Hear Ye, Hear Ye
- Some students are communicating with us that a change is coming in their routine through their actions this week. I have witnessed a number of staff members that are addressing these behaviors with patience, kindness and consistency.
- Sunshine committee kept us entertained this week with the Turkey in your pocket game! It was very fun to watch this play out each day. I also hear Olaf made an appearance this week too. Hmmm...Mr. Cook - you are a good sport!
- Shout out to Ms. Duhr who rocked her first e-team meeting with parents. She was prepared, clear and professional! Way to go!
- Shout out to Watson and Mrs. Rollins who seem to always be there when one of our students needs some care. Thank you for helping our students when they need help with regulation!
What's Happening at Dodgeland?
- Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24-25
- PD Day (Agenda is HERE)
- Breakfast provided on Monday in the commons
- Dodgeland Den is open from 6:30am-5:30pm
- School Board Meeting at 6:30pm
- Wed-Fri, Nov 26-28
- NO SCHOOL - Happy Thanksgiving!
- Happy Birthday to Sandi Amis on Fri, Nov 28
- Sunday, November 30
- Happy Birthday Carol Anderson!
- Monday, December 1
- New Support staff duties start
- Morning Duty:
- Playground/Blacktop - O'Toole, Schulte, Fortmann
- 3K/4K playground - Schuett, Chambers
- Breakfast - Braunschweig, Arnes
- Lunch Duty:
- 12:00 - Lucht
- 12:30 - Arnes
- 1:00 - Schulte
- Lunch Detention duty this week: Wagner, Westphal, Neis
- Afternoon Duty:
- Blacktop/Playground: Juech, Klink
- Circle Drive: Huelsman
- Tuesday, December 2
- Dress up Day - See Dec. calendar
- Social Media Posts due to Jenny:
- 5K Hearing Screening in District Office Conference Rm 1-3pm
- Jenny in meeting from 9-10:30am
- Para meeting in IMC from 3:15-3:45pm
- Wednesday, December 3
- Workout Wednesday
- Jenny in meetings from 8-10am
- Thursday, December 4
- Friday, December 5
- Happy Birthday Melissa Uttech!
- November Citizenship grades due in PowerSchool
- Saturday, December 6
- Happy Birthday Natalie!
Nitty-Gritty
- New Staff member joining us!
- Starting on December 8, a new Speech and Language Pathologist will be in the building working with students in-person! Her name is Lauren and she will be working on creating a schedule and getting to know our students. Once the schedule is complete, it will be shared out! This does mean that there will be no speech therapy the week of Dec. 1.
- Student Photographer
- Starting soon, you may see a student photographer coming around the school to take pictures for the website, newsletters, etc. They will have identification so that you know what they are doing. If you have a special event, project or activity that you would like them to photograph, please let me know. At this time, the photographer is available between 9:20-10am and 12:05-12:45pm.
- December Duties!
- It will be a brand new month when we come back. Support staff check the new duties for the month HERE.
- PD Info
- Next week there are a number of important conversations to have to make plans and reflect on how things are going now. It is a precious gift of time that we have in our calendar to collaborate together and I am ready to take advantage of it! The agenda is HERE. If you are a specials teacher, please plan to attend all of the behavior meetings in the schedule. We need to hear your input!
- During Work time, please make sure to start with the items at the bottom of the page. I know your to-do lists are so long, but these are most urgent priorities. If you need to see me, please sign up for a time on my calendly link. calendly.com/huelsmandodgecalendly.com/huelsmandodge
- Looking Ahead (For planning...)
- When we return from Thanksgiving, we will have 3 short weeks before winter break. As you are looking ahead there are a few things to keep in mind to add to your calendars/plans.
- Winter Concerts are on Dec 9 (5K-2) and Dec 10 (3-5) starting at 6:30pm
- Rehearsals for the concerts will be on Dec 8 and 9 for 30 min. each day. The first day will be practicing getting on and off the risers on stage, the second day will be practicing the music for the concert. See below for your grade's time. (same time both days.)
- 8am - 5th Gr.
- 8:30 - 4th Gr
- 9:30 - 5K
- 10:30 - 1st Gr
- 11:00 - 3rd Gr
- 11:30 - 2nd Gr
ML Information
Happy Friday and Happy almost Thanksgiving!
I hope you all received my email regarding ACCESS testing. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I am still in the process of scheduling students, but I will provide you with the information as soon as it is available.
