December 22, 2023

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• NEXT Week - Winter Break 
• I hope you all have a great holiday and get lots of rest!

• Monday, Jan 1 -  No School

• Tuesday, Jan 2
• Bus Duty: Caine-Arnes, Chambers, Zastrow, Koenings (3K/4K playground)
• New Support Staff Duties
• AM Breakfast - Lexi, Vicky
• AM Circle Drive - Karissa
• PM Circle Drive - Ann, Sandi
• Happy Birthday Trisha Pieper
• NO Lunch Detentions this week
• Social Media Posts due to Jessica: Zastrow, Schuett
• Paraprofessional Meeting in IMC @ 3:15pm-3:45pm

• Wednesday, Jan 3
• Workout Wednesday
• Academic Data meeting - 3rd gr 12:05-12:55pm

• Thursday, Jan 4
• Jenny has to leave at 3:30 for a dr appt

• Friday, Jan 5
• Happy Birthday Sarah Patton
• Jenny at Cesa from 11-3pm

Nitty-Gritty

• SANTA is COMING!!!  I KNOW HIM!!!
• On Friday, December 22, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting Dodgeland Elementary to spread some cheer.  They will have a bag of treats for each teacher to hand out at a time of your choosing.  (They greeting MS/HS students before school and then will make there way down to the elementary wing!)

• Mid-Year Assessments (i-Ready and FastBridge)
• The window for mid year assessments starts on Monday, January 8th.  Please coordinate with interventionists and/or special education teachers regarding the assessments so that students have access to the accommodations they need to do their best work.  In addition to the reading and math assessments, the SAEBRS and mySAEBRS assessment should be done by the end of January as well.

• iPads during Break
• Please make sure that iPads for students in grades 4K-3rd grade are in the case and plugged in so that they can be updated during the winter break.  Any devices that are not in the case and plugged in will not be updated and will most definitely have no charge left when school restarts in January.

• Group Photos for Class pictures
• The photographer(s) will be here on Friday, Jan 12 to take the group photos of each class starting at 8:15 in the morning.  At this time, the photos will be taken in the commons near the new Dodgeland wall.  Please encourage your students to wear purple/Dodgeland apparel that day.

• Summer School???
• Did you forget to sign up to teach summer school this year?  This year there are two sessions again.  The first is our regular session, and the second is a Jumpstart session for invited students only.  The dates are June 10 - July 11, Mon-Thurs only.  July 1-2 only during the 4th of July holiday.  There are a number of options to teach.  If you are not sure what you would like to teach, please let me know and we can talk it through.  Please let me know your interested by clicking HERE.

Recess Information

Next Junior Coach Meetings in the PLTW Lab:

• 4th grade - 1/8/24 at 9:45 
• 5th grade - 1/8 at 2:15

Behavior Specialist Info

In order to have a consistent message, please sign-up for an expectations review time for me to come into your class and review our common spaces and recess expectations after our winter break. It would be great if you plan to be part of the conversation, and paras, if possible try to attend one of the review sessions with a classroom to ensure we are all on the same page with what expectations are and how to enforce them. Sign-up here.

TechKnow Tip

Ho ho ho! It's that time of the year again when we all get excited about the new gadgets and gizmos

that Santa might bring us. But what about the old ones that we no longer need or want? Do we just toss

them in the trash and forget about them? No way! That would be a waste of resources and a threat to the

environment. Instead, we should e-recycle them! E-recycling is the process of safely disposing of electronic

waste and recovering valuable materials that can be reused or recycled. E-recycling is not only good for

the environment, but also for your wallet and your community.

 

How do you e-recycle in Wisconsin? Well, it's easy and convenient. Wisconsin has a statewide e-waste

recycling program called E-Cycle Wisconsin. E-Cycle Wisconsin collects fees from electronics

manufacturers and uses them to reimburse registered collectors and recyclers who accept eligible

devices from households and schools. Eligible devices include TVs, computers, monitors, keyboards,

mice, printers, fax machines, DVD players, VCRs, DVRs, and cell phones. You can find a list of

registered collectors and recyclers near you on the E-Cycle Wisconsin websiteor by calling 1-800-RECYCLE. Take a look at this helpful Infographic for more information!

 

So don't let your old gadgets gather dust in your closet or end up in the landfill. E-recycle them today

and make a difference for tomorrow!

Friday Funny

Last night, this week's Friday Funny just "fell in my lap!"  I am not sure if this is titled, 'Mom Fail' or 'Are you Serious?!'  

Mason called me last night around 7:30 to ask me how to wrap presents.  Initially I started to giggle, but it turned into a full belly laugh when he explained that he has already watched a YouTube video and the crazy lady in it is talking about how to avoid seams on the gift! His response to that was, "Who cares about SEAMS!" So, I start to walk him through it and he is being a very good student.  Then he gets confused on the corners, so I switch to FaceTime, where he gets stuck on the "weird" cut he made and how the tape is much too skinny to wrap presents with.  Listening to him complain about the tape and the presents and then, "How did you do this when we were kids?"  and "I am never having kids so I don't have to do this!"  But, the victory pose at the end makes me laugh even harder.  But wait...Did I fail to teach my son life skills???

