October 2023 Staff Newsletter (English)

STAFF NEWSLETTER

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES

● We continue to celebrate our 75th year, and as an integral part of our community, we’d love your help. Share your favorite memory with us here, or go here to see others’ memories so far!

C ng

Director of Communications

cassandra young@ccsd21 org Tel 847-520-2728

● Our newsletters are full of timely information for you and your family. Reading it keeps you up to date and also deepens your connection to the district. Do you know someone who would like to receive our communication? Send them here!

● Is your closet lacking some officially branded district apparel? Visit this link! (An account may need to be created)

● Applications are now open for the Donna Rae Steckling Memorial Educators Grant! Click here to apply (applications are due by Tuesday, Oct. 31)

● Season’s Greetings Design Challenge: Dr Connolly would like students’ help in designing a 2023 seasonal greeting card Our theme this year is “warm holiday wishes ” The card should make us feel warm, welcomed and uplifted – regardless of our differences It should highlight the season of joy, giving and community

Submit your entry here (submissions due by Nov. 6)

● Our website has a new look! You may have noticed the district website looking different over the past few weeks We are excited to inform you we have launched a new and improved website that, we hope, will make your life easier!

Read more about the enhanced website. Go to the district’s website. Report website issues here.

EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES

● October is the time for Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) Assessment! The observation-based assessment helps teachers understand the abilities and behaviors they observe in children who have just started kindergarten. Read more here.

Beatrice Reyes Childress Assistant Superintendent for Equity & Learning

beatrice childress@ccsd21 org

Tel 847-520-2743

● Benchmark Phonics Support Questionnaire: Please complete this form by today to help us provide continued support as you implement the new resource and instructional practices. We have planned a time for an additional Professional Learning Session & Grade Level Collaboration on Institute Day and would like to provide specific focused topics based on your needs. We appreciate and value your input.

● Taller Fonetica Support Questionnaire for K-3 Spanish

Dual/Bilingual Teachers: Please provide your interest in topics and questions you may have regarding this resource This information will be helpful in planning the focus for PD on our Oct 16 Institute Day - K-3

Dual/Bilingual Spanish Taller de Fonética y Estudio de palabras Survey We appreciate and value your input

● Report Cards Guidance

2023-2034 Report Card Timelines

Elementary Report Card Guidance

Middle School Report Card Guidance

EL Report Card Updates

Support

PowerTeacher Pro Support Site

● Solar Eclipse in October! Many people may remember the beauty and sense of wonder of the 2017 total Solar Eclipse, when the Moon crossed in front of the Sun The Sun went dark, and the day turned into night It is time to prepare for the next Solar eclipse in North America on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. Click here to learn more about this spectacular event, including tips on how to view the eclipse safely. For more information, educators can click here. Resources for teaching about the Solar eclipse will be provided soon.

EQUITY & LEARNING UPDATES (CONT.)

Language Services

● Upcoming PD Opportunities: Click on the link to register and for more information!

○ Maximize Your Expertise! K-5 Sheltered Collaboration & PD – Oct 12

○ The Art of Bridging and Making Cross-Linguistic Connections! K-5 Bilingual/Dual Programs – Oct 18

● Save the Date!

○ Session 2: Maximize Your Expertise! K-5 Sheltered Collaboration & PD

■ Tuesday, Nov 14 from 4-5 p m

○ Session 2: The Art of Bridging and Making Cross-Linguistic Connections! K-5 Bilingual/Dual Programs

■ Thursday, Nov. 9 from 4-5 p.m.

● Let’s Celebrate! Did You Know… As a district, we are proud to celebrate the diversity of our learning community! During this month, many countries around the world celebrate their day of independence. Many people in our community acknowledge their native country’s independence by displaying a flag, participating in festivals or parades. Some of the celebrations taking place during the month of October include: Indigenous People Day, Columbus Day, Italian-American Heritage Month, German-American Heritage Month, Oktoberfest, Polish American Heritage Month, Filipino History Month, Halloween - If you’d like to learn more, click on the links! If there is a celebration that we missed, don’t hesitate to reach out and share it with our Language Services Department

SUPPORT SERVICES & SCHOOL SAFETY UPDATES

● A message from the school resource officers –“Body-Worn Cameras and Safety Week”

Kim Cline Assistant Superintendent for Support Svcs. & School Safety kim clilne@ccsd21 org Tel. 847-520-2717

● Restorative Practices Reminder: Whether you are working one-on-one with a student, mediating conflict between two students or framing a difficult conversation in your head, the five questions of the Restorative Conversation are a great place to start:

○ What happened? (state the facts only)

○ What were you thinking or feeling at the time? How about now?

○ Who all was affected by this?

○ What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

○ What needs to happen so that you can make a different choice next time?

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES

● Have an HR Question? We have resources and guidance available to every staff member on the website! This is a great place to familiarize yourself with to gain access to questions about attendance procedures and evaluations

● Staff Intranet

Robert Gurney Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources

robert gurney@ccsd21 org

Tel 847-520-2724

● CCSD21 Human Resources

● Employee Assistance Program: We wanted to remind everyone about our employee assistance program. This provides a wide variety of services and supports, depending on the individual staff member’s needs. Here is the link to access their services on the internet. The sign-in is ONEAMERICA3

Life is full of challenges, and sometimes balancing it is difficult. We are proud to provide a confidential program dedicated to supporting the emotional health and well-being of our employees and their families.

Read more about the Employee Assistance Program

● COVID-19 Vaccines Update from Blue Cross Blue Shield: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) plans to cover the latest COVID-19 vaccines as part of their Affordable Care Act (ACA) Preventive Services policy This coverage aligns with recent announcements by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Coverage of the COVID-19 vaccines follows standard preventive services policy for vaccines. Going forward, it will continue to be covered without cost sharing like any other preventive vaccine, such as the flu, RSV and others.

BCBSIL plans began covering the new vaccines following the FDA approval and CDC recommendation, which was announced on Sept.12 and loaded into our system Sept. 15 for children and Sept. 18 for adults.

INFORMATION SERVICES UPDATES

● CrisisGo Staff Reminders: Thank you to everyone for the great work in CrisisGo so far, and for those who have also downloaded the app onto your personal device! This is all going a long way to improving overall school safety as we move forward. Read more about this here.

Mike Frantini Chief Technology Officer

mike frantini@ccsd21 org Tel. 847-520-2732

● Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Since 2004, the President and Congress have declared the month of October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we would like to offer some helpful information to hopefully help everyone stay safe Read more about this here

● Technology Funding and Financials: Funding for technology in schools is always a focus and challenge at the same time, and here at CCSD21 we are always trying to do more with less, and be extremely efficient with every dollar for technology. Read more about this here.

● Information Services Tips and News: As a department, we are always looking for additional ways to provide supplemental content (tips and news) as it relates to technology here at CCSD21 One of the ways we are doing this is through social media and YouTube, as we are consistently adding new content to these platforms In order to stay up to date on this new content, please consider visiting and subscribing to our Information Services Twitter and YouTube channel