Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to the success of Dr. Seuss Night 2018! It was a wonderful evening filled with smiles and and incredible love of reading! Enjoy the photos on the sidebar of the blog, or click this link (All photos can be downloaded).

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 12th
Spring Scholastic Book Fair (Browse Day) – Room 107
PARCC Continues for 3rd grade (PARCC schedule continues this week)
Yearbook Club (Project Space 2:30pm-4:00pm)
Reading Room Plan with 2nd Grade

Tuesday, March 13th
Spring Scholastic Book Fair (Browse Day) – Room 107
Duct Tape the Principals to the Wall during Lunches! 
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm (Presentation Space)

Wednesday, March 14th
Spring Scholastic Book Fair (Buy Day) – Room 107
Spirit Assembly Committee Meeting @ 2:50pm

Thursday, March 15th
Spring Scholastic Book Fair (Buy Day) – Room 107
Talent Show Dress Rehearsal (8:45am – 10:00am @ LMS)
Talent Show @ 6:30pm (LMS Little Theater)

Friday, March 16th
Spring Picture Day
5 by Friday! 🙂 Continue making positive connections with families!

(03/18) Music Boosters Pancake Breakfast @ LMS (9am-12pm)

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
No Place for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools? Are You Sure? by Peter DeWitt

Priorities by Pernille Ripp

Google Slides: Watch Students Collaborate with Grid View by Alice Keeler

3 Thoughts for Improving Attendance in Schools by George Couros

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 5th
Hop on Pop Day: Hop out of bed & wear your Pajamas to School!
Pennies for Patients Continues this week! 
Happy Birthday Debi Cesario 🙂
3rd Grade PARCC Meeting (2:30pm) in Project Space
Reading Room Plan with 3rd Grade (after PARCC meeting)

Tuesday, March 6th
Fox in Socks Day: Wear Silly Socks to School
Pennies for Patients: Collecting Coins during arrival! 
PARCC Testing Begins (will be emailed)
Technology Team Meeting
Dr. Seuss Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Faculty Lounge)
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm (Kennedy School)

Wednesday, March 7th
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Day: Wear red/blue to school!
6th Grade Buddies Visit 1st Grade
Mrs. Oraham’s Class goes to Barnes & Noble (MyOn Winter Break Challenge Winners)
Dr. Seuss Night! 6:30-8:00pm  *Hope to see you all there*

Thursday, March 8th
Cat in the Hat Day: Wear your favorite hat to school!
2nd Grade to LMS for Performance Rehearsal (8:45am-10:00am)
Talent Show Rehearsal After School (2:30pm-4:00pm)
SLT – Math (2:35pm in Upstairs PD Space)

Friday, March 9th
Green Eggs & Ham Day: Wear Green to School!
2nd Grade Music Performance @ LMS (9am)
SLBC Swimming

(03/11) Daylight Savings

Keep in mind we will have many visitors in our building on Wednesday for the big event! Please give your classroom spaces some extra TLC. Please also have your students organize/clean their Kubbies in the hallway. This is our opportunity to shine! Let’s continue to make Dr. Seuss Night a memorable event for our students, families and
the community of Schiller Park!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 26th
1st Grade Field Trip to Shedd Aquarium
Reading Room Plan with Kindergarten Team
Yearbook Committee in Project Space (2:30pm-3:45pm)
Project Unify Game @ 3:45pm (LMS)

Tuesday, February 27th
PATS Field Trip to Museum of Science & Industry
Faculty Meeting CANCELLED

Wednesday, February 28th
Happy Birthday Alicia Peccatiello 🙂
1/2 Day of School (for Parent/Teacher Conferences)

Thursday, March 1st
Happy Birthday Tami Ericksen 🙂
Talent Show Rehearsal (2:30pm-4:00pm) in gymnasium

Friday, March 2nd
Happy Birthday Bonnie Bricker 🙂
PreK Screening
Non-Tenured Summative Meetings (Scheduled by your administrator)