BONUS!

The Holiday Photo Booth was entertaining as usual.  Ella, Lexi and I went to get a picture taken last night and we couldn't help but look through the other photos.  When we came across this one, I had to share.  Can I ask what is going on in this picture?  Should I be worried about Brent?

December 15, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• The Doors around the school look so fun!  Thank you for putting in extra time to making the school look so exciting!

• Shout out to all of our students and Gail Hoffman for putting together two fun nights this week for our families and community to enjoy.  Also, to all of the staff that helped put it together with logistics as well.  Thank you all!

• A Special Shout-out to Melissa Arnes for stepping in to help out on concert night and allowing Lexi to tag along while you put out visuals to help them, organized students in the room, and helped give reminders of concert behavior.  :-)

• The first graders were so great with our guest from MyView that was teaching in their classroom this week.  I didn't get to see everything, or sit in on the afternoon meetings.  However, she emailed me and stated that she had really good conversations with you.  I hope that you found it helpful as well.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 18
• Bus Duty: Klink, Lucht, Wedel, Schuett (3K/4K playground)
• Merry Monday - Dress in Green and Red
• Board Meeting at 6:30 in IMC
• MS/HS Choral Concert at 7pm

• Tuesday, December 19
• Social Media Posts due to Jessica: Klink, Donovan, Koenings, Riege
• Winter Wonderland Day - Dress in White or like a snowman
• SEL Data meeting for 4th gr (12:35-1:25)
• Lunch Detention
• 12:00 - Juech
• 12:30 - B Caine
• 1:00 - 
• MS/HS Band Concert at 7pm

• Wednesday, December 20
• Dress like your favorite Holiday character
• 2nd graders on a field trip to Milwaukee Public Museum
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• NO Academic DATA meeting today! (4th grade is moved to January 18)

• Thursday, December 21
• Get Up and Go Day - Dress in your PJ's
• Happy Birthday Alexis Uttech!
• Holiday Photo Booth in the Green Screen Room in IMC
• Everyone that gets their photo taken is entered in a drawing for a gift card
• 5th graders Field trip to Clearview 9:45am-11:15am
• Lunch Detention
• 12:00 - Koenings
• 12:30 - 
• 1:00 - 

• Friday, December 22
• Festive Friday - Wear your ugliest sweater or festive wear
• Citizenship Grades for December due today
• Santa on Trial performances for families at between 10-12pm
• Enjoy your break!  See you on January 2nd! 
• Watch your email for Mrs. Johnson's video on the Personal Day giveaway!

Nitty-Gritty

• Personnel Information
• At the school board meeting on Monday night, they most likely will approve the hiring of a new 2nd grade teacher, Abby Ruplinger.  She will be visiting next week to meet students, some families and staff.  Her official start date is Jan. 2. (Jessica's board update will give you more information.) Please help me welcome her to Dodgeland. 
• This also means that Brent's last day with us full time is Friday, December 22.  Please help me in thanking him for all of his hard work the past 5+ weeks. It is very much appreciated!
• Also, Sandi Amis is planning to be returning after the break, so that means that Brenda Schumacher will not be with us full-time either.  Please help me thank her for filling in and being with us for the last 4+ weeks as well.
• We are hoping we still get to see them both subbing throughout the building next semester though!

• Class Picture Day - New this year
• Please mark your calendars!  On Friday, January 12, LifeTouch will be in the building to take group photos of each class, probably by the Dodgeland Wall in the commons.  There will be order forms and a flyer for parents.  Parents can elect to purchase this additional group photo.

• Citizenship Grades
• Please make sure to update your gradebooks with December citizenship grades by Friday, Dec 21.  If you need to do it after that date, it's okay.  I was just hoping you wouldn't have to work over break!

• PowerSchool How-To's
• There are two things that I found this week that some of you may need assistance with in PowerSchool.  To assist, I will create a screen recording to share with you on Monday.  The first is how to put in log entries for discipline issues.  All staff can put in a log entry regardless of what grade or class the student is in.  Second, if you are looking for contacts for your student, you must do this through PowerTeacher Pro to have the most up to date information that is tied to registration/enrollment.  Please do not use the demographic page as it is an outdated form that can not be taken off of the list.

• Summer School??
• Yep, it's time to start planning for Summer School already.  This year there are two sessions again.  The first is our regular session, and the second is a Jumpstart session for invited students only.  The dates are June 10 - July 11, Mon-Thurs only.  July 1-2 only during the 4th of July holiday.  There are a number of options to teach.  If you are not sure what you would like to teach, please let me know and we can talk it through.  Please let me know your interested by clicking HERE.

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 citizen, something all students and staff are aspiring to be.

Friday Funny

My friend sent this to me last weekend, and I thought, "Wouldn't this be great for all those days that I fall asleep in the chair at night!  

