Friday, December 22, 2017
Kane County Day Initial Registration
Please click this link to review the initial registration information for Kane County Institute Day 2018.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Kane County Day
Tomorrow, the Regional Office of Education will share initial registration information for Kane County Day. Please remember that at this time you are selecting only your site, so please peruse the offerings at each site and select which site you'd like to attend. At a later date, you will be able to select the specific sessions you'd like to attend at that site.
Kaneland is a host site this year, and we would like to encourage you to consider attending the offerings here. Our focus will be personalized learning, and we will once again be lucky to have sessions hosted by your peers as well as the Institute for Personalized Learning. The Institute will be bringing practitioners with them this time who can answer specific questions about what implementation in a classroom looks like. They've also redesigned their sessions to include more time for conversation among peers and planning for how to implement.
And, perhaps best of all, we will NOT assign their sessions to the cafeteria!
Kaneland is a host site this year, and we would like to encourage you to consider attending the offerings here. Our focus will be personalized learning, and we will once again be lucky to have sessions hosted by your peers as well as the Institute for Personalized Learning. The Institute will be bringing practitioners with them this time who can answer specific questions about what implementation in a classroom looks like. They've also redesigned their sessions to include more time for conversation among peers and planning for how to implement.
And, perhaps best of all, we will NOT assign their sessions to the cafeteria!
IgKnighter Fellowship Opportunity
We are proud to introduce a new opportunity for focused professional development for those interested--the IgKnighter fellowship!
The IgKnighter Fellowship is designed for those that want to take the lead in implementing personalized learning through the three core honeycomb cells. The fellowship brings staff together who want to take action prior to the district-wide Kaneland 2020 implementation timelines and empowers them with support and a teacher leader role in the planning and implementation of district-wide professional development.
For more information, please click here for a link to an informational flyer.
January Happenings to Look Forward To!
Although we know the excitment is growing for a holiday break, we would like to share some key dates and excitement for January. Please note these events:
January 8- First Day Back!
January 8- TAC for EC-5
January 11- District Spelling Bee
January 11-IgKnighter informational meeting
January 15- No School
January 17- BOE Meeting, note the Wednesday date
AIMSweb at the K-5 level will begin the first week back
Winter data days will be in January
January 18- 1st-6th grade PDS Seminar at HMS 4:00
January 18- PDS Site Council 4:00
January 22-6-12 AAC/OC @ KHMS at 3:30
January 22-K-5 TIC @ KHMS at 4:15
January 8- First Day Back!
January 8- TAC for EC-5
January 11- District Spelling Bee
January 11-IgKnighter informational meeting
January 15- No School
January 17- BOE Meeting, note the Wednesday date
AIMSweb at the K-5 level will begin the first week back
Winter data days will be in January
January 18- 1st-6th grade PDS Seminar at HMS 4:00
January 18- PDS Site Council 4:00
January 22-6-12 AAC/OC @ KHMS at 3:30
January 22-K-5 TIC @ KHMS at 4:15
School Day Research Committee Update
The results of the recent poll regarding interest in expanding proposals tied to changes to the school day are in. The is an overwhelming interest in completing the proposals and moving them forward in an official manner.
At this time, the committee will create proposals and seek a final round of feedback concerning:
At this time, the committee will create proposals and seek a final round of feedback concerning:
- Adjusting start times for various levels
- Building emergency days into the calendar
- Creating schedules during the school day conducive to personalized learning environments
As the proposals are finalized, there will be times publicized to share and seek further input from stakeholders. Please be on the lookout for this information and your opportunity to learn more and share your voice.
Thursday, December 14, 2017
May the Force Be With Your Teaching!
On this historic day in the galaxy with the premier release of Star Wars Episode VIII "The Last Jedi", I thought I would share with you some of the many educational values that Star Wars can teach. Enjoy, and May the Force Be With You, Always!
