April 19, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• It was a long week of Forward Testing for our students, especially the 4th graders.  Thank you to everyone who made this long week happen and all of the flexibility in schedule changes this week!

• Shout out to Ashley Neis who helped us with some tricky situations this week.  Her listening ear, expertise and time is much appreciated every day, but especially this week!

• Shout out to our students and staff that made our new students feel so welcome this week.  It's always hard to start at a new school, but even harder when it is April already.  One of our new students' mom commented on how nice everyone was at school and she felt so much better as she left her child in our care.  

• Shout out to Sabrina and the 5th graders at the Biography Fair.  This is one of my favorite ways to hear kids' learning!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 22
• Bus Duty: Schweitzer, CaineB, O'Toole, Braunschweig (3K/4K playground)
• Makeup Testing for Forward Testing - Last Week
• Talent Show Dress Rehearsal - 3-5pm
• School Board Meeting - 6:30-7:30pm

• Tuesday, April 23
• Social Media Posts Due: Huso, Turcotte
• 3rd Grade Field Trip to Madison
• Lunch Detention Supervisor:
• 12:00 - Koenings
• 12:30 -Zastrow
• 1:00 - Open
• Talent Show Preview in Elem. gym starting at 2:30pm
• Art Show - 5-6pm
• Dodgeland's Got Talent Show @6pm

• Wednesday, April 24
• Early Release Day
• Workout Wednesday
• Administrative Assistant Day!  Time to show Trisha how much we appreciate her!
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Staff meeting at 2:30 in IMC

• Thursday, April 25
• Academic and SEL mtg for 3rd gr from 12:05-12:55pm

• Friday, April 26
• 4K Mini-Concert in Elem. gym at 2:15pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Save the Date!
• This summer the Dodgeland Summit is planned for Thursday, August 15.  This will be an alternative compensation checkmark, and a perfect way to learn from each other.  It's also a great way to feed your brain!  If you have a topic you would like to present, please let me know!

• Technology Summer Book Club
• Did you sign up for this summer's book club with the Technology Department?  The book is called "EdTech Essentials: Top 10 Technology Strategies for All Learning Environments by Monica Burns.  Please see Christina's email from Wednesday for more information about the book.  Click HERE to sign up for the book club.

• School Safety Reminders
• On Wednesday, Brad sent out an email describing some upcoming safety improvements coming to Dodgeland, but also reminders of things we need to remember to do.  Please remember to update your class rosters in your GO Bag if you have had any changes to your classrooms.  Your keys/fob should never be given to a student so that items can be kept secure.  Finally, make sure that you know what the procedure is no matter where you are at the school, inside or outside.

• Early Release Day
• Our last early release day is next week Wednesday. We will have a staff meeting starting at 2:30 that afternoon.  The rest of the time is yours to meet and plan as teams.  (I am aware that there are a few IEP meetings that afternoon as well.). Please plan for instruction for the last few weeks.  What is the priority for your class? A schedule will be out early next week for paras and Dodgeland Den coverage.

• Spring District Assessments
• The Spring assessment windows are coming up.  The dates for this spring are May 6-17.  Please make sure to communicate with specialists and interventionists if you have students that need accommodations for these assessments.  If you need help or support, please let me know. 

• End of the Year Picnic
• Our end of the year picnic is planned for Tuesday, May 28 from 4:30-6:30pm.  We currently have 3 food trucks confirmed for families/staff to purchase food from, the NHS is creating and running about 6 carnival games, face painting from art students and Ms. Mook, Brad is helping to set up equipment for music on the playground, yard games will be set out for families and children to play with, the Scholastic BOGO Book Fair is open, and we will have a special guest, "The Bubble Lady" from 5-6pm on the grass soccer area for all.  I hope you all are able to attend and celebrate your hard work too.  Feel free to bring your families as well!

TechKnow Tip

As we strive to improve communication and efficiency at Dodgeland, we’d like to encourage everyone to utilize the

power of our shared Google Drive. Shared driveare special folders in Google Drive that you can use to store, search, and access files with a team. Shared drive files

belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay in the shared drive so your team

can keep sharing information and work anywhere, from any device.

Benefits of Using Shared Google Drive:

• Enhanced Collaboration: Work together simultaneously on projects, lesson plans, and resources.

Team members can edit, suggest changes, and see revisions instantly.

• Improved Accessibility: Access files from anywhere, anytime, on any device with an internet

connection. No more struggling with lost USB drives or outdated versions!

• Increased Organization: Create folders and subfolders to keep everything organized and easy

to find. Share specific folders or documents with colleagues for targeted collaboration.

• Version Control: Never lose track of changes! Google Drive automatically saves revisions,

allowing you to revert to previous versions if needed.

• Streamlined Communication: Eliminate the need for multiple email attachments. Share files

directly within Google Drive for a more efficient workflow.

Get started with Google Shared Drives by logging into your Google Drive, locate “Shared drives” along the left-hand side. 

If you would like to set up a shared drive please reach out to anyone in the tech department. If you have additional

questions about how shared drive works don't hesitate to ask.

Friday Funny

Every day I am certain that all of us have moments where we hear or see something that a child does and it makes us stop and think, "Did that just happen?  Did I just see/hear that?"  Some of us make a note of all of those things and put them together into a fun book to read! :-) This past week, FaceBook reminded me of a memory of story that was of 1st Grade Ella.  I think the funniest part of this memory is listening to Ella 14 years later telling me what I got wrong about the story and how this becomes even more of a shaking my head moment. If you see her this week, be sure to ask her to retell this story! Anyone else have stories like these in your family or classroom? (Also just had to share a picture of her at the age that this story happened!)