December 8, 2023

 What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 11
• Candy Cane Day - Wear Red and White (Comfy Countdown starts for Staff)
• Happy Birthday Broedy Soter!
• Winter Concert Rehearsal
• 8:45-9:15 for 5K/2nd/4th
• 9:30-10:00 for 1st/3rd/5th
• Morning Recess Schedule
• 9:00-9:15 for 4K/1/3/5 with Mook, Ehlenbeck, Schweitzer, Chambers
• 9:15-9:30 for 5K/2/4 with Schweitzer, Zastrow, Wedel
• NO 9:30 recess
• Mentor/Mentee Meeting for Year 1 certified staff and their mentors from 3:15-4:00pm in IMC
• Concert night for grades 5K/2/4 at 6:30pm (kids arrive by 6:15 in classroom)

• Tuesday, December 12
• Grinch Day - Wear Green
• SEL Data meeting for 5th grade - 12:35-1:25pm in Conf rm
• Concert night for grades 1/3/5 at 6:30pm (kids arrive by 6:15 in classroom)

• Wednesday, December 13
• Early Release schedule (No morning recess)
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10:00am
• MyView Literacy coach will be here from 9-3pm
• 3K/4K consultant (Golshan) from Healthy Minds, Healthy Children grant will be here from 12-2:30
• Workout Wednesday
• Staff Meeting CANCELED - See Below for details

• Thursday, December 14
• Mad about Plaid Day
• Jenny leaving for an appt at 3:45pm

• Friday, December 15
• Purple Pride or Holiday Color Day
• Pyramid Model Leadership meeting 1pm-2pm

Nitty-Gritty

• MyView Literacy Coach visit
• We have a different literacy coach coming in this week. Her name is Blanca Campillo. This is the last time someone will be here in person to answer questions from MyView.  Please complete this survey to help her plan for her visit.  I will be creating a schedule for her to visit classrooms/teachers to talk about your individual classroom(s).  The schedule will have grade levels meeting with the coach throughout the day.

• Proactive Strategy Brainstorming
• If you haven't had a chance to add to the brainstorming doc for behavior strategies, please add them here before Wednesday, 12/13. I changed the format of the document so that we can add ideas easier to it.  If you sent me ideas, I put them in the document for others to read too.

• Staff Meeting on Dec 13
• On Wednesday, anyone that is interested in meeting to go through the ideas that were submitted or suggested for proactive strategies, we will be meeting in the IMC at 3:00.  The purpose of the meeting is to discuss possible system ideas that we can put in place and to discuss what is viable options for us as a team to put in place in our school.  

TechKnow Tip

Are you ready 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. It is a great opportunity for cooperative learning, problem solving, encourages persistence, and an outstanding alternative to movies. For those not already connected, you will receive an email to get started sometime today. Until then, check this one out as an example!

Behavior Specialist Info

As you all know, the closer we get to the holidays and break, the more excitement and in some cases behaviors we see. Please continue to encourage Bucket Filling and use our poms as reinforcement in addition to your classroom management systems.

Recess Info

Oh Wisconsin Weather!

This winter feels different in that the weather has been so much more variable making it really

difficult to have a consistent snow pants/boots rule that makes sense.

Here’s the scoop (at least until the next snow):

• Morning bus duty - staff on duty please continue to monitor the equipment in the morning and close the play structure if it is too slippery/wet.
• Recesses during the day - Boots are required for grass. It is recommended that students continueto dress appropriately according to our weather recommendations (here)
• After school bus duty - K-3 should be playing on the playground or standing in their lines. 4-5 should be playing 4 square, gaga, basketball or standing in their lines.
• No students should be on the snow hills or grass past the end of the blacktop at any time of the day.

Friday Funny

This week's Friday Funny comes from last weekend.  Mason (most know, but he is my middle child that lives in Milwaukee) came to the musical on Saturday night to support his sisters.  At the end of the performance, he waited a little bit, but only saw Ella.  He then decided to go to Kwik Trip to get something to drink for the drive home.  Lexi comes out to the gym and asks where Mason is.  I tell her he left so that he can get back before it starts to snow.  She then calls him, asks where he is and gives him a guilt trip for leaving before she got to see him.  He says, "Do you want me to come back?"  She says, "Yes" and so HE DOES!  This is the picture I took of his return to the school. As you can see, he is not super pleased, but Lexi sure is!  He tells her, "You know when I asked if I should come back, it was to be nice.  Most people would say, 'No, that's okay.' not YES PLEASE!"  I'm not sure if I find it more funny or more sweet that he 1. showed up to support his sisters to something he is not a fan of or 2. that he actually returned to see his big sister whom he had seen for now three weekends in a row or 3. that Lexi is so dang proud of herself for getting him to come back just for her!

December 1, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Teachers advocating for students and their needs in their classroom through email, conversations or discussions with their team.  I always want to hear these things.  I may not have the answer right away, but I always want to hear about it so that we can find a solution together.  I don't want any of us to feel alone in difficult situations!

