It is my hope that you all had a restful, relaxing Spring Break. As we enter the final 8 weeks of school, I realize this can be a challenging time for us, as both students & staff get Spring Fever. We have been working hard for 7 months and we’re getting closer to the end of the school year. Now is when we must do our best work. The cliche of “it’s not how you start, but how you finish” is so true! We must finish strong and carry out our momentum until the end of the school year. Keep in mind, the more you stray from your classroom routine/schedule, the more antsy your students will get. If you keep focused, they will follow your lead.

As we approach the final 8 weeks of the school year, it is easy for many teachers to get into that familiar habit of wishing that the year would end. I want to encourage you not to fall into that rut and make the last 8 weeks enjoyable and productive for your students.

Each and every day our students need us. Remember that you may be the only constant presence in some of our students’ lives. Make a choice each day for your presence to be a positive, constant factor. It is a great opportunity that we have to come to school and have an impact on students’ lives from day to day. We all became educators because we care about kids. When the students feel that their teachers care about them, when they feel safe in our classes, optimal learning will take place.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, April 6th
NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, April 7th
Teacher Institute Day – See the Kennedy Conference for Agenda (sent by Christa)
Happy Birthday Mirta Cruz 🙂

Wednesday, April 8th
Classes Resume for Students
Happy Birthday Sharon Muntova 🙂
PERA Presentation (*Certified staff only) @ 2:10pm in Cafeteria

Thursday, April 9th
SLT @ 3:00pm

Friday, April 10th
Pre School Screening

Articles Worth Reading:

Homework Help DesK: Free Interactive Resource for Kids & Parents

Seesaw Gets Helpful Updates

I Just Want to be Normal, Daddy

Thank you to to all who came to support our Kennedy Kubbies last Thursday evening for the annual Talent Show, as they showcased their very special talents in front of a packed audience of family, friends and teachers! The gym was beautifully decorated thanks to a group of parent volunteers from ABC & committee members. The children had a wonderful time making memories they will never forget. Thank you to the Talent Show committee for their hard work planning and organizing the event. Thank you also to the Reading Room teachers for having the book fair open before & after the talent show. Finally….thanks to all who came to see the kids—their smiles and hugs showed just how much they loved having you there to support them! Pictures can be found on the right of this blog in the sidebar, or here.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 23rd
Last week of Pennies for Patients
*Cycle 5 Assessments This Week

Tuesday, March 24th
1st-3rd Grade to LMS for Musical “Into the Woods”
SMART Training @ 2:50pm (Room 110) in lieu of faculty meeting

Wednesday, March 25th
Lincoln Investments in Lounge for Lunch & Learn
2nd Grade Young Authors Celebration @ 11:00am
TAPS Common Plan
Happy Birthday Diane Serio 🙂

Thursday, March 26th
Kindergarten Field Trip to Field Museum
Multiage Young Authors Celebrations
(Rooms 101/109 from 8:40am-9:10am)
(Rooms 103/107 from 1:45pm-2:15pm)
*Donna will count total number of shamrocks hanging on classroom doors at the end of the day!

Friday, March 27th
Spirit Assembly
*Winning class with the most shamrocks from donations towards Pennies for Patients will receive Shamrock Shake Party*
PreK Field Trip to Brunswick

Spring Break always arrives at the perfect time of the year! As we head into the final five days of school prior to break, I’m hopeful that students & staff will take full advantage of their time away from Kennedy. For some, it will give them time to recover from feeling under the weather, and for others it is time to spend with family & friends. Regardless of how you plan on spending the break, I hope you soak up every single second and come back re-energized for the home stretch!

