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

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 24th
Happy Birthday Shannon David 🙂 
Fox in Socks Day: Wear your silliest or mismatched socks
ISAT Meeting @ 2:30pm (Room 205)

Tuesday, February 25th
Green Eggs & Ham Day: Dress in green
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm  <—click for agenda

Wednesday, February 26th
1/2 Day of School (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
Report Cards Sent Home
Wacky Wednesday: Wacky/crazy hair day

Thursday, February 27th
Cat in the Hat Day: Wear your favorite hat
Talent Show Practice (after school)
Dr. Seuss Night 6:00pm-7:30pm

Friday, February 28th
Kubbie Gear Day: Dress in Kubbie Gear or blue/white
Spirit Assembly (Caring)
Happy Birthday Alicia Villanueva 🙂 

(03/01) Happy Birthday Tami Ericksen 🙂 
(03/02) Happy Birthday Bonnie Bricker 🙂 
Pancake Breakfast @ LMS 9:00am – 12:00pm

**Wondering how to add fonts to your Google Drive documents and slides?
Click here to read a blog post by Richard Byrne.

Here are some Dr. Seuss ideas. Click here to see the entire Pinterest board for more!
  

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 17th
NO SCHOOL: Presidents’ Day

Tuesday, February 18th
Dr. Seuss Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm
Happy Birthday Nikki Culberson 🙂

Wednesday, February 19th
Board Meeting @ 7:00pm
*Please submit any talent show slips to Marissa and/or Stephanie

Thursday, February 20th
Talent Show Auditions in gymnasium (during the day)
PATS Field Trip to Peggy Notebaert’s Nature Museum
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, February 21st
Reading Room Plan Day
February Buddy Event (in Teacher’s Lounge)
SLC/SLBC Sledding Field Trip (weather permitting)
5 by Friday! Let’s continue to send positive news home!

(2/22) Polar Plunge

A great blog post worth your read:   What Students Remember Most About Teachers
“What matters to them is YOU.”

Here are a few pins from this week. Click on each picture to be linked to the website.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 10th
Cycle 4 Assessment Week
Jump Rope for Heart Week

Tuesday, February 11th
PreK Field Trip to Chicago Kids Company
Faculty Meeting @ 2:30pm

Wednesday, February 12th
6th Grade Buddies with 1st Grade/103/107
PEP Parent Meeting @ 6:00pm (Kennedy School)

Thursday, February 13th
1st-3rd Grade to LMS for Washington Musical, Annie
(Please send down names to the office of any parents you know will be coming in for Valentine’s Day parties)

Friday, February 14th 
Happy Valentine’s Day 
End of Trimester 2
5 by Friday 🙂

(02/15) Happy Birthday Agnes Niewinski 🙂
(02/17) NO SCHOOL: Presidents’ Day
            Happy Birthday Mike Deany 🙂 

From Venspired (this blog post by Krissy V. is perfect…especially after engaging in thought-provoking dialogues about Winter MAP scores). 

“Take a typical lesson, on a typical day, in a typical classroom. We are constantly reaching out to the learners who have fallen behind. Tutoring. Interventions. Extra time. Small group. Individualized Instruction. Scaffolding. All of these things are so important, and we’d all agree, essential for the success of students who need the extra support.

But doesn’t every kid need support? What about the kids who already know it? Maybe they learned it on their own, got it really quickly, or read about it once before. They think differently. Should they wait to learn? What will be done differently for those kids?

We tend to say things like, “They’ll be fine.” But fine really isn’t good enough. What if we offered more for all kids. Not just on one lesson, or one day, but whenever they need it. Bringing everyone up to a level that, for them, is enough for a good healthy stretch. Reaching, struggling, extending.

Because in that stretch? There is learning….The kind every kid deserves.”

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, February 3rd
100th Day of School!
1st Grade Field Trip to Shedd Aquarium
Dr. Seuss Committee Meeting @ 2:30pm

Tuesday, February 4th
109/101 Field Trip to PF Changs (rescheduled)
PEP Parent Meeting @ 6:00pm (Kennedy)
Happy Birthday Anne Weinthaler 🙂

Wednesday, February 5th
107/109 Field Trip to PF Changs (reschedule)
SLC/SLBC Outing to Franklin Park Post Office

Thursday, February 6th
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm
Happy Birthday Dina Natale 🙂
Happy Birthday Heather Longo 🙂

Friday, February 7th
Pre School Screening
Happy Birthday Alanna Olson 🙂

(02/09) Happy Birthday Myra Gilio 🙂

Here are some 100th day ideas from Pinterest (click on picture & it will connect you to the link where you can find these activities).

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 27th
School Closed due to Extreme Temperatures

Tuesday, January 28th
School Closed due to Extreme Temperatures

Wednesday, January 29th
Reading Room begins again!
6th Grade Buddies visit PreK
105/106 Field Trip to PF Changs

Thursday, January 30th
115/104 Field Trip to PF Changs
Winter Band Concert @ LMS 6:30pm
**Note: 100th Day of School will now be on Monday, February 3rd.

Friday, January 31st
Spirit Assembly (Respect)

(02/01) Happy Birthday Christa Henkel