Curriculum Corner
Letter from MEB
Welcome back from fall break!
What would you like to see in the smore? What is missing? What would be helpful? What do you like in the smore?
We would love to hear your feedback. Please email me with your suggestions!
Take care,
MEB
IMPORTANT INFO & OFFERINGS
2026/2027 Progress Report/Report Card Dates
Where do the Six Traits fit within the Science of Writing?
The Six Traits of Writing have helped educators bring clarity to writing instruction for decades. And as more schools focus on the Science of Writing, they're discovering that the Traits are woven throughout this research.
During our September 2 Six Traits of Writing workshop, Kristina Smekens will unpack five factors of the Science of Writing and show educators exactly how the Traits live inside each one.
It's one more way the Traits can help schools bring greater clarity, consistency, and intentionality to writing instruction across classrooms.
Writing Passages/Prompts for RACE & IAR
Swank Information
This is the district website about Swank. https://www.danville118.org/Page/979
Here are the teacher guidelines. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LSW9Z2ppuYwbNiKAdnWr8jAS9D9QaLWk2NAsocCPNdg/edit?usp=sharing
TO RESERVE A CLASS SET, PLEASE FILL OUT THE CHECKOUT FORM BELOW
Novel Sets that are available
A long way from Chicago : a novel in stories by Peck, Richard 30
A tale dark & Grimm by Gidwitz, Adam. 15
A wrinkle in time by L'Engle, Madeleine. 25
A year down yonder by Peck, Richard 29
Addy learns a lesson : a school story by Porter, Connie Rose 21
All the lovely bad ones by Hahn, Mary Downing. 24
Anthony Burns : the defeat and triumph of a fugitive slave by Hamilton, Virginia 23
Because of Winn-Dixie by DiCamillo, Kate. 47
Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson, Katherine. 22
Bud, not Buddy by Curtis, Christopher Paul, 18
Bunnicula : a rabbit-tale of mystery by Howe, Deborah. 27
Chains by Anderson, Laurie Halse. 28
Charlie and the chocolate factory by Dahl, Roald. 33 (AUDIO CD available)
Charlotte's web by White, E. B. 29
Diary of a wimpy kid : Greg Heffley's journal by Kinney, Jeff. 28 (AUDIO CD available)
Double Fudge by Blume, Judy. 23
Echo by Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 29
Esperanza rising by Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 30
Fever, 1793 by Anderson, Laurie Halse. 29
Flush by Hiaasen, Carl. 14
Foster's war by Reeder, Carolyn. 23
Frindle by Clements, Andrew, 45
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg, E. L. 30
Hatchet by Paulsen, Gary. 56
Henry and Beezus by Cleary, Beverly. 27
HOLES by Louis Sachar. 56 (AUDIO CD available)
Hoot by Hiaasen, Carl. 30
Horrible Harry moves up to third grade by Kline, Suzy. 28
Humphrey's school fair surprise by Birney, Betty G. 12
I survived true stories : extreme weather by Tarshis, Lauren. 17
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Lord, Bette. 28
Inside out & back again by Lai, Thanhha. 30
Island of the Blue Dolphins by O'Dell, Scott. 23
Jacob have I loved by Paterson, Katherine. 25
James and the giant peach by Dahl, Roald. 28
Lawn boy by Paulsen, Gary. 29
Lyddie by Paterson, Katherine. 22
Maniac Magee : a novel by Spinelli, Jerry. 23
Mary on horseback : three mountain stories by Wells, Rosemary. 18
Midnight on the moon by Osborne, Mary Pope. 20
Nate the Great and the missing key by Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. 28
Nate the Great goes undercover by Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. 28
OCDaniel by King, Wesley.
One crazy summer by Williams-Garcia, Rita. 28
Pay it forward : young readers edition by Hyde, Catherine Ryan. 24
Restart by Korman, Gordon. 29
Sadako and the thousand paper cranes by Coerr, Eleanor. 27
Save me a seat by Weeks, Sarah. 30
Shiloh by Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. 32
Small steps by Sachar, Louis 30
Sounder by Armstrong, William Howard 29
Stink and the world's worst super-stinky sneakers by McDonald, Megan. 22
Stone Fox by Gardiner, John Reynolds. 26
Thanksgiving on Thursday by Osborne, Mary Pope. 11
The Alan Sitomer Book Jam : Hatchet 1
The Alan Sitomer Book Jam : The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake 1
The Alan Sitomer Book Jam : The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 1
THE ALAN SITOMER BOOK JAM Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 1
THE ALAN SITOMER BOOKJAM Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson 1
The bad beginning by Snicket, Lemony. 17
The best Christmas pageant ever by Robinson, Barbara, 28
The boy who harnessed the wind by Kamkwamba, William, 30
The camp-out mystery by Warner, Gertrude Chandler, 21
The city of Ember by DuPrau, Jeanne. 22 (DVD MOVIE available)
The destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 by Tarshis, Lauren. 30
The eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 by Tarshis, Lauren. 55
The forgotten girl by Brown, India Hill, 30
The gift-giver by Hansen, Joyce. 19
The Hobbit, or, There and back again by Tolkien, J. R. R. 15
The incredible journey by Burnford, Sheila Every. 30
The Japanese tsunami, 2011 by Tarshis, Lauren. 29
The last holiday concert by Clements, Andrew, 24
The lemonade war by Davies, Jacqueline, 30
The lightning thief by Riordan, Rick. 22
The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by Lewis, C. S. 55
The one and only Ivan by Applegate, Katherine. 30
The river between us by Peck, Richard, 30
The San Francisco earthquake, 1906 by Tarshis, Lauren. 59
The secret garden by Burnett, Frances Hodgson. 24
The sign of the beaver by Speare, Elizabeth George. 35
The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread by DiCamillo, Kate. 20
The tiger rising by DiCamillo, Kate. 29
The view from Saturday by Konigsburg, E. L. 26
The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 : a novel by Curtis, Christopher Paul. 56
The Westing game by Raskin, Ellen. 30
Twister on Tuesday by Osborne, Mary Pope. 24
Wait till Helen comes : a ghost story by Hahn, Mary Downing. 17
Wayside School is falling down by Sachar, Louis, 15
What color is my world? : the lost history of African-American inventors by Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 29
Where the red fern grows : the story of two dogs and a boy by Rawls, Wilson. 29
Wish by O'Connor, Barbara. 30
Wonder by Palacio, R. J. 28
SPECIAL ED
TECHNOLOGY
D118 Technology Dept – 2026-27
The IT Department is available Monday through Friday from 7am to 4pm.