The Star Wars Classroom
The Science of Star Wars:
The Math of Star Wars:
The Language Arts of Star Wars:
The Social Studies of Star Wars:
The P.E. of Star Wars:
The Library and StarWars:
The Coding of Star Wars:
K-5 Exemplar Use
Please note that there has been some changes to the Math Exemplar program. If you are having any difficulty at all accessing and logging in to the Exemplar system, please email Sarah Mumm. The company will need to problem solve some log in processes for some staff. Our Exemplar license is valid until September 18, 2018. Remember these are great to use for problem solving and math application.
Congratulations to our Educators of the Year
Congratulations to the following nominees for the Kane County Educator of the Year! We are very proud of all of you.
Katie Reilley- Elementary Classroom Teacher Nominee
Christy Kukovec- Middle School Classroom Teacher Nominee
Rachel Giles- High School Classroom Teacher Nominee
Kyle Ahlmann- Early Career Educator Nominee
Mona Fergus- Educational Service Personnel Nominee
Denise Michels- Student Support Personnel Nominee
We look forward to the celebration in May!
Katie Reilley- Elementary Classroom Teacher Nominee
Christy Kukovec- Middle School Classroom Teacher Nominee
Rachel Giles- High School Classroom Teacher Nominee
Kyle Ahlmann- Early Career Educator Nominee
Mona Fergus- Educational Service Personnel Nominee
Denise Michels- Student Support Personnel Nominee
We look forward to the celebration in May!
Holiday Cheer!
We have seen many great happenings in all the schools this week! We are excited to see the holiday spirit and fun among the staff. We wanted to join in a bit with the holiday spirit. If you are the first 10 to comment to this post with your favorite holiday tradition you will win a sweet reward. We look forward to staff sharing traditions and what is important to all of you. We wish you a very happy holiday and we hope that you will all take time for yourself and find some relaxation. Be sure to add your first name and school to the comment. At this time comments only are shown as unknown. To win a prize your name is needed.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
February 26th Kaneland 2020 Gallery Walk
Once again, we are excited to highlight the work happening throughout our district that is tied to Kaneland 2020 at a Gallery Walk in the Harter Cafeteria. On February 26th prior to the board meeting, we are looking for volunteers who would be interested in sharing with the Board of Education, community, fellow staff members, and students.
If you're interested in sharing something happening in your classroom or learning more about the details of the evening, please click this link.
Please respond as soon as possible to ensure you're spot! The registration form will close on February 1st.
If you're interested in sharing something happening in your classroom or learning more about the details of the evening, please click this link.
Please respond as soon as possible to ensure you're spot! The registration form will close on February 1st.
IPad IMovie update
This week we met with the Technology Department. We are excited to share that IMovie will be available as a working app by the end of the first semester, if not a bit sooner. Please know it will be available for use on the main menu of the IPads. Thank you to the Technology Department for their hard work planned over Holiday Break.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
RTI Staff and Coaching Meeting
On December 21st the RTI Staff and Coaches will meet on December 21st to our end of semester collaboration meeting. We will meet at KMS (Meredith) from 1-3. Please be sure to check out and submit your ideas to the agenda. Here is the agenda link: RTI and Coaching Agenda
Teacher Advisory Council Update
Please remember the Teacher Advisory Council December meeting is virtual. Membership attendance is based on the responses sent to Sarah Mumm. Be sure to respond to the questions posted by January 1st. Do not worry about a response to the trimester question, we will bring that discussion to our face to face meeting in January.
NIU Waivers Received
As per the contract, we would like to continue to update staff when the NIU waivers were received. We just received the waivers for hosting last spring. We now have 161 waivers on file for use. Please note if you are submitting a waiver request please add your ZID and your IEIN number, both are now required. We also issue waivers to those who host the student teacher or clinical students first, then staff in programs and cohorts, then open requests. Also please do not submit the request until you have registered. If you send the request and have not registered we will not be able to use the waiver and we will lose it to NIU. Please be sure to register first. Thank you.
Teacher Initatives Council Update
Today the Teacher Initiative Council met for their monthly meeting. The following were topics discussed:
- An update from the Collaborative Inquiry work was shared. The focus of the work is on building collective efficacy among staff and providing structures that allow staff to build trust, efficacy and sharing. The work will continue over the course of the next month.