• Shout out to Brad Modaff and his attention to detail, creative ideas, and hard work to get the technology parts and set design of the musical ready for the kids.  And all this in addition to keeping us going with our school day and the technology needs we all have!

• Shout out to Mrs. Rollins for seeming to know exactly when she needs to bring Watson in to the office for the young and old kids.  They both make us smile and help us calm right down!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 4
• Bus Duty: Schweitzer, BCaine, O'Toole, Braunschweig (4K/5K playground)
• Extra Duty sheets due to Jenny's mailbox
• Fundraiser night at Pizza Ranch in Beaver Dam from 4-8pm towards the German HS students traveling abroad next year.

• Tuesday, December 5
• No Social Media signs ups this week - BUT if you have one, feel free to send it in!
• Coach Maggie from Playworks will be in the building (10-2pm)
• SEL Data mtg for Grade 5K from 12:05-12:55pm
• Paraprofessional staff meeting in the IMC from 3:15-3:45

• Wednesday, December 6
• Academic Data mtg for 5th grade from 12:35-1:25
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, December 7

• Friday, December 8
• Let Trisha Caine know if you want to participate in the door decorating activity by the end of the day

Nitty-Gritty

• District Social Media Archiving
• This is a reminder to read Mr. Modaff's email from November 30th carefully.  It is very important that if you have a social media account that is related to any group, activity or grade in the district that it is archived appropriately to comply with Public Records Laws.  In order to do this, there are steps that must be taken.  Read his email carefully to see what to do and if you have questions, please let him or myself know.

• Hot Lunch Numbers
• To help Natalie in preparing for lunches, if you or any other adult in the class/building are planning to eat hot lunch, please send her an email indicating that so she can account for it during the meal preparation.  Thank you in advance!

• Staff Birthdays
• I realize that we are almost halfway through the year, but this week, someone suggested to me that I add birthdays to the staff announcements for the adults in our system.  Unless you tell me that you do not want your birthday mentioned in the staff announcements, I will start doing this next week.

• Winter Concert Rehearsal (recess changes too!)
• For your planning, please note the rehearsal schedule for your grade below.
• Dec. 11, 8:45-9:15am for grades 5K, 2, 4
• Dec. 11, 9:30-10am for grades 1, 3, 5
• Recess that day will be as follows:
• 9:00-9:15 - 4K, 1, 3, 5 (supervisors are: 4K - Mook, Ehlenbeck, 1,3, 5 - Schweitzer, Chambers)
• 9:15-9:30 - 5K, 2, 4 (supervisors are: Schweitzer, Zastrow, Wedel)
• NO 9:30 recess

TechKnow Tip

• Tis the season... You may be spending more time online shopping, and with that comes the increased potential for phishing scams!  HERE is an article from the United States Postal Inspection Services about "Fake USPS Emails". This "Delivery Failure Notification" can come from an email or text message. So what can you do to protect yourself?
• 1. Did you actually order something online and are awaiting delivery?
• 2. Check on your orders or packages directly from the purchase site, verification email, or with a verified tracking number. Tracking numbers can be put into websites such as usps.com, ups.com, fedex.com, or track.amazon.com. Remember, this is not an exhaustive list.
• If you do receive a message about a failed delivery that you believe to be valid, contact the post office directly. Try to have your tracking number handy.
• If you are sending packages to loved ones, share with them any tracking numbers and estimated time of arrival to help them stay safe too.

Friday Funny

I was going to have my Friday Funny be about poor Lexi and her difficulty with painting straight lines. The rectangle window on the set was 'Just a bit' crooked! Of course, after she works on this for a substantial amount of time, Brad says, "You know, we could just nail 2x4's that are painted instead!"  Lexi took it in stride as they then showed her a nifty tool called a level!  However, I am not going to use that since I have now been called up from the minor league to operate a spotlight during the show on Friday only.  This is what they say to me, "It's so easy.  It's easy to learn, You don't need lots of practice!!"  Well, I say "HA" to that!  

I have a significant height disadvantage for this process and then Brad says, don't touch the red button, you don't need it, so what do I do?  I accidentally move it while I'm trying to open the shutter.  Then I freak out because I probably wrecked something now, but can't figure out what just happened.  Plus, I couldn't hear the show and still listen to Brad and Ella in this earpiece thing. The sound of the fan of the light is in my ear and then they say, just follow the script on the iPad so you know when the spotlight is needed.  I publicly apologize to Lexi for teasing her about a rectangle, because the things that Brad and Ella think are so easy, are definitely NOT!  My plan for Saturday is the "game" below!

November 24, 2023

I hope all of you are getting LOTS of time to rest and play this weekend.  Personally, I just had two of the most relaxing and laughter filled days in months!  Thus, the blog is coming out later than normal! Thanks for being understanding...