💠 If you have questions about working with the Skyward ‘Q’ platform, call the Skyward Help Desk at ext. 3081
💠If you need to reach the IT Help Desk, please call ext. 1583
💠 If you have a technology related, non-emergency issue, please submit a Help Desk Ticket. This includes problems with your staff computer or laptop, printer, smartboard, telephone, student laptop, login issues, email issues, wireless connectivity problems, cameras, radios, hot spots, cell phone, etc.
Building CRP’s (Computer Resource Person)
Edison – Gail Lewis
Liberty – Cheryl Swafford
Mark Denman Birth to KG Center –Tamara Medina & Malynda Ross
Meade Park – Cynthia Stanford
Northeast – Elisha Goodwin
Southwest – Brett Brown
South View –Victoria Brooks, Paige Byrom, & Adrienne Phelps
North Ridge – Mandy Mourer, Ken Koerber, and Jennifer McGuire
DHS – Brian Golish, Andrea VanLeer, and Sue Sadler
KDBA – Janelle Biggs
Building Techs:
Edison – Caleb Seripinas - ext. 1589
Liberty – Caleb Seripinas - ext. 1589
Mark Denman ELC – John Conner - ext. 1584
Meade Park – Mark Lyman - ext. 1096
Northeast – John Conner - ext. 1584
Southwest – Mark Lyman - ext. 1096
South View – Alan Rivers - ext. 1587
North Ridge – Leo Dorsey - ext 1077, John Conner - ext. 1584
DHS – Kyle Giuliani - ext. 1664, Leo Dorsey – ext. 1077, Todd Turner - ext. 1586
KDBA– Alan Rivers - ext. 1587
Jackson Building – Nathaniel Gleason - ext. 1588
Fields Building – Billy Niles - ext. 1592
Annex / B & G – Billy Niles - ext. 1592, Kyle Giuliana – ext. 1664
Warehouse / Imaging & Inventory – Billy Niles & Nathaniel Gleason
IT Department Contacts
Annette Hummel – IT Director, ext. 1585
Karen Petersen – IT Director Secretary, ext. 1032
Michael Orr – Network Administrator, ext. 1591
Padraic Lowery – Ass’t Network Administrator, ext. 1031
Christine Martin – Student Information Support Specialist, ext. 1033
Bradley Kile – Skyward Application Support Specialist, ext. 1060
Christine Sloger-Lowery – Skyward Application Support Specialist, ext. 2660
Brian Pollitt – Employment Information Specialist, ext. 1073
New I.T. Department responsibilities:
FOB - Please complete a Help Desk ticket or email Karen Petersen & Padraic Lowery to request a new FOB or change building access.
Building Cameras – enter Help Desk ticket for request/issues
Building Radio’s – enter Help Desk ticket for request/issues
Hot Spots – enter Help Desk ticket for requests/issues
District Cell Phones– enter Help Desk ticket for requests/issues
FINE ARTS 🎺🎻🎹🎤🥁🎨🎭
PACING GUIDES
Shifting Your Approach to Teacher Math Work Problems
Flocabulary
Want to learn more about Flocabulary? Check out this Getting Started Guide.
Check out the November Flocabulary Newsletter for tips & tricks in using Flocabulary!
Digital Letter Tiles:
Are you looking for a way for students to practice building words on their chromebooks/tablets? Really Great Reading offers a free version of their digital letter tiles that you can bookmark on student devices to use for making words when you need a digital option.
Really Great Reading Letter Tile Freeplay
You can also add:
Decodable Books:
We have reorganized our decodable book options in Google Slides. In this folder you will find additional folders with decodable books by skill. These books are in a printable format for you if you are looking for additional books to send home with students for practice.
LEARNING STREAM INFORMATION
Curriculum Department Staff
- MEB: Director ext. 1086
- Heidi Goula: Secretary to the Director ext. 1098
- Cathie Witte: Records and Professional Development ext. 1092
- Julie Cox: Literacy Coordinator ext. 1064
- Christy Orr: Tech Integration Specialist ext. 1087
- Sara Stimac: Literacy Coach ext. 1939
- Angela Wilson: Math Coach ext. 3297
- Brian Klett: Fine Arts Facilitator ext. 1075
- Nicole Zaayer: Curriculum Facilitator ext. 1090
- Bob Cundiff - Math Coach ext.3538
- Jacob Roskovensky: Media Specialist ext. 1533