- The KIDS assessment was discussed and the progress and use of the assessment were shared. At this time it is only required after the 40th day of school. The assessment was shorter than previous years and did provide more feedback on soft skills. Kindergarten staff will review if there are any aspects of KIDS assessment that are beneficial for reporting to parents.
- The Council discussed a need for further parent education and expectations for learning in Kindergarten and for number sense. The district will be looking into options for parent education. We will also explore the connection to preschools in the area and instruction during the preschool years. We will drill a bit more down into data with RTI, Exploratories, and Kindergarten to identify any trend that would assist with parent education.
- A discussion on fact fluency, math data, and number sense was held. There is a need to investigate what practices are successful in fact fluency and building number sense. Ideas were shared this month will be shared next month for targeted sharing.
- A special thank you to Erin for providing treats, since we all forgot! Happy holidays.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Important Dates EC-5th Grades
Just a few dates to jot down and keep track of for the new year! Enjoy
First day back- January 8
TAC- January 8
AIMS testing begins- January 10
Data days will begin- January 12
District Spelling Bee 6:00- January 11
PDS Site Council- January 18
PDS Seminar One- January 18 4:15 at Meredith School
TIC- January 22
Collaborative Inquiry Session- January 24
Amboy Personalized Learning Visit- January 25
CES Primary Visit-January 25
Joint PTO- January 29
Host Teacher for PDS Training- January 29
Report card dates are as follows:
*Please note we are sticking to midnight on Wednesday for at least another quarter. We can review at TIC this process after the new year.
2nd quarter-go live January 26 at 4pm
Due in Tyler by midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 24
3rd quarter-go live April 6 at 4pm
Due in Tyler by midnight on Wednesday, April 4
4th quarter-go live May 30 at 4pm
Due in Tyler by midnight on Wednesday, May 28
First day back- January 8
TAC- January 8
AIMS testing begins- January 10
Data days will begin- January 12
District Spelling Bee 6:00- January 11
PDS Site Council- January 18
PDS Seminar One- January 18 4:15 at Meredith School
TIC- January 22
Collaborative Inquiry Session- January 24
Amboy Personalized Learning Visit- January 25
CES Primary Visit-January 25
Joint PTO- January 29
Host Teacher for PDS Training- January 29
Report card dates are as follows:
*Please note we are sticking to midnight on Wednesday for at least another quarter. We can review at TIC this process after the new year.
2nd quarter-go live January 26 at 4pm
Due in Tyler by midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 24
3rd quarter-go live April 6 at 4pm
Due in Tyler by midnight on Wednesday, April 4
4th quarter-go live May 30 at 4pm
Due in Tyler by midnight on Wednesday, May 28
ILTS Test Development Opportunities
Good afternoon!
I recently received the following message and thought I would share here for anyone inerested:
The Illinois State Board of Education and Evaluation Systems group of Pearson are currently seeking Illinois educators to apply to participate in test development activities for the Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) program.
I recently received the following message and thought I would share here for anyone inerested:
The Illinois State Board of Education and Evaluation Systems group of Pearson are currently seeking Illinois educators to apply to participate in test development activities for the Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) program.
During Q1 of 2018 (January - March), we will be convening committees for the following tests:
- English Language Arts
- Foreign Language: French
- Foreign Language: German
- Foreign Language: Hebrew
- Foreign Language: Italian
- Foreign Language: Japanese
- Foreign Language: Russian
- Foreign Language: Spanish
- General Middle Grades
- Library Information Specialist
- Mathematics
- Music
- Reading Teacher
- School Counselor
- School Nurse
- Social Science: Economics
- Social Science: Geography
- Social Science: History
- Social Science: Political Science
- Social Science: Psychology
- Social Science: Sociology and Anthropology
Benefits of participation include:
- opportunity to make a difference in Illinois educator development and performance, and
- professional growth and collaboration with educators in their field.
