May 28, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 4K students using chalk to draw shapes outside.  Circles, and ovals, and squares, Oh My!

• 3rd grade students solving story problems with 2 steps and then explaining how they were able to solve the problem! 

• 5K students have been practicing and practicing for their virtual graduation.  I can't wait to watch it.

• So many adults have really been available to help out with coverage and celebrating and caring for colleagues.  I love being a part of Team Dodgeland!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 31
• No School, Memorial Day

• Tuesday, June 1
• Brewers Day
• Ella turns 18 years old.  YIKES!

• Wednesday, June 2
• Last Workout Wednesday of the year
• Celebrate Sue and Connie's retirement outside Door #29 after dismissal
• Grades Due at 8am

• Thursday, June 3
• Senior Graduation Walk starting at 11:20 outside the building
• Send Report Cards home

• Friday, June 4
• Lunch at 11am
• Bus kids dismissed at 12:10, Rest of the students at 12:20
• Report & Planning from 12:30-3pm
• Milk Calendars MUST be completed before you leave.
• June 4 - Graduation at 6pm, please let Jessica know if you are attending
• Rain date is June 6th
• PO's due for next year classroom items

Nitty-Gritty

• Keys
• Have you filled out the form for the key inventory?  Please do so as soon as possible.  It will take you less than 5 min. to complete. Please record information on this form about all keys that have been issued to you. 

• Seesaw 
• Did you see the email from Seesaw this last week?  The subject line said, End of Year: What NOT to Do in Seesaw.  There were three things that they recommended that we not do in Seesaw.  The rationales are in the email, but in short they are as follows:
• Do NOT delete or archive your class.
• Do NOT delete students or student work.
• Do NOT turn off family access.

• June 4, The Last Day of School
• The last day of school is only one week away. As you plan for the day, please help your students to make sure that they have taken all of their belongings home.  It will be extremely difficult for families to get back to the building for forgotten belongings.
• Recess will be canceled for all grades that day.
• If you have a special (Art, PE, Music) that day, please communicate with each other about classroom schedules for the day.
• Next, lunch will be mostly all at one time.  Lunch coverage will be from 11-11:30.  Click HERE to see coverage. (Make sure you are on the tab that says early release lunch supervision.)
• Interventionists and Support Staff and Specials Teachers - Please reach out to your colleagues to cover bathroom breaks or support students that may need help.  Please remember that not all students are looking forward to summer vacation.  Summer brings. anxiety and uncertainty to some of our students.

• iPad Collection
• Please refer to Christina's email from Monday, May 24th for directions on iPad collection. Feel free to share the statement and graphic with families on your social media or Dojo sites. Attached to the email is also a document to help "spring clean" the iPads.  This process is encouraged, but not mandatory. If you would like an extra hand with assisting students in this process, please email Christina to set up a time. The only must-dos for iPad collection are:
• Remove any stickers, tape, login cards, or papers from the iPad cases.
• Do not turn off the iPad.
• Place the iPad, cable and block in the black Max case.

• Bridges Training
• When you arrive for Bridges training the week of June 7, please know that the parking lots and the second entrance to the campus will be worked on and not usable for traffic.  A temporary parking lot will be in the grass along the access road to the right of the first entrance.  Please park there or on the street when you arrive.  If you need more information regarding dates/times, please see the Dodgeland Download from April 30, 2021.

• Classroom Organization
• As you are getting ready for summer, please take the time to organize your materials.  If there are any classroom items that you no longer need or want, please bring to the District Office for possible donation to Haiti.  If you have classroom furniture that is available for a colleague, please note it on the "Items to Give Away" google doc found here.  
• Finally, please remember that most classrooms will be used for summer school this summer.  Please put away personal items and ready the space for this important part of our school year.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• Budget
• As soon as possible, you will receive your budget forms back in your mailbox so that you can begin to write out your PO's for ordering.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Friday Funny

The Brewers play the Nationals this weekend.  My nephew is a HUGE Brewers Fan.  Enjoy this video of him playing in his backyard.  Can you tell he is a fan?

May 21, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Students are showing what they know on the end of the year assessments.  :-)
• A 5K student is working really hard at using his coping skills when he gets upset.  His days have been getting more and more positive.
• 3rd graders solving 2 step story problems including problems that have important vocabulary words like "dozen."  

