April 9, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Three students joined us this week from virtual learning and they were ecstatic to see their friends and be back in school.  We make a difference, never doubt that!

• Third graders using context clues to determine the meaning of the phrase, "trading looks."  They used such great language to describe figurative language!

• Professionals working together to problem solve a way to help  a 5K student struggling during recess.  Day 1 was a success!

• First graders participating in the nutrition lessons with excitement and engagement.  Even virtually, they were able to keep learning about this important topic.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 12
• Sports Day (wear apparel related to a sport)
• Forward Testing begins for 4th/5th grade
• Pyramid Leadership Mtg @3pm (4K team)

• Tuesday, April 13
• Western Day
• Forward Testing continues
• Positive Parenting Seminar at 5:30 online (Registration link - Under Seminars)

• Wednesday, April 14
• Workout Wednesday
• Forward Testing for 3rd/4th grades
• NO Elementary Staff meeting - I will be available for questions/meetings though

• Thursday, April 15
• Crazy Hat Day
• Forward Testing for 3rd/4th grades
• Student Nurses visit

• Friday, April 16
• Pattern Day (wear something with a pattern on it)

Nitty-Gritty

• Bridges storage form
• Thank you for your patience with this.  (Huge shout out to Sue for putting the survey together!). For those of you that are going to be teaching Bridges Math and Number Corner next year, please click HERE to fill in a survey about your preferences for storage items by Thursday, April 15.  If you have any questions, please see Sue or myself.

• PLTW items
• As you are finishing up your PLTW modules, please see Sue if there are any materials or supplies that need to be replaced or purchased to aid in the delivery of these modules.  We get to build the foundation for PLTW for their entire education career.  If there are supplies/resources needed, we want to know about them.

• Summer School classrooms
• This summer, our summer school program must be located entirely within the Elementary wing or the fitness center due to construction in the commons, IMC, Middle School and High School.  That means more classrooms than ever before are being used for these courses.  Click here to see a map of the rooms that will be used this summer.  Rooms highlighted in yellow will be used this summer.

• Testing Schedules
• Next week, Mon-Thurs, our 3rd-5th grade students will be taking a very important test.  There will be signs located in the hallways to help remind you, but as you are traveling through hallways next week, please remind your students to be as quiet as they can.  The testing will be concluded by noon each day.
• In addition, if any classrooms are able to switch specials for that day with a class that is testing, your flexibility would be much appreciated.  For specials teachers, your flexibility is also very much appreciated with rearranging your schedules just for this week.

• Class Creator
• Just a heads up: I am in the process of getting Class Creator ready for creating class lists for next school year.  There have been some updates since last spring, but I will be archiving the information that was completed last year.  I will be asking each classroom teacher (with collaboration/information from their colleagues: (specials teachers, special education, interventionist, etc) to complete the survey on each of their students by May 1.  Watch for an email with directions on how to complete this.

• Clothing Donations
• Our stock of extra clothing for students is going down again.  If you, or someone you know, has any children sized pants (4T-12) that could be donated to the school, it would be much appreciated.  Also, if anyone is looking to donate, we can always use brand new packages of underwear as well.  See Lynnae or Holly if you have any questions.

• Student Nurses
• On April 15 and April 22, you will see about 16 student nurses in the building from 8-11am.  Part of their programming is to teach a lesson to students about a developmentally appropriate, yet important topic to children.  Please click HERE to sign your class up for a 20 min. lesson on one of these 2 days.  3rd and 4th grade classrooms will need to sign up for April 22 due to Forward testing, so please leave space for them to sign up then.  Any questions, should be directed to Lynnae.

• Outdoor Play
• You know the old saying, Great Minds Think Alike! Well our Dodgeland staff is FULL of great minds.  As the days get nicer and warmer, many of us want to take our class outside for an extra recess, or to work outside, etc.  In order to stay committed to our COVID protocols (we are getting closer and closer to normalcy, just hang on a little bit longer!), we need to have some way of communicating with others that you are outside on the playground/blacktop/etc with your class.  If it is dry, classes can spread out in the grass areas, but we must be careful to continue to be separate when using the black top or the playground equipment.  Click HERE to see a calendar of the rest of the year.  It doesn't mean that you can't be spontaneous, or go to a different section of our grounds, but this way we have a system to communicate with each other.  And, as many of our classrooms as possible will get to learn/play outside too.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• March Prodigy Tournament Winners
• This past March there was an optional Prodigy tournament taking place with all partners across the entire country.  Many students have asked me about winners from this tournament.  I did not hear from our Prodigy rep, but I was able to go through our dashboard and find the top 3 winners from each grade for last month.  Click HERE to see the list.  I will be calling students down to get a prize for me for this.

PD Spotlight

Tonight, I had the opportunity to give a tour of the Dodgeland School to a family that is moving to town next month.  The kids were nervous about a new school, and the parents wanted to be prepared for an easy transition.  When they left, they thanked me of course, but they said, "I am so glad we did this.  I hope to see you this summer."  (Of course, I pushed summer school!  :D). One of the things they were most impressed with is our Oasis.  Not because it was full of supplies, and a swing, etc., but because it showed that we focus on our students social and emotional health.  They shared about their experience in their current school, and what I realized was: the ways that you support, instruct and build relationships to help our students develop strategies and a proactive way to communicate feelings is not done in every school.  Then I came across this video.  It reaffirmed everything that we do every day.  Is it easy? No.  Is it worth it?  Yes.  

I was exceptionally proud to brag about our district and in particular the teachers that enter this building each day and give it all they have to our students.  If you have time, please watch the video and reflect on how many things in this video you already do. You will find many of her "creative" ideas are things that are natural to you all. It made me proud to be your colleague!  

Friday Funny