Qualified participants are eligible for:
- substitute reimbursement for their school (public school educators only)
- reimbursement for travel and meal expenses
- hotel accommodations, if necessary
Interested educators can click here to complete an application to be considered for participation.
The application can also be accessed via this URL:http://www.cvent.com/d/8dqyvh
Congrats to Shelley Hueber!
Congratulations to Shelley Hueber on her nominee as Elementary Principal of the Year through the Illinois Principal Association (IPA). Nominees are required to be members of the IPA, have a history of high student achievement and demonstrate the ability to foster and maintain a positive school culture. Shelley along with the other nominees, will be celebrated at a recognition reception in February. Way to go Shelley, the KSS Staff, and the Kaneland Community!
Friday, December 8, 2017
AAC-OC Reminder
AAC-OC will meet at Harter on Monday at 3:30 in the Community Room. We will be debriefing about our last vertical articulation day and continuing our conversations about the future of AAC-OC.
Update regarding March 2 district-wide in-service
Sarah and I worked with the ROE today to continue planning for the March 2nd in-service date. Please be on the lookout for more information regarding registration. The tentative timeline is as follows:
- Registration brochure will go live on 12/22
- After viewing options that exist at each host site, you will register for a site between 1/8 and 1/26
- After that registration window has passed, you will then register for specific sessions at each site between 1/29 and 2/9
There may be a few changes to this as the ROE continues planning, but we wanted to give you an update as to what to expect and what your registration process will likely be.
Finally, your IEIN number is something worth getting to know better; it is being requested more and more, and for example will be required for sign in and sign out at the county-wide in-service day. You can find you IEIN number by accessing your educator page on ELIS. You can find this number at any time on your educator page, but since we learned today that it is now needed more and more often for tracking PD hours, we wanted to share that information with you, too!
Learning Forward in Kaneland!
Our team has returned from Learning Forward, and we are excited to begin sharing our learning in many ways with all of you! We will be meeting soon to plan an overarching presentation that highlights some of our biggest takeaways, and we will be soliciting input from staff as to the best way to share that news to meet your needs. In addition, you will be hearing from your building admin and our instructional coaches about sessions they attended that they feel will be beneficial to the specific work of your building!
Please feel free to ask any of your instructional coaches or any of the admin that attended to share some highlights of their learning with you. We were happy to be reaffirmed in the work we have already undertaken as a district, and we were excited to gain new tools and insight into how to support this work with new ideas, as well. We can't wait to begin sharing and utilizing this new knowledge with all of you!
Please feel free to ask any of your instructional coaches or any of the admin that attended to share some highlights of their learning with you. We were happy to be reaffirmed in the work we have already undertaken as a district, and we were excited to gain new tools and insight into how to support this work with new ideas, as well. We can't wait to begin sharing and utilizing this new knowledge with all of you!
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
School Day Research Survey Now Open!
As part of the continued work of the School Day Research Committee, last week, we shared an FAQ document that attempted to answer some of questions posed by stakeholders after we shared several ideas about potential changes to the school day. After having reviewed that document, please take a moment to complete this brief survey in order to share your opinion on the direction the school day committee should take with their work. You can find the survey here. We thank you in advance for your time and thoughtfulness in responding to the survey questions. We look forward to reviewing the data at our upcoming December meeting. Thank you.
Friday, December 1, 2017
Kaneland Board of Education Meetings now Live-Streamed!
Monday marked the first time that Kaneland Board of Education meetings were live streamed! If you are interested in tuning in to view a meeting, you can visit the Kaneland School District website the night of the meeting and click on the link in the yellow banner that appears under the scrolling news before the start of the meeting.
In addition to being livestreamed, recorded meetings are also archived and can be viewed in part or their entirety. You can find them by visiting the D302 Communications and Technology channel on Youtube or via the archive link in the yellow banner under the scrolling news on the Kaneland District website.
We are excited for this opportunity to increase access to these meetings to the community at large!
