IGKNIGHT Registration now open!

Thanks to some incredible work from FVCC Graphic Communications (and their patience with me as I changed a few things on them), we now have the official IGKNIGHT conference brochure ready to share so you can begin selecting your sessions!  Please take some time to peruse the document online, and look for your hard copy to be in your mailbox in the coming week.

You can register for the sessions you are interested in attending by visiting this link or following the instructions on the program.  All staff should register--presenters and those that have not yet attended Academy 1.0, as well.  If you are presenting, there will be an option to select that for a given timeframe.  If you have not yet attended 1.0, there is also an option to select for you to select.  Those of you who will be completing 1.0 on November 20th will be given your schedule closer to the date and another copy the morning of the event.

All attendees will receive a ticket the morning of IGKNIGHT with their schedule and the locations of their sessions.  Registration will be from 7:30-8:15 am in the Kaneland High School Cafeteria.  The day will begin with a keynote presentation from George Couros, author of The Innovator's Mindset, in the Kaneland High School Auditorium.  After the keynote, attendees will break out to their selected sessions. 

Lunch will be on your own from 11:30-1:00 pm.  We may have some dining options on site, but at this time please plan to bring your lunch or go out.  More details will be shared soon if we are able to procure any on site options.

A day like this wouldn't be possible without the hard work of your colleagues in not only learning new and innovative things, but also in preparing their presentations and taking a risk to put themselves out there to their peers.  A HUGE thank you to all of our presenters for their work!

Finally, as you select your sessions, remember that the ultimate goal of this day is to help you grow and learn as a professional so that you can increase your impact on your students.  Push yourself to engage in sessions you know will help you take that next step in your classroom, and re-IGKNIGHT your passion for education!

Please register by 5:00 pm on November 9th so we can prepare materials in a timely fashion.

Also, please be aware that as we monitor registration, some sessions may be closed in order to help balance attendance.  Act fast so you can be sure to get the sessions you want!

As always, don't hesitate to contact Mike or Sarah with any questions you may have.

EC-5 Dates to Know

Just a quick update on dates to know for your EC-5 grades:

-Report Cards available through the Tyler Portal tomorrow at 4:00pm
-Teacher Initiatives Council 10-30 at HMS 7th grade team room at 4:15
-Kaneland presenting at the National Personalized Learning Convening 10-31 and 11-1
-Conferences 4:00-8:00pm 11-1
-Conferences 10:00-8:00pm 11-2
-Enjoy your restful time off 11-3
-Book fairs all week!!!!
-Teacher Advisory Council 11-6 HS 4:15pm 7th grade team room
-District Behavior Team HMS community Room 11-8 1:00-3:00
-Social Science Review and vendor meetings (core prepared with your maps printed out) 11-9 8:00-3:00 KMS

Happy Halloween and Fall!

Personalized Learning Site Visits in WI

Starting next month many schools in southern Wisconsin are opening their doors to allow for visitors to see Personalized Learning in action.  We have some limited funds, but some funds, to send staff to see the learning in action.  If you have an interest in seeing some sites that have Personalized Learning underway, and willing to represent a group of Kaneland staff by bringing your insights and lessons learned back to others, please email Mike Rice or Sarah Mumm.  We will collect all names of staff interested and try to accommodate all requests.  We are excited to share the opportunity to see learning opportunities for students that connect to the learning continuum.

Planning Through Learning Not Teaching

A few thoughts to consider as we continue to gain knowledge and reflect on the learning continuum.  As you progress through the content units at your grade level and departments, please consider the map as a road map but not a timeline.  The curriculum maps are meant to be a map for students learning not a strict and rigid format that you must adhere to every testing date.  Please know we encourage you to progress through the learning standards and maps based on the learning observed.  Allow the students' progress to be driven by what they are exhibiting--not the set time on the map.  We are not saying you only need to teach what they want to learn, or not saying you should only cover a small part of the map, but we do want to empower staff to make learning decisions based on student progress.  For example if you are seeing a large portion of students not applying their learning in the post assessment, do not go onto the next unit.  Pause and take time to go back and reteach as needed.  We are here to support and hold these learning focused conversations with teams if you need any support or guidance.  The essence of our job is to focusing on learning not teaching. 

Most Likely to Suceed Viewing Update

Kaneland has purchased the ability to stream the Most Likely to Succeed film online for our staff and community.  Initially the log in was only allowed for those with a Kaneland email.  However, thank you to the great work of tech, the film can now be viewed by any and all with the use of a generic email and login.  Please share with your parents during conference time and in your communication forums. Kudos to Steve C. in tech for all of his help on this process! 

In order to allow all families to log on, Tugg has created an email that all can use to view the Most Likely to Succeed Movie.  Please share with all:

1. Visit https://kaneland.tugg.com/

2. Click "Register" in the top right hand corner

3. Use this user name and log in to access the film:

parent@kaneland.org

pw: kcusd302

And the Winner Is....KANELAND!

Congratulations to Kaneland School District on being one of the 10 winners of the Personalized Learning Challenge hosted by Education Elements!  As a district we shared the beginning of story through video submissions and were selected to be one of the 5 districts showing energy and innovation in Personalized Learning implementation.  The district will be able to choose from three prize options:
District Strategy Session focused on Personalized Learning
District Workshop to develop a foundation and mindset for Personalized Learning
Learning Walks + "Onpoint" Personalized Learning Benchmark Assessment

Kudos to all of you for our hard work towards Personalized Learning.  Check out the winners using the link below:

https://www.edelements.com/personalized-learning-challenge