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 27
• Bus Duty: TCaine, Riege, Juech, Vertz (4K/5K playground)
• Tech Week for Musical - Students in the multipurpose room, music wing, etc for extra time each day this week
• School Board meeting: 6:30pm

• Tuesday, November 28
• Social Media Posts due: Schwoerer, Braunschweig
• SEL Data mtg 1st Gr from 12:05-12:55pm
• Lunch Detention supervisors
• 12:00 - Miller
• 12:30 - Braunschweig
• 1:00 - Schwoerer

• Wednesday, November 29
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny in meeting from 8-9am
• Academic Data mtg 5K from 12:05-12:55pm
• Staff Meeting 3:10-3:55pm in IMC

• Thursday, November 30
• Lunch Detention supervisors
• 12:00-Schuett
• 12:30 - Donovan
• Extra duty Sheets go through 11/30 and due to me by 12/4

• Friday, December 1
• New Support Staff duties start:
• Breakfast 7:35-7:55am - JessicaB, Rose
• AM Circle Drive: Brittany
• PM Parent Pick up: Reilly, BethanyT
• Laptop and iPad device updates should be done by today!
• Elementary Assembly: Elf Musical preview
• Please have your students packed up before you come to the gym to watch. Please start arriving by 2:05 as it will start promptly at 2:10 pm and will end around 2:55pm.
• Musical performances this weekend
• Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Extra Duty Sheets
• All extra duty sheets for the first semester will include times through November 30.  Please turn in completed sheets to my mailbox by Monday, Dec 5.  These will be paid out on the Dec 15 pay check.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• Holiday Planning
• As we are now in officially in the holiday season, I want to remind you of a few things as we are planning for this month.  This time of year can be very stressful for some of our families which in turn can cause stress for our students.  Some students come from families that do not celebrate Christmas, but other holidays.  Some students are anxious about whether Santa is coming to their house whether from behavior or from financial hardships from the family.  In addition, the more things go out of our regular routine, the more stressful it can be for some of our students as well.  As you are planning, please make sure to keep the focus on learning and consistent expectations for kindness, respect and behavior.  In addition, as you are planning celebrations, please use the word Holiday in the title rather than Christmas so that it is inclusive of all holidays that are celebrated at this time of year.  In addition, our December calendar will have dress up days for the week before break, but they will be as inclusive as we can but still developmentally appropriate for our students.  If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Click HERE to see this year's dress up days.

• Device Updates
• Brad sent out an email a couple of weeks ago with instructions on how to update your devices.  Your MacBooks should be updated to 14.1.1 and the iPads should be at 17.1.1.  Make sure to have this done by December 1, otherwise it may happen at a time that is very inconvenient for your teaching day.  If you need help, the how to videos are below.
• Updating your Laptop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2DXkPA93g
• Updating your iPad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps5ZwBdTp_E

• Activity Account
• I have been working on getting the activity account up to date so that you all have the information you need regarding the balance of the money that is available for your grade.  In addition, Laura has notified me that the district will pay $425 towards transportation for each grade 4K-5th.  This may or may not be the total for one trip per grade depending on the number of buses the grade uses and where you are going.  Also, the profit from the fundraiser has been added in to each grades balance sheet.  It worked out to be about $17/student.  If you need the link for your grades balance sheet, please let Trisha or myself know and we can send you the link.

TechKnow Tip

The holidays are coming up and with new technology coming out every year, what do we do with our old

ones? It is illegal to throw away certain electronics in Wisconsin, so what do we do? Do we sell them

online, or donate them to charity? Well, there's another option: E-recycling.E-recycling is the process of safely disposing of electronic waste and recovering valuable materials that

can be reused or recycled. E-recycling is not only good for the environment, but also for your wallet

and your community.

 

How do you e-recycle in Wisconsin? Well, it's easy and convenient. Wisconsin has a statewide e-waste

recycling program called E-Cycle Wisconsin, which was established in 2010. E-Cycle Wisconsin collects

fees from electronics manufacturers and uses them to reimburse registered collectors and recyclers who

accept eligible devices from households and schools. Eligible devices include TVs, computers, monitors,

keyboards, mice, printers, fax machines, DVD players, VCRs, DVRs, and cell phones. You can find a list

of registered collectors and recyclers near you on the E-Cycle Wisconsin websiteor by calling 1-800-RECYCLE. You can also check with your local municipality or waste hauler for

other e-recycling options in your area. Take a look at this helpful Infographic for more information!

PD Spotlight

I was reading a summary of a professional book a couple of weeks ago and thought about how different this is from when I was going to college and even more so from when I was a student in elementary school.  I also recognize quite a few things on this list from classrooms I have been in.  So I am sharing this one page pdf summary of the book, "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics" by Peter Liljedahl of 14 strategies to help do this in our classrooms.  I hope that it reinforces techniques you already do and adds ideas to your tool belt as well.

Friday Funny (with a couple of Bonus ones)

So this week, I have three Friday Funnies for you.  All of them are from this past week in the Huelsman family vault of experiences.

