March 17, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 4K teachers created a very memorable St. Patrick's Day for their class.  In fact, there may have been leprechauns in the copy machine making green coloring sheets for the Dodgeland Den kids!  :-)

• I had the opportunity to sit in on quite a few IEP meetings lately.  I am always in awe when I get to listen to our special education teachers explain to parents and staff the present level of performance and goals for the next year.  They make it so easy to understand, even difficult to hear information.

• Staff members coming together to problem solve struggling students.  I am so proud to work with such professionals that work hard at trying to create structures that help students thrive at school.

• Staff coming to me to share questions, concerns and comments.  I always want to hear from you and discuss any things that are on your mind.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, March 20
• Bus Duty: Miller, Schwoerer, Klis

• Tuesday, March 21
• Social Media Posts due to Josh: Donovan
• SEL meeting for 2nd gr: 12:05-12:55pm
• Jenny leaving for Dr. appt at 2:15pm

• Wednesday, March 22
• Workout Wednesday
• Academic meeting for 5th gr: 12:35-1:25pm
• John Schlender is in the building today
• Staff Meeting in IMC @ 3:10pm

• Thursday, March 23
• Jenny in meeting from 8-9am

• Friday, March 24
• Run for State - 8:30am
• Jenny in meeting from 9-10am
• Willy Wonka kids for Elementary students show 2:15pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Elementary Musical
• Next week is the Elementary Musical performances.  The group will be performing for students and staff on Friday afternoon.  Please be in the gym and fully seated by 2:15. The show is approximately 35-40 min. long.  You may want to have students packed up before they come to the gym for the show.  If you are looking for something to do this weekend, they will be performing for the public on Friday and Saturday (3/24-3/25) at 6:30pm.

• Technology Spring Cleaning
• It's just about spring.  It's a good habit to do a little technology spring cleaning, just like people do in their homes!  Are there photos, emails, files, etc that need to be cleaned up, deleted, or organized?  How about your students' devices?  Do they need to be wiped down as well?  I know I tend to hang on to things way too long and then I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of items at the end of the year.  Taking time to do a little at a time might alleviate this stress later this year.

• Summer School
• Next Monday, a teacher recommendation form will be ready for you to use to recommend students for academic classes for summer school.  In addition, there will be a recommendation for the Jumpstart session that is at the end of July.  (If you would like to teach during those two weeks (10 days total), please let me know.  It will be a great way to get those that really need it a jumpstart to the new school year.  Registration will officially start on Tuesday, March 28.

• Staff Meeting
• Next week's staff meeting is going to be centered on planning for the Forward exam. Although, not all of us are a part of proctoring, all of us are a part of providing the structure and environment for our students to do their best.  By working together, we can help alleviate as much stress as possible from the process for each other and our students.  Come prepared with your questions and ideas.

TechKnow Tip

Khan Academy just launched an “AI for education” course on their Life Skills section. This self-paced course shares information on artificial intelligence (AI) which has become more common in our daily lives with tools like ChatGPT. What is it exactly? How does it work? What benefits and challenges does it present for students, teachers, and parents? This quick course (about 20 minutes) discusses these questions as well as how to talk to students about AI and help them use it appropriately and responsibly. This course even has some great ideas on how teachers can use it too!

Friday Funny