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| Students Experimenting Together at Greenbrook Family Science Night. |
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"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another." -- John Dewey
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With more than half of the 2015-2016 school year complete we are wrapping up our 2nd Trimester and Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Friday, February 12th. We hope that the start of the new year has been successful for all of our families and community members. We are hard at work on many fronts to make sure all children of District 20 are receiving a high quality education and are experiencing success!
We're always looking for ways to make sure this newsletter is seen by parents and community members so feel free to forward this email on to someone who may be interested in signing up to receive them by clicking the sign up link on our
District Home Page.
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District 20 Begins Strategic Planning Process
District 20 formally began its strategic planning process on Tuesday, February 2nd, bringing together a group of over 30 Board Members, administration, faculty, staff, and parents to review the current realities of the district and to set a course for the next 3-5 years. The effort is being facilitated by Dr. Joe Porto, a retired educator who has decades of experience in leading school districts across the area through strategic planning processes. The planning team will meet on each of the four Tuesdays in February and will review the district current mission and beliefs, analyze a wide variety of district data, and will set a series of high priority, mission based, goals and actions for the district to pursue over the next 3 to 5 years.
Dr. Porto is using the renowned business text
Good to Great by Jim Collins as a framework to support the team's planning. Once complete the Board of Education will discuss the new strategic plan and will have the opportunity to formally approve it at a future regular meeting.
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Board Briefs for January 2016
The Keeneyville District 20 Board of Education met for their Regular Board Meeting on Thursday, January 28, 2016. The Board discussed and took action on the following items:
- Heard a presentation from the facility committee on received recommendations on enhancements of District 20 facilities. The Board will continue to discuss the report in the coming months.
- Approved several bids related to summer facility work including the replacement of windows at Spring Wood Middle School and the construction of a mechanical penthouse on the 2002 addition of Waterbury School to house HVAC systems.
- Heard a presentation from Emmie Pawlak, Director of Teaching and Learning on NWEA Winter MAP Scores.
- Approved the create of a part time teaching assistant position.
- Approved a contract for in district IT services.
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. in the Spring Wood Library.
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Expanding Instructional Technology to Support Student Learning.
Emmie Pawlak, Director of Teaching and Learning
Hardly a teacher's or student's day goes by without using technology to accomplish some task related to learning. As we look to the future, knowing how to harness technology will be a key driver in being successful. With that in mind, we are excited to announce the district's inaugural 1:1 technology pilot. One class in each elementary building and two classes at the middle school building will be issued Chromebooks that they will use as instructional tools for the rest of the year. We're excited to explore what this will mean for these classes: Ms. Bolen's 5th grade Language Arts classes at Greenbrook, Ms. Trippeidi's 4th grade classroom at Waterbury, Ms. Vrettos's 7th grade Language Arts classes at Spring Wood and Ms. Engstrom's 8th grade science classes at Spring Wood. The teachers will host parent meetings and trainings for the parents of students involved as for all interested parents. Look for invitations to those meetings in the next few weeks.
The technology committee has been hard at work discussing the goals for our technology implementation plan. Our goals are to increase the student's ability to create and expand a social network of learning, to integrate content with technological skills, and to have students initiate learning by demonstrating their knowledge through the application and uses of different technologies. The pilot teachers and students will be wo.rking through different ways to meet these goals and will report back to the school board what they have learned and give some recommendations for a wider implementation of devices across the district
Increasing our students' access to technology doesn't begin and end with our 1:1 pilot. On January 17th, parents and students were trained in creating applications for Android phones and tablets. Families had a great time creating an application and then transferring the app to their phone or a tablet. Nikhil Marathe, a parent at Waterbury, will hold another creation session on March 1. Check the District 20 Website and your child's back pack for additional information. We're happy to be able to offer opportunities for students and families.