In addition to being livestreamed, recorded meetings are also archived and can be viewed in part or their entirety. You can find them by visiting the D302 Communications and Technology channel on Youtube or via the archive link in the yellow banner under the scrolling news on the Kaneland District website.
We are excited for this opportunity to increase access to these meetings to the community at large!
Personalized Learning Going Forward
By this point, all staff have experienced some version of Personalized Learning Academy 1.0 and have a basic understanding of the philosophy that underpins the concept and what some of the over-arching implications are. In addition, all staff have at least explored the Kaneland Learner Profile.
So what's next?
Throughout the remainder of this year, we will look to embed opportunities for deeper questioning of the philosophy, exploration of the Learner Profile, glimpses into what the application of this philosophy looks like in classrooms both here and in other districts, and a review of what this year has been like for our staff. These opportunities may look like like cohorts led by your peers, twitter chats or other electronic conversations, after school opportunities to get together to talk, or visits to schools to hear questions, concerns, and celebrations.
Also, don't forget to access your instructional coaches; they are here for you to help you as you explore and begin to implement pieces of this philosophy in your classroom!
We will also begin planning Academy 2.0--which will focus mainly on reviewing concepts we've explored this year, cementing our approach to the use of the Learner Profile (and logistics surrounding its use), and an exploration of the Proficiency Based Progress core honeycomb cell. Our goal is to once again lean heavily on staff who have begun exploring this cell or have an interest in being "pioneers" in its exploration to help us craft the learning experience for their peers. If you are one of those leaders, please be on the lookout for invitations to town-hall type meetings to begin discussing and planning our approach to next year.
We will also once again invite the Institute for Personalized Learning onto campus for our March county-wide in-service day. After reading feedback from those that attended their sessions last week, we are planning to lengthen the sessions to two hours so time for teams to work together and plan classroom activities that utilize the ideas they hear right then and there. In addition, all sessions led by the Institute for Personalized Learning will also include classroom teachers from the Southeastern Wisconsin area who have found success in implementation. They will be there to discuss their struggles and triumphs and to serve as a classroom-based resource for those with questions about what this might look like in their own classroom.
Oh, and we will make sure that the sessions are NOT housed in the cafeteria! 😉
Sarah and I would strongly urge you to attend at least one of the institute's sessions, especially one that is tied to the proficiency based progress cell, so you can begin to hear that part of the philosophy more specifically and begin to think about implications for you and your students. Again, this will serve as the major area of exploration for us next year, and will be a main component of Academy 2.0 here in Kaneland.
So what's next?
Throughout the remainder of this year, we will look to embed opportunities for deeper questioning of the philosophy, exploration of the Learner Profile, glimpses into what the application of this philosophy looks like in classrooms both here and in other districts, and a review of what this year has been like for our staff. These opportunities may look like like cohorts led by your peers, twitter chats or other electronic conversations, after school opportunities to get together to talk, or visits to schools to hear questions, concerns, and celebrations.
Also, don't forget to access your instructional coaches; they are here for you to help you as you explore and begin to implement pieces of this philosophy in your classroom!
We will also begin planning Academy 2.0--which will focus mainly on reviewing concepts we've explored this year, cementing our approach to the use of the Learner Profile (and logistics surrounding its use), and an exploration of the Proficiency Based Progress core honeycomb cell. Our goal is to once again lean heavily on staff who have begun exploring this cell or have an interest in being "pioneers" in its exploration to help us craft the learning experience for their peers. If you are one of those leaders, please be on the lookout for invitations to town-hall type meetings to begin discussing and planning our approach to next year.
We will also once again invite the Institute for Personalized Learning onto campus for our March county-wide in-service day. After reading feedback from those that attended their sessions last week, we are planning to lengthen the sessions to two hours so time for teams to work together and plan classroom activities that utilize the ideas they hear right then and there. In addition, all sessions led by the Institute for Personalized Learning will also include classroom teachers from the Southeastern Wisconsin area who have found success in implementation. They will be there to discuss their struggles and triumphs and to serve as a classroom-based resource for those with questions about what this might look like in their own classroom.