1. Last Wednesday, I had a dr appt at 8am.  I arrived on time and the parking lot was pretty empty and I parked pretty close to the door.  The appt was about 90 min. long and when I left I had a LOT to think about. (I'm fine, but I might get to hear better very soon!) When I walk out the door, my first thought was, "Where did I park?"  I didn't see a single maroon SUV anywhere.  Then I notice that in the spot I thought I parked was a minivan with no hub caps and a sizable dent in the back and I realized that my dang kids have got to be behind this.  I immediately call Ella who answers the phone by cackling loudly and every time I ask where my car is, she responds with "What?  What do you mean?  You lost your car?"  (BTW, yes, they took it to see how long it would take for me to notice.  I did much better with this test than the missing items from my office test!)

2. I LOVE my hometown.  If you don't know, I am originally from Markesan and while I grew up on a farm right off Hwy 73 halfway between Markesan and Randolph, my parents moved into the "city" a few years ago and so that is where we spend most holidays.  At this time of the year, the town builds their own roundabout in the center of town, and I think it is just about the best small town thing I've ever seen right down to the spray painted tree in the middle of the sign!

3. Finally, I must tip my hat to the person or persons that are placing the ducks around the school.  I haven't given up, but I do need to publicly acknowledge that you are good.  Very good.  I haven't been able to find you yet, but I will.  When I got to my car after last Friday's admin meeting and saw a beautiful heart on the ground outside my car made of tiny ducks, I will admit to laughing hysterically at your bold actions.  Don't think I've let my guard down!  :-)

November 17, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 5th graders were playing Jeopardy to study for their upcoming math test.  They were engaged and working hard on the sample problems!

• 2nd Graders playing against their teacher in math and enjoying immensely that they tie so often with her, but still really want to beat her!

• Shout out to Rose Fobes who worked very hard this week helping our new students get enrolled and then she worked hard to help them transition to the school.

• Shout out to our 4K teachers, paras and Teresa who are working so hard with a number of students that are really struggling to follow the routines of the school and to keep their hands to themself.  I know it is exhausting, but there are small wins occurring, it is just not as easy to see each day.  But, trust me it is there!

• I have really enjoyed getting to spend extra time with some of your classes with the Monopoly Madness winners.  Thank you for sharing them with me!  It helps me remember what is really important about our jobs!

• The state report cards are officially out and we have received some really kind words of affirmation and pride from our community.  I hope you are hearing those words as well, but in case you haven't, let me tell you again how excited I am for you all and the results of your hard work!

What's Happening At Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 20
• Bus Duty - Since it is a short week, I am asking some of you that have alternate duties to help me out these two days.  Thank you in advance for your help.
• Schwoerer, Huelsman, Johnson (4K/5K playground) Rollins

• Tuesday, November 21
• Social Media posts due: Brenda Caine, Mook
• Biography Fair in IMC from 10:00-11:00 am

• Wednesday, November 22 - Friday November 24
• Thanksgiving Break - Enjoy your time off

Nitty-Gritty

• Thanksgiving Resources
• Below are some resources for different grade levels regarding Thanksgiving and ways to discuss the holiday with respect and authenticity.  
• DPI Website: Teaching Thanksgiving With Accuracy and Authenticity
• Wisconsin First Nations: American Indian Studies in Wisconsin
• National Education Association
• Plimoth Patuxet Museums: You Are the Historian Game (Upper Elementary)

• Elf the Musical Tickets
• This year the musical tickets are being sold online.  Every staff member can receive one free complimentary ticket to the musical.  To get a promotion code to use to get your ticket, make sure to fill out the form HERE.  You can choose the code to get tickets at our new online ticketing platform.  See below for the flyer.

• Winter Music Concerts
• Planning ahead for your calendars:  December 11 will be the winter concert for K/2/4 and December 12 will be the concert for 1/3/5.  Mrs. Hoffman and/or Mr. McKay will be in contact with more specifics as it comes closer.

• Kids Heart Challenge T-Shirts
• Mr. Schweitzer emailed out directions on how to order a shirt with this year's design for the Kids Heart Challenge.  If you have any questions about this, please see him.

Behavior Specialist Information

As you are creating your lesson plans for after break, please include time to review our school wide expectations. 

HERE is the link to our videos.

Recess Information

Please plan to review recess expectations after break. 

The updated videos will come out in a separate email.

TechKnow Tip

You might have seen some notifications on your devices asking you to update them. You might have also ignored

or delayed these updates, thinking that they are not that important or that they will take too much of your time.

But let me tell you, updating your devices is very important for your security and performance!

Updating your devices can help you avoid cyberattacks that can harm your data and devices. Cyberattacks can include

ransomware, malware, phishing, and more. You don’t want to lose your valuable data or have your device

locked by hackers, do you? Updating your devices can also help you access the newest features and improvements

that can improve your teaching experience. Updating your devices can also fix any issues or glitches that might

affect your device’s speed, stability, or compatibility. 

So, please don’t ignore and update your devices as soon as possible. By doing so, you can enjoy your teaching

experience and keep your digital environment safe and sound!

