The storybook pumpkins look AMAZING! The pumpkins are a perfect example of the wonderful, creative, imaginative work that can happen when great minds get together! You showed tremendous teamwork and I am so proud of your efforts and creativity. I’m hopeful you enjoyed your time with your DLT groups & reconnected through this activity. Everytime our students walk through the media center, they admire the Storybook Pumpkins and comment on how creative they are! NICE JOB!!! Remember — each student should cast their vote for their FAVORITE storybook pumpkin on Halloween! Google Form ballot will be emailed out today!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 29th
Kindergarten Data Review Meeting
RTI Committee Meeting (3-4pm)

Tuesday, October 30th
October BUDDY Event
Crazy/Wacky Hair for Red Ribbon Week

Wednesday, October 31st
Halloween Parades & Parties <—click for info

Thursday, November 1st
Fall Birthday Celebrations (in Lounge)
LearningScapes Tour through Kennedy School
SLT Meeting @ 2:45pm (Conference Room)

Friday, November 2nd
End of Trimester 1
Pre School Screenings
Reading Room Plan Day

**Reminder for Tenured Teachers*
Tenure teacher professional growth meetings completed before the end of the week!
ALL tenured teachers must complete a Professional Growth Plan.

Blog Posts Worth Checking Out:
The “Secret Menu” for Google Slides, Docs, Drawings & More via “Ditch That Textbook”

Starting with Positive Assumptions via George Couros

What Happens When We Become 1% Better Every Day by AJ Juliani

A Strength-Based Approach to Teaching English Language Learners via Cult of Pedagogy

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 22nd
RED RIBBON WEEK BEGINS! 
1st Grade Data Meeting with RR (2:35pm)
FLU SHOTS offered to District Employees in the 1st Grade Project Space (3-4pm)

Tuesday, October 23rd
Wear RED to Kick Off Red Ribbon Week
Faculty Meeting @ 2:45pm  (Storybook Pumpkins KICKOFF with DLT small groups!)

Wednesday, October 24th
Wear ORANGE – National UNITY Day
Cub Scouts Presentation (8:30am-11:00am in Presentation Space)
TAPS (2nd & 3rd)
DLT Meeting (3-4:30pm in 3rd Grade Project Space)
BPAC Meeting (4-5:30pm in Gymnasium)

Thursday, October 25th
Wear BEARS gear!
Staley the Bear Assembly – BEAR DOWN on Bullies
9-10am – Kindergarten & 1st Grade classes
10:30am-11:30am – 2nd & 3rd Grade classes
Mentor/Mentee Meeting @ 3:45pm

Friday, October 26th
Kubbies Are Buddies – Wear Kubbies Spiritwear
Fall Picture Re-Takes (in 1st Grade Project Space)
Spirit Assembly 9:00am

**Reminder for Tenured Teachers*
Tenure teacher professional growth meetings completed before November 1st.
ALL tenured teachers must complete a Professional Growth Plan.

**Do you subscribe to Angela Watson’s “Truth for Teachers” podcast? It’s amazing!
Click the picture below to check out this episode: A Crash Course on Trauma-Informed Teaching. 

You’ll learn ways that trauma impacts students and what we can do to support kids without carrying the weight of that trauma ourselves. The podcast also provides specific dos and don’ts to make it easier to navigate this in your classroom.

Trauma-informed teaching is not a curriculum, set of prescribed strategies, or something you need to “add to your plate.” It’s more like a lens through which you choose to view your students which will help you build better relationships, prevent conflict, and teach them effectively.

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
How to Check Spelling and Grammar in Google Docs via Shake Up Learning

3 Simple Questions to Shape Professional Learning via George Couros

What Are the Best Ways to Use Leveled Texts? via Cult of Pedagogy

You Are the Average of the 10 People You Spent Time With via Inc.com

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 15th
Medical Exclusion Day 
Happy Birthday Rose Karas 🙂
Fire Prevention Visits from SPFD in Presentation Space   <—click for schedule
2nd Grade Data Review with Reading Room

Tuesday, October 16th
Put a Cap On Bullying – Wear a Hat to School
PreK Field Trip to Johansen Farms
Fire Prevention Visits
***FACULTY MEETING RESCHEDULE………Since last Tuesday was a bust, please plan on meeting in the presentation space for a 2:50pm start! We will be checking in with our DLT small groups for a brief activity! 
Spirit Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm

Wednesday, October 17th
Happy Birthday Mary Beth D’Andrea 🙂
Fire Prevention Visits
TAPS (PreK, K, 1st) during CPT
DLT Meeting (3-4:30pm – LMS, Room 108)
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm
*Kennedy Renovation will be the example of excellence! Please come and support your 1st grade colleagues who will be presenting an iMovie of the renovated spaces and presenting tokens of appreciation from the students to the Board of Education members.