Oh, and we will make sure that the sessions are NOT housed in the cafeteria! 😉
Sarah and I would strongly urge you to attend at least one of the institute's sessions, especially one that is tied to the proficiency based progress cell, so you can begin to hear that part of the philosophy more specifically and begin to think about implications for you and your students. Again, this will serve as the major area of exploration for us next year, and will be a main component of Academy 2.0 here in Kaneland.
Kaneland High School Graduate Recognition
At Monday's Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education voted to adopt the Latin honor system of Summa, Magna, and Cum Laude in addition to the Valedictorian and Salutatorian titles. This system will be implemented no later than with next year's incoming Freshmen class, however it is the goal of all involved to bring this system on sooner--potentially even this year.
This recommendation was born in the Kaneland Graduation committee and reviewed by various groups such as CAC, Kaneland High School department chairs, and Kaneland High School students. It is an effort to ensure we maintain a focus on celebrating the academic achievement of our scholars.
In addition to this work, the Graduation committee will also be investigating the weighting of courses and what options are available to students, the continued role of class rank, what determines a Knight of Distinction, and auditing courses vs. taking them pass fail. As with the graduation recognition proposal, any work done by this committee will then be reviewed further by other groups.
This recommendation was born in the Kaneland Graduation committee and reviewed by various groups such as CAC, Kaneland High School department chairs, and Kaneland High School students. It is an effort to ensure we maintain a focus on celebrating the academic achievement of our scholars.
In addition to this work, the Graduation committee will also be investigating the weighting of courses and what options are available to students, the continued role of class rank, what determines a Knight of Distinction, and auditing courses vs. taking them pass fail. As with the graduation recognition proposal, any work done by this committee will then be reviewed further by other groups.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Stipend/Differential Committee requests
Please know that all requests for the Stipend/Differential Committee are due on 1/17/18. Please email forms to Lori Shroka and Chris Adkins for consideration. The timeline, application/review process, and forms can be found here. Please feel free to email/call Lori or Chris with any questions. Thank you!
Friday, November 17, 2017
Compensation Committee Joint Statement
This week the Compensation Committee met to begin developing a recommendation for the KEA and BOE. The Committee is working in two sub-groups to develop a framework for compensation that is sustainable, fair, and recognizes the values our district holds. The subgroups will spend the winter meeting and drafting, with the hope to present a recommendation to the BOE and KEA in the spring of 2018.
6-12 AAC-OC Joint Statement
On Monday, AAC-OC met for their monthly meeting. We spent some time reviewing the plans for November 21st and are hopeful that this will be a great day for our staff!
The majority of our time was spent discussing the role of AAC-OC moving forward and how to ensure that it can become a place where teachers can truly have a voice in the direction of the district. We discussed changing our name and revising our mission. While neither of those are completely done, we do know that we want to try to shift our focus to some of the great things going on in our buildings and help extend the understanding of what our peers are doing and how we are impacting students.
So, please think of us when you want to seek feedback on something new you are trying or an idea you would like to implement. We'd love to be that sounding board for you! In the meantime, we will be reaching out to various groups to ask if they would be interested in coming to share what they are doing with us.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Joint Statement
Today the RTI Math Team met to discuss the current assessment and instructional practices in math. The team is looking at creating a math continuum that allows more flexibility for students and staff in teaching the common core standards, while empowering students to show mastery in content. The intent of the work is to provide a structure that would allow students to pace themselves at their level while facilitating learning through their customized path. Over the course of the next few months, the team will continue to develop an assessment and instructional process for staff to review and consider for the future. The team will meet again in December to further discuss and plan. We look forward to coming and visiting with each grade level team in April to share ideas for the future.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Information for November 21st
Hello all!
With all the buzz surrounding IGKNIGHT, it is easy to overlook the importance of our scheduled cohort time on Tuesday, November 21st! Fresh off of the previous day's learning, though, we are hopeful that the time you all spend together on Tuesday will be just as meaningful and rewarding.
