If you are participating in the "We're Not Flocking Around!" Challenge, please complete this Google form by end of the work day on Monday, April 28th so Elisa knows how many staff members are participating. Participants will have a choice of rewards, which will be announced on Friday, May 2nd.  The first 2 staff members to complete the Google form will win a gift card. 

We are proud to inform you that referral numbers for the 4th quarter are down 34% as compared to the same time period last year. Thank you for all you are doing to address student behavior with a calm and rational detachment. It's not easy and you are doing a great job! 

KJHS Night at Busch Stadium (Cubs vs Cardinals) is on Saturday, August 9, at 6:15 pm. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online through the KJHS Infinite Campus School Store. All proceeds go to support the KJHS and the last day to purchase tickets through KJHS is July 15th. We hope you can join us for this exciting launch to the 25-26 school year! 

The KJHS PTO is seeking nominations for the KJHS PTO Staff Member of the Year. This is your chance to nominate a colleague you believe has gone above and beyond in service to KJHS this year. The deadline to submit your nomination is May 9th. 

Staff Appreciation Week is May 5-9 and the KJHS PTO has some great treats in store for you! Here is the tentative schedule...

Monday, May 5th: Lunch from DP Dough

Tuesday, May 6th: Bagels & Gift Cards

Wednesday, May 7th: Lunch from Biaggi's

Thursday, May 8th: Treats from KJ Admin

Friday, May 9th: Lunch from Jimmy Johns' 

The Countdown to Summer Break begins on May 1st!

The window for Fall 2025 tuition waiver requests will open on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 6:00 a.m. and will close on May 30, 2025, at midnight. You can review the procedures outlining the distribution process for tuition waivers here. 

The Eugene Field House Plant Sale is on Wednesday May 14th from 9 am - 2pm. 

Congratulations to this week's Kingsley Kudos recipient: Anita Holland & Caryn Birchler! 

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. 

The 25-26 Curriculum Training Schedule has been released. Please review it so you can mark any applicable dates on your calendar and get sub requests into AESOP. 

The 8th Grade Dance & Activity Night is on Friday, May 2nd. If you are willing to serve as a chaperone, please indicate this on the Sign Up Genius. We will pay staff for supervising this event. 

The Learning Technology Center has a plethora of resources for educators regarding technology in education. Want to more about AI? Check out LTC's free online "Artificial Intelligence 101" course. 

Please complete the DELT Interest Survey if you are interested in serving on DELT for the 25-26 school year. 

If you are interested in attending the conference below, please let Elisa know. We can use SIP funds to pay for the cost of the conference as well as a daily stipend for attending. You will receive 45 CPDUs for attending. 

Illinois State Writing Project Summer Institute

Monday, June 9 – Friday, June 13

8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Illinois State University Campus & Surrounding Community

Start Small, Think Big: Writing Possibilities for Consequential Futures

Join others—teachers of writing and teachers who use writing in support of their content area teaching—as together we stretch the boundaries of our thinking about writing’s role in motivating and engaging in hopeful futures—within and beyond our classrooms. Give yourself the gift of time and space for summer pause and rejuvenation. All are welcome. Come as you are. Engage. Inquire.

• Join a collaborative community of K-16 cross-disciplinary teachers.

• Practice new skills you can use with your students.

• Build your own identity as an educator and writer.

• Expand the ways you use writing in your classroom. 

• Design small-scale writing opportunities for big impact.

Please note that there are more openings listed online. These are internal postings that will move to external postings after 10 days.

Cross Country Coach

Golf

Here is the PBIS Determination form. Nikki will accept names until April 30th. The winners from last month will be announced on Friday.

We still have a substantial amount of SIP money left to spend. If you have something you would like to order, please add it to the SIP Order #3 Requests Google Sheet by 4/30. Here is the acceptable use document for you to use to determine if your request is an allowable usage of SIP funds. Furniture and technology hardware purchases are not allowed but things like flexible seating for sensory needs and online subscriptions services are allowed. We encourage you to "think big" in your requests. 

The window for Summer 2025 tuition waiver requests is now open and will close on April 30, 2025, at midnight. Here are the procedures outlining the distribution process for tuition waivers. 

Here are this week's instructional technology tips. 

The Illinois Retired Teachers Association is offering Excellence in Education Grants for Teachers.  Applications are due June 1, 2025. 

From the U5 Instructional Technology Coaches...

We have been piloting Hapara this semester with several of our teachers in multiple buildings.  Hapara is a classroom management software for K-12 schools, focusing on tools that enhance digital learning and student safety.  Very similar to GoGuardian, but with some different enhancements. 

The consensus is they really like it.  We would like to expand the pilot to anyone who would like to try Hapara for the rest of the school year, and to ask that you use this Getting Started, problem/Solution guide to get started.  

The student support team and truancy committee are working diligently to improve student attendance. One of our Tier 1 strategies is to message KJHS families weekly with different attendance messages. Want to know what they are? Check out the KJHS Attendance Matters Calendar. Many thanks to Breanna Schwarz for creating this tool. 

Here is the April Kingsley Family Connection that was sent out to families this past week. 

Please be sure you are working on your GCN modules, which are required annually by state code. Elisa emailed those staff members who still have a large number of modules to complete. 

One of your benefits as a Unit 5 employee is access to our Employee Assistance Program. We encourage you to check out the program site to see if any of the many resources can meet your current and future needs. 

The 3rd SIP materials order is being submitted on 5/2. After that, Elisa will put out a "summer curriculum hours plan" Google form for you to indicate how many hours you plan on working, when you plan on doing that work, and what you will be doing. Those that teach both a core subject and language arts will get a double allotment of hours.