Rock Island-Milan Lines

Rock Island-Milan Lines 12 January 2017

Superintendent’s Message Welcome back to the second semester! I hope everyone enjoyed the winter break and had time to recharge and refresh. We kicked off the year with our “This House Rocks” theme that goes along with the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. I think it embodies everything that our school district does for our students: provides a solid education foundation as well as supports for the well-being of the child and family. Much like a house is meant to be a safe haven for families, we hope that the mortarboard house in the logo conveys the message that our schools are here to educate and support children and their families. I am so proud of how our school district community – staff, parents, teachers, leaders, community partners – came together and collectively gave input and came to a consensus on the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. Working together is a great strength to have, because even if we don’t always agree with each other, we can still work together as a unified force. It was a team effort – we are writing this story together. I especially want to thank YOU – our RIMSD staff: teachers, paras, principals, custodians, secretaries and food service. You are closest to students. You are the crucial point of setting students on the path to success. You make the greatest difference in the lives of each and every student you touch. And you are doing phenomenal work. Never forget that – no matter what kind of message people give you. We want our staff and students to say, “this house rocks!”

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 16 NO SCHOOL Board of Education Tuesday, Jan. 24, 6 p.m. Rock Island High School School District Spelling Bee Tuesday, Jan 31, 1:30 p.m. RICMS

Send your information to Communication Director Holly Sparkman at [email protected] by end of business on Wednesday for inclusion into each Weekly Edition of the Rock Island-Milan Lines.

Strategic Plan 2017-2020 By the end of the first week of the second semester, RIMSD #41 staff have viewed the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan and had a chance to see the video that was highlighted on the January 6 in-service day. View the video at https://vimeo.com/198246964

New materials (letterhead, business cards, promo items like pens, post-it notes) are being distributed to buildings. There will be more items available in the near future for staff to use and promote their school. As with any new campaign, things take time to “stick.” We are in this for the long haul, so there will be plenty of opportunity to expand on the theme. If anyone has ideas to share, contact Communication Director Holly at [email protected]

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Rock Island-Milan School District #41

Strategic Plan 2017-2020

Along with the new Strategic Plan, RIMSD developed a new logo (right) and tag line “This House Rocks.” The new logo reflects an emphasis on the purpose of what the Rock Island-Milan School District does and the end goal of every student in the district: graduation. Under the mortarboard is a structure that resembles a house, which stands for the all-encompassing WAY that public education cares for the child by providing and connecting services that benefit the student’s well being.

OUR PURPOSE

To educate for individual student success.

OUR MISSION

To provide all students with a quality education.

OUR VISION

To become the school district of choice for a successful and creative educational experience.

OUR VALUES

Student learning and achievement – academic growth and attainment; social and emotional growth. Family and community collaboration. Diverse learning styles. Student empowerment. Capacity building for staff. Communication and building trusting relationships between all school stakeholders – students, staff, parents and community. Educators who teach, lead, and serve by example. Creative solutions to meet the needs of our students.

OUR PRIORITIES

Increase student achievement, build respectful relationships and improve operations.

New Intranet – RIM Net The RIMSD #41 Tech Department has created an Intranet (Internal Net), called RIM Net, to provide a centralized communicative effort for everyone in the District. At this time, you will be able to create Tech Tickets, ask Technology a question, find tutorials (in process and creating), rate our service, and receive updated news on what is happening with the technology you use within the District. Even more, other departments, such as Human Resources and Teaching and Learning, may have pages created to increase our centralized area of knowledge and communication for the District.

NEW TE C

H TICK Need tech ET nology he lp? Create a Tech Tic ke longer use t! The District no s TroubleT rakker for techno log tickets. Th y help desk en called Spic ew system, eWorks, is integrated ins the Distric ide of RIM Net, t Intranet un Technolo gy tab at th der the e top of the page.

Currently, you are not required to log into the site. However, during the first quarter of 2017, the Technology Department will be implementing credentials to provide a secure means of protecting the information we share on RIM Net. It is important to understand that this is our District's "in-house" website (intranet), which is different than the public website that is exposed to anyone on the Internet. This means we may store information on RIM Net that should not be exposed to others outside of the district. For example, forms from Human Resources, internal procedures and work instructions, specific news articles, as well as video and written tutorials. Therefore, once we have the security credentials in place, additional information can be displayed on the site. As we enter the New Year, the Technology Department is continually trying to discover the best ways possible to support your requirements. Please take a moment to review RIM Net and discover how to integrate it into your daily work efforts. Additionally, review the "News from Technology", to keep up-to-date, and provide us feedback, in the "Rate Our Service" page, to allow us the opportunity to listen to our audience/customers so that we can grow the site and our service, in the best possible manner.

