December 16, 2022

 FYI: Shortened Blog this week, hope to get back on track next week.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 19
• Wear Red/Green (or ugly sweater day) and don't forget to get your picture taken in the Green Screen Room!  Everyone that participates gets their name in a drawing for a gift card!
• Bus Duty: Bingen, Juech, Vertz
• School Board Mtg @ 6:30pm
• MS Winter concert @7pm

• Tuesday, December 20
• Social Media posts due: Palen, Jenkins, Schuett
• Santa's Workshop Imposter Day
• Jenny in Mtg from 8-9am
• SEL 4th gr Data meeting 12:35-1:25pm
• HS Winter concert @ 7pm

• Wednesday, December 21
• Wake Up & Go Wednesday (PJ Day)
• Academic 1st gr Data Meeting 12:05-12:55pm

• Thursday, December 22
• Christmas Character Day
• Jenny in mtg from 8:30-9:30am

• Friday, December 23
• Ugly Sweater Day

Nitty-Gritty

• Summer School Info
• It's time to start thinking about next summer already!  This year we will have two sessions to choose from for teaching.  You can choose to teach in both, or just one of the two sessions.  Please click HERE to indicate your interest.  This summer we will not have construction to work around, all areas of the building will be available for students and staff, AND we will hopefully not be quarantining for COVID either.  I am not even sure I remember what our typical summer school sessions looked like anymore.  :-)

• Please consider teaching as it is a fantastic way to connect with students in another way, teach subjects that are focused on student and your interests, and the opportunity to work with new things and other grade levels as well.  Our summer school session offers a lot of enrichment options as well remedial and credit recovery options for older students.  For our younger students, it is a fun way to practice routines before the school year starts and meet their upcoming classmates too!

• Bulletin Board
• Please help communicate with your students about pulling on the staples and thumbtacks on the big bulletin board outside the commons.  It may be happening when students are lining up there after lunch too, but if we all send the same message, it will help with the consistency for students as well.  Plus, Courtney works really hard on displaying their work and I would hate for this to be wrecked because students' are touching it.  Plus, students could get hurt if they continue to play with these items.  Thank you in advance for your help.

• Mental Health Grant Consultant
• On Monday, Jessica sent an email to introduce our new mental health grant consultant.  Her name is Nicole Mashock and she will be in the district most Tuesdays and the last Thursday of the month working on putting the mental health grant together for our districts.  You may see her in our SEL data meetings and she is available to help with individual teachers with students that are exhibiting specific behavioral concerns.  Watch for emails from her in the near future with more information.

• PLTW Planning
• We are just about halfway through the school year already.  It is very hard to believe.  I wanted to put a reminder out there to make sure that you have worked with your grade level to plan when you will be teaching your grade's PLTW modules.  The goal is to teach two modules by the end of the year.  It is an important part of our district-wide initiatives with the emphasis on STEAM and our community's values in this area.  If you have questions or concerns, please see me or Mrs. O'Toole to help with this.

• Mid-Year Assessments
• To plan for January, please know that the mid-year assessments for i-Ready and FastBridge will start on Monday, January 9 and will be open for the next 4 weeks.  Please coordinate with your colleagues about when you will be giving these assessments so that there are resources and adults available for students with accommodation plans.  Please see me if you need any additional help for this. 

• Winter Break
• While many of our students and us are looking forward to the holidays and for the long break, please be in-tune for any students that seem to be struggling more this week.  For some, the break provides a week where the routines are off, an unknown about where they are going each day, stress passed on from families that are under more stress, and anxiety about food.  If you notice anything like this, please reach out to the pupil service team or myself so that we can provide help. 

Tech Know Tip

Tis the season for a little fun! BreakoutEDU is an immersive learning game platform with both physical and digital puzzle elements to solve. A physical BreakoutEDU “room” can be time consuming to set up, so that’s where a digital BreakoutEDU “room” can come in handy. BreakoutEDU is provided to all classroom teachers through the IMC- that means you can use the pre-created materials from the site, you can create digital breakout “rooms” specific to your content, and you can create classes of students to view progress and statistics of any of the BreakoutEDU puzzles. Digital BreakoutEDU puzzles can be shared with students via link or QR code- what a fun thing to do as a soft-start/bell ringer, study hall, or end of the day fun. For those not already connected, you will receive an email to get started sometime today. Until then, check this one out as an example!

