September 22, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Interventions are getting started with a number of students.  Our Reading Corps tutors have also been working very hard to get assessments done, testing with their leaders and are getting ready to make a schedule so that kids can be seen and work on their deficit areas.  Thank you in advance for working with them so that kids can get this opportunity.

• Huge shout out to the many people that stepped in this week to help out when Ella and I had to leave unexpectedly.  I truly appreciate it.

• Teachers advocating for a different procedure for students at the end of the day to help keep them busy while waiting and so they don't get into trouble.

• Teachers communicating and problem solving with Teresa to come up with proactive ideas to help students with regulation or implement procedures to avoid repeat issues.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, September 25
• Rapid Cycle Feedback Planning Form due for EP
• Bus Duty: Arnes, Chambers, Zastrow, Koenings (4K/5K playground)
• EP Meeting on SLO's in IMC at 3:15pm
• Rapid Cycle Feedback Planning Sheet is due for certified staff
• School Board Meeting at 6:30pm

• Tuesday, September 26
• Social Media Posts due to Jessica: Klink, Schuett

• Wednesday, September 27
• Early Release - No morning Recess, dismissal at 12:20pm, lunch is between 11-12pm for students
• Mailbox Buddy Pizza party is on Wednesday (See Sue's email for the list of participants)
• Workout Wednesday
• MyView Literacy Coach visit
• STAFF MEETING CANCELED - If anyone needs to see me, please sign up on my calendly Link HERE.

• Thursday, September 28
• Jenny will be gone from school until noon

• Friday, September 29
• Is i-Ready or fall assessments done in your classroom?

• Saturday, September 30
• Trojan Athletic Booster Club Golf Outing - 11:30 registration, 1pm start time, Registration is HERE.

Nitty-Gritty

• Early Release Schedule
• The goal of the Early Releases this school year is to provide time for staff to collaborate as teams more regularly than might be possible in an average week.  For 2 of these sessions, we will also have the opportunity to work with our literacy coach from MyView to help us plan and to answer questions while planning and collaborating.  For specials teachers, please join a group that fits with your work, or connect with your colleagues in similar departments or grades to collaborate.
• All Paras will work their regular hours on the Early Release Days.  Once I know for certain which students will be in attendance that afternoon, I will let you know your exact schedule for that day.  For many of you, your lunch period will move to a different part of the day.  In addition, you will have some time to meet with your special ed team or with grade levels to collaborate and plan as well.
• There are mini-sessions offered and open to all staff in the IMC on Wednesday afternoon.  See the flyer below for more details.
  
  
  
• The Recess and Lunch schedule is changed for the early release days.  We will be eating first that day and the first group has 4 grades going through the lines so we will need to be as efficient as possible.  3K's schedule will remain exactly the same.  Click here to see the time schedule for the other grades for recess and lunch times.  For this first day, if you are available during Lunch, please join the regular staff in the commons.

• MyView Literacy Coach visit
• Our literacy coach this year is Nancy Christman.  She will be joining us on Wednesday from 9-3pm.  She will be visiting classrooms to get a visual of our classroom and meet some of our students.  She also will observe some literacy lessons. Do not worry about planning something specific for her, just whatever you normally would do. Since it is an early release day, I am asking if you have literacy in the afternoon normally, can you adjust your schedule if she is scheduled in your room so that she can see a bit of the literacy instruction.  Click HERE to see the schedule for observations.  For teachers in 4/5, please let me know if anyone is interested in meeting with her individually about this specific to your classroom or students at 11.
• In addition to the observations, she will be meeting with grade levels in the elementary conference room in the afternoon, 5K-2 and 3-5.  To help make this time useful, please add your questions, concerns, etc to this google survey so that I can send them to her to help her prep for us and make the best use of this information.

• Dodgeland Den on Sept 27
• There will be a list of students that are going to Dodgeland Den sent on Tuesday afternoon that is as up-to-date as possible.  This will also state where these students should report after school.  If you are a para in the building, you will also get a schedule of where you will be for the afternoon as well.  Please watch for that email to come out soon.

• Gum and Candy
• We are finding gum, candy and wrappers in places that it shouldn't be including on furniture, on the turf in the playground, and even just stuck on our books and materials.  I recognize that sometimes students need gum as a regulation technique, however, if it isn't used appropriate, a new strategy may need to be used.  Gum and candy are never allowed at recess on the blacktop or playground or in the library.

• EdCamp coming to Watertown
• Click HERE to see the flyer for a FREE Edcamp in Watertown in November.  It can be used for an alt comp checkmark as well.