Friday Funny

I always seem to notice "faces" in things. In fact, there is a house on my way to work that I swear was designed

so that it has a grumpy face on it's side and it makes me smile each time I see it. So when I saw this picture,

it made me laugh and feel good that others do this too. Do you see what I mean? I'm not the only one, am I???

November 10, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Watson and Mrs. Rollins are such a great team and I love how much they affect our students.  This week, I saw Watson welcome students that were tardy for school.  One student looked like her morning was rough, but one minute with Watson and she was all smiles on her way to her classroom.  I am so glad to have this team at our school!

• Shout out to Chris V. who starts off our Dodgeland Den kids' days with consistency and a welcoming smile.  Thank you so much Chris!

• 2nd graders had a great conversation about how to make friends and examples of how to be kind to another. We read "How to Lose All Your Friends" by Nancy Carlson.  It was a great conversation starter!

• I was reminded of the Mailbox Buddies program that has been in place for a couple of summers now.  I can not believe I forgot to mention it at our staff meeting this week.  This was a great way to put new books into students hands over the summer. Thank you Christina, Sue and Mitch for working on this!

• Shout out to Stephanie Plewa for National School Psychologist Week! We are so lucky to have such an amazing psychologist at our school that keeps us all on track and supports our students and their learning!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 13
• Bus Duty: Anderson, Miller, Huso, Mosher (4K/5K playground)
• American Education Week begins

• Tuesday, November 14
• Social Media posts due to Jessica: Miller, Lucht, Riege
• SEL Data meeting - 2nd grade 12:05-12:55pm in Elem conf rm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• Huso - 12-12:30
• BCaine - 12:30-1:00
• Bingen - 1:00-1:30

• Wednesday, November 15
• Workout Wednesday
• Academic Data meeting - 1st gr 12:05-12:55pm in Elm conf rm

• Thursday, November 16
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• Schuett - 12-12:30
• Donovan - 12:30-1:00

• Friday, November 17
• Jenny in meeting from 10-11 am
• SEL Data mtg 4K 11:40-12:25pm in elem. conf rm
• Pyramid Model Leadership mtg @ 1pm in Elem. conf rm

Nitty-Gritty

• TA schedule for Friday, 11/10
• The schedule for High School has changed on Friday due to the assembly.  If you have a TA on Friday this may affect when they come to your classroom. See below:
  
• 1st hr: 7:50-8:17
• 2nd hr: 8:20-8:47
• 3rd hr: 8:50-9:19 (then transition to HS gym)
• 4th hr: 10:25-10:53
• 5th-8th hour are normal time periods

• Sound and Lighting Equipment
• On November 15, the audio and lighting equipment will be set up for the high school musical performance in the Multipurpose room.  It will be important for students to stay away from the system during PE and it also could affect any possible indoor recesses as well.  Please help remind / reinforce how important it is to be careful in PE around this equipment.

• JamBoard Alternative
• If any of you use JamBoard in your classrooms, you may have heard that it is planning to be discontinued by Google next year.  If you are looking for an alternative to this, there is a program called Kami.  Click HERE to see a blog post describing it and the main page is HERE.

• Clearview Request
• This week I had a call from the Director of Life Enrichment at Clearview.  She is looking for ways to provide some intergenerational activities for her residents.  They have not been able to have any children visitors in the past 3+ years due to COVID.  They are now open for visitors.  This could be in a variety of options.  Anything from singing/playing concerts, reader's theater, etc.  If you have an idea for ways that our students could show kindness, citizenship, leadership, etc and make their day as well, let's talk about ways to make this happen.  The director's name is Amanda Stein and her email address is astein@co.dodge.wi.us

• So, I am failing so far...
• These ducks just keep appearing.  And now they seem to have found some friends to join them in the shape of tiny colorful babies.  I will admit that I am enjoying the mystery of figuring this out.  Here is what I know.
• They have not made it to the district office.  
• The MS and HS level have no idea what I am talking about when I mention it.  (The looks on their face as I describe it tells me they think I am losing my mind as well!)
• They are appearing inside drawers, pockets, refrigerators and even the supply room.
• The ducks (and now babies) are noticed, but not always within a narrow enough time for me to narrow down my options.
• I am suspecting that the suspect is recruiting help.
• Just so you know, I do not give up easily. :-)

TechKnow Tip

Cult of Pedagogy is a great website by Jennifer Gonzalez for all things instruction, classroom management, and technology. She has outstanding blogs, podcasts, and videos about the art and science of teaching. I particularly love her article “What to Do on Lame Duck School Days” where she shares 30 alternatives to movie watching on “lame duck days” such as the days before a holiday break. She has the activities broken down into low, medium, and high-prep to help find a good fit for you and your classroom.