Have a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break! Safe travels for those of you who are flying or taking a road trip. We look forward to seeing everyone on April 7th for a Teacher Institute Day. We’ll welcome the students back on April 8th.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 16th
Scholastic Book Fair This Week
Week 2 of Pennies for Patients

Tuesday, March 17th
Happy St. Patrick’s Day ~
Mentor Meeting @ 3:45pm

Wednesday, March 18th
1/2 SIP Day
Book Fair (buy day)
Board Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, March 19th
Talent Show Dress Rehearsal @ 8:30am
Book Fair (buy day)
Talent Show 5:30pm (Door open at 5pm: Book fair will be open before & after Talent Show)

Friday, March 20th
NO Reading Room Plan Today ~
5 Positive Connections by Friday! 🙂

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

Blogs Worth Reading:
How do YOU share your genius?

The Things We See

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 9th
Pennies for Patients Begins!

Tuesday, March 10th
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm <—click for agenda
Kindergarten Information Night @ 6:00pm

Wednesday, March 11th

Thursday, March 12th
Talent Show Rehearsal After School @ 2:30pm-4:00pm

Friday, March 13th
March Buddy Activity
5 by Friday! 🙂 Keep making those positive connections with families!
Loaves & Fishes: there’s still time to sign up to help! <—click the link

Blog Posts Worth Reading:

7 Ways to Stay Strong When Everything Else Goes Wrong

Student Selector & Team Creator Tools and Apps

YouTube for Kids App

We Love Our Math Apps

Time for Time

SeeSaw: An app for digital student portfolios

**Check out this Kindergarten Teacher’s Blog

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 Amanda sent last week regarding Kennedy’s approach this year to teach our Kubbies about diversity, acceptance & perseverance. In your mailboxes you should have received a lesson/activity that accompanies the book It’s Okay to Be Different. All classroom teachers received a class copy of the text to keep in your classroom libraries. On Tuesday, we will learn that it’s okay to be different by signing a pledge, promising to be dedicated to celebrating each other and being kind to one another. Here is the letter that went home with all students last Friday.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, March 2nd
Happy Birthday Bonnie Bricker 🙂 

Tuesday, March 3rd
Birthday Breakfast starting at 7:15am in Teacher’s Lounge
Happy Birthday Natalie Barcas 🙂
Spread the Word to End the Word Day ~WEAR BLACK
Please read It’s Okay to Be Different & complete lesson (in your mailboxes)
Project Unify Basketball Game @ 3:45pm (LMS)

Wednesday, March 4th
Common Plan Agenda <–click to view/sign up
SMART Training Common Plan
*KONICA MINOLTA Training during Common Plan —
All certified staff: Click the link for the agenda above & please sign up as a team for a slot to attend a training on the new copy machines.

Thursday, March 5th
2nd Grade (Rooms 104, 115) Field Trip to PF Chang’s
Happy Birthday Debi Cesario 🙂
Talent Show Rehearsal (2:30pm-4:00pm)
PARCC Meeting with 3rd Grade @ 2:30pm
SLT Meeting @ 3:15pm

Friday, March 6th
Summative Evaluation Meetings for Non-Tenured Staff
5 by Friday!

From TechnicallyTeamann:

It’s that time of the year.
Where the holiday break is definitely in the past.
Where testing pressure has started to increase.
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.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 23rd
Kindergarten Field Trip to Chicago Kids Company
FOX IN SOCKS DAY: Wear your silliest mismatched socks

Tuesday, February 24th
NO STUDENT ATTENDANCE
1/2 SIP Day
1/2 Parent/Teacher Conferences
Happy Birthday Shannon David 🙂

Wednesday, February 25th
7th Grade Buddies visit Kennedy School
WACKY WEDNESDAY: Wacky/crazy hair day

Thursday, February 26th
2nd Grade (Rooms 104, 115) Field Trip to PF Chang’s
CAT IN THE HAT DAY: Wear your favorite hat
Dr. Seuss Night 6:00pm-7:30pm *Hope to see you all there!*

Friday, February 27th
Spirit Assembly
KUBBIE GEAR DAY: Dress in Kubbie Gear or Blue/White

(02/28) Happy Birthday Alicia Villanueva 🙂
(03/01) Happy Birthday Tami Ericksen 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
A Simple Smile
“A smile can make someone’s day, can be infectious, and have a tremendous impact on school culture”
Speech to Text in Google Docs
Patterns Galore
When Students Need More

