Please have students complete a mySAEBRs screening this coming Monday during advisory. If a student is absent, please have them do the screening during tutorial by 2/9/24.

Representatives from HR will be in MSR on Wednesday, February 7, from 11 am - 1 pm to answer staff questions or assist with any HR related issues you may be having.

From Tyler Harr...

On Friday, February 16th, students in 7th and 8th grade band will be competing at the IGSMA Organizational Contest. Band students for both grades will be gone for most of the day (2nd-7th Hour) . I appreciate your flexibility with letting us go perform and learn from our clinicians. If you are curious to learn more about our schedule on that day here is their itinerary. And here are the class rosters for both groups.  

We are looking for 2 assistant track coaches for this coming track season. If  you are interested, please complete the Track Interest form. 

Data Day for the 3rd quarter is 3/8/24. Elisa will work with teams during February meetings to prepare recommendations. 

As we discussed during our time together on 2/2/24, here is the tentative 2024 IAR schedule. We will do staff training during our time together on 3/4/24. 

Team 6-1 maintains a strong lead in the Healthy Eating Bingo challenge with a participation rate of 78% for the third week. Can anyone challenge them in their sprint towards the "P" trophy? 

Congratulations to this week's Kingsley Kudos recipients! 

Darrin Kimmel Bubby Dow Dave Whalen

Annie Fisher Abby Highland Kortney Guy

Karen Dryer Kaleigh Menken Katie  Winchester

Katie Winchester Jennifer Peterson Janel Sebeny

Sara Riley

Has a fellow Cougar gone out of their way to help you? Have you seen a staff member who goes above and beyond to make Kingsley a better place to work and learn? Reward them by nominating them for a Kingsley Kudos! It's quick, painless, and brings joy to you and the recipient. 

Dr. Weikle will be doing a staff meet & greet on Monday, April 5th, at 8:00 am in MSR. 

Need ideas for providing supports and accommodations? Check out these resources! Thank you to Tayler Musselman for compiling this collection and to all of you who contributed to it! 

The Beyond the Books Foundation provides funding for innovative academic programs in Unit 5 and District 87 and is now accepting applications for grants. 

GRANT TYPES AND FUNDING AMOUNTS …

• BEYOND THE BOX: One grant in an amount between $7500 and $10,000 will be awarded in this category for an exceptional proposal. The $7500 - $10,000 award is given by a private foundation to Beyond the Books Educational Foundation and BTBEF selects the winner.

• STANDARD: Grants awarded in this category are limited to requests for $801 to $5000. • MINI: Grants awarded in this category are limited to $800 or less.

You may submit applications with the same proposal in both the Standard and Beyond the Box categories. If you choose to do so, you must use the same title for both applications and within the Beyond the Box application, clearly explain how the extra money would be used. Only one of the two applications may receive an award.

The Beyond the Books bylaws require that approximately 15% of the total annual allocation be used to fund Mini Grants. Historically, this has resulted in a much higher percentage of Mini Grants being funded than Standard Grants.

Please find more information, rubrics, and details on how to apply at CLICK HERE.  

The application deadline is 6 pm, March 4. We strongly recommend not waiting until the last minute

Here is the tentative schedule for the Winter Open House on 2/21. Families will follow their students' schedules and administration will hold informational sessions following the classroom visits. This will allow staff to get home as early as possible.  We did move the start time up to 5:30 pm due to the ISU home men's basketball game, which begins at 7:00 pm. We will be creating an informational flyer to send home to KJ families this coming week. This flyer will be shared with you as well. 

From Dan Lamboley...

Thank you for taking the time to complete the Advisory survey as part of the January 8th Institute.  The results of the survey indicate that over 70% of staff prefer Advisory a move to a daily schedule with over half preferring 20 minutes at the beginning of each day.  A majority of staff also indicated a preference to move Advisory to a daily schedule starting with the 24-25 school year knowing there are other changes to the middle school schedule being considered.  With this in mind, middle schools will implement a daily 20 minute Advisory schedule that takes place at the beginning of the day with the start of the 24-25 school year. The Advisory planning group will begin to work on updating the Advisory lessons so staff can implement them daily, and will take into consideration feedback received from the survey. 