Friday Funny

I laughed at this for an unusually long time. :-)

December 9, 2022

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• During the para educator meeting this week, lots of feedback was provided about recess and routines.  When we are consistent, the students benefit most.

• The 5K, 2nd and 4th grade students did such a great job at the concert tonight.  The 5K students were cuteness overload, the 2nd graders got us in the holiday spirit, and the 4th graders brought down the house with their excitement and joy in their performance.  Shout out to Ben for putting a wonderful concert together for us all to enjoy!

• The logistics team brought tons of ideas to the table this week and we have a plan to implement next week.  (See below for more details.). Thank you all for your feedback and your work to implement a smoother (hopefully) procedure for after school.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 12
• Apple Guests visiting Dodgeland
• Mad about Plaid Jeans Day
• Bus Duty: Chambers, Schweitzer, Johnson

• Tuesday, December 13
• Wear a college shirt 
• Social Media Posts due: Donovan, TCaine, Huso
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• SEL Data meeting - 5th gr (12:35-1:25pm)

• Wednesday, December 14
• Workout Wednesday
• 2nd Gr Academic Data meeting 12:05-12:55pm
• Staff Meeting in the IMC 3:10-3:55pm

• Thursday, December 15
• Bucks Day (or any sport)
• 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum
• NED assembly at 2pm
• Mentor/Mentee Meeting in IMC @ 3:15pm

• Friday, December 16
• Dodgeland or Christmas Colors Day
• Dodgeland Den staff meeting 11:30-12:00 in Elem. conference room
• Jenny in mtg from 12:30-2pm
• Yo-Yo Sale before and after school only

Nitty-Gritty

• Cellphones at School
• More and more of our students bring their own cellphones to school each day.  Our student handbook discourages students from bringing them to school.  However, if a student does have it, our handbook prohibits students from using it during school hours.  They can use it before and after school hours.  However, they should not be used in the bus lines outside after school.  They can use them on the bus or while walking home/parent car.  To be good models, we should not be on our cellphones during the day while working and with students.  Checking the time is one thing, but answering phone calls, texting others, scrolling through your phone while with students will send a message that it is okay for them.  Please limit your personal cellphone use to your preps, lunch periods and before and after school.

• Friday Lunch (12/9)
• The woman from Grand Canyon University is returning on Friday to provide a pizza lunch, with a veggie tray and dessert in the elementary conference room starting around 11:30am.  Sorry for the late notice, but I was a bit wary after what happened last time.  This way it is a nice surprise, but you still have a lunch in case she isn't able to make it.

• Snow Video
• Please make sure you have signed up to have Mrs. Chambers come visit your classroom to talk about expectations with winter recess.  Click HERE to see and show the video to your classes.

• Updated Bus/After School pick up procedures
• The logistics committee met this week and determined new procedures to help with the behavior of students and in turn the stress of the supervisors as well.

• New Bus Procedures for after school
• Line up in recess lines by the classroom teacher just like when we line up to come inside in the morning.
• 4K and 5k will each have a cone to line up by.
• Jr Coaches will be on hand to assist with these two grades.
• Students will be dismissed by the classroom teacher's name to go to the buses starting with the 5th grade classes.
• Any older students needing to meet a younger sibling (not friend) will wait by the pillars holding up the playground sign until the younger siblings class is called.
• Students should stand in line, hands to themselves, iPads and phones put away.
• Any students that are struggling to follow expectations will be asked to stand against the wall or sit on the bench and will be the last ones to be dismissed.

• New Parent Pickup Procedures for after school
• Students will line up by grade level (cones will be out)
• Students will stand in line, hands to themselves, watching for their ride.
• They will walk to their vehicle once they're ride arrives.
• If their ride or parent is here when they walk out, they should go straight to their vehicle or parent.

TechKnow Tip

The holidays can be a stressful time of the year and we are knee deep in it! Take a moment to think about your digital wellness. Digital wellness is the pursuit of an intentional and healthy relationship with technology. Take a look at this graphic, “Boundaries for Digital Wellness”. Reflect on yourself as a technology user and think about starting a conversation with students about this too. Digital wellness is one facet of being a well-rounded digital citizenship, something all students and staff are aspiring to be.