Thank you again for your continued patience and flexibility as I navigate the challenge of coordinating this testing for the first time.
This week's ML Teacher Tip is to use graphic organizers to help students organize their thoughts, connect new information to prior knowledge, and deepen understanding. Tools like Venn diagrams, mind maps, and T-charts provide visual frameworks that make complex ideas more concrete and improve retention.
For organizing information: Graphic organizers help students see relationships between concepts and structure information logically. For example, a T-chart can help compare and contrast two topics, while a mind map can show how different ideas relate to a central theme.
To make personal connections: Visualizing information allows students to more easily connect new material to what they already know, making learning more personal and memorable.
To support all learners: Graphic organizers are particularly beneficial for students who are visual learners or who struggle with processing information, but they are effective for all students across various subjects.
Here are some links to fast and free Graphic Organizers from various websites I often visit and use. Don’t forget that you have great examples on Canva as well.
The Teacher’s Toolkit Graphic Organizers
Thinkport Education Graphic Organizers
Don’t forget you can find even more resources here: Dodgeland Teacher Resources. You can also feel free to email me or schedule an appointment! 😀
Behavior Specialist
Incase you missed it:
2nd Quarter Incentive
This quarter we will be focusing on “Be Respectful”. Here is the matrix to review.
Students can earn Poms for showing respectful behavior. Please record Poms your students receive on the “Schoolwide Be Respectful” button in Class DoJo. If you don’t have Poms, you can also just give a student a DoJo point for “Schoolwide Be Respectful”. Additional Poms are located by the mailboxes in the office if you want/need more Poms.
Expectations
Please remember to take some time to build relationships and to review classroom and school expectations upon returning from break.
Recess Information
Outdoor Gear
As we get into colder weather, please encourage students to wear clothing according to our recommendations, however please don’t argue with them (2nd grade and up, younger students can not regulate body temperature as well and need to wear appropriate clothing). We do not go outside when it is dangerously cold, so if they do not wear appropriate clothing, they are choosing to be cold. Recess teachers, please do not allow students back into the building to get additional clothing. They need to dress before they go outside. If a student does not own winter gear, please let me know and we will do our best to find clothing for them, however if they just didn’t bring gear (2nd grade and up) please do not send them to the office for gear.
Indoor Bus Duty
Starting on 12/1/15, we are making a change to indoor bus duty. Students will be reporting to an assigned room by grade and the staff on bus duty will be playing a show (more information on how to access media next week). Students should enter the room, sit down, and watch the show. While some of the spaces are our “Dens”, we will not be playing or running around the rooms, students should just sit and watch the show. Indoor bus duty is from 7:30-7:45. One bus duty person from each level needs to swipe their key fob and welcome students at the door, and the other staff need to cover the classrooms and are responsible for starting the show.
4k - 5k students - room 109.
1st - 2nd grade students - room 102
3rd - 5th grade students - room 137
Outdoor Winter Safety
Our playground equipment and painted areas of the playground are very slippery on frosty mornings. Please remind students to walk on the turf and equipment. Morning bus duty staff and morning recess staff, please close the main structure in the morning if the frost is thick and making the equipment dangerous to climb on. There will be a cone out by the communication sign that you can place on the stairs as a visual reminder that the equipment is closed.
While our standard for indoor bus duty is rain or a temperature 13 degrees or below, 4k/5k staff on bus duty, if the equipment is frost covered and slippery, please communicate that we will have indoor bus duty, close the gate, and have the students go to room 109 for a show. One staff member should cover 109 and the other staff member should stay outside to monitor students getting off of the bus, welcome students, and send them into room 109.
TechKnow Tip
Tis the season… You may be spending more time online shopping, and with that comes the increased potential for phishing scams! HERE is an article from the United States Postal Inspection Services about “Fake USPS Emails”. This “Delivery Failure Notification” can come from an email or text message. So what can you do to protect yourself?
Did you actually order something online and are awaiting delivery?
Check on your orders or packages directly from the purchase site, verification email, or with a verified tracking number. Tracking numbers can be put into websites such as usps.com, ups.com, fedex.com, or track.amazon.com. Remember, this is not an exhaustive list.
If you do receive a message about a failed delivery that you believe to be valid, contact the post office directly. Try to have your tracking number handy.
If you are sending packages to loved ones, share with them any tracking numbers and estimated time of arrival to help them stay safe too.
Friday Funny
