August 26, 2024

 You would think there would be nothing else to put in a blog before school starts, and yet, here I am, creating another one!  Although, this one is MUCH shorter! The topics for this blog were determined based on things that can be an email to save time in staff meetings.  However, if you have questions about anything, don't be afraid to ask and there will be time to go over questions on Thursday afternoon.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, August 26
• Welcome Back!  Join us for breakfast in the Multipurpose room at 7:30am.
• 9:30am - ALL Elementary Staff meeting
• 2pm - Pyramid Model meeting with 3K/4K staff
• 6:30pm - School Board Meeting

• Tuesday, August 27
• Happy Birthday Holly Blattner!
• 8:00am - Act 20 Training in the Commons for all Elementary Staff (and MS/HS ELA/Sp. Ed staff)
• 10am - Paraprofessional meeting for all paras in District in IMC
• 12pm - All District Staff in Safety meeting in Multipurpose Room
• 2pm - Dodgeland Den staff meeting in Elem. Conf room
• 6pm - Trojan Jr Football - 5th/6th gr - 1st game

• Wednesday, August 28
• Happy Birthday Nicole Lauth!
• Happy Birthday Rose Fobes!
• Work Day starts at 11am!
• 11am - Recess Committee Meeting for all paras and anyone on Recess Committee
• 12:30-2pm - Staff photos - Everyone MUST get their picture taken to get a temporary badge for the first day of school (starting at 2pm, students' and their families can start arriving)
• 3:30- Staff Supper in Multipurpose room
• 5-7pm - Open House (I will have optional parent meetings in the IMC at 5 and 6:30pm)

• Thursday, August 29
• 7:30am - Verbal Deescalation Training in the Multipurpose room
• 12:45-1:30pm - Tech Office Hours on Google Classroom (optional)
• 1:30pm - Elem. Staff Meeting

• Friday, August 30
• 7:30-9:30am - NVCI training for all sp. ed teachers/paras in the multipurpose room
• 8:30-9:15am - Tech Office Hours on PowerSchool (optional)
• 9:15-10am - Tech Office Hours on Classlink (optional)
• 2:15-3pm - Tech Office Hours on Communication (optional)
• KnowBe4 Trainings are due by the end of the day.

Nitty-Gritty

• Flu Clinic at Dodgeland
• Mark your calendars - We will hold a flu shot at Dodgeland on Tuesday, September 24 from 2-4pm.  This will be open to Dodgeland employees and their families.  Watch for more details as it gets closer.

• Lunch/Milk Count Directions
• Click HERE to see the directions on how to fill in the lunch and milk counts for this school year.  Remember, there will be a green shopping cart by all students that are eligible to get milk during snack break by Monday, Sept. 16.  Up until that date, all students are able to get a milk at snack break if they would like.

• Green Nurse Slips
• This school year, we will be returning to using the green nurse slips.  It is easier for Leah and Trisha to have the slips when students walk in to the office and the slips will be filed later to save Leah time with documentation as well.  If you do not have any green nurse slips in your mailbox, please check with Trisha to get some for your rooms.

• Read Aloud to Classrooms
• For any classroom teachers that are interested, please sign up for a time for me to come to your classroom to read to them and welcome them back to school for the year!  I understand if your schedules are full, just offering.  :-). Click HERE to see the available times.
  
  
• Go Kit Bags 
• At some point during this week, please make sure to update your red Go Kit bags for emergencies.  There should be an updated class roster, coloring sheets or activities for your students to do, first aid kit and diabetic emergency kit if necessary, red emergency attendance sheets, and any other items you think you would need if you would be away from your classroom for an extended amount of time.

• Fall Field Day
• Watch for information from Teresa regarding a Field Day on Friday, September 20.  This is part of the surprise that you see on the Elementary Calendar.  Just want you to have this on your calendars.

• Library Information and Lessons (Please read this information from Christina carefully!)
• Library lessons will start the week of September 23rd. Watch for a Google Calendar invite from me - once you accept it, the time will be added to your Google Calendar too. 


• Even though the library won't be ready for students to use on day one, you are welcome to request books! We have some great read aloud books about bucket filling, school routines, and beginning of the school year. You can browse our books using this link or Destiny Discover app (dark blue with an orange lightbulb). You can also check out a digital book on Sora! You may also want to utilize Novel Effects for some great sound effects to accompany your read alouds. Here is their "Back to School" curated list of book titles.


• You'll be busy day one with all those awesome procedures and relationship building, so iPad orientation can begin Wednesday 4th. Remember that just as you go through specific expectations with the hallways, bathrooms, and recess, clear expectations should be addressed with iPads before they are used. Please keep your iPad lockers locked until those expectations are shared with your students. If you haven't signed up for a 30 minute lesson with me yet, you can do that here.


• Lastly, I want to share that there is probably no one who missed school as much as Watson! He is eager to see all his friends again and I'm eager to get throughout the school to interact with our students. Starting Friday 6th, I would love to bring Watson in to see you and your students. I'll be sending out a digital book for you to read with your class before we come and visit which tells you a little about Watson, his job here at school, and expectations for when you see him in the building. After reading the book, we will come in for 15 minutes so your class can practice those skills they read about and we can answer any questions they may have. You can sign up here for that visit!





Questions? 

If you have any questions, or topics you want me to make sure I address in Thursday's staff meeting (or one in the future), please complete this survey HERE.

Friday Funny (on a Monday)

Seriously though.  I hope this is just a poorly placed sign...