Looking for Dr. Seuss Activities? Click the picture below:

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 16th
NO SCHOOL: PRESIDENTS’ DAY

Tuesday, February 17th
Talent Show Auditions (during school day)
Celebrations Meeting @ 2:50pm (Room 100)
Happy Birthday Mike Deany 🙂
Happy Birthday Jackie Hood 🙂

Wednesday, February 18th
6th Grade Buddies Visit 1st Grade @ Kennedy
2nd Grade Field Trip to PF Changs (Rooms 105 & 106)
Board Meeting @ 7:00pm
Happy Birthday Nikki Culberson 🙂

Thursday, February 19th
Talent Show Committee Meeting @ 7:30am (Room 105)
PATS Field Trip to Field Museum
2nd Grade Field Trip to PF Changs (Rooms 104 & 115)

Friday, February 20th
Reading Room Plan Day
February Buddies Event
5 by Friday 🙂 Keep the positive postcards going!

(02/21) Polar Plunge @ Northwestern! 

Presidents’ Day Fun

How to Use Your Now Images in Google Form Headers

***FYI: I will be in Springfield with the admin team for the Alliance Leadership Summit this week (Tuesday-Thursday), but can be reached via email or on my cell phone.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 9th
Cycle 4 Assessments This Week
Jump Rope For Heart Week in PE
1st & Multiage Field Trip to Shedd Aquarium

Tuesday, February 10th
SMART Training @ 2:50pm in Room 105

Wednesday, February 11th
Common Plan Time (TAPS Sign-Up & Preparing for Report Cards/Conferences)

Thursday, February 12th
1st – 3rd Grade to LMS to see Washington Musical @ 9:00am

Friday, February 13th
Trimester 2 Ends – 5 By Friday
Teacher Luncheon in Faculty Lounge courtesy of ABC Parent Group 🙂
Spring Parent/Teacher Conference Schedules Due to Office
*Sign-Up Deadline for Translator Google Doc
Yearbook Collages Due to Kristen Stringer

(02/15) Happy Birthday Agnes Niewinski 🙂
(02/16) NO SCHOOL: Presidents’ Day

**Interested in ordering Dr. Seuss T-Shirts? Click here!

Articles Worth Reading (Oldies but Goodies):
Don’t Have Time? Make it.

Phases of First-Year Teaching

Here’s our week at a glance:

(02/01) Happy Birthday Christa Henkel 🙂

Monday, February 2nd
SNOW DAY = NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, February 3rd
Room 203’s Trip to Barnes & Noble with Principals
Buddy Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 109)

Wednesday, February 4th
TAPS Re-Eval
Happy Birthday Anne Weinthaler 🙂

Thursday, February 5th
No Reading Room Today (Wish the RR team good luck, as they are presenting at the NCLB Conference downtown!)
PreK Field Trip to Stahl Family Theater
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, February 6th
PreK Screening
Happy Birthday Dina Natale 🙂
Happy Birthday Heather Longo 🙂

(02/07) Happy Birthday Alanna Olson 🙂

Articles Worth Reading:
There Is No Such Thing As Balance

List of Authors who will Skype/connect with students

The Classroom Kindness Project

A *fun* random student selection app: Decide Now

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 26th

Tuesday, January 27th
SMART Board Training @ 2:45pm in Room 110 (in lieu of faculty meeting)

Wednesday, January 28th
100th Day of School!
2nd Grade Field Trip to Cernan Space Center
8th Grade Buddies visit 3rd Graders @ Kennedy School
Common Plan Time: 5 Essentials Survey
Board Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, January 29th

Friday, January 30th
Spirit Assembly
5 by Friday 🙂

Click here for some ideas I’ve pinned for the 100th Day of School (click each picture below to link up to the resource):
                    

Here are some fun ways to incorporate technology on the 100th day of school 🙂