Blogs

Saturday November 15th is State-wide "School Board Member Day." I am very proud of our school board. They have proven to be child-centered and focused on the future.

The Mayor of Lincolnwood introduced a proclamation that was passed by the Village Board that officially declared November 15th as School Board Member Day! 

This group of volunteers is extremely hard working and willing to make difficult, (and sometimes unpopular) decisions that always benefit our students. Please see the main District webpage for additional information related to this much deserved honor.

I think it is really cool that every single one of our teachers blog. They share their classroom with parents, the community, colleagues and the world! It is an exciting environment because that is the 21st century right at our doorsteps. What I'd like to do is help parents understand and access teachers' blogs.

Here is a YouTube video I found explaining blogs in everyday language. Watch this and let's continue our conversations about teacher blogs.

On November 4th, our district organized a professional development day full of training sessions. The session I facilitate centered around Cliff Atkinson's approach to presentations described in his book Beyond Bullet Points. This book is highly recommended and modeled by our own Jerry Michel.

Below is the PowerPoint I created in support of our learning. It was a brief time together and we had "epiphanies" (to quote one of the participants). I hope that we can extend our learning online. More information on that is to come.

Dear Neighbors,

You have probably noticed the construction markings around the District 74 Marvin Garlich Administration Building. We are very excited to announce that we are about to start renovations and a much-needed addition to this out-of-date facility.

The current administration building was built in the early1960’s and has seen little work since then. The needs of the district have changed and grown over the years, and the building now houses all of District74’s important information and communication systems. It is clear that the planned upgrades are essential to protect these essential systems and provide for administrative functions and efficiency.

Wednesday, 10/29, marks the end of the first quarter. We often talk about how fast time flies. Every minute of every day is important toward the learning, growth and success of each student.

As parents, you should look forward to the end of the quarter as a natural time to check on your child’s progress. Report cards and conferences are scheduled for next week. This is the perfect time to meet with teachers and discuss student learning and expectations.

I am looking forward to the success of our students. We have instituted many new programs and interventions designed to assist our students in their success! I am confident that we will see higher achievement and more self-assured students. We will “help all students become successful life-long learners.”

I am looking forward to enhanced communication. All of our teachers and administrators are committed to improving communication with our students, families and community members. We are improving our website. I believe that technology will help increase our opportunities to better connect in our quest to provide the best learning environment for our students. In the future, we will continue to seek opportunities to open the channels of communication with our constituents.

The Library Review Committee met on Wednesday, October 8th.  Our first task was to develop a Mission Statement that would communicate the importance of the library in a school setting.  Our first draft was completed, we will continue to refine it at our next meeting.  We also talked about the Information Literacy standards for all students K-8.  We decided to work within four topic areas: (1) Access Information, (2) Evaluate Information, (3) Apply Information, and (4) Share Knowledge.  Specific grade level standards will be worked on at our next meeting.

Members of our committee wil be attending the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) Conference on November 6-7 and site visits are planned to visit school libraries that have been recommended as exemplary.  Information from these events will be shared at our next meeting.