February 2, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Second graders are graphing and analyzing results with strong vocabulary and critical thinking skills.  I love listening to their thinking!

• Shout out to Blasia, Hailey and Trisha C who shared details with parents in such a kind and celebratory way that it brought tears to my eyes.  The mother walked out feeling very proud of their child and the hard work they have put in for the past year.  Plus, they were realistic about present levels and next steps.  Very well done!

• The SIT meeting process always reminds me of how observant and in tune staff are with their students.  Plus, I love hearing the planning for next steps for students.  Our students are very lucky to have such talented and caring professionals that are advocating for them.

• Shout out to Stephanie Plewa and her amazing organization skills and her ability to keep us all on track to complete the numerous steps of evaluation, answer our questions clearly, and participate in professional conversations that makes me think and problem-solve to benefit students!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, February 5
• Bus Duty: Klink, Lucht, Wedel, Schuett (3K/4K playground)
• Jenny at a dr appt - Should be in by 9am
• Start of National School Counselor Week!  Wear Neon/Bright Colors!

• Tuesday, February 6
• Jenny at a different dr appt - Should be in by 11am
• Crazy Hat Day 
• Social Media Posts due: Juech, CaineT
• SEL Data meeting - 1st gr 12:05-12:55pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Wedel
• 1:00 - Schwoerer
• Paraeducator staff meeting in the IMC - 3:15-3:45pm

• Wednesday, February 7
• Workout Wednesday/PJ/Comfy Day
• 100th Day of school
• Academic Data Meeting - 5th gr 12:35-1:25pm

• Thursday, February 8
• 101st Day of School
• Wear Yellow to Brighten Someone's Day
• Playworks Coach will be visiting - 9am-1pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open
• Are your devices updated?  If not, they will automatically upstart at 11 am on Friday!

• Friday, February 9
• Happy Birthday Jessica Johnson!
• College Apparel or Dodgeland Gear Day
• Device updates start at 11am today.

Nitty-Gritty

• Device Updates
• Per Brad's emails in the past week, we are in charge of making sure that our devices are updated on time.  Our laptops should be updated to 14.3 and our iPads should be updated to 17.3.  If you need help with this, click HERE for video directions for your laptop or click HERE for directions to update your iPad.  Make sure you find time to do this before Friday morning.  Otherwise, it may update in the middle of a project or your teaching that could be very inconvenient.

• National School Counselor Week - Sophie's message is below!
• It is here! National School Counseling Week 2024 is the week of February 5-9!  NSCW is where we highlight the contributions school counselors, across the nation, bring to the educational system. School counselors play a vital role in promoting the academic, social/emotional, and career development of each child through a comprehensive school program. I am here to help you.  Support you. Care for you so we can do awesome things for students! Stay tuned for facts about the school counselor in the week ahead. There may be some surprises in the mix as well!  Don't forget the dress up days!  Click HERE to see the flyer!

• AWESOME PLTW News
• We were just notified that today that Dodgeland Elementary is a recipient of a $5000 PLTW grant.  A HUGE thank you to Sue O'Toole for working on the grant application and for keeping us on track with what needs we have for PLTW.  Look for coming details regarding what we will be using the grant money for!

• Reading/Math Family Night
• Looking ahead, mark your calendars for the Family night on Tuesday, March 5. This year we will be combining Reading and Math activities for the evening.  The Read Across America and Math committee will be organizing this event.  Watch for more details in the coming future!

Behavior Specialist Information

Please make sure that you continue to use the Help Me, Help Me document or call the office if you need to send a student down for a break or discipline. Also please ALWAYS send them with their work or at least a book as often they have to wait on someone to be able to address the situation and we don't want anyone missing valuable learning. :-)

As some of our student behaviors have begun to settle, my goal this semester is to be able to pop into classrooms more often. If there is anything specific that you would like feedback on, please reach out via email and we'll set something up. Otherwise, hopefully you'll see me just popping in and out.

Recess Info

Coach Maggie will be in the district on Thursday, February 8!

TechKnow Tip

Have you looked at Sora lately?! Not only are there amazing digital and audio books to help celebrate the month of February, there are also magazines to fit every reader in your room! Magazines like DOT (great for ages 5 and under), Bluey, Peppa Pig, Pokemon, Lego, and National Geographic Little Kids. Each magazine can be checked out by your WHOLE class or a small group of students to be read together. Once you find a magazine you like, you can even go to back issues from other years and keep reading! Magazines are a great way to expose students to different types of reading, give them agency, and gives them a chance to get excited about what they’re reading! An added bonus: as adult readers, you have access to over 280 magazines including Popular Science, National Geographic, Better Homes and Gardens Holiday, Magnolia, and Outdoor Life. There is literally a magazine for everything!

Friday Funny

My parents are currently on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii.  They are touring each island and have a full itinerary for their vacation.  Why do I include it in my Friday Funny?  Because since they have left, they have texted periodically, forgetting that they are 4 hours behind us and of the most hilarious things.  My brother's exact words were, 

"When people ask me if my parents are enjoying their trip; I'm going to say that they must be--with all the awesome photos of AC units, stones and feral cats they've been sending.."   :-)

They also sent a picture of the place where "Steve and Dano used to work on the tv show Hawaii 50." and then proceeded to tell us there were no cats there because the statue had a sword in his hand.  (insert eye roll)