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 24
• School Board Meeting @6:30pm

• Tuesday, May 25
• Jenny will be out of the building for the day

• Wednesday, May 26
• Workout Wednesday
• Elementary Staff meeting 3pm

• Thursday, May 27
• 1pm - 5K graduation taping in Choir room
• Jenny's in a meeting from 2-4pm, assistance needed for bus duty please

• Friday, May 28
• Monday, May 31
• NO SCHOOL

Nitty-Gritty

• Supply lists
• Please see Lynn's email from May 20 regarding supply lists for next school year.  The google doc is HERE.  As a grade level team, please discuss this, and make any changes directly on the document.  Please only ask families to buy supplies that are utilized during the school year.

• Recess Team
• A strong recess team will support the SEL initiatives that we work on every day.  Creating this team, meeting regularly to collaborate/problem solve, and building a recess plan to follow will help create a successful extension of our classroom learning environments.  Click HERE to indicate your interest.

• Class Creator Class list meeting
• As a grade level, please sign up for a 30 min. time slot to meet about class lists for next school year.  Click HERE to see the sign up sheet.

• Ipad turn in
• Elementary students will be turning in iPads the last week of the school year.  Christina will be coming to each classroom to collect the iPads from students. A message will be sent out to all families Memorial Day Weekend to remind them of all of the pieces that need to be returned.  Please sign up for a time for Christina to come to your classroom to collect the iPads HERE.

• Blended Students
• Many teachers have asked about blended students and how to handle the last week of classes for blended students. Please communicate a schedule for your blended students for the last week for the lessons that match the subjects/priority lessons.  I will also be asking students to return their iPads on Thursday afternoon/Friday morning so that they can avoid the construction traffic the next week.  This means that they will not be able to access your classrooms on Friday, June 4.

• Important message about summer from Annette
• Please read Dr. Thompson's email carefully regarding the construction phases and planning for access to the building during the summer.  Any unwanted materials from your classrooms should be brought to the district office.  Items will potentially be donated to Haiti later this fall.  Please do not put any unwanted items in the staff lounge.  Many others will be working in the elementary wing this summer due to construction and our lounge will be used all summer long.

• Outdoor sign up
• Just a friendly reminder about the sign up sheet for taking your class outside.  Our goal is to finish the school year strong with no more quarantine or positive cases.  It is important that we keep our classes apart for a little longer.  Please be conscious of where other groups are on the playground, blacktop, and grass areas.  The calendar is HERE.

• Math Playground
• At the end of this school year, the website Math Playground will be blocked for student use on their iPads.  The site has a lot of math games/activities, but students are not using it to improve math skills.  Because we have other options for our students while using school devices, we will rely on them instead.  Please see me if you have questions.

Friday Funny

May 14, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• One of the 4K students I see regularly spelled his name for me today.  He could not do this 2 months ago.  It was so exciting!

• Students are working hard on their i-ready and PALS assessments.  A couple of kids that I got to watch work liked to talk through the questions.  Seeing and hearing their thinking was so awesome!

• Second graders talking like scientists using high level academic words like "omnivore" and "cartilage."  I learned a lot in my short few minutes in their classroom this week.

• Students were so excited about performing for their spring concert this week.  I can not wait to watch it!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 17
• Recording for Staff Talent Show group at 3pm
• Tuesday, May 18
• Wednesday, May 19
• Staff meeting at 3pm (see below for more information)
• Workout Wednesday
• Thursday, May 20
• Friday, May 21

Nitty-Gritty

• iPad Collection
•  Please watch for an email from Christina regarding signing up for a time for her to come to your class to collect student iPads, etc.  She will also send you a message to copy/paste to parents regarding reminders of the things that need to be brought back to school, such as the block, cord, etc.
• In addition, some of you may find that you want to start having students keep the iPads at school during testing or for the rest of the year.  This is okay as long as you communicate with parents.  (Some teachers are finding it difficult to complete testing when iPads are not charged the next day.)

• A New Face
• Starting on Wednesday, May 19, Michelle Wolff will be subbing at school until the end of the year to help with staff shortages.  She will be working with Teresa Chambers in Room 120, but she may be in other rooms supporting students as well.  

