November 1, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

•  4K students were learning about patterns and were so proud to predict the next one in the pattern.  I love watching them be excited to learn.

• A Jr Coach brought in two students that had fallen during recess to the nurse.  She was so compassionate and took care of them through the whole thing.  Such wonderful leadership skills our students are building!

• 2nd Graders are drawing food for their Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs project.  I loved listening to them tell me about all the food they have drawn!  I love that so many projects relate to literacy too!

• Shout out to Trisha who finished the November newsletter this week and found a new setting where she can translate each page of the newsletter to Spanish for our families.  This will save us both time and I had no idea it even existed!  Thank you Trisha!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 4
• Bus Duty: Bingen, Juech, Stampfl, Wagner (3K/4K Playground)
• Lunch Duty:
• 12:00 - Schuett
• 12:30 - Huso
• 1:00 - Fortmann

• Tuesday, November 5
• Election Day
• Printers Down all day - No printing/copying all day
• Social Media Posts due to Jessica - Jenkins and Schuett
• Lunch Detention Duty
• 12:00 - B. Caine 
• 12:30 - Zastrow
• 1:00 - Bingen
• Paraprofessional Staff meeting in the IMC - 3:15-3:45pm

• Wednesday, November 6
• Happy Birthday Lindsey Klink!
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am

• Thursday, November 7
• Lunch Detention Duty
• 12:00 - Turcotte
• 12:30 - Miller
• 1:00 - Open

• Friday, November 8
• Happy Birthday Kerri Frey!
• Harvest of the Month Lessons for Grades 4-5 from 10-12pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Veteran's Day Assembly
• Looking ahead:  The Veteran's Day assembly this year will be Monday, November 11 starting at 9:30 in the HS gym.  Watch for information about recess adjustments.  The assembly usually lasts between 30-40 min. for your planning.  Please dress professionally as there will be a number of guests here that day as well.

• Gathering Area outside the Art Room/Bathrooms
• Please remember that there are a number of students learning either in the classrooms surrounding the gathering area, or at the tables in this section throughout the day.  If you send students here for the bathroom, or take your class for a bathroom break, etc, remember to keep your voices low so that students have limited disruptions.  Thank you!

• Harvest of the Month for November
• Our FoodWise nutrition educator, Kimberly Lafler, works with Natalie to present the harvest of the month food.  This month is dedicated to cranberries.  Watch for them to be highlighted in the lunch menus this month and she also will be in our school to teach about this food to our 4th/5th graders as well.  For more information, see below.

Recess Information

New Shed

Huge thanks to Lance for getting our recess shed built. Starting next week this is where our recess equipment will be kept. There is a lock on it, however, all ES staff members' keys should work to open it. It would be very helpful if the staff members on bus duty in the morning could open the shed at 7:45 when they blow the whistle so the Junior Coaches could set up the equipment while the students are transitioning in. 

Please continue to hold our students accountable for taking care of our equipment, playing core games, and using kind language. We are starting to see equipment being misused and more and more “imaginary” games being the cause of conflict between students at recess.

Techknow Tip

Four Easy Ways to Stay Safe Online

Keeping families safe online is essential, especially as online threats grow. By following these four simple steps, we can protect ourselves from scams and keep our personal information secure.

1. Recognize & Report Phishing

Phishing scams often trick people into sharing private information or opening harmful attachments. Knowing how to identify phishing attempts and reporting them can prevent these attacks.

2. Use Strong Passwords

Creating strong, unique passwords and using a password manager are simple yet powerful ways to protect our accounts from unauthorized access.

3. Enable Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi Factor authentication, or MFA, adds an extra layer of security by requiring more than just a password to log in. This could mean entering a code sent to your phone or using a fingerprint, significantly increasing account security.

4. Update Software Regularly

Keeping software up-to-date ensures we benefit from the latest security fixes, which protect us from potential vulnerabilities. Regular updates help secure our devices from threats.

By incorporating these habits into our digital routines, we create a safer online environment for everyone in the family. Happy Cyber Security Month!l📱💻🖥️🔒

PD Spotlight

This week's PD Letter is J.  This is a really good message to remember. We all have our own struggles and things we are going through.  As we work with each other and our students, please remember to assume positive intent.  Ross Greene says, "Kids do well if they can," fits in with this idea too. We have such an awesome job!

Friday Funny

So, I can't wait for the extra hour of sleep this weekend, especially because I have a busy weekend celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary coming up.  However, my oven clock is about 2 days away from being the right time, which really is just a bonus for us all!  :-)