Cohort time is scheduled from 8-11 Tuesday morning. Locations for some of the meetings have been predetermined (see the chart below) whereas meetings that are not outlined below can be located wherever is best for the group.
This year, we wanted to focus on creating spaces for conversations to happen around those key transitional years for our students. Building administration and leaders are helping to organize staff into groups that will come together to discuss their role in supporting students through these transitions. Our major goals for the day are to begin building some relationships within these groups and then leveraging those relationships into conversations about expectations for our students at the various levels.
Some of you have volunteered to be facilitators of these transitional meetings. If you would like to facilitate, please reach out to Mike or Sarah to share your interest. We will host a brief meeting after IGKNIGHT on 11/20 in the Meredith Middle School LRC at 3:15 to discuss the role of facilitators. Facilitators will be compensated for their time at this meeting.
While some of you will be attending these transitional meetings, others will be able to form their own groups to pursue interests and passions that there may not always be time to pursue in our daily work. The concept behind these groupings is meant to be space for those "meetings that never happen but we wish they would!" If you are creating forming your own meeting, please keep the guidelines below in mind:
All staff will need to complete the cohort reporting form found at this link. We will also share this link via email the morning of the 21st so it can be easily found by all who need it. Please submit your google form before the end of the day on the 21st.
Thank you all for everything you do for our students and for your commitment to helping each other grow and learn professionally!
With all the buzz surrounding IGKNIGHT, it is easy to overlook the importance of our scheduled cohort time on Tuesday, November 21st! Fresh off of the previous day's learning, though, we are hopeful that the time you all spend together on Tuesday will be just as meaningful and rewarding.
Cohort time is scheduled from 8-11 Tuesday morning. Locations for some of the meetings have been predetermined (see the chart below) whereas meetings that are not outlined below can be located wherever is best for the group.
This year, we wanted to focus on creating spaces for conversations to happen around those key transitional years for our students. Building administration and leaders are helping to organize staff into groups that will come together to discuss their role in supporting students through these transitions. Our major goals for the day are to begin building some relationships within these groups and then leveraging those relationships into conversations about expectations for our students at the various levels.
Group
|
Room
|
Social Studies K-12
|
KMS Rooms 52 & 54
|
Art K-12
|
KMS Room 47
|
5-6th (Soft Skills)
|
KMS Room 51
|
5-6th ELA
|
KMS Room 48
|
5-6th STEM
|
KMS Room 50
|
Music K-12
|
KMS Room 49
|
K-12 Technology
|
KMS Room 46
|
6-12 Building Trades
|
KMS LRC
|
K-5 Critical Thinking
|
KMS LRC
|
K-12 PE
|
KMS Room 44
|
8-9 English
|
KMS LRC
|
8-9 Math
|
KMS LRC
|
8-9 Science
|
KMS LRC
|
6-12 Spanish/French
|
KHS A105
|
RTI
|
KMS LRC
|
K-12 SEL
|
KMS LRC
|
K-12 Career & College Knowledge
|
KMS Room 45
|
Nursing Staff
|
DO Conference Room
|
ELL staff
|
KMS LRC
|
Some of you have volunteered to be facilitators of these transitional meetings. If you would like to facilitate, please reach out to Mike or Sarah to share your interest. We will host a brief meeting after IGKNIGHT on 11/20 in the Meredith Middle School LRC at 3:15 to discuss the role of facilitators. Facilitators will be compensated for their time at this meeting.
While some of you will be attending these transitional meetings, others will be able to form their own groups to pursue interests and passions that there may not always be time to pursue in our daily work. The concept behind these groupings is meant to be space for those "meetings that never happen but we wish they would!" If you are creating forming your own meeting, please keep the guidelines below in mind:
Option A: Group includes members from different buildings, grade-spans, and content areas
Option B: Group includes members from the same building, but different content areas (especially useful for HS staff)
Option C: Group includes members from different buildings within the same grade span (especially useful for elementary staff)
Option D: Group includes members from the same building, but different grade levels (especially useful for middle school staff)
All staff will need to complete the cohort reporting form found at this link. We will also share this link via email the morning of the 21st so it can be easily found by all who need it. Please submit your google form before the end of the day on the 21st.
