September 27, 2019

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• WOW!  I saw some awesome brain break activities this week in every grade in the school.  Coach Jena mentioned over and over how impressed she was with our students and the routines that are so well established across the school.  That is all because of teachers' hard work this month!!
• So many people ready, willing and able to step in wherever needed, whether it was covering a short time in the Oasis, helping out in classrooms with sick teachers or students, and even helping out in students in other buildings.  I am so grateful for the teamwork we are building here.
• Coach Jena made a mistake in a few rooms when teaching the Ninja Master game.  (It previously had a different name, and she slipped into the old name out of habit a couple of times.)  When she explained her mistake, one classroom had a bunch of students that told her that mistakes are the opportunity to learn and that she doesn't have it YET!  She about fell over as they were encouraging her!

What's Happening at Dodgeland


Tuesday, 10/1

• Fundraiser Packets due
• Flu Shot clinic 2:30-4:30
• Attendance Initiative starts for month of October

Wednesday, 10/2

• Vision Screening (Click here for schedule.)

Thursday, 10/3

• Literacy discussion at 3:15 in the IMC (open to all staff that want to express concerns, ideas, etc regarding literacy and students' strengths and challenges in this area.)

Looking ahead: 

Homecoming starts Oct 7.  There will be an all school pep assembly on Friday at 1:10 followed by an early release at 2:20, parade is at 4pm.  The elementary parade line-up will include students in grades 3-5 this year. 

Nitty-Gritty

• Attendance Initiative:  The goal of the attendance challenges is to encourage students to be in school everyday, on time.  For October, you received a sign that says Trick or treat.  Each day that everyone in your class is present, cross of one letter.  When the entire word is crossed off, your class earns a prize that your class determines. Some options might be:  an extra recess, lunch with the teacher, popcorn for everyone on a Friday, etc.  
• In November, there will be a staff vs. students challenge.  Which group has the highest attendance rate?  Stay Tuned for more details.
• WIN: Click here for the WIN document.  If your grade level needs my assistance with planning or creating WIN groups, please let me know.  The document is a place to record each group for each grade.  This will help me as I plan for grade level data meetings. The groups may include students that will be seeing Rose during WIN as well. Thank you in advance!
• Schedules:  As the month is winding down, our routines and schedules are becoming more and more solidified.  If you haven't shared a classroom schedule with me yet, please give me a paper copy or make sure it is on our grade level document.  If I have any questions about your schedule, I will let you know.  Otherwise, I just plan to use it to help me keep track of what our students are doing across the school and when.
• XPD's:  If you are interested in any of the XPD's in this year's catalog, the registration for it is online this year.  Click here to register for courses. 

PD Spotlight

• This week for the PD spotlight I wanted to share a post about picture books that can be used to teach certain SEL skills.  I find using literature to be a great way to illustrate a theme or skill that is sometimes abstract to learn.  When I came across this list, I thought, "Hey, this would be really helpful."  I have used the book Enemy Pie by Derek Munson with 4th-5th graders in the past.  It is an easy and fun book to read aloud, but also a book that helps students learn how to make connections with others.  If you have used any of these books in a lesson that went well, I'd love to hear about it!

Friday Funny

This described many, many of my teaching days!  :-)

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