(03/03) Happy Birthday Natalie Barcas 🙂
(03/04) Happy Birthday Stephanie Orsa  🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
Pushing Learners to Think with Performance Tasks by Eric Sheninger

Did you know you can markup an image with the built-in IOS11 Photos app?
It’s kind of hidden…Tap a photo’s EDIT button, then the MORE icon (…), then Markup.
Works great for screenshots, too!
7 Tough Lessons People Often Learn Too Late in Life (Business Insider)

A Plea to Families of Children in School by Bethany Hill

Check out the calendar below from Angela Watson:

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 19th
NO SCHOOL – Presidents’ Day

Tuesday, February 20th
PF Changs Field Trip (Domingo, Miro, Planek) 10am-12:30pm
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm (Upstairs Presentation Space)

Wednesday, February 21st
1st-3rd Grades to LMS for Washington Musical @ 9:45am
Board of Education Meeting @ 7pm

Thursday, February 22nd
PF Change Field Trip (Keating, Rowland) 10am-12:30pm
SLT – ELA @ 2:35pm (Upstairs PD Space)
Washington Musical @ 6:30pm

Friday, February 23rd
Spirit Assembly @ 9am
PF Changs (Graham, Ward) 10am-12:30pm

(02/24) Happy Birthday Shannon Keating 🙂

It’s that time of the year.
Where winter break is definitely in the past.
Where we’re starting to feel a bit of the testing pressure.
We’re stressed about upcoming conferences & report cards.
When Spring Break is close…..but not quite close enough.
Take time today to remember that we alone have the power to choose our good attitude.

Be the kind of person who doesn’t allow other people or circumstances to dictate how we feel or treat those around us. Instead, be the consistent one for those around you.
Be thankful for the impact that we have on not only our students, but also on our peers.

Choose to be happy. Choose to be positive. Choose to smile. That doesn’t mean you are unaware of circumstances, or stress, or drama, or struggles….it just means you choose to RISE above it, and be happy anyway. To let your mood be dictated by your blessings and not your afflictions.

We constantly preach to our Kubbies the importance of being kind and how one small act can make someone’s day — This week is  “Random Acts of Kindness Week (Feb 11-17)” so I challenge you to the SD81 edition of the Kindness Challenge — can you complete these simple, kind acts that will make our students’ and colleagues’ days just a bit brighter? Let’s make February 12th-16th Kennedy School’s #RAKWEEK

What’s the SD81 Kindness Challenge you ask? 
*Complete a challenge – mark it off on your challenge sheet (a copy will be in everyone’s mailbox).

*Each challenge completed earns you a TICKET in the raffle

*Earn an extra ticket for each challenge that you complete & INSTAGRAM with the challenge hashtag

*Turn in your challenge sheets by the end of the day this Friday 2/16

WINNER of the raffle……earns a HALF DAY OFF! 

You’ll also notice the KINDNESS tree that Stephanie Winberg created in our front hallway!

There are construction paper HEARTS in the office ….feel free to pick some up and ask your students to brainstorm ways they can show KINDNESS to others. Let’s fill the wall this week!

*Click here for educator resources on RAKweek

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 12th
Reading Room Plan with 1st Grade (@ 2:35pm)

Tuesday, February 13th
Faculty Meeting @ 2:45pm – this will be a quick one!

Wednesday, February 14th
Happy Birthday Kaitlin Hillner 🙂
Happy Valentine’s Day <3
TAPS (PreK, K and 1st)

Thursday, February 15th
Happy Birthday Agnes Niewinski 🙂
Talent Show Auditions *During the day (Presentation Space Upstairs)
Kindergarten Information Night 6:00pm

Friday, February 16th
Trimester 2 Ends
*5 By Friday
Please be sure your Parent/Teacher Conference Schedule is finalized in google spreadsheet!

