Press Release Manhattan SD #114 November 2014

From the desk of Superintendent Rusty Ragon:

We have made it to the month of November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Unfortunately, winter cold has arrived and we are already setting records for the month, replacing old records that have stood for 111 years. Before sharing some of the good news that has occurred over the past month, I wish to remind everyone that Parent-teacher Conferences are scheduled for next week. The conferences will be held on Monday, November 24 from 2:00pm - 9:00pm and on Tuesday, November 25 from 8:00am – 1:00pm. There is NO Student Attendance, the week of November 24 thru November 28. Classes will resume on Monday, December 1st. I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Over the past month, there have been many “Good News” items coming from all three buildings within the district;  The Co-Teaching Team: Paula Paymaster, Betsy Dobczyk, Amy Goberville met with all teachers in the district that are currently co-teaching; Vince Perillo, Joyce Watson, Elise Kirk, Lindsey Bradbury, Debbie Dolezal, Bonny Haywood, Alexa Pascarella and Tracy Lamont. It was time that allowed all involved to share what they feel have been "positives" brought about by the co-teaching model, hindrances, and ideas related to what the Co-teaching Team can offer them in regards to training on our next Early Release date in January. It was exciting to hear all of the discussion that took place, and how the involved staff feels that their instructional delivery to students is greatly improved already due to the co-teaching model. The Co-Teaching team will be meeting on Nov. 12th to begin planning our training session for January, and many of the teachers in attendance have arranged to observe each other co-teaching. How exciting!  There were 2 field trips that Developmental Kindergarten and students in the ACCESS program participated in in October. They both involved students going to Halloween themed park/pumpkin patch. This is the first time we have had field trips for these 2 programs planned, and they were both extremely successful. The students learned a lot while having a load of fun at the same time.  Alicia Tooley invited staff and administrators to hear her students read their scary stories. Student's narrated their own stories, while their audience sat in the dark room, taking all of it in. They did a fabulous job in the creation of their very scary stories, and were brave enough to read them for all who came to listen. They should be extremely proud of themselves.  Our second Preschool Screening is Friday, Nov. 14th. We are excited to have the 10 children scheduled come through our screening. It offers the parents the opportunity to have their child screened, as well as an opportunity for our staff to learn about some of the children in the community before they enter our schools! We already have 3 scheduled for the January screenings as well.  In October, the Manhattan Fire Protection District visited Wilson Creek to recognize Fire Prevention Month and teach our students about fire safety. Our 1st grade students also visited the fire station for a tour. After families completed their fire safety escape plans, one from each grade level was drawn and Kindergartener Danny Hendricks, 1st grader Sklyar Mikulec, and 2nd grader Noelle Smith all won rides to school in a fire truck. They took pictures with their families at home, their classes were outside to greet them when they arrived, and the firefighters involved made sure they had a wonderful experience.  The Wilson Creek Kindergarteners visited Konow's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Farm on October 24th. They had been studying apples and pumpkins and had a great time. They all brought a pumpkin back and each class did a pumpkin dissection. Teams compared the insides of the pumpkins, compared and contrasted types of pumpkins using venn diagram, and compared the parts of a pumpkin to the parts of an apple. Our Early Childhood and ACCESS students also took a therapeutic trip to Konow's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Farm on October 16th. Two groups of students, along with 11 therapists, teachers, and instructional assistants had an exciting learning and sensory experience.  Literacy Coach, Heather Godbout, of Crete Elementary School visited Wilson Creek for a three hour inservice on Thursday, October 30th. Teachers participated in hands-on activities, collected resources, and asked questions based on her presentation, "Enhancing Comprehension Conversations Using Higher Level Questions." Our grade levels will continue to have conversation about bringing some of her ideas to life in our classrooms.

