The Dodgeland Download (DES): January 21, 2022

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

5K students were learning to compare lengths by measuring using their feet. They had so much fun counting steps to determine which "line" was the longest!

I was able to witness a 3rd grade nutrition lesson today where they got to put their new math knowledge about grams to good use! It was very cool watching them explain what they already knew about this measurement!

A 5th grader was very proud of his recent growth in i-Ready and attributed it to his Rise intervention. I love when they can see how their hard work pays off!

There were a few students this week that I needed to talk to about their behavior choices. However, there were a number of them who quickly admitted that what they had done was not okay, took the consequence that came with that choice and have learned from it. I am anticipating that this mistake will not be repeated, which is the true goal of learning.

Bus Duty: Bingen, Crane, Miller
Seals on Wheels fluoride treatment visit
GG Lesson for the week: Managing Anxiety (4th-5th), Making Friends (3rd), Feelings and comparing them (4K-2nd)
School Board meeting at 6:30pm

Playworks Recess Coach visiting from 11-4
Staff meeting 3:10 in Learning Commons (all staff should attend) Playworks coach will be there to meet with us
Workout Wednesday

It's so pretty! I can't wait for everyone to see it and use it! Starting Monday, January 24th, Michelle and I will be operating out of the new elementary office. At this point, the mailboxes will stay in the lounge and many of the supplies will be there for a little bit longer, but we will start operating out of the office. In order to prepare for the opening, I have a favor to ask for each of the classrooms. Could you please take your class on a walking "field trip" to show them how to get to the office after Monday? If you bring them after 1:30, Michelle will be in the office to greet you and for the students to actually enter the office.
Door 29 will continue to be open for families/students/staff to enter the building for a while yet. The main entrance will continue to have fencing around the plaza because of the broken concrete. However, there will be a walk way for visitors, students and staff to enter and exit the building from Door #1.

Our new full-time reading corps tutor is training this week and will be soon in the building each day getting ready to work with our students. Her name is Alexis Uttech, Ms. Uttech, and will be working out of Room 104 for the rest of this year and will be primarily working with 5K and 1st grade students. Please make her feel welcome!

I wanted to update you on the staff bathroom in the music hallway. One of our district's new students needs access to the space and table that is located in the other staff bathroom. We considered many other options, but this room has the space and features that are needed to care for this student. The bathroom will have numerous supplies stored in it and the student will be using it frequently throughout the day. However, if it is empty when you need a restroom, you can use it. Just be careful around the medical devices and supplies. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.

Please complete the student of the month nominations by Thursday, January 27th. If you need to see the previous month's nominations, they are further down the page. Click HERE to write your nominees.

There is a good chance that another student teacher will be joining our team in Gabrielle Zastrow's room. Her name is Molly Christenson and she is currently a student at UW-Whitewater. The goal is for her to start on Monday, January 24.

A number of staff members are noticing and commenting on student behavior in the last few weeks. It is our intention to provide students with the instruction and clear guidance for what is acceptable and what is not. Please refer to the videos for assistance and step in to help students with reminders when you see students struggling with them. The more consistent we are, the more improvement we will see.

One of the best parts of working in a small school district where we are all under one roof is that we have opportunities for students from different areas of the building to learn and work with one another. However, it is very important that we also have a system in place for when, what purpose and how MS/HS students are interacting with our elementary students. This includes a sign in process in the elementary office as well as communication between the teachers, myself and the students regarding the logistics of the interaction. Please watch for information on more specifics regarding this. If you have visitors from the other buildings, please make sure that you have communicated this with me ahead of time.

Couldn't resist... :-)