May 1, 2026

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Sunday, May 3
• Happy Birthday Eneida!

• Monday, May 4
• Teacher Appreciation Week starts!
• Star Wars Day!
• Morning Duties:
• Blacktop/Playground: Bingen, Miller, CaineB
• Breakfast: Wagner, Donovan
• 3K/4K Playground: Vertz, Zastrow
• Lunch Duties:
• 12:00 - Donovan
• 12:30 - Huso
• 1:00 - Bingen
• PM Duties:
• Blacktop/Playground - Huso, Lucht
• Circle Drive - Betsy
• Jenny in meeting from 10:30am-1pm

• Tuesday, May 5
• Social Media Posts due to Jenny: Wagner, Bingen
• 5K Field trip to Glacier Rock Farms from 8:15-11:30am
• Para PD meeting from 3:15-3:45pm

• Wednesday, May 6
• Workout Wednesday
• Lunch Detention Supervisors: Lucht, Huelsman, Schulte
• 4th & 5th Grades on a field trip to MOHEE
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10:30am
• Band Concert for our 5th graders @ 5pm
• Special Board Meeting @ 6pm

• Thursday, May 7
• Lunch menu change: Mozzarella Dippers, marinara, black beans, broccoli

• Friday, May 8
• 3rd Grade Field trip to EAA

Nitty-Gritty

• PM Pick-up Reminders
• Please help reinforce to students that they MUST watch for cars and use the crosswalks during morning and afternoon pick up and drop off.  If any of us, (especially on Fridays) are going to the parking lot, we MUST use the crosswalks to cross the circle drive.  There have been some close calls lately and I would hate for any of us to get hit, especially our young learners that are smaller and harder for drivers to see.  Students are following grown-ups' leads and we want them to to follow the habits of using crosswalks, looking for cars and being safe at all times.
• Lost and Found
• Please walk your classes past the lost and found when you have time.  The piles are growing again!  Thank you in advance.

• Teacher Appreciation Week
• Next week the admin team is putting together some surprises for you to show our appreciation for all that you do.  We hope you feel our appreciation every day, but especially next week.  We are all so grateful for the hours of hard work you put in for our students each and every day!

ML Information

Building Confidence Through Oral Presentations

For Multilingual Learners (MLs), speaking in front of a group can be one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the school day. However, oral production is a vital bridge between social language and academic fluency. This week, focus on creating low-stakes opportunities for students to find their voices.

Scaffold the Experience

Don’t jump straight to a formal podium speech. Build "speaking stamina" by layering support:

• Think-Pair-Share: Allow MLs to rehearse their thoughts with one partner first.

• Small Group "Micro-Presentations": Have students present to 3–4 peers rather than the whole class to reduce anxiety.

• Visual Aids: Encourage the use of props, posters, or slides. Having a visual "anchor" shifts the audience’s gaze away from the student and onto their work, which can lower stress levels.

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Tools for Support

To ensure MLs feel successful, provide them with the linguistic "bricks and mortar" they need:

• Sentence Frames: Provide starters like, "One interesting fact I found is..." or "As you can see on this slide, the data shows..."

• Rehearsal Time: Allow students to record themselves on a device first. Hearing their own voice helps them self-correct and builds confidence for the "live" version.

• Cue Cards: Encourage bulleted notes rather than full scripts to prevent them from simply reading aloud.

Creating a Positive Atmosphere

The goal this week is fluency and confidence, not perfect grammar or pronunciation.

Pro-Tip: Establish "Kind Audience" norms. Teach the class to use active listening cues—like nodding and eye contact—and provide a simple "Positive Feedback" menu for peers to use after a presentation (e.g., "I liked how you explained...").

By lowering the "affective filter" and providing the right scaffolds, you turn an intimidating task into a powerful moment of empowerment for your Multilingual Learners.

Recess Information

Playground Usage/Extra Recess
Please make sure you are holding students accountable to following playground expectations regardless of when they are on the playground. Most common infractions are:

• Climbing up slides
• Playing tag/running on the playground structure
• Standing on or laying under the saucer swing
• Kicking balls around the playground

Thank you in advance for enforcing these safety rules.

*Please also do not take students out during scheduled recess times.
9-9:45
11:30-1

Behavior Specialist Information

Help Me, Help Me
As we enter into the last month of school, it is very common to see an increase in behavior issues. HERE is a short article with 5 common behaviors issues and practical ideas to address/avoid them.

TechKnow Tip

Looking to connect your students outside their known world? Try any of these 12 Websites for Virtual Field Trips. One highlight on the list is “The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks” where you go on an interactive tour (including videos, audio recording, activities, and 360* views) with a park ranger at one of our beautiful U.S. National Parks. Another favorite from the list is Explore.org Live Nature Cams which has an endless variety of staffed nature cameras including a kitten rescue sanctuary in California, an osprey nest in Montana, a puppy nursery in Maryland, or inside a honeybee hive in Germany. Many of these relaxing livecams have soothing music accompaniments, making them great to use at the start of the day, during work time, or a way to calm down before quality learning.

Friday Funny

Any one else spend WAAAAY too much time scrolling through random videos and after awhile, they make you laugh so hard that you can hardly breathe. Here's one I came across that is just too funny.