Tag Archives: Celebration

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Why do we have a day off on Monday, March 7? Pulaski Day

“A strenuous soul hates cheap success.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

In DPS109 we have a teacher’s institute half day tomorrow, Friday, March 4, 2016, and we have a “day off” on Monday, March 7th. Why do we have a day off you ask … here’s why:

Retrieved from: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/casimir-pulaski-day

Casimir Pulaski Day in the United States

Casimir Pulaski Day is a legal holiday in Illinois, in the United States, on the first Monday of March. It celebrates the birthday of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish born soldier who contributed to the United States’ independence.

Print of Casimir Pulaski charging with cavalry
Pictured above is an image of Casimir Pulaski charging with cavalry.
©iStockphoto.com/duncan1890

Celebrate Casimir Pulaski Day

Casimir Pulaski Day is included in classroom studies in some schools in Illinois. Some classes engage in historical activities related Casimir Pulaski’s role in the American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century.

The day is also celebrated among Americans in other states, including Polish-American communities. Various events may include group gatherings, street parades, and public ceremonies.

Public Life

Casimir Pulaski Day is a legal holiday in Illinois so some schools, libraries, banks and courts are closed.

Federal and state offices, as well as many commercial operations, usually remain open. People wishing to travel via public transport in Illinois on Casimir Pulaski Day may need to check with the local public transit authorities on possible timetable changes.

About Casimir Pulaski Day

Casimir Pulaski (Kazimierz Pułaski) is known for his contributions to American independence. He was known as the “Father of American Cavalry”. He was born in Warka, Poland, on March 4, 1747. His father was one of the founding members of the Confederation of Bar, which begin in 1768 and took up arms against Russia, which controlled Poland at the time. After his father’s death, Casimir took over military command and his brilliance earned him an impressive reputation. However, it was not long before he was accused of being involved in a plot to kill the king and was forced into exile.

Pulaski travelled to Paris and met Benjamin Franklin, who enlisted him to help in the American Revolution in North America. He soon joined George Washington’s army. His first military engagement against the British troops was at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. After a dashing charge at Brandywine that allowed the American army to escape from the British, he was rewarded with a commission as brigadier general and the command of all American cavalry.

In 1779 Pulaski and his troops broke the British siege of Charleston, South Carolina. He was then sent to Savannah in a joint campaign with French allies. Seeing the French attack failing, Pulaski went into battle to rally the soldiers and was hit by a shot from a cannon. He died two days later (October 11, 1779) and was buried at sea. The United States Congress passed a joint resolution conferring honorary US citizenship on Pulaski in 2009, sending it to the president for approval. President Barack Obama signed the bill on November 6, 2009.

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Middle School Video Message – What Kind of Kind Are You?

“Maybe who we are isn’t so much about what we do, but rather what we’re capable of when we least expect it.”
– Jodi Picoult

At the end of the year (our students and staff are in session for the rest of this week) we have reflective celebrations of learning, social and emotional growth, and plain old fun! I’m sharing an end of year video from Alan B. Shepard Middle School, one of our District’s six awesome schools.

What kind of kind are you?

Shepard Smaller

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Beginning, Middle, End – Opportunities

“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. ”
– W. Clement Stone

journey Something that makes working in a school system so engaging and rewarding is that each year we get a new journey. Each year we begin a journey with new students – students for whom grade “x” is the first and only time they get to experience grade “x”. A journey with mid points and milestones and traditions and experiences. A journey part of an embedded culture with tradition and history. A journey that has a targeted end point. A journey whose bittersweet end takes place annually. A journey with milestones like “promotion” and “graduation” and entry into the military, service, job market, higher education, or a combination of all of the above.

future We get to create the future in public education! We get to “shape young minds” and help support our society and our economy and our culture. We get to go on a journey each and every year with a beginning, a middle and an end. We shape our future and our outputs based upon our inputs. We have varied and specific curriculum, instruction, assessment, tools, techniques, strategies, measures, and studies. We have fun field trips and engaging parent involvement and community outreach. Our journey goes on each and every year, our teachers, support staff, and administrators are the journeymen and journeywomen at the heart of our school system. They too experience the emotional highs and lows of our journeys.

road All roads begin and all roads have exits and all roads allow for experiences and decisions. As we approach “the end of the road” for our graduates and our retiring staff members, we remember that there is a beginning, a middle, and end every year for each and every one of us. The graduates will begin a new journey (in our case, in 9th grade, or high school or in 6th grade in middle school, promoted from 5th grade) as will our retirees. The many who have served us so courageously and so dedicated, who together tally hundreds of years of service, we say THANK YOU! For them, August will be different this year … there will be a new road on which they will travel. Their journey begins anew.