Thursday, October 18th
3rd Grade Field Trip to Goebbert’s Farm
Earthquake Drill @ 10:18am
Fire Prevention Visits
SLT Meeting @ 2:45pm

Friday, October 19th
Happy Birthday Eva Popowska 🙂
Kindergarten Field Trip to Didier Farms
5 Positive Connections by Friday !!!

See some ideas below for Fire Prevention Week @ Kennedy:

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 8th
NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, October 9th
Happy Birthday Mandy Vanderwaal 🙂 
Tech Committee Check-In (2:35pm)
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm (Presentation Space)

Wednesday, October 10th
TEAM UP against Bullying! – Wear Your Favorite Sports Team
Technology Breakouts Common Plan

Thursday, October 11th
1st Grade Field Trip to Goebbert’s

Friday, October 12th
5 by Friday!

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. Children matter to us. Remember….what you do each and everyday at Kennedy School is in the best interest of the children we serve.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, October 1st
Parent Visit Day (9-10am and 1-2pm)
3rd Grade Data Review Meeting with Reading Room (2:35pm)

Tuesday, October 2nd

Wednesday, October 3rd

Thursday, October 4th
Hearing/Vision Screenings
1st Grade (B101, B102, B105) Field Trip to Safety Town *9-11am
SLT (2:45pm – Conference Room)

Friday, October 5th
5 by Friday! Please continue making at least 5 positive connections with students by Friday!
Heaing/Vision Screenings
PreK Screening
1st Grade (B106, B107, B108, B111) Field Trip to Safety Town *9-11am

(10/06) Happy Birthday Anna Gabriel (Green Bus)

(10/08) NO SCHOOL (Columbus Day)

Blog Posts Worth Reading:

10 Core Values for Education – George Couros

Welcoming Students with a Smile – Edutopia

Seesaw October PD in your PJs Schedule

These Calm Down Jars Will Blow Your Mind – We Are Teachers

5 Fantastic Word Cloud Tools

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 24th
Happy Birthday Britney Lane 🙂

Tuesday, September 25th
Happy Birthday Marta Ocon 🙂 
2nd Grade Field Trip to Goebbert’s
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm (Presentation Space)

Wednesday, September 26th
Happy Birthday Jill Michalski 🙂

Thursday, September 27th

Friday, September 28th
Happy Birthday Gina Cacioppo 🙂
September Spirit Assembly (9-10am)

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
Print Custom Sticky Notes with Google Slides

PDF Candy & PDF Tips for Teachers

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 17th
Dentist Visits (Room 135)

Tuesday, September 18th
Dentist Visits (Room 135)
1st SIP Committee Check-In (2:50pm-3:05pm) <—click to see where committees will be meeting. Have you signed up for one yet? ALL staff sign up for ONE committee!

Wednesday, September 19th
Dentist Visits (Room 135)
Happy Birthday Roger Pape 🙂
*Whole School CPT with SPPD: Start in Presentation Space 2:00pm
ABC Parent Group Meeting @ 6pm
Board of Education Meeting @ 7pm

Thursday, September 20th
Happy Birthday Michelle McMorrow 🙂
SLT (2:45pm in Conference Room)
Mentor/Mentee Meeting (3:45pm)*

Friday, September 21st
5 by Friday! Make 5 Positive Connections!

(09/23) Happy Birthday Amanda Quinlan 🙂 

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 10th
Reading Room Begins!
AXA Visit during lunch periods in Teacher’s Lounge
RTI Committee Meeting @ 3pm (Upstairs PD Space)

Tuesday, September 11th
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm
Technology Committee Meeting @ 3:0pmpm

Wednesday, September 12th
1/2 Day (AM PreK dismisses at 10:30am, K-3 dismisses at 10:55am)
*SIP Agenda <–click here

Thursday, September 13th
PreK Family Field Trip to Brookfield Zoo

Friday, September 14th
Fall Picture Day! <–click for schedule!
5 Positive Connections by Friday!

