February 12, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• There are some really fantastic nonfiction writing pieces in the 3rd grade hallway.  Way to go everyone!

• 5K made the 100th day of school full of lots of fun and engaging activities that had students excitedly describing them (in detail) to me this week!  

• Teachers reached out to colleagues and me looking for help and to problem-solve.  (See today's PD spotlight to learn more about how awesome this!)

• Students in art making their own designs and "screen printing" them to paper.  They looked so COOL!

• A 1st grader explained how to add 7 and 8 when he doesn't have enough fingers and used the strategy of making 10.  SO AWESOME to hear!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, Feb 15
• PD day  - Spring into Success Summit

• Tuesday, Feb 16
• Milwaukee Bucks attire day

• Wednesday, Feb 17
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, Feb 18
• Friday, Feb 19
• Summer School teaching form due

Nitty-Gritty

• Bridges Delivery
• Did you see Kari and Steve bringing that huge pallet to Mrs. O'Toole's room today?  So exciting!  Please let Sue or myself know if you want to help on a committee to organize materials.

• Monday's Spring into Success virtual summit
• Kay sent out an email on 2/10 regarding downloading and accessing zoom for Monday's virtual summit.  Click Here for her handout. You should have received an email today (2/11) with directions on how to access the summit.  Please let me know if you didn't get one.
• Reminder that you can participate in the summit from home.  If you need reliable internet, you can work in the building.  Please be aware though; there will be about 40 people in the building from different companies inspecting the areas of the building that will be renovated, so if you're here there may be distractions depending on where you are at.

• Diffusers
• I am aware of some of the research that has been done on the sense of smell and it's connection to memories, feelings of a calm environment, and emotional well-being.  In fact, I have a diffuser in my home and have used it often for some of those specific reasons.  However, at school it is impossible to contain the fragrance from a diffuser to a single classroom, and it has the potential to spread throughout many rooms of the building.  This can potentially cause significant issues with students and adults in our system. (allergies, sinus issues, asthma/breathing/lung issues, etc.). For this reason, please do not use a diffuser at school.  Thank you for your understanding and if you have any questions, please let me know.

PD Spotlight

This last week I listened to the latest episode from Ted Neitzke on his Smart Thinking podcast.  The topic was about asking for help.  He mentioned a brain study that was done regarding this and how the part of the brain that is triggered when you ask for help is the same sensory area of the brain that is activated when you feel pain.  So asking for help really is painful for some, which is why so many avoid it! On the flip side, offering to help and the person accepting your help activates a part of our brain that relates to pleasure and reward. There are ways to address this and that is what I am hoping we are building here as a team at Dodgeland. The more often we can ask and give help to others, the more we build healthy relationships with those around us and build a consistent climate of working together.  I know that I am not super good at this yet, but I will continue to reflect and work on this. How can this model help our students as well?  I am reminded of a quote that I heard last week while watching a rerun of Criminal Minds: 

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. ~ James Baldwin

Hmmm, makes you think huh?  (If the Criminal Minds reference seems weird, they end almost every episode with some reflective or inspiring quote.  Ella is a mega fan of this show, and she got me hooked on it too!)

Friday Funny

This week my Friday Funny is a quick story from working with one of our 4K students.  I am learning so much about this age group since starting this job!

Today I was working with a student and I figured out something that I didn't understand or could do very well before. (I don't want to publicly share what it is, but if you ask me I will tell you.  It's just a TAD embarrassing!) Anyway, I told this student that I finally figured out how this works!  I looked at him and said, "I'm learning something new today. Can you see my brain growing?"

He looks at me really seriously and with wide eyes, says, "Yep!  It is growing!"  Then he gives me a smile and says, "Can I learn it too?"