PD Spotlight

So I had an experience this week where I felt like the most ineffective and worst teacher/principal in the world.  I had a small group of children who gave me a run for my money.  It was not a shining moment for me.  So I took a deep breath, admitted that I need help and then I started looking for research and help.  I started with my colleagues and then I started to look for other research as well.  Here is one thing that I found, that I am going to try.  This article describes ways to talk to students that will affect the culture of the classroom.  I especially like that it describes the way you want to say something and then follows with another way to say a similar thing and also explained why the suggestion may have better results.  I share this with you in case you find yourself in a similar situation.  As we talked about this week, we need each other and together we will move forward.  Please see Teresa, the pupil services team or myself if you want to talk through anything!

Friday Funny

And we wonder why it is so tricky to learn how to spell and read in English.  Bless you all for the work you do to help our students become strong readers and writers!

November 3, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 3rd grade students naming the genre they are reading and a description of it along with how they know the story they are reading fit in that genre!

• Kids are being bucket fillers and making good choices all over the building this week!

• Students were very patient waiting for their turn for the Vision Screening on Thursday!

• 1st graders were using their phonics skills to make new CVC words in their MyView books.

• Shout out to Amber, Mitch, Teresa, Sue, Brenda, Ella, Reilly, Patrick and the many others who stepped in to help cover classes, duties and students this week.  It is always appreciated.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 6
• Bus Duty: Arnes, Chambers, Zastrow, Koenings (4K/5K playground)
• Citizenship grades in the gradebook for October due by 3pm today.

• Tuesday, November 7
• Social Media posts due to Jessica: Juech, Stampfl, Schweitzer, Jenkins
• Fundraiser Pick up in Commons from 3-6pm
• SEL Data meeting for 3rd gr in Elem. conf. rm 12:05-12:55pm
• Paraprofessional meeting in IMC 3:15-3:45pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Miller
• 12:30 - Donovan
• 1:00 - Bingen

• Wednesday, November 8
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Early Release for students at 12:20pm
• Workout Wednesday
• Important Staff meeting for all certified staff and paras that are not assigned to the Dodgeland Den students @ 12:45pm

• Thursday, November 9
• Lunch Detention Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Juech

• Friday, November 10
• Veterans Assembly at 9:30am (It will start promptly at 9:30, please dress professionally due to our guests in the building.) - See below for recess times for the day.

Nitty-Gritty

• Looking Ahead for Planning
• During the week of November 20, all elementary classes will come in to the library for 15 min. book check out.  Watch your email for a link to sign up for a time to bring your class.  If you have library normally on Mondays or Tuesdays, you will not have a regular library lesson.

• PLTW Modules/Units
• About 25% of the school year has already passed this year.  Can you believe that? As you think about the rest of the year, please have a plan of when you plan to teach two PLTW modules this year.  Work with your team and other grades to in case you need to share materials and the PLTW lab as well.

• Early Release Next Week
• As we learned from the last early release in September, there is about a 30 min. period of time between our last lunch/recess period and when the MS/HS students finish their lunch to get on the bus.  Please watch for an email regarding this time period in the hopes that we can create a calmer end of the day.  Also, remember there are no morning recesses that day.
• Paraprofessionals - You will work your normal hours that day and will have a specific schedule similar to last time. However, there may be some differences depending on the number of students staying in Dodgeland Den for the afternoon and for some of you I need you to attend the staff meeting as well. Watch for an email regarding the specifics early next week.
• Finally, there is a VERY important staff meeting that I need certified staff and paras not assigned to the den to attend on Wednesday afternoon.  It will start around 12:45.  I realize that you have a lot of collaboration that you need to do with your team, so I will make this a concise meeting so that you can get to your to-do list. 

• Fundraiser Pick up
• If anyone is looking for something to do on Tuesday afternoon, please consider coming down to the commons to hand out fundraiser boxes to families.  Many of the families pick up right after school, so even if you can only help from 3:15-3:45/4pm, it would be helpful.  Thank you for considering it! (or if you know of some MS or HS students that would like to help, I will gladly take their help!)

Recess Information

Veteran’s Day Recess Times

4k - same

5k-2 8:50-9:05

3-5 9:05-9:20

Snack after the assembly or whenever you can fit it in.

TechKnow Tip

Gmail Tips and Tricks

Folders in Gmail are a great way to keep those important messages without them getting lost in the

endless inbox. This article takes you step-by-step on creating folders in a web browser as well as the app.

Reply vs. Reply All - there is a difference! Check out this videosharing a great trick to ensure you don’t reply all when it isn’t imperative. 

An email signature makes your emails trustworthy by showing your recipients who they’re corresponding

with, providing recipients with your contact details. Learn how to create one here. 

We all have digital security on the brain after Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Don’t forget to use the Phish Alert Button () when you come across a fishy email. You can read more about it here.

Friday Funny

Lexi, Ella and I park in this parking lot in Beaver Dam.  Ella said to us, "Umm, something does not look right with those parked cars there."  And at that point, we looked over and started laughing.  This is a lot with angled parking spots with multiple rows outside the Dunham's Sports store.  Somebody's not in the right spot.  Lucky for the driver of the little gray car, the drivers of the white car came out first!  :-)