resources you might want to bookmark:

Storyline Online is now hosting The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Portable North Pole is a website that allows you to create a personalized video message from Santa!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, December 12th:
Technology Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 202)

Tuesday, December 13th:
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm & 3:30pm <—click for agenda

Wednesday, December 14th:
SLC to Washington School
Common Plan: Technology
PATS/PreSchool Tree Decorating Party (2:00pm-3:30pm)
Board Meeting @ 7:00pm (LMS)

Thursday, December 15th:
Kennedy Singers @ 2:20pm
RTI Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 118)
Vision Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 127)

Friday, December 16th:
First Grade Field Trip to Stahl Theater
December Birthdays Luncheon
Happy Birthday Ola Heitz 🙂

Have you been wishing/hoping your students could access our Tumblebooks subscription on the iPads? BIG NEWS:

“Dear Teachers,
       We are pleased to announce that we have begun a project which will allow your students and patrons to access your TumbleBooks picture book collection on the iPad and iPhone 4!!
       As you may know, TumbleBooks are created using flash animation and Apple has been steadfast in refusing to include flash in their iPads and iPhones.
       So, in the spirit of, “if you can’t beat them, join them”, and in our continued efforts to give our subscribers the best experience possible, we are making non flash videos especially for the iPad.
       You can check out our first batch of iPad-compatible TumbleBooks by signing into TumbleBookLibrary on your iPad and going to the Story Books section. There are currently 44 iPad books to choose from!
       Just below the “Story Books” heading, there is a link called “Click here for iPad-compatible titles”. Click on this link, and the iPad books will be sorted for you. Now, simply click on the “iPad” button to launch the book of your choice! The book will appear in a small window at first, but to expand, simply click on the “full screen” button.
       In the coming months, we will be creating iPad content for the entire TumbleBooks animated picture books collection.
        Thank you for your time! We would love to get feedback from those of you using iPads, so be sure to tell us what you think. Please email comments and questions to me at marianne@tumblebooks.com.

        All the best,
        Marianne Last”

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, December 5th:
SLC Swimming @ YMCA

Tuesday, December 6th:
Buddies Committee Meeting @ 7:30am (Room 109)
RTI Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 118)

Wednesday, December 7th:
Happy Birthday, Kim Boryszewski 🙂
Community Outreach Committee Meeting @ 7:20am OR 3:00pm (Room 206)
Common Plan: SEL
Celebrations Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 104)
District SPED Meeting @ 3:45pm (Media Center @ Kennedy)

Thursday, December 8th:
Happy Birthday Cindy DeRose 🙂
Picture Retake Day
Kennedy Singers @ 2:20pm
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm
District Winter Band Concert @ 7:00pm (LMS)

Friday, December 9th:
HAT DAY!
Reading Room Plan

Krissy Venosdale, one of my favorite bloggers, posted this on her most recent post:

Do you ever have those conversations with your class?  You know the ones, that come up, at random, opportune times where you talk about risks, about never giving up, and about reaching for the highest star? Want to remind them to never give up?  Make them think about their goals, even when they seem different from everyone else’s, and how to achieve them?  Share this video.  288,000 jelly beans and 22 months of creativity and hard work made this video.   Don’t wait for your students to be inspired… Inspire them.

(If you have time….check out the “Making Of” video to see how it was made! VERY COOL!)

**As we embark on the next 13 days before Winter Break, remember to continue to inspire your students & engage them in learning! Thank you for Teaching With Passion each day!

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**

“When asked to identify what made the school so good, every person, without fail, said it was the people of the school: the children, the families, and most importantly, the staff. Nobody said, ‘We have a really great computer lab’ or ‘a brand new reading textbook.’
(Eaker, DuFour, & DuFour, 2002)

 With the Thanksgiving holidays quickly approaching, I thought it was a great time to simply offer heartfelt thanks to all of you for enriching the lives of our students & me. Whether you are a returning teacher, a teacher in a new role, or a teacher new to Kennedy School, I am sincerely thankful that you are here. I have the best job in the world because I am surrounded by the best teachers in the world. In the above quote, Eaker & colleagues have clearly stated what makes our own school great: It is not our pristine facility, or our curriculum, or technology; instead, it is each of you performing great deeds day in and day out. THANK YOU for teaching me so clearly what effective teachers do differently, and thanks for teaching with passion each day!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Happy American Education Week!
Parent Teacher Conferences (all week)

Monday, November 14th:

Tuesday, November 15th:
Happy Birthday Sandy Montes de Oca 🙂
Parent Visitation Day 9-10am, 1-2pm
NO Mentor Meeting (conferences)

Wednesday, November 16th:
SLC to McDonalds
Thanksgiving Feast in Lounge
No Common Plan (conferences)
PATS/PREK Thanksgiving Feast @ 2:00-3:30pm (cafeteria)
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, November 17th:
Spirit Assembly (Integrity) @ 9:00am
No SLT Meeting this week (conferences)

Friday, November 18th:
No School

Thanksgiving Break 11/21-11/25 
Happy Birthday Emily Kronlage (11/21)
Happy Birthday Jill Geritano (11/25)

“Be positive with people and you’ll get positive results.”
(Blanchard, Lacinak, Tompkins, Ballard, & Blanchard, 2002) 

Fall (November) is officially upon us as we are surrounded by beautiful warm colors & cooler weather. I hope you had a refreshing, relaxing weekend and are ready for the week ahead.

As parent-teacher conferences are upon us, I wanted to share a blog post with some tips and principles to keep in mind. Parent-Teacher Conferences offer teachers and parents the opportunity to see, celebrate and support each child. Conferences have provided me with some of my most rewarding moments in teaching. Just as we appreciate praise for our efforts, parents appreciate praise for their efforts & their child’s progress. Our school calendar may set aside days for parent-teacher conferences each year; however, I believe great teachers like all of you at Kennedy know that parent-teacher conferences are held throughout the entire school year. A great teacher keeps the student, the team, and the parents informed at all times!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, November 7th
SLC Swimming @ Elmhurst YMCA

Tuesday, November 8th
Happy Birthday Kellie Fazio 🙂
Hearing/Vision
Pre School Field Trip to Kohl’s Children’s Museum
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm & 3:30pm <–click for agenda
CPI Training @ 3:00pm (Washington School)

Wednesday, November 9th
SLC to Super Low
Assessment Common Plan
CPI Training @ 3:00pm (Washington School)

Thursday, November 10th
Hearing/Vision
Kennedy Singers Rehearsal @ 8:45am
101/109 Field Trip to Native American Museum
No Kennedy Singers After School
District Veterans Day Performance @ 7:00pm (LMS)

Friday, November 11th
Happy Veterans Day (Here is a Veterans Day Writing template if you’d like to use it!)
Happy Birthday Julie Fister & Becky Shoufer 🙂
Reading Room Plan
Hearing/Vision

(11/12) Happy Birthday Sarah Mixa 🙂 

Here are some November Reminders/Upcoming Dates to Remember.

I hope you have a fantastic week! Enjoy our Kennedy Kubbies…..and as always, thank you for TEACHING with PASSION!