Blog Posts Worth Checking Out:
How to Create Your Own “Apps” with Google Slides 

The Calm Schools Initiative

Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success

Green Screen Workshop Lessons

Reading Buddies (Edutopia)

“What makes a good school has very little to do with how rich or poor the students are, or the type of curriculum that’s taught. It has very little to do with the special programs, expansive playing fields, snappy uniforms, or whether the school is wired to the Internet. What makes a good school, whether it’s public or private, religious or nonreligious, charter or non-charter, is a feeling. A feeling shared by the entire staff that their particular school is special. The feeling that their school really belongs to them.” (Manna, 1999).

At Kennedy School, each member of our team has a distinctive character that cares deeply about each and every one of our Kennedy Kubbies. Your unique attributes and talents contribute to the feeling people get when they enter this building. As a result, our children will remember you long after they leave Kennedy.

“Schools are not buildings, curriculums, and machines. Schools are relationships and interactions among people.”

I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable weekend with friends and family. Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 3rd
NO SCHOOL – LABOR DAY

Tuesday, September 4th
Scholastic Fall Bookfair – 1st Grade Project Space (all week, through Thursday evening)
Evacuation Drill  – 9am
Flex Groups Starting This Week!
MAP Testing Continues

Wednesday, September 5th

Thursday, September 6th
Reading Room Begins (Drop Off)
SLT Meeting @ 2:45pm – Conference Room
Kennedy Curriculum Night 6:30pm-8:00pm
(check out our collective Pinterest board for ideas!)

*New Idea: Ask parents to write a note of encouragement directly to their child that you can give them when they are having a challenging day!

Friday, September 7th
Reading Room (Drop Off)
GO GOLD for Childhood Cancer Awareness
5 by Friday – Make  5 Positive Connections by each Friday! Remember, positive postcards can be found in the main office! 

The start of the school year is the best time to begin building positive relationships with our families, too! I encourage you to meet our goal of 5 positive contacts by Friday over the next few weeks (phone calls, post cards, notes home, etc). Let’s remember….. our goal is to ensure that 100% of our parents experience communication/contact with their child’s teacher prior to the November conferences (Below are the results from the November 2017 parent/teacher conferences).

Let’s have a great week!

As Donna, Sara and I visited each classroom in our school this past week, we observed each of you setting the tone for a culture of caring in your classrooms; classrooms where teachers and students care about learning, about each other, and care about our Kennedy community. The first weeks of school set the tone for the entire year. If our students leave school feeling excited about themselves as learners & about you as their teacher, then we’re doing something right!  Always remember that our kids will meet any expectations we set for them, as long as we are firm, fair, and consistent with these expectations and build relationships with our students so that they will want to meet them. The primary way to accomplish this positive relationship-building with our students is simply caring deeply about them as learners and young people and taking the time to get to know them, as well as showing them just how much you care.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, August 27th
Book Checkout Begins this week!
MAP Testing Continues <— schedule here
Aimsweb Testing Continues <—schedule here
K-3 Faculty Meeting (presentation space) at 2:40pm
PreK Faculty Meeting (E104) at 3:00pm
New Teacher Meeting (D203) at 3:00pm
RTI Committee Meeting (Project Space Upstairs) at 3:00pm

Tuesday, August 28th
Evacuation Drill @ 9:00am to North Park
Faculty Meeting (to review mandatory Health Trainings) @ 2:50pm in Presentation Space

Wednesday, August 29th

Thursday, August 30th
1st Fire Drill
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm

Friday, August 31st
Code Red Drill (Time Unannounced to Staff)

Did you complete the “Getting to Know You Survey?”

FLIPGRID: Take 2
*********All staff: Please take a moment to record a video of yourself, as we collectively introduce ourselves to the KENNEDY FAMILIES/COMMUNITY. 

Click this link & record your video by 12pm on Friday so I can include the flipgrid in this week’s Kennedy School E-News!
(Password is: Kennedy81)

(09/04) NO SCHOOL: LABOR DAY

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
4 Ways to Create a Learner-Centered Classroom by Katie Martin

10 Tips for New Teachers by George Couros

10 Questions Every School Should Ask to Build a Healthy Culture

10 Easy Way to Create an Awesome #SchoolCulture This Year by George Couros