Bookmark RIMNET: https://rimnet.myhubintranet.com/

Coming Soon: New Email Signature Line! The technology department is working on an email signature line template for school district email. This signature line will incorporate the “This House Rocks” logo, as well as the 'Purpose', to market our district in a consistent manner. It is anticipated that the email signature line will be incorporated into email by the end of January. With the new email signature line, all district email will have a unified look and have a consistent message with the new logo. The new signature will not allow room for individual quotes or other messages in the area as some have previously implemented their own personal touch in the signature line. While the quotes may be inspirational and have meaning to the individual, it is important for the entire school district to carry the same message in the rimsd41.org email. For a look at the new email signature, visit https://rimnet.myhubintranet.com/Technology/News-from-Technology/ArticleID/5146 3

Professional Development: Reading, Rigor and Relationships The Instructional Solutions Group is pleased to bring nationally recognized author and consultant, Judy Brunner, to two locations in Illinois in February 2017. Judy is recognized for her knowledge of student engagement practices and the promotion of rigor in the classroom. The workshop, Doing What Works: Reading, Rigor and Relationships will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the following: Naperville - Tuesday, February 21st NIU Naperville Conference Center 1120 Diehl Road, Naperville, IL 60563 Springfield - Thursday, February 23rd Hilton Garden Inn Hotel & Conference Center 3100 South Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62703 This interactive workshop is designed to provide educators with instructional strategies and resource materials that support the following: • • • •

Student engagement in subject matter Reading at the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge Vocabulary development Problem-solving and critical thinking

Judy has been a keynote speaker at state conferences, and she has presented at the National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference for the past sixteen (16) years. Additionally, she is the author of nine books published through Rowman and Littlefield containing easy to use vocabulary and comprehension strategies along with additional chapters on study skills, note taking, and self-help tips for students. She is also a regular presenter for the Ed Leaders Network. In addition to a variety of handouts, each attendee will receive a copy of her book Doing What Works: Literacy Strategies for the Next Level as well as a flash drive with related resource materials. Registration is $199.00 for the first person from the organization and ***For any professional $179.00 for each additional person when registering as a part of a development opportunity, group. Teams of ten or more will receive one additional registration at no please speak with your charge. Lunch is provided on site to attendees. Schools are encouraged to building administration if you would like to attend. send teams of selected staff to this event. Please Note: On site registration will not be available. To register as a team, one purchase order, invoice, or credit card must be used for all team members. Payment is not necessary at the time of registration. To register or obtain more information, contact the Instructional Solutions Group at 417-3002482 or you can register on-line atwww.isolutionsgroup.org by clicking on the "Events" tab and selecting the desired workshop location.

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Professional Development: Free Webinar

ESGI invites you to attend a free webinar on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 7:30 pm Eastern/4:30 Pacific. "Making Sight Words Seriously Fun!" by Mary Amoson will include ideas for games and activities to differentiate and engage your learners easily and quicklyand most importantly-in the way they learn, too. Free Webinar: Making Sight Words Seriously Fun! Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 7:30 pm Eastern/4:30 pm Pacific Sign up for the webinar via link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8302816201760666625

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TJ Kicks Off New Year with Career Focus Thomas Jefferson Elementary kicked off the New Year this week by holding a career seminar for 5th and 6th graders on Tuesday afternoon. Principal Nitzel brought in speakers who talked about their professions, career goals and educational path they took to get to where they are today. The plan is to have this feature ever other week and bring in people from different professions – from car mechanics to small business owners to corporate professionals. Mr. Jason Upton (pictured above), City of Rock Island Water Treatment Manager, talked to kids about how water is provided to the households in Rock Island, and what it takes to flow 5 million gallons of water a day from the Mississippi River to households. Jonathan Ketz (pictured right), morning anchor for WQAD and Jenny Hipskind (pictured right), photo journalist for WQAD talked about what it was like working for a broadcast news organization and what college courses they took. Mr. Ketz went to the University of Missouri and Mrs. Hipskind attended Winona State University. All of the presenters had fun talking to the students and felt that they were “recruiting” for their professions. Mrs. Hipskind encouraged students to keep an open mind about exploring career options.

Paula VanOpdorp, retired Rock Island High School Paraprofessional, passed on Saturday, January 7 at UnityPoint Trinity in Rock Island. A visitation is scheduled for this Saturday, January 14 at Wheelan Pressly Funeral Home in Rock Island from noon – 2 p.m. and a memorial service will take place at 2:00 p.m. Please keep Paula’s family in your thoughts and prayers.

LEGENDS CORNER 3008 7th AVE. ROCK ISLAND, IL 61201 SUNDAY JANUARY 22, 2017 4:00 -6:00 pm

3 TACOS & POP/WATER

50/50 DRAWING, SILENT AUCTION (NEED TO BE PRESENT TO WIN)

RAFFLES

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