February 4, 2022

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• A 5th grader was so proud of himself today.  He kept telling me that he is really started to get this math work! Thank goodness his teacher makes him show his work, huh?  :-)

• Staff members have stepped in to help their colleagues in a number of ways this week.  I appreciate all of you so much.

• Kindergartners were working on reading fluently and with a smooth voice.  They sounded so amazing!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, February 7
• Bus Duty: TCaine, Vertz, Murphy
• GG Lessons: National School Counseling Week
• Jenny leaving at 2pm for a dr. appt

• Tuesday, February 8
• Social Media Posts due to Josh: Lisiecki, Braunschweig, Schwoerer, Ganser
• Jenny in Webinar about FastBridge 12-1pm

• Wednesday, February 9
• Workout Wednesday
• Playworks Coach visit - 11-4pm
• 4th gr. level data meeting 12:35-1:25pm in the elem. conference room
• Staff Meeting 3:05-3:45pm - All staff should plan to attend, including paraprofessionals

• Thursday, February 10
• 1st Grade SEL meeting 12:05-12:55 in the elem. conference room

• Friday, February 11
• SAEBRS and MySaebrs completed by today.

Nitty-Gritty

• SAEBRS/MySAEBRS
• Please have each student in grades 2-5 complete the Winter mysaebrs survey in Clever by Friday, February 11.  For homeroom teachers in grades 5K-5, please complete the winter SAEBRS survey for each student by Friday as well.  If you need to review the directions, click HERE for access to the how-to video from last fall.

• National School Counseling Week
• Next week is our week to show our appreciation for all the ways that our school counselor supports our students and us.  Mindy gets to support all of us and is our resident SEL expert, as well as our internal coach for the Pyramid Model for our 4K program.  Thank you Mindy for all you do!

• CTSO Week
• CTSO stands for Career and Technical Student Organizations.  February 7-11 is the week that our High School students highlight the extra curricular organizations that they are part of and growing and learning in.  As such, they will be sponsoring a coloring contest for elementary students.  The pages will be in your mailbox next week.  A basket to collect the completed pictures will be located in the elementary office near Michelle.  This is totally optional for students.  There will be a winner from each grade.

• Literacy Curriculum
• Last month, I shared with you information regarding a curriculum called MyView.  It has come to my attention that there is another, yet similar curriculum, called Into Reading from a different publishing company.  HERE is a link to read information regarding this program. I know that I have a number of people that are interested in piloting a reading curriculum.  At the end of February, I will be sending out an invitation for anyone that would like to discuss the curriculums, possible piloting options, and planning for the future.  Please watch for this in the coming weeks.

• Field Trips
• Please know that you can begin to plan field trips for your classes in the coming months if you would like.  Please choose trips that fit with what you are teaching/learning in the classroom.  Because we live in this era of COVID, also, research any precautions or requirements that are in place due to the pandemic as well.  There is a field trip form in the office to submit for any field trips that you are considering.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 

• Sub Plans
• Many of you complete sub plans using Google, especially when it is an unexpected sick day.  If you are not able to leave printed sub plans on your desk before you leave, please make sure to share it with Michelle in the office as well.  She is often the person that is handing a key to substitute teachers, and often they ask her about plans.  If she has this in email she can help the subs at the same time.  Thank you in advance for everyone that has helped out so much lately covering classes.  Please don't forget to write them down on your green extra duty sheet as these incidents occur.

• Personal Days
• Now that we are in February, I just want to remind you to plan ahead so that you know when you will be taking your personal day this year.  Below is the details from the Employee Handbook:
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PD Spotlight

Last week, I shared an article related to how to spread positivity while in the workplace.  I have to say that I do try, but I still had moments this week where I just felt annoyed.  (I do need to preface, that most of this has nothing to do with school, but rather home stressors.  However, I carried that baggage to school and I really hope that I didn't affect you or our students with those feelings.)

So I decided to do a little more research about how to help myself with these feelings.  I truly love my job, I feel fortunate to work in a place with so many wonderful people and students, and I do have a pretty awesome family too.  This doesn't mean that I don't get grumpy and I always feel guilty when I take my feelings out on others that have nothing to do with it.  Plus, most of the time I am not annoyed at a person, but rather a situation or frustration of not getting something done.  This article had some simple, yet practical ways to handle these feelings.  I found it helpful.  I thought I would share in case anyone else can benefit from these suggestions as well.  Please know that I am always here to listen, I want to hear your feedback always, and I want to help you feel better when you are getting frustrated or annoyed.  If you need a listening ear, please let me know.

Friday Funny

I wonder if I have a connection with any of you regarding my special skills.  Although, #3 is really just the time for how long to microwave it!  lol