December 13, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Our students put on wonderful performances both Monday and Tuesday this week.  I heard such positive remarks from our families.  Shout out to Carrie for her hard work putting this together and for all of you that supported them before and during the concert.  Our teamwork was on full display this week.  SO AWESOME!

• Our Jr. Coaches are showing again their leadership skills. They manned a table asking for donations to help them with the cost of their end of the year field trip.  They collected almost $200 and got a very generous donation to pay for the bussing for the event.  Shout out to Teresa for organizing this, finding the volunteers and setting it in motion!

• I overheard a 5K student say to their teacher today, "I subitized over there!"  He was explaining to her about how he figured out the answer for his question during WIN.  I love the language he used!

• The hallways and doors are so fun!  It makes the school look so great and I LoVE that our students' work is all over the walls, doors and ceilings.  Thank you for taking on this project and still the learning that is planned for the day!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 16
• Happy Birthday Rick!
• Wear Red and Green Day
• Bus Duty: TCaine, Huso, Lucht, Donovan (3K/4K playground)
• Lunch Duty: Braunschweig, Turcotte, CaineB
• 12:00 - Braunschweig
• 12:30 - Turcotte
• 1:00 - CaineB
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Door Decorating Contest voting takes place
• School Board Meeting @ 6:30pm

• Tuesday, December 17
• Timber Tuesday - Lumberjack/Flannel wear
• Jenny in meeting from 8:15-9:15am & 1:30-2pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Ellefson
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open

• Wednesday, December 18
• Holiday Character Day
• Holiday Photo Booth in the Green Screen Room (Everyone that gets their picture taken will be in the gift card drawing.)
• Jenny will be providing a special Xmas present treat for staff in the lounge. Stop in to grab one!
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am

• Thursday, December 19
• Wake Up and Go Day - Wear PJ's/Comfy clothes
• Xmas Gathering/Secret Santa get together at Harvest Place (See Trisha Caine's email and RSVP to her if you plan to attend.)
• Lunch Detention Supervisors - All are open if you are looking for an extra duty!  :-)

• Friday, December 20
• Festive Friday/Ugly Sweater Day
• Santa will be visiting our classrooms (See below for more details)
• Personal Day Giveaway Day
• Pyramid Model Leadership meeting @ 1pm
• Elem. PPS mtg with our Healthy Minds, Healthy child consultant - Golshan @2pm
• 5th graders performing Santa on Trial for parents at 11am and leaving at 1:45 to perform at Clearview for residents.

• Saturday, December 21
• Happy Birthday Alexis U!
• PowerSchool will be down for maintenance for 9 hours starting at 8pm.  (You better not be working on PowerSchool that night!). :-)

• December 22-Jan 1
• WINTER BREAK!!

• Jan. 2
• Happy Birthday Trisha P.
• Bus Duty: Chambers, Schulte/BCaine, Vertz, Ellefson (3K/4K playground)
• Lunch Duty:
• 12:00 - Wagner
• 12:30 - Miller
• 1:00 - O'Toole
• New Para Duties for January
• Breakfast Duty - Lexi, Vicky
• AM Circle Drive - Eneida
• PM Parent Pick Up - Sandi, Jessica
• Jan. 3

Nitty-Gritty

• Santa's coming!!!  I KNOW HIM! (but not as well as a few others at Dodgeland. lol)
• Santa will be visiting Dodgeland Schools on Friday, December 20th. The plan is for Santa to greet MS/HS students at their doors before school and then head to the elementary classrooms. Similarly to last year, Santa and his assistant will bring a bag of treats to the teacher in the room. The teacher can hand out the treats whenever they feel it's appropriate. If you take any pictures please be sure to share!  This year Mrs. Claus will NOT be in attendance due to being run over by a reindeer and needing to get a new knee last week. We will be sure to tell the kids that Mrs. Clause is back making sure all the elves are working hard!

• Reminders before Break 
• Before you leave for the break, please make sure that you have taken your things out of the fridge that might go bad while we are gone.  Be sure that your Viewsonic board is off, that all lights including any decorative lights that were put up this week and that students have taken home any food items, etc from their lockers that could go bad while we are gone. James and his crew work a few days during the break, but they won't have time for locating and cleaning up spoiled food, etc.  Thank you so much for your help with this!

• Mid-Year Assessments
• Starting on January 6, the winter assessment window will open for all grades.  i-Ready and FastBridge can be started for reading and math after that date.  If you have students that need small group setting or other accommodations, please reach out to special education and intervention teachers ahead of time to coordinate times for students to take these tests with them if that is what is needed. Please know that with the added requirements for assessments for Act 20 as well as the Forward testing moving earlier in the year, there will be no retakes for i-Ready and FastBridge.

• Everyday Speech Survey
• For teachers in grades 2-5, please watch for an email from Sophie regarding the Everyday Speech program.  Please complete this short survey by Dec 20.  We want to check in to see how it is going and if any of you need any other resources or help with implementation.  Thank you in advance for your feedback!

