Hear Ye, Hear Ye
- Shout out to Dom, Patti, Andrea S who were here early on Tuesday morning and working to get the supplies all ready for the testing groups so they could start testing at 8:15! Thank you all so much!
- I’ve seen James helping out all over the building, but this week he officially added 'Substitute Teacher' to his resume! He told me he’s happy to cover as long as it’s for a strictly-enforced 15-minute maximum. Seriously though, thank you James for jumping into the trenches with us—even if the 4th/5th grade hallway found your guest appearance highly entertaining! (See below for the evidence!)
- I watched a VERY entertaining group of Kindergartners "fool" their teacher into thinking they had disappeared. Shout out to Mr. Cook who got them to be quiet under the big parachute for a pretty good amount of time too!
- A HUGE shout out to Team Dodgeland that were flexible, encouraging and positive with our students as they were under some stress to complete the state testing. I also appreciate that as a team you continued to provide feedback throughout the week!
What's Happening at Dodgeland?
- Saturday, March 21
- Happy Birthday Brittany!
- Monday, March 23
- Morning Duties:
- Blacktop/Playground: Neis, Westphal, Stampfl
- Breakfast: Tietz, Ellefson
- 3K/4K Playground: Houk, Mook
- Lunch Duties
- 12:00 - Lucht
- 12:30 - Arnes
- 1:00 - Schulte
- Afternoon Duties:
- Blacktop/Playground: CaineT, Juech
- Circle Drive: Jenkins
- Newsletter articles due to Patti
- School Board Meeting @ 6:30pm
- Tuesday, March 24
- Social Media Posts due to Jenny: Klink, O'Toole
- Forward Test starts again for 3-4-5, Note the Schedule HERE for specials.
- 4th/5th gr. morning recess moved to 9:45-10am
- Mrs. Rollins is proctoring groups for Forward and unavailable for the morning.
- Hall of Fame Ceremony is from 1-2pm in the HS gym (We are not attending, but wanted you to know it is happening - and it may affect TA hours in your room)
- Jenny leaving for a dr appt at 2pm
- Pop-Up PD @ 3:20 in the IMC on virtual field trips
- Wednesday, March 25
- Summer School Registration begins
- Staff Meeting in IMC @ 3:15pm
- Lunch Detention Supervisors: Schuett, Westphal, Klink
- Forward Test from 8-11:30am, Note the Schedule HERE for specials.
- 4th/5th gr. morning recess moved to 9:45-10am
- Mrs. Rollins is proctoring groups for Forward and unavailable for the morning.
- Thursday, March 26
- Opening Day for Brewers! Wear your Brewer Attire!
- Forward Test from 8-11:30am, Note the Schedule HERE for specials.
- 4th/5th gr. morning recess moved to 9:45-10am
- Mrs. Rollins is proctoring groups for Forward and unavailable for the morning.
- Friday, March 27
- Happy Birthday Shanalyn!
- Spring Break starts at the end of your day!
- Citizenship grades for March due in the gradebooks
Nitty-Gritty
- Summer School
- The summer school booklet will be out early next week (after the board meeting). If you have any students that you want to recommend for a course, please complete this form for each student and send home with kids on Tuesday if you can. (The grades are for the grades they will be entering next school year so it matches the booklet.) Please email a list of the students that you recommended for each course so I can follow up if they do not sign up.
- Supply Lists for 2026-27
- If your grade level has not looked through the "other essentials" and "desired extras" columns from last year's supply list, please do so as soon as you can. If there are any changes that need to be made, please let Patti know so she can update the document she is working on. We would like this to be in the April newsletter, so thank you in advance for doing this!
- Attendance Charts
- If you have a completed attendance chart, let me know and I will schedule a time to come to your classroom with the Trojan Cart. :-)
ML Information
Unleashing the Writer Within: Low-Stakes Writing for MLs
Writing can be one of the most intimidating hurdles for Multilingual Learners (MLs). When students are worried about perfect verb tenses or spelling, their creative spark often gets smothered by anxiety.
The secret to building confident writers isn't found in a red pen—it’s found in low-stakes writing.
Shift the Focus: Ideas Over Accuracy
For MLs, the goal of daily writing should be fluency and expression, not grammatical perfection. When we lower the "affective filter" (the stress barrier), students are more likely to take risks with their new language.
3 Quick Ways to Get Ideas Flowing
Quick Writes: Give a 3–5 minute timer and a fun prompt (e.g., "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?"). Tell students: "Don’t worry about spelling—just keep your pencil moving!"
Dialogue Journals: Students write a short note to you, and you write back. Don't correct their mistakes; instead, model the correct grammar in your response.
Visual Prompts: Use an interesting photo or a short video clip. Ask students to write three things they see and one thing they wonder.
Strategies for Success
***Pro Tip: For your newcomers, allow them to draw their ideas first and then label them with one or two words. A picture is a bridge to a paragraph!
By making writing a daily, low-pressure habit, you help your MLs see themselves as authors who have important stories to tell.
***Click Here for 20 low-stakes writing prompts!TechKnow Tip
Canva for Education provides a comprehensive, easily accessible library of design templates specifically tailored to meet the diverse needs of 4K-12 classrooms. The platform offers thousands of customizable options, ranging from interactive presentations and daily lesson plans to printable worksheets, report cards, and vibrant classroom decor. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, educators can quickly adapt these professional designs to fit the exact learning level, subject, and style they need for their students. Utilizing these visually appealing resources not only saves you valuable preparation time, but also helps foster a more engaging and interactive learning environment for young children and teens alike. Explore the extensive collection today to discover how effortlessly you can elevate your everyday instructional materials: Explore Class Project Packs
Friday Funny
When I am scrolling news links, I often get sucked into articles that are mindless and just plain odd. But the article/blog I read this past week was about pictures that get funnier the longer you look at them. I just had to share some pictures that I think fall into this category that you might laugh at too!
And of course this one sent to me from our colleague! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.