October 2, 2020

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Student that was absent last week was so excited to be back this week that he didn't want to leave!
• A 5th grader stopped by me to ask me if he could help me when he saw me struggling.  It is so great to have such wonderful students around us each day.
• Teachers are sharing with me how much their students enjoy writing.  Remember when it was a chore to get the majority of our students to write at all?  What a difference to today when students are asking for MORE time to write!
• A kindergarten student introduced me to her new classmate today and told me all about how great her new friend was! 

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, October 5
• Packer Day!

• Tuesday, October 6

• Wednesday, October 7
• Flu Shot Clinic starting right after school
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, October 8

• Friday, October 9

Nitty-Gritty

• Link to my Calendar
• I am trying to be present and available throughout each day, but I am finding that people seem to be looking for me often.  If you need or would like to meet with me, here is the link to my calendar.  Feel free to add yourself to my calendar so that we can connect during the week. 

•  Parent/Teacher Conferences
• As I emailed earlier this week, the conferences are cancelled for this fall.  However, please send home a progress report that includes students' academic progress and citizenship skills on October 22 with each student.  Provide a copy of the report to the office so that they can be filed and sent to secondary mailings.  If you need a blank format that can be expanded or modified, here is a sample progress report in a google doc.

• New Classroom Tool and Reminders
• Just a friendly reminder to set your towel buckets, your garbage/recycling can and your rejuvenal bottle (if it needs filling) outside your classroom door at the end of the day.  Custodians start their day at 3pm and this will help them to efficiently complete the many tasks on their plates.  (Students may be able to help with this too.)
• In addition, there will be a small dustpan and whisk broom brought to classrooms so that students can use them to clean up spills, crumbs, etc beneath their desk.  (Large brooms are too difficult for lots of students, but this way there is a tool for students to use.) 

• Scholastic Book Fair
• This year the annual Book Fair will be held online from Oct 12-15.  The orders will be shipped directly to student homes and there is free shipping on orders over $25.  Look for the link coming soon.

• Ava Strong Fundraiser
• On Wednesday, October 7, there is a fundraiser at Piggly Wiggly from 10-5pm to benefit Dodgeland student, Ava Finger and the medical costs her family is incurring following her mountain biking accident.  The fundraiser is a meal of a slice of pizza, bag of chips and a bottle of soda for $5.  (The entire $5 will be going directly to Ava.). Please share with your family and friends and consider participating.  
• If there is anyone that would like to order a meal for lunch next Wed., please sign up/pay with Marie in the office starting Monday.

• PowerTeacher Pro and Target Based Grading
• The upload has been completed for targets and domains for all grades 5K-5.  There will be 2-3 short videos to share important information for next steps for this process early next week.  In addition, an optional target based grading meeting will be held on Thursday, October 8 on BlueJeans (9203861003) at 3PM for staff to ask questions.  

• Healthy Minds @ Work
• Today, Dr. Thompson, sent an email about the Healthy Minds @ Work program.  In order to begin this process, there is a confidential well-being assessment that takes approximately 10 min.  If you'd like to participate, please do so by Oct 14, which is the first day of our 30 day challenge.  Click here for the well-being assessment.

PD Spotlight

The past week I came across an article that made me think and it is one that I plan to use to follow up on with a staff meeting in October.  I am going to preview it here so that you can think about it before we get to that staff meeting on October 14.  Click here to read the whole article.  I go through days where I am extremely self-conscious about the tone of voice I am using with others around me.  I am afraid that my exhaustion will come across as annoyance or frustration, when in fact, it is neither of those things.  We all are working hard and we all have full plates.  We have strong emotions at some time or another.  These emotions affect many different aspects of our day, personal and professional. What I liked about this article is that there is actually a next step other than just telling us that it is real (We all know that!) and that it is important to address it.  So I'm reflecting on the first question and invite you to do so too, "How do I want to feel as a staff member at Dodgeland?"  

Friday Funny

As you know, I am a huge FRIENDS fan and this short clip made me laugh.  --BTW, Rachel and Ross's daughter, Emma, is now 18 and the time capsule they created on her 1st birthday could be opened!  :-)