November 8, 2019

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Flexible teachers with the Playworks coaching this week.  The schedule time periods were off a bit, but thank you for rolling with it when Jena arrived.
• AND, the playworks games you taught tied in so well with Mindy's GG lessons.  MANY of you related it back to lessons they have all had before.  This is so Awesome!
• Staff members stepping in and helping out and providing a productive learning day even when a substitute was not available for a colleague!
• 2nd graders learning about similes and even working on creating their own!
• 4K students persevering through putting on all the snow gear by themselves.  That is hard work!

What's Happening at Dodgeland

• Wednesday, Nov 13
• 4th gr Data meeting at noon
• Staff Meeting in the IMC at 3:10
• Thursday, Nov 14
• Packer Day - Wear your Packer Attire
• 5th grade - Can we reschedule your grade level meeting to Nov 14?
• 1st Quarter Pride Assembly
• Friday, November 15
• EC/4K Playgroup 9-10am
• Tuesday, November 19
• Newsletter articles are due

Nitty-Gritty

• Veteran's Assembly Today - 
• There will be a modified recess schedule for Friday morning due to the assembly.  Grades K-2 will go outside for recess from 9-9:15.  (This will hopefully give everyone enough time to get to the gym for the assembly before 9:30.)
• Our Veterans LOVE to shake hands with all of the Elementary students as they enter the gym.  (Really all the kids love it too!) This does take awhile though, 3rd-5th grade please start arriving by 9:15 so that all students can be seated by 9:30 to start the assembly on time.
• Remind students of the purpose of this assembly and appropriate behaviors for assemblies before coming to the HS Gym.
• Staff Meeting - 
• Please bring a device with you to the staff meeting on Wednesday.
• 1st Quarter Pride Assembly - 
• During the assembly on Thursday, we will announce Students that are "On-a-Roll" this quarter.  This can be for academic reasons or behavior/SEL reasons.  Click here to nominate a student for this award.  Interventionists, specialists, support staff, etc, feel free to nominate here too.  
• The Tech Ninjas are also working on a short video to share at the assembly as well.
• Teachers, please bring your iPad to the assembly.
• PLTW
• The PLTW sign up is here.  Not all classrooms have signed up yet.  Please check out when you'd like to teach your module so that all students have access to the modules for their grade by the end of the year.  Just trying to head off frustration for students and staff with supplies and space to work.  Thanks everyone.

PD Spotlight

As the 1st quarter ended, it occurred to me that 25% of the year is already over.  How can that be?  It made me think of all the learning that our students still get to do this year.  It also made me think about teaching/leading with a sense of urgency.  It ties in beautifully to our attendance initiative.  Every day matters.  Every class period we get to spend teaching, coaching and prompting students through their learning is a gift.  As the adults in the room, it is our responsibility to protect those instructional minutes.  We all know how many tasks and things we juggle in a day.  I, too, find myself getting thrown off course some days.  I get to the end of the day, and think, what did I do today?  How is the day over already?  All of us have found ourselves in this situation, however, this has the potential of losing minutes to things that are not a part of most important pieces of school: Instruction and guided/independent practice by students.  Below is a quote from Regie Routman that resonates with me and is helping me regain my own sense of urgency. 

Friday Funny

Q: How do you cook an alligator?

A: In a Croc-pot!