• Breakout EDU and Savvas Details
• Sam has been continuing to work hard on getting our programs onto classlink so that it is easier to use them.  Earlier this week, he sent out an email describing the process to integrate Breakout EDU in your classlink.  Also he shared with me a document that has screenshots to login in to Savvas for the resources for MyView curriculum.  Click HERE to see this document from Savvas directly.

• Medical Clinic Resources
• Leah has put together a document that lists of free or reduced price clinics that are nearby our area.  Click HERE to read this document.  If you know of any families that is in need, please use this to share the items on this list.  Thank you Leah for putting this together so that we can help our students and their families.

• Hallways and Supervision
• One way to prevent incidents from occurring that involve conflicts between students or horseplay and then take up our time, including instructional minutes, is to be visible and present during any transition times in the hallway.  This includes in the morning before school and after school, before/after recess and lunch, etc. Please be diligent to be in the hallway near your class's lockers to supervise students so that we can intervene if there is any inappropriate student behavior.  Thank you in advance for your supervision.

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.

Recess Information

Please watch for an email from Teresa to set up a time for her to come in to your classrooms to do a "Recess Reboot" after break. This way we can be sure that students all have a review after being away from school for so many days.  It is important that each classroom sign up for a time. 

PD Spotlight

Friday Funny

Now this is MY KIND of decorating!  :-)  (Although I would label it as efficient, not lazy!)

December 6, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Our Jr. Coaches always impress me.  A few times this week, I got to witness Jr. Coach's being compassionate with students when hurt, but also being great leaders during transition times around recess.  I am proud to say I know these kids!

• Shout out to Ella for stepping in this week (and the next couple of weeks) to cover the office while I work on getting a new person to join our team! Yes, I miss Trisha, but thankfully she comes to check in every once in awhile (she knows I'm a disaster on my own!) and she is able to guide Ella on the things I don't know how to do!  Also, shout out to Amber for being flexible and making it work in her program without Ella for a little while.

• There is a student that has had 4 GREAT days in a row this week.  The adults around her praise her continuously, but the best part is how very PROUD of herself that she is.  For those of you that get to work with her often, thank you for not giving up on her, continuously holding her accountable and having high expectations for her, yet putting proactive steps in place to head off common triggers.  Also thank you for helping her to move forward into more positive actions!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 9
• Comfy Countdown Starts (the countdown is for staff only)
• Candy Cane Day - Wear Red and White
• Bus Duty: Zastrow, CaineB, Schulte, Braunschweig (3K/4K playground)
• Lunch Duty: 
• 12:00 - Ellefson
• 12:30 - Juech
• 1:00 - Bingen
• 5K Concert Rehearsal - 9:30-10:00
• 1st Gr Concert Rehearsal - 10:00-10:30
• 3rd-5th Gr Concert Rehearsal - 10:30-11:30
• 2nd Gr Concert Rehearsal - 1:00-1:30
• Lucht/Juech Switch Art times
• No 4K music today - No 4K PE in the elem. gym
• Winter Concert for grades K-1-2 at 6:30pm

• Tuesday, December 10
• Grinch Day - Wear Green
• 3rd-5th Gr Concert Rehearsal - 11:30-12:00
• Jenny out of the building from 7:30-10:30am
• Lunch Detention Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Donovan
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Schulte
• Jenny in meeting from 1-2:30pm
• Winter Concert for grades 3-4-5 at 6:30 pm

• Wednesday, December 11
• Happy Birthday Broedy!
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny out of the building from 7:30-10am
• Early Release Day
• Staff meeting at 12:30pm

• Thursday, December 12
• Jingle Bells and Tinsel Toes - Wear your favorite Holiday socks/accessories
• Our new Elementary Admin. assistant is visiting at 9am! (see below for more details)
• Lunch Detention Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Braunschweig
  
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open

• Friday, December 13
• Festive Friday/Ugly Sweater Day
• Harvest of the month lesson for grades 4-5 with Kimberly Lafler 10-12pm
• Happy Birthday Taylor Swift!  --I might be a Swiftie! :-) To prove it check out my Spotify Wrap below!

Nitty-Gritty

• Dodgeland's Fab Lab Site
• Have you checked out the Dodgeland Fab Lab site?  There are projects for sale there and you can also submit an inquiry for a project you'd like to see created.  HERE is the link for their site.  You can explore this site to find the items for sale and for the inquiry link to share your ideas for a project you'd like to see made.  Our students are excited to see their work make others happy!

• Harvest of the Month - Sweet Potatoes
• This month Natalie and Kimberly Lafler are highlighting sweet potatoes for December.  Kimberly will be highlighting this in the Harvest Lessons in grades 4-5 on Friday, and in the nutrition lessons for the other grades.

• PLTW and Classlink
• Reminder that Sam worked his magic again!  PLTW is ready to go on Classlink.  Please be patient as it loads.  Both students and staff should be using Classlink to login to the PLTW app.