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Waterbury Parent Illustrates a Love of Reading for Students
On Thursday, February 4, Mrs. Ginger Seehafer, a Waterbury mom and children's book illustrator, shared her occupation with our Waterbury students. She read her book, Rudy's New Human (written by Roxanna Elden), which was inspired by a real-life tale of "first-born" dog, Rudy, dealing with the arrival of a new baby. During her presentation, Mrs. Seehafer explained the illustration process where she needed to create rough drafts, make changes to these drafts numerous times, and finally add color to the final product. Mrs. Seehafer showed our students how she started her illustrations with basic shapes to create a skeleton of her character. This skeleton was then turned into a more detailed picture. Students had the opportunity to order a "paw-tographed" and personalized copy of her book. Our students and staff enjoyed her presentation, and our students are looking forward to taking Mrs. Seehafer's illustration class during our annual Explore More Day in May. You can meet Mrs. Seehafer and see her new book during a book signing on February 14 from 11 AM until 4 PM at Jen Fisher Books in Roselle.
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Winter NWEA MAP Results show growth from Fall 2015!
Winter NWEA MAP assessment data was reviewed at the January board meeting. As part of its process to more closely reflect the population taking the test, the NWEA organization updated testing norms for students over the summer 2015, a process that is done every four years. Because of this, the district compared the average RIT score of the district to the national average. A RIT score is a measurement of specific student skills. When we compare RIT scores, we're comparing the level of skills across a grade level at a given time. Keeneyville's students continue to compare very favorably to the national average across the grades in both math and reading. Our teachers, staff, students, and family should be very proud of the work they've done! A link to the presentation can be found by clicking here.
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Elementary Science Olympiad
Kicks Off in District 20
On Tuesday, February 2nd, the Elementary Science Olympiad team met for the first time. Approximately 40 elementary students met at Spring Wood Middle School to learn about the first two events: Human Anatomy and Bridge Building. The students worked with pictures of muscles and organs to see what they could identify. They used pictures and Google Forms on computers in order to input their answers. They also spent some time building bridges out of drinking straws and masking tape. These were judged by their ability to hold an eraser across an ever-increasing span. The winning bridge held the eraser over a 30 inch span. On May 7, Students will be competing against other schools in these events and eight others. We're happy that we're able to bring this opportunity to our district.
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Full Day Parent-Teacher Conferences
2/12/2016
Students do not have classes.
School's Closed.
A
ll
Bands Booster Meeting
February 23, 2016
(6:30 PM)
SW Teacher's Lounge
GB - Spring
Pictures
February 25, 2016
Board of Education Meeting
February 25, 2016
(7:00 PM)
SW Library
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Greenbrook 5th Grade Team
From left: Mr. Hereford, Mrs. Orellana, Ms. Bolen, Ms. Pfeifer
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Greenbrook Specials Team From left: Mr. Loda, Mrs. Haines, Ms. Singer, Mrs. Hubert, Mrs. Walker
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Waterbury Specials Team
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From left: Ms. Carr, Mrs. Sabados, Ms. Hughes, Ms. Meyer
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Meet your Board of Education:
Mrs. April Dislers, Board Member
Year first elected: 2015
Hometown: Elk Grove Village. Roselle Resident for 11 years
Family: Husband of 13 years and two children.
Do you have children currently attending or having graduated from District 20?
I have a son in 5th grade and a daughter in the Destiny program at Waterbury School.
Why did you run for the Board?
I ran for the Board to take a closer look at ways in which District 20 can prepare all students with the necessary tools to enter today's competitive world as well as build strong partnerships between families, community members, teachers and the administration of District 20.
What is the most rewarding part of being a member of the Board of Education?
The most rewarding part of being a Board member is having the ability to enhance the children's lives.
What is your biggest challenge as a member of the Board?
One challenge is to find ways in which to positively engage the community in our District's Mission, Vision and Values. By working together, we continue to build a strong and diverse community for the children which begins with joint efforts and consistent communication between home and the schools.
As an individual Board member, what is your biggest goal for Keeneyville District 20?
My goal is to maintain the highest quality of education and programming for each student while identifying creative measures to meet the budget constraints.
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