 Teachers appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Renaissance STAR assessments at our training on October 31st. As a formative assessment, understanding the opportunity provided by the data is critical for teachers. We are confident that that more we work with the reports and data, the more we will be able to do with it to improve instruction and increase achievement.  On November 6, Tim Hannig and the Pro-Kids Show visited Wilson Creek. Students experienced a daytime school assembly filled with magic, comedy, music, and messages about character and kindness. During the daytime show, students are enticed to return for the evening family show. That evening, about 500 people came to see the show. Families were urged to sit together for more magic, music, comedy and messages about family and community.  Science Committee met on Sept 26th with Nicole Gernon and I. We reviewed the NEW units that were created aligning to the NGSS. Purpose was to ensure alignment not only with NGSS, but with ELA and the instructional shifts that has been the focus the last couple years. Activities and assessments also reviewed. One grade level rep then met on Oct 10th to enhance that first unit and begin planning and designing the next unit of instruction. Science Committee Reps include: Stefanie Horwath & Kim Pilon @ 3rd, Traci Frazier & Samantha Ramsey @ 4th; Kim Davern & Ashley Goerres @ 5th. Thank you to Nicole Gernon for her leadership working with committee. Science Committee Reps from each grade level will be collaborating with staff from across the LW area on November 13th; December 8th; and February 2nd.  Writing Committee met on October 17th to continue designing lessons for pilot teachers. Once this pilot is completed this school year, full implementation of writing and language arts will be set for 2015-16 school year. Thank you Nicole Gernon for her leadership working with the writing committee and designing units. Writing Committee consists of Anne Abbott @ 3rd; Marcie Schueler @ 4th; TJ Elliot @ 5th; and Bonny Haywood @ SPED.  Reading Committee met to review 3 different CCSS aligned reading series from Pearson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and McMillian. Intent was to compare the work that has been done and will need to be done aligning our current CORE & instruction to the CCSS and what new programs offer. Nicole Gernon will report to admin their findings, recommendations, and suggestions for the future. 4th grade music program was once again a great venue for parents and families. Thank you Mrs. Pacheco for all the work and preparation. The Anna McDonald Student Council will invite local senior citizens for a fun afternoon of Minute to Win it games. The Student Council members at Anna McDonald School look forward to the opportunity to work together and share an afternoon of laughter across the generations. o Date: December 17th o Time: 3:30-4:15 o Place: Anna McDonald School, 200 2nd Street, Manhattan, IL 60442 STAR Reward Day was November 7th. Students went to the MAR Theater in Wilmington to see the new released Big Hero movie.  November 13th is World Kindness Day. Student Council is asking students and staff at Anna Mac to wear blue as well as collecting gently used stuffed animals for kids in disasterous events.  Phil Schwartz of the ABC 7 weather team visited Anna McDonald on Tuesday, October 14th. Phil met with the entire 3rd grade from 9:45-11:15am. His lessons on climate & weather patterns will serve as a nice introduction to the weather unit planned for the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Thank you Jennifer Williams on lining up Mr. Schwartz for our staff and students.  Author Jade Phillips will be visiting grade levels again this year on Monday, December 15th to read her first and second book and discuss writing and self-publishing. o Jade Phillips - http://flightlessfairies.com o A Snow Fairy in the Windy City o A Snow Fairy & The North Pole Pirates

 The Veterans Day assembly is scheduled for November 11, at 8:10. The annual event is an MJHS tradition, started by Carol DeCaprio, and invites all available veterans to breakfast and a program in their honor. The program features original and classic works read by students and performances by the Band and Choir. The assembly ends with an introduction of our heroes. In which each veteran introduces themselves and their branch of service.  STAR Training from TI day was very informative and rich for our staff and we are looking at ways to increase parent-awareness about these important data pieces.  The 114 NGSS committee met at MJHS Thursday 11/6 to share current science practices/resources prior to their first scheduled K-8 meeting with all LW feeders on November 13. There are three scheduled meetings and the goal is to hash-out what curriculum will look like K-12 among the LW and feeder districts.  8th grader Jacob Sanders rescued an Osprey caught in fishing line on Monday. He waded out to untangle it and then held the line to try to keep it from drowning until help came. Manhattan police and fire, and the DNR were all on scene. Quite a feat for an 8th grader!  Paula Webb and Amy Goberville have students presenting in the NFPA Fluid Power Challenge sponsored by Joliet Junior College and Caterpillar on Nov. 14. Team A Team B Sebastian Tous Andrew Igel Megan Stonis David Flores Corinne Roemer Jason Cler Jared Podgorny James Cambria  Cross country ended superbly. The boys team competed at state and placed 15th as a team out of 40+ other teams. The boys squad qualified for state after capturing runner-up honors at sectionals. A truly remarkable accomplishment. Two girls competed as individuals after having top 15 finishes at a highly competitive sectional race.  Boys volleyball ended well. 7th grade boys captured conference champions and 8th grade finished in 3rd place in the conference play-offs,  The Band performed at the annual Sounds of the Stadium Monday, October 27 at LWC with the HS band and Martino Junior High School.  Orchestra and Choir gave a community concert Thursday, October 23; showcasing the talents of the chamber orchestra, madrigal choir, ladies choir, mixed choir and concert orchestra. The Madrigals and chamber orchestra received invitations to take the show on the road to the public library next month.  RED RIBBON WEEK: Besides daily dress up days with each day representing a positive anti-drug message, giving students the opportunity to send positive messages and suckers (Don’t Be a Sucker for Drugs) to others, having the opportunity to buy and wear leis (“Lei” off drugs); and holding a slogan contest where students could enter their own original anti-drug slogan (winners of the slogan contest were: Chris Husa (8th grade); Collin Black (7th grade) and Makenzie Schussler (6th grade) students hopefully had a chance to learn new information about alcohol and drug abuse from the dozens of posters that filled our school’s hallways. Thanks Student Council for all of your hard work the week of October 20th.

We are very proud of the accomplishments of our students at Manhattan School District #114. They work very hard in the classroom, on the practice fields and courts, in the music programs, and in giving back to the communities in the form of service. To be sure our students are successful, we have an incredible staff made up of dedicated Principals, Teachers, and Support Personnel, who commit themselves to helping our students on a daily basis. I am very proud to be able to work along side each and every one of them, and to be able to work with a Board of Education that so strongly support our schools.

Sincerely,

Rusty Ragon Your Superintendent of Schools