• Extra Duty Clarification Info
• As you get the green extra duty sheet for the 2nd half of the school year, there are a couple of reminders that I want to clarify.
• If there is indoor bus duty in the morning (rain, too cold, etc), the students will be sent directly to classrooms (or breakfast) when the doors open at 7:35.  On the extra duty sheet, you should indicate indoor AM bus duty and the times are 7:35-7:45am because the routine is that students all come in at 7:45 to their lockers/classrooms on normal days.
• If there is ever a day where you are asked to take another teacher's class (or part of their class) into your classroom for part or all of a day, please be sure to write this on the extra duty sheet.  Laura uses the board policy for substituting for a teacher and adds that amount to the rest of the extra duties.
• Lunch Duty is a supervisory assignment this school year and is not considered an extra duty.  If you have questions, please let me know and I can show you the calculations that I did this summer regarding prep minutes before putting this in place, etc.  
• Side Note:  Your presence in the lunch room each week is helping tremendously with student behavior and proactively prevents some of the issues that we have had in the past.  Between the alt. lunch option and your presence in the lunch room, this part of the day has far less situations than in the past that takes up your teaching time this year.  Thank you so much for this!
• Covering Recesses/Lunch periods/Bus Duty for Paras/Teachers:  If you volunteer or are assigned to cover a supervision spot, please write this on the green sheet.
• Missed Specials:  If we have to cancel a special for your classroom, and you are teaching that special or replacing that period with your own lesson/idea, this is extra duty and should be written on the green sheet as well.
• Finally, I would highly suggest that you get a new green sheet and leave it somewhere handy so that you can write on it throughout the semester as things come up so that you don't forget anything.  I do my best to remember things, but I know I won't be able to remember all the times each of you take on extra things.  Thank you for your teamwork, I know that it is stressful, so thank you again.

• Personnel Updates
• Starting in January, we will have a part-time para working in our special education department.  She is a familiar face as she was here every day last year as a TA!  Maddy Birrenkott will be working every Monday and Friday, while Samantha Keberlein will be working Tues-Thurs with Ms. Vertz/Mrs. Arnes. Please help me welcome Maddy to our staff!

• Also starting in January is our NEW Elementary Admin. Assistant in the office!  Her name is Patti Rupnow and she is looking forward to joining our team!  She will be in the district next week to meet more of us and to tour the building. (12/12) She will officially start on January 2nd and will work alongside Ella until January 10th. She is ready to take on the busyness of the office and looking forward to getting to know our students and staff.

• Got Any Lunchroom Forks?
• Please help Natalie keep track of silverware for the kitchen.  If you borrow something, please return it right away so that money does not get spent unnecessarily for this item. Thank you!

• Student Email Changes
• Brad sent out an email to us earlier this week sharing some changes that are in place for student email.  Our elementary students can only send emails to teachers and staff at Dodgeland, no students. This also means that they can not send emails to any non-Dodgeland emails as well.

• Milwaukee Art Museum - Did you see this??
• Mrs. Buss shared a link to a news clip that shared that starting immediately due to an anonymous donor, children (under age 12) will be admitted to the art museum for FREE! This includes access to all exhibits, collections and programs at the museum.  Just passing this on for your knowledge and in case this is something you want to share with your families and friends.  Click HERE to watch the news clip.

• Comfy Countdown starts on Monday!
• Every year, Jessica adds some festivities for all of us during the weeks leading up to the holiday and winter break.  Her email outlines the details for the activities, including information on the Holiday Photo Booth and how to be eligible for the extra personal day drawing.   Enjoy the next couple of weeks!

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 website or 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!

Behavior Specialist Information

Building Security
Recently when I have been setting up recess, I noticed that there have been small rocks in the door by 4th/5th grade that has been preventing the door from closing fully (however, at a glance it looks closed). When you come in from bus duty in the morning, please just confirm that the doors have fully closed and latched.

Bucket Filling - a small update/modification/clarification
Please continue to use Poms to reinforce bucket filling behaviors for our 5k-3rd grade students. Please continue to use tickets (orange) to reinforce bucket filling behaviors for our 4th-5th grade students. 4th/5th grade students should write their name on their ticket and put them in their classroom bucket (the tickets are in lieu of poms). Monthly a winner will be announced for the most bucket filling 5k-3 and 4th-5th, and additionally 4th-5th graders will have a chance to win an individual prize quarterly for bucket filling behaviors.

PD Spotlight

This time of year can be challenging for all of us.  Some kids are very excited about the holidays.  Some kids are very anxious about the holidays and the extra stress that comes with it.  Some truly dread the long winter break and the break from routine that it brings.  So this week's PD spotlight is a reminder and a strategy that I saw on the Teach Daily Tip of the Week.  

Friday Funny

When Matt was alive, he LOVED the Chuck Norris jokes.  He even had a T-shirt about Chuck Norris winning in a staring contest with the sun.  They were always so dumb they were funny, but as soon as I saw this meme, I thought now this is one that Matt would have loved!  Does this make you laugh too?