(02/17) Happy Birthday Jackie Hood & Mike Deany :)(

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 5th
Happy Birthday Jenna Bartello 🙂
Yearbook Club (2:30pm-4:00pm in Project Space)
Reading Room Plan with 2nd Grade

Tuesday, February 6th
Happy Birthday Heather Longo 🙂
Happy Birthday Dina Natale 🙂

Wednesday, February 7th
Happy Birthday Alanna Mixter 🙂
Happy Birthday Izabela Rybinski 🙂
TAPS (2nd/3rd Grades)

Thursday, February 8th
SLT (Math) @ 2:35pm
Kindergarten Information Night (6:00pm)

Friday, February 9th
February Buddy Event
5 by Friday 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
The Lost Art of Listening by Eric Sheninger

15 Fantastic Ways to Teach Mindfulness To Kids 

Some Small Ideas to Help Students Self-Select Books Better by Pernille Ripp

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 29th
Reading Room Plan with 3rd Grade

Tuesday, January 30th
100th Day of SchooL!
**FACULTY MEETING** @ 2:45pm in Presentation Space

Wednesday, January 31st
2nd Grade/LMS Buddies Activity
1/2 Day of School  (Agenda will be emailed)
*Technology Team Meeting @ 2:30pm

Thursday, February 1st
World Read Aloud Day!

Friday, February 2nd
5 Positive Connections by Friday!

(02/04) Happy Birthday Anne Weinthaler 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:

10 Steps to Slowing Down the Gossip Train by Jimmy Casas

Adobe Spark FREE For Students of All Ages via Class Tech Tips

How to Create a Morning Routine That Gets You Energized to Teach via Angela Watson

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 22nd
Happy Birthday Michelle Morgan 🙂
ACCESS Testing Continues
Student Yearbook Committee in Project Space (2:30pm-4:00pm)
Reading Room Plan with Kindergarten (2:35pm)

Tuesday, January 23rd

Wednesday, January 24th
Dr. Taylor Visits D81
Happy Birthday Ofelia Golden 🙂

Thursday, January 25th
Dr. Seuss SIP Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 110)

Friday, January 26th
Spirit Assembly @ 8:45am
Kindergarten Field Trip to Disney On Ice

The annual Stars on Stage Talent Show will be on Thursday, March 15th. We are still looking for helpers to facilitate the rehearsals leading up to the main event! Helpers will be compensated for their time.

REMINDER: All MAP meetings & non-tenured 3rd round observations must be scheduled/completed by February 2nd !

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
The Troublemakers

Top 10 Health and Physical Education Tech Tools

Sister Sings “You Are My Sunshine” to Brother with Down Syndrome

Why Every Class Needs Read Alouds

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 15th
Happy Birthday Ami Freeman 🙂
NO SCHOOL – MLK

Tuesday, January 16th
**Did everyone add their one word? If not — please fill out the Google Form here
ACCESS TESTING BEGINS! Click here for the schedule & here for the informational letter/email
Mentor Program Meeting

Wednesday, January 17th
Happy Birthday Cheri Grimaldi 🙂
Board Meeting @ 7pm (LMS)

Thursday, January 18th
Kennedy Singers
Combined SLT Meeting @ 2:45pm (Upstairs PD Space)

Friday, January 19th
Winter Birthday Snacks in Faculty Lounge
PreK Parent/Student Workshops
Spirit SIP Committee Meeting (2:35pm)
5 by Friday! Make 5 Positive Connections by Friday! 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:

The Power of Setting Goals With Students by Sanee Bell

Relationships Are the Foundation of Great Schools (But They Aren’t Enough) by George Couros

7 Ways to Prioritize Teaching Tasks When Everything Seems Urgent by Angela Watson

Is Your School Extraordinary? by David Geurin

New Books Worth Checking Out:
  

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
The Risks in What We Don’t Do by George Couros

6 EdTech Tools to Try in 2018 by Cult of Pedagogy

Are you up for a Teacher Bucket List Challenge? Click here for the PDF:

or perhaps use this Happiness Calendar that offers daily suggested actions to help you be happier and bring more happiness to others!