PD Spotlight

This week has been something else!  I actually found myself going home twice this week and going to bed just to avoid thinking.  I didn't want to think about my day, or what I need to get done, or what I haven't got done or all the people I am disappointing.  So sleep became my tactic.  It didn't really help much though.  Just kicked the issue to the next day.  So when I watched this episode of the PinkCast, I thought he was speaking directly to me.  I needed something to use in the moment so that I can be much more helpful to you.  I am working on using this much more often to see if this does what I need it to do.  At the bottom of the video are some links that give more information that I have read as well.  They are short, but incredibly informative and helpful if you want to know the science behind this psychological sigh.

Friday Funny

File this picture under, "How you know that you are getting older?"  Yes, I may have needed the flashlight so I could read the menu.  Yes, I may have drawn lots of weird looks from others.  And, yes, I may have been laughed at by people at my own table.

Laugh it up, Lexi and Ella!  Your time is coming.  Remember you share half my DNA.  Everything you laugh about now, will be your reality in 20-30 years.   HA!  :-)

December 2, 2022

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Teachers reaching out others to problem solve and brainstorm ideas of ways to address students that are struggling in the classroom.

• Teachers sharing feedback and thoughts with me about concerns they have relating to our system and student behavior.

• Data meetings that celebrate student gains and contain open conversations about ways to improve out intervention instruction for small groups.

• Teachers spending time reviewing classroom and school expectations after having an extended break from school.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 5
• Bus Duty for the week: Miller, Schwoerer, Klis

• Tuesday, December 6
• Social Media posts due to Josh: O'Toole, Bingen, BCaine
• Jenny in a meeting in Watertown (out of the building from 8:30-10:30am)
• SEL data meeting for 5K: 12:05-12:55pm
• Paraprofessional meeting @3:05pm in Elem. Conf. Rm (Recess focus)

• Wednesday, December 7
• Workout Wednesday
• 3rd Grade Academic Data meeting 12:05-12:55pm
• Logistics team meeting at 3:10pm in Elem. Conf rm (topic is bus duty, feel free to join even if you are not on the logistics team)

• Thursday, December 8
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-9:30am
• Elementary Winter Concert 6:30pm (for grades K, 2, 4)

• Friday, December 9

Nitty-Gritty

• Extra Duty Forms
• Did you turn your extra duty forms in?  In order for them to be added to your next paycheck, you must have them turned in to me on Friday.  I then have to go through them and sign for Laura G.  Please add them to my mailbox and I will get them handed in on time. Remember to include the times that you pick up extra recess or lunch coverages, or lose a prep time during the week.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
• In case you missed it, HERE is the link to the 6 min gratitude scavenger hunt.  I love seeing the things, people and places that you are grateful for.  While I was at the Dr this week, the nurse asked me where I work.  She asked me about what I liked about the job and I had to brag to this woman who doesn't know me or anything about our school.  I told her that I work with the most incredible people that are gifted educators and truly care about our students.  I am so very grateful for the Dodgeland Elementary team.

• Gift Card Sale from FBLA
• Amanda Beaudo sent an email out on Thursday about the opportunity to purchase gift cards from the FBLA club as part of their fundraiser. The list of gift cards is HERE.  Orders (including the money) are due to Amanda before December 8th.

• Apple Classroom Changes
• Did you read Brad's email on November 29th this week about the changes to Apple Classroom?  It can now be used on laptop, but there are a few things for us to remember so that it works well for us.  Please save this email in a location where you can access it quickly to help you when you need it.

•  Bus Duty Issue
• If you haven't added feedback and thoughts to the google doc, please do so today.  On Monday, I will combine the feedback/info into a usable form.  Then, I am asking the logistics team to go through this feedback on Wednesday, Dec 7.  As a team, we will make a plan that we can put in place for the bus duty that starts the following week.  

TechKnow Tip

Remember to take a moment to look around your room before you leave for the day. Be sure to unplug holiday lights and turn off your ViewSonic board. For a touch ViewSonic board, long hold the power button until you receive a message regarding shutdown. For a display only ViewSonic board, use your remote control and aim it at the bottom right-hand corner of the TV.

Friday Funny

I would LOVE this Christmas tradition at my house and I'd take it at school too! :-)