• HS TA's in the Elementary
• I absolutely love that we have students in our High School that want to come down and work with us and our students.  Please remember though, that this a class for them that they are earning grades in as well as elective credit towards graduation.  This means that they can and should be held to a high standard, but also remembering that they are still students.  They will benefit from our guidance and feedback so that they can be the best TA's they can be.  This means that if you see them in a situation that is disrupting the routines or procedures, please calmly tell them what you need them to do or the rationale for why we do the things we do.  While giving high fives to students seems harmless, as we found out this past week, it causes a large disturbance to the flow and energy level of our student body when it is done at an inappropriate time.  Also, just like the rule in the High School, cell phones should not be used or seen when they are in the elementary wing.  Finally, remember that while the TA's are really patient and kind and helpful with some of our neediest students, this does not negate the need for an adult to be within close proximity or still closely supervised.  A TA should not be expected to intervene in discipline situations, or left alone with students at any time.  If you have any questions about this, please see me.

• Whole Class Bucket Filling
• The bucket filling challenge has started.  We are on the look out for students and classes that are filling buckets around the school.  Poms will be handed out to individuals or groups when they are showing kindness, helping others and being respectful and responsible.  Please continue to give feedback to our students when they are doing exactly what we want them to do so that they continue to do these things.

• WIN Intervention
• Our interventionists did a lot of the assessing so that they can get started with intervention as soon as they could.  As grade levels, if you haven't already, please collaborate so that the intervention blocks can get up and running as soon as possible.  This means that every student is geting "What I (they) Need."  Please make sure that you are making the most of this time so that students can work on reading, math and/or SEL during the week.  This may be something that you use your time on Wednesday to meet about as well.

TechKnow Tip

As we all get back into the swing of things, encourage your students to exercise great problem solving skills with their school device. Here are some trouble-shooting solutions you can suggest:

• If the iPad is generally slow or a system isn’t working well: complete a hard restart by holding down the screen lock and home button until the white apple appears.

• If an app is not working as usual: Completely close out of the app by double tapping the home button and swipe up on the troubled app. If that does not work, head to self-service to reinstall an app. 

• If Safari is not allowing a website: go to settings, select Safari along the left menu, select “Clear History and Website Data” from the right menu. 

• If Safari is not remembering Google login credentials: double check the student is not in a private browser. This can be checked by clicking the square menu button in the far left, top corner. 

• Students should know how to log into their applications & sites. If they do not please refer them to the beginning of the school year presentation. This presentation should be accessible in their Advisory Schoology course.

Behavior Specialist Information

Please continue to reinforce expectations taught this week and be generous in handing out bucket filling poms/your classroom management system. Some highlights from our expectations talk are:

*Level 0 (no talking) anytime we are in the hall (except for before and after school, then level 1 voice chatting with friends is ok).

*Walking feet on the right side of the hall always.

*1 pump of soap and 2 paper towels always.

*Level 1 (talking so only the person right next to you can hear) in the lunch line and at the lunch tables.

Recess Information

PLEASE make sure you are on time to your recess duty. Likely you will need to end your class a couple of minutes early on your duty day to have students lined up and ready to go. We realize that at times you need to use the bathroom. Please call the office or have a colleague stand in the hall so that you can use the bathroom outside of your 15 minute recess duty. It is ESSENTIAL that we have adults on the playground when students are at recess.

Friday Funny

This is my nemesis!  It is a fairly new lawn mower that I finally used for the first time last weekend.  I have had a few different people that have used this very machine to mow my yard.  It always took them about 45 to 60 min. to finish.  So last Sunday, I decided I can totally do this.  I don't need a High School teenager to show me how to do this. I'm smart. I'm independent. I. was. wrong.  I do need them.  I began mowing and an hour and half later, I ran out of gas at the VERY back of the yard and had not finished yet.  (See below). I had SO MUCH left to do. (I didn't even touch the section to the west of my driveway at all!)  How on earth did they get this all done in less than an hour?  I had failed and I had to be rescued by Lexi who was oh so kind about it. (Insert eye roll).  Ella keeps asking me, "What were you doing for that hour and a half?  Mowing the same section over and over?"  I don't even know what to say to her because it does seem illogical that I can be this far behind their rate of completion.

This machine will not defeat me though.  I will win.  I may need to start over this weekend, but I will get this done and it will look amazing. It was humbling and I did look pathetic and the neighbors probably think I'm crazy, but I'm determined.  This mower and it's weird "steering wheel handles" and the buttons I don't understand will be mastered.  Just in time for winter.  :-)