With regards to the other changes to the middle school schedule (bringing Foreign Language back to the middle school and removing the Language Arts period and making Lit./Comp. into an English/Language Arts period) they are still being considered and discussed, but implementation would not occur until the 25-26 school year.

If you have any questions about the changes to the middle school schedule, please contact Dan Lamboley.

I hope this semester is off to a great start for you and your writers! I have attached the testing window dates, prompts, and scores HERE as the next date is approaching. 

If you are a team that switches sections of students, you may want to meet as a team to score together so you can discuss student progress and recommendations. This will be helpful as you move forward in deciding if a student who flags on the benchmark should move on to the diagnostic to dig further.

All resources are located in our LA Google Classroom (code: hv3buze). In fact, if you have not checked that out lately, I would encourage you to utilize the dashboard for all things LA. 

Please reach out if you have any questions and stay warm! 

Sincerely, 

Janel Sebeny

The PBIS Celebrations Team has 2 all school raffles planned for the month of February. Many thanks to the KJHS StuCo for assisting with the lunch time logistics! 

The 2023-2024 5Essential Survey window is scheduled to open on January 23 and close on March 29.  You will be receiving emails soon about completing this survey and we will provide time during an SIP day for you to complete it.  

1. The PTO is selling Papa Murphy coupon cards for $5. If you are interested in purchasing one, please let Elisa know. 

2.  The Gobena Coffee Fundraiser is an ongoing one and an excellent opportunity to try some new, local coffee. 

3. Want to request PTO funding for a classroom project? Use this form please. 

Here are the Instructional Technology Tips for January.

January update coming soon! 

The PBIS PRIDE focus for January is on participation. With this, we'd like the students to participate in their learning by reflecting on their grades and learner characteristics from the first semester, and then set a goal for 2nd semester.   We'd like this lesson to be taught on Monday, January 29 during Advisory. The lesson and two versions of the reflection sheet are linked below. They are also linked on the direction slide (slide 5).

PBIS January Lesson

Printable Reflection Sheet

Digital Reflection Sheet

8th-grade teachers, there is a special slide (slide 6) for our students that they should use when completing the reflection sheet. It'll help them understand what letter grade they are currently earning and how it translates to high school.

From HR... 

District staff,

All absences beyond 3 days must be reported to Human Resources. To notify HR of an absence beyond 3 days, please email Molly Rohde, HR Coordinator. For a planned leave, please fill out the Leave of Absence Request form .

Applicable reasons to fill out the form are as follows:

• Personal illness (including surgery, maternity leave, or injury)

• Caring for an ill or injured family member

• Military caregiver leave / Qualified exigency leave related to a military family member

• Placement of a child through adoption or foster care

Human Resources will determine if the employee requesting leave is eligible under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and provide the appropriate documentation and counseling to the employee. If the employee is ineligible for FMLA leave, Human Resources will inform the employee of the applicable leaves they can use or request.

If you have any questions regarding this procedure, you may contact Molly Rohde, Human Resources Coordinator at rohdem@unit5.org or 309-557-4400 ext. 74044.

Employees requesting Emergency Leave, Family Hardship Leave, Parental Leave, Professional Leave, or any other leave outlined in their contract, must email their direct supervisor, Monica Wilks, Molly Rohde, and their union president for their leave request to be approved. 

With utmost respect,

Your Human Resources Team

From Candid in Payroll...

As a reminder, due to the changes this year with the current PPO Gold and PPO Silver plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois will issue new ID cards for all members. In saying this, there is a delay in employees receiving their new cards this year, due to the large quantity of cards being issued. 

The fastest way to get your new ID card is by utilizing the Blue Cross mobile app or by logging into Blue Access for Members to print/view a temporary card. The attached instructions will help guide you to access your BCBS member portal or the app. 

If you have any questions or need assistance obtaining a temporary card, please contact me.