20150129-215415.jpg As we prepare to shut down our 168th school year we look to the future. We look to the new beginnings and new journeys yet to begin. We consider and prepare for our new students in grades PK-8 who start their new journeys in 107 days. We continue to look for ways to Engage, Inspire, Empower!

One of the learning adventures we’re taking part in this summer is the Future Ready Summit in We are Future Ready!Chicago. This Future Ready Summit will help pave the way for our DPS109 future! Best wishes to all for joining in our journey – and though it is bittersweet to come to the end of a school year – it’s wonderful to know we have the chance in a few short months, to begin a journey again!

future

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A Twitter view of Digital Learning Day in DPS109 via #Engage109

“Big thinking precedes great achievement.”
– Wilferd A. Peterson

WE

in Deerfield Public Schools, District 109 (Lake County, IL) are so very proud of Engaging, Inspiring, and Empowering our learners each and every day! With a National Event like Digital Learning Day sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education we get to celebrate and highlight ways we are ready for innovation and the future!We are Future Ready!

Through this blog post we announce/publicize/share/celebrate the use of the District 109 Twitter Hashtag, #Engage109, used in DPS109 to communicate, “brand”, inform, celebrate, and share with the world the comings and goings in education in our transformative learning environments!

Through the use of Storify, a digital archive tool – another example of digital inspiration and sharing, we can share social media information (see below for a collection of #Engage109 tweets from throughout today). On Digital Learning Day we are proud to join so many other educators in the USA and around the world taking the time to share and inform successful public school educational experiences.

We are so much more than “test scores” and “politics” we are about children and learning – we are about teachers and learning, we are about leadership and community engagement! The future is now and it’s an honor to serve a forward thinking community of learners.

Storify can archive Tweets or other social media, what follows is a collection of #Engage109 tweets from today!

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2015 Leaders in Excellence Award from Skyward

“Resign as general manager of the universe–and trust your team.”
– Larry Eisenberg

In DPS109 we are so fortunate to have an engaged, inspired, and empowered community. We work so hard inside and outside the organization to best educate all of our students and best communicate with all members of the community! We are so proud to announce that one of our business partners, Skyward, has bestowed upon us a 2015 Leaders in Excellence Award! In the blog, I’m sharing the publication from Skyward as a testimonial to the work of so many in our District who work to connect with our community.

2015 Leaders in Excellence (District)

Skyward Communications Team
Skyward Communications Team Recognizing Success

The Leader in Excellence Award is our way of recognizing districts who have leveraged Skyward technologies and best practices to make a tangible impact in their schools and communities. We believe that educational technologies should always be focused on results over features, and we congratulate this year’s recipients for serving as model examples of that philosophy.

Deerfield Public Schools (District 109), IL

The mission of Deerfield Public Schools District 109 is to provide educational experiences of the highest quality that engage, inspire and empower each student to excel and contribute in a changing world. North of Chicago, Illinois, District 109 saw a need to increase communication between parents and its schools.

Enlisting Skyward Student Management Suite to achieve this goal, District 109 has improved student outcomes by increasing parent connection to their child’s academic progress, and increasing student ownership of their own learning and achievement. Through Skylert, an automated notification system that provides emergency alerts, attendance notifications and other messages via phone call, e-mail and/or text message, District 109 also has boosted parent and community understanding and support.

When District 109 launched Skyward Family Access, it allowed parents of middle school students a direct and ongoing connection to their student’s academic progress through Gradebook. At any time, parents can receive a real-time snapshot of grades and missing assignments, and easily access teacher contact information in one click. The increased understanding of a child’s daily academic experience has allowed parents to fully partner with educators and staff to support student learning.

“We opened Skyward Student Access after students saw their parents could access Gradebook but they could not, and we appreciated the students’ desire for knowledge and ownership,” said Cathy Kedjidjian, coordinator of communications and community relations at District 109. “The middle school students have been excited to use the tool to organize their work and track their own progress.”

District 109 is a high achieving district due, in large part, to the strong support of education by parents and the community. Through Skyward, which allows a commitment to transparency, the district strengthens connections and enhances relationships with stakeholders.

Along with the Leader in Excellence award from Skyward, District 109 has received the Association of State Business Officers International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting and meritorious budget award from the Association of School Business Officials International.

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Engage 109 Podcast 3 with Jenny Miltimore

In DPS109 we are committed to the success of all learners – youth and adults. About every week Dr. Zoul and I are celebrating the engaging, inspiring, and empowering work of a member of the DPS109 faculty and staff. This week we interview Mrs. Jenny Miltimore, @JLMILTI on Twitter, who identifies some special features of historic Wilmot school and the trailblazing efforts of Jenny and her classroom.

Please take a few minutes and listen to wonderful work that Jenny does each and every day – this is representative of the outstanding work of the many fabulous teachers and staff members in DPS109.