• Staff Meeting
• I have been gathering and analyzing data to think through the needs of our students for the upcoming school year.  I would like to meet with staff to share these findings and plans for the coming school year.  Please plan to attend on Wednesday at 3pm.  I am working on finding a location where we can spread out to have this meeting in person.  Please watch for an email about the location before Wednesday.

• Budget Reminder
• Please refer to Dr. Thompson's email from May 10 explaining the next steps in planning for supplies for next school year.  The budget worksheet is due by May 24 in my mailbox.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

• Heads Up on Graduation Walk
• On Thursday, June 3, we will have a Senior Graduation walk with our elementary students.  The planning is still in the early stages, but wanted everyone to know that this is being planned.  More than likely, it will occur outside for COVID safety.  Watch for more information in the next week or so.

• Winding Down
• While I feel the stress of the year winding down, it is important to remember that each day we get to have with our students is a gift.  Click HERE for some ideas of how to continue to build relationships with your students.

Friday Funny

Today is my son's 20th birthday. 20 years ago, he came in unexpectedly and two days before my maternity leave was supposed to start.  I was writing sub plans in the delivery room, my principal at the time called me while I was in labor to ask if I was having the baby, and a hail storm was occurring when he entered the world.  Now, that's not necessarily the funny part, although when I look back on it I think, "What a strange day!"  The funny for the day is that after we told our family we named him Mason, Matt told everyone that we named him that because he was born in May and he is our son, so he is our May-son.  Cue groan.  Matt was the king of dad puns.  :-)

BONUS: Friday Funny

My sister sent this video to me last Monday for my birthday.  Enjoy!

May 7, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Staff members gave me constructive feedback at the staff meetings this week.  One left next Wednesday, if you haven't been able to attend one yet.

• Third graders solving story problems with unknown parts and is able to explain how they knew how to solve the problem.

• Teachers communicating with parents consistently and frequently sometimes with positive messages and for some important, but difficult information to hear.  Thank you for continuing to build strong connections with home.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 10
• Pyramid Model Leadership meeting (4K team) @3pm on BlueJeans

• Tuesday, May 11
• Wednesday, May 12 
• Workout Wednesday
• Sue M & Jenny in a meeting out of the building from 1-2pm
• Staff Meeting #4 in Room 139 @ 3pm

• Thursday, May 13
• Brewers Day
• Sign up for Tech Bootcamp deadline

• Friday, May 14
• Playworks visit and Recess Academy for grades 4K/5K (Schedule is HERE.)

Nitty-Gritty

• Playworks Survey
• The Associate Director for Playworks in WI is asking for school staff to take an end of the year survey to provide feedback.  Please take about 10 minutes to help them out before the end of the school year.  Link:  Playworks Survey Spring 2021

• After School Pick-up
• About 1-2 times a week, there is a student or two that has a late pick-up or a student gets confused about the after school plan.  This means that they are sitting outside after the buses and other parents have left.  If you are on duty, or you are walking out the door, please stop to make sure that someone has helped them make sure they have a ride.  Most days I am outside to address this, but in case I am not, please help assist any student that is sitting alone after hours.

• Summer Technology Boot Camp Sign Up
• For the 7th Annual Summer Technology Boot Camp, Kay and Christina will be facilitating a book club starting June 17th and meeting virtually for 1 hour each week through July 8th. This is the same amount of time as previous camp sessions. The book being read is "The Innovator's Mindset: Empowering Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity" by George Couros. Register for Tech Boot Camp with this link on or before Thursday, May 13.

• End of the Year assessments
• If you need any help/support getting assessments done this year, please reach out.  It is important that we have an idea of where our kids are at the conclusion of this school year.

PD Spotlight

I listen to a playlist on Spotify called TED Talks Daily.  I don't always have to to listen to each one, but the title of this one drew me in immediately.  It is about how memory works and why forgetting is okay.  I find it frustrating when I forget things.  Sometimes it is little stuff like "what did I come in here for?" or "where did I put my radio now??"  Sometimes it is big stuff like birthdays or medical appointments.  Either way, I found this TED Talk so very interesting and in some ways comforting.  The biggest take away from this is that memories need a context to help you remember something.  Without it, it is much less likely that it will stick in my brain.  The other thing I took away from this was what is considered "normal" and what needs to be checked out.  If you'd like to listen/watch this Ted Talk by Lisa Genova, click HERE.

Friday Funny