Thank you all for everything you do for our students and for your commitment to helping each other grow and learn professionally!
IGKNIGHT...it's almost here!
Sarah and I wanted to share a few last minute details about our IGKNIGHT mini-conference on Monday. Hopefully everyone is as excited as we are for an incredible day of learning together!
Please plan to arrive at Kaneland High School and check in in the cafeteria. Upon checking in, you will be given a nametag and your ticket for the day. Check in will begin at 7:15, and we will begin our keynote in the KHS Auditorium promptly at 8:00, so please make sure you are checked in, seated, and ready to go by then!
After our keynote, you will begin visiting your breakout sessions. Sessions are spread across Kaneland High School and Kaneland Meredith Middle School. In order to accommodate travel time, we have adjusted the schedule for the day slightly. We will share this schedule (along with any room changes or other pertinent info) that morning, as well, but the revised schedule is now as follows:
7:15-8:00 Check-in
8:00-9:30 Keynote Speaker
9:45-10:35 Breakout Session 1
10:50-11:40 Breakout Session 2
11:40-1:05 Lunch (on your own)
1:05-1:55 Breakout Session 3
2:10-3:00 Breakout Session 4
Your IGKNIGHT program includes links to all relevant evaluation and CPDU forms; these links will go live near the end of the day. We will also include these links in an email after the event so they are easily accessible to all.
Please bring a fully charged laptop so you can engage in activities your presenters have created for you.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email Mike or Sarah. We are looking forward to seeing you all Monday!
Please plan to arrive at Kaneland High School and check in in the cafeteria. Upon checking in, you will be given a nametag and your ticket for the day. Check in will begin at 7:15, and we will begin our keynote in the KHS Auditorium promptly at 8:00, so please make sure you are checked in, seated, and ready to go by then!
After our keynote, you will begin visiting your breakout sessions. Sessions are spread across Kaneland High School and Kaneland Meredith Middle School. In order to accommodate travel time, we have adjusted the schedule for the day slightly. We will share this schedule (along with any room changes or other pertinent info) that morning, as well, but the revised schedule is now as follows:
7:15-8:00 Check-in
8:00-9:30 Keynote Speaker
9:45-10:35 Breakout Session 1
10:50-11:40 Breakout Session 2
11:40-1:05 Lunch (on your own)
1:05-1:55 Breakout Session 3
2:10-3:00 Breakout Session 4
Your IGKNIGHT program includes links to all relevant evaluation and CPDU forms; these links will go live near the end of the day. We will also include these links in an email after the event so they are easily accessible to all.
Please bring a fully charged laptop so you can engage in activities your presenters have created for you.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email Mike or Sarah. We are looking forward to seeing you all Monday!
Friday, November 10, 2017
Update on November 20th and November 21st
Registration for our November 20th IGKNIGHT mini conference has closed. We have over 450 registrants from our district as well as surrounding districts and can't wait for the big day to come!
We will send out an informational email to all staff once again closer to the date, but in an effort to communicate as effectively as possible, here are some more details for November 20th
We will send out an informational email to all staff once again closer to the date, but in an effort to communicate as effectively as possible, here are some more details for November 20th
- Attendees will sign in in the KHS cafeteria from 7:15-8:00. At that time they will receive a ticket that indicates which sessions they registered for as well as locations of sessions. Maps of KHS and KMS will also be available. Attendees should bring their charged laptop.
- George Couros will lead our keynote presentation from 8-9:30.
- Upon completion of the keynote presentation, attendees will be dismissed to attend their selected breakout sessions.
- Lunch will be held from 11:45-1:00 on your own; at this time we have been unable to secure any on-site lunch options, so please plan accordingly.
If you have not yet registered or if you need to complete Academy 1.0, you will receive your ticket (which will specify which breakout sessions you will attend) when you sign in.
Thank you to everyone who has registered and to all of our presenters who are composing their presentations! We are looking forward to an amazing day of learning!
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