January 9, 2026

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 5th Graders got to participate in a hands-on experiment simulating the fur trade in the early ages of our country.  There were some very active and strong negotiators in the room.  :-) Way to go Klair!

• 1st graders working on their work places and all on task.  The group I got to talk to were able to explain their game as well! I love watching their math brains grow! (You should be super proud of your students, Mary Jo!)

• Shout out to Mrs. Caine (Trisha) for modeling how to deal with unexpected issues and visitors!  It just happens sometimes that your links don't work right away, but her class saw her patiently work through it without getting angry or frustrated. She also got a chance to explain to Lydia that having me come into the room is really no big deal.  No need to ever be nervous about that.  I am working on getting to all of your rooms much more often. :-)

• It was great to see kids again and all of you this week. Thank you for the work you put in to review expectations and get kids back into the swing of learning.  We are almost halfway through the year. We don't want to waste any of the precious time we have with our students.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, January 12
• Morning Duty:
• Blacktop/Playground: Miller, Bingen, CaineB
• 3K/4K playground/Meet buses: Zastrow, Wagner
• Breakfast: Donovan, Vertz
• Lunch Duty:
• 12:00 - Ellefson
• 12:30 - Juech
• 1:00 - Schulte
• Afternoon Duty:
• Blacktop/Playground: Huso, Lucht
• Parking Lot: Huelsman
• Window is open for i-Ready and AimsWeb Plus

• Tuesday, January 13
• Milwaukee Bucks Day - Wear your Bucks gear!
• Jenny in meeting from 9-11am
• Social Media posts due to Jenny: Ellefson, Westphal
• Lunch Detentions for this week: Lucht, O'Toole
• Pop-Up PD: Canva - 3:20-3:45 in the IMC

• Wednesday, January 14
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny in virtual meeting from 8-9am
• NHS Blood Drive 7:30am-2pm
• Staff Meeting in IMC (3:15-4pm)

• Thursday, January 15
• National Hat Day - Wear your favorite hat!

• Friday, January 16
• Pyramid Model meeting Cancelled and moved to Jan. 23 at 1pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Fire Inspector Visit
• This week the fire inspector came through the building. One of the things that was noted was regarding items hanging from the ceiling throughout the room.  When we do this, it introduces a more flammable item closer to the ceiling tiles, which then makes them more likely to burn more quickly.  Please significantly limit anything hanging from hooks throughout your classrooms.

• Alt Comp Checkmark - Update
• After much consideration and discussion, a change is being made for checkmarks for alt. comp relating to student teachers. Any teacher that takes on a student teacher or intern for 8 weeks can earn a checkmark.  If you were to have a student teacher for the entire semester, that is equal to 2 checkmarks.  This won't go back to previous years, nor will there be checkmarks for practicum students, but will be going forward for any student teacher placements for the length of 8 weeks. To clarify, if you have had a student teacher/intern for at least 8 weeks during the 2025-26 school year, this will earn you one checkmark for this year and will be added to the documents for upcoming years as well.

• 3K/4K Screening is coming up
• If you have any families or know of any residents that are interested in their child(ren) entering our 3K or 4K programs for next school year, please direct them to our website, or to Patti/me to get signed up for a time on our screening day on Monday, Feb 16, 2026.  This is only for students that are not currently attending Dodgeland.  (Our current 3K students do not have to come in for a screening time.) The link to sign up is below if you want to send it to anyone as well.  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4FA5AB2DA6F49-61159800-3k4k
• You may notice that this is during our PD day next month.  This means we will have visitors in the building during our day.

• Winter Assessment Window
• i-Ready and AimsWeb winter assessments can be started for both math and reading. Please work together so that students have the accommodations they need to do their best work. The link to the AimsWeb document is HERE.  This will tell you what subtests are needed for each grade for both math and reading. If you have any questions, please let me know.

• Summer School!
• I'm getting ready to start planning for summer school.  The dates haven't been decided on yet and I'd like to think about adding some creative ways to provide additional learning for our students this summer.  Perhaps have one of our typical programs in June (ending on July 2) and then perhaps some specific week-long (or 2 week sessions) with a theme.  If you are interested in summer school for teaching/working, please fill in this google form.

ML Information

Our ML students have had a busy and impressive week! Most students have finished the ACCESS testing, and my plan is to have everyone done by the end of next week.) Fingers Crossed because I know exams and other testing begin soon.)

They’ve poured so much effort into finishing their ACCESS testing before the end-of-semester rush, and their commitment to doing their best is truly inspiring.

To see these students in action is to see incredible mental agility. Answering these questions requires deep focus and sophisticated thinking, made even more impressive by the fact that they are balancing two different languages. I am so grateful to work with such a dedicated team—thank you for everything you do to support our students’ growth daily.

Tip of the Week:

Celebrate Progress. 

Acknowledge and celebrate every small step of progress, from a single new word learned to a successfully completed sentence. This builds confidence and motivation.

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! 😀

TechKnow Tip

As of yesterday, your laptop has been updated to macOS Tahoe 26. Today, take a moment today to ensure you are regularly saving your digital files to OneDrive or Google Drive. Storing your files in the cloud ensures they are backed up and accessible even if your computer experiences issues. Please make this a regular practice to avoid potential data loss.Your files can then be accessible on all your school devices!
Currently, your laptop can be updated to macOS Tahoe 26.2. This update includes critical patches for device security.

You can update by:
Settings -> General -> Software Update -> macOS Tahoe 26.2
This update may take about 30-40 minutes, with your device needing to be at 50% charge or plugged in. If you need assistance with saving your files or updating, reach out to Brad, Sam, or Christina for assistance.

Friday Funny

I really do not like to cook, but I can cook.  If you ever have a chance to meet my mother, she will contend that her daughter was taught to cook and gets very offended when my children complain about how their mom doesn't cook/doesn't know how to cook.  

However, I was lucky and had a husband who LOVED to cook and was good at it.  So I didn't have to.  And then, well, you know what happened with that.  But then my son took over the cooking and once again I was off the hook.  But now, he's gone too (moved out, not gone...sheesh, words matter!) and so the three Huelsman's are left to duke it out over who is going to do this now.  I submit this clip to you all about a poor soul that also probably would love to have family members do the cooking.  I have seen this clip multiple times, and every time I can barely breathe from laughing so hard.  I don't know what gets me more, the one guy's body language, the questions ("Is it edible?"), the statements ("It burns!") or the poor cook's exclamation, "Something is terribly wrong!"  Enjoy this and keep in mind I have limited times that I personally contribute to goodie tables for this very reason! Ella/Lexi are MUCH better than I am at this whole cooking/baking thing.