May 15, 2026

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Shout out to the kids preparing for their spring concert. They sounded great and looked like they were enjoying themselves too! (I am missing the 4K/3rd-5th concert, but I did get to see the rehearsals!)

• Shout out to Teresa who has been working hard all over the building and then in her spare time was able to secure funding for next year for a reboot of Playworks too! Yay!

• Shout out to the team in Room 133 that has been working hard at finding homes for the overflowing Lost and Found piles.  I can not tell you how much I appreciate you taking on that project!  Thank you all!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Sunday, May 17
• Happy Birthday Rachael!

• Monday, May 18
• Tropical Shirt Day!
• Seals on Wheels continues through Wed.
• Morning Duties:
• Blacktop/Playground: O'Toole, Fortmann, Arnes
• 3K/4K Playground: Braunschweig, Schuett
• Breakfast: Chambers, Schulte
• Lunch Duties:
• 12:00: Lucht
• 12:30: Arnes
• 1:00: Tietz
• PM Duties:
• Blacktop/Playground: Juech, Klink
• Circle Drive: Rollins
• Teresa and Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Jenny in a meeting from 12-1pm
• School Board meeting @ 6:30pm

• Tuesday, May 19
• 2nd Gr. Field trip from 10am-2pm
• Social Media Posts due to Jenny: Jenkins, Westphal
• Jenny in a meeting from 9-11:30am

• Wednesday, May 20
• Workout Wednesday
• 4K Field trip from 8:15-2:15pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors: Chambers, Juech, Huelsman
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10:30am
• Jenny in interviews from 11am-2pm

• Thursday, May 21
• Yearbooks handed out

• Friday, May 22
• 1st Gr. Field Trip from 10:45am - 2:45pm
• Entrepreneurship trade booth from 11:28-12:00 outside Front Entrance of the HS (optional for staff to see what they have been working on!)

Nitty-Gritty

• Last Day of School
• The committee has been working on the plans for the last days.  Here is the schedule at the moment.  Don't forget that we will have to stop for a couple of minutes for the HS grad walk through the Elementary wing.  Watch for more details relating to that as well.  The link for the schedule and the supervisors is HERE.

• Flex Day
• For Certified Staff, this August there is one flex day that you need to be in the building to work in your classroom. There are 5-6 options for days that you can use for your work day.  Just remember that the 3 PD days for staff will be filled with meetings and have very little classroom work time. Please click on the link HERE to identify the date that you plan to work as your flex day.  If you need to change it later, you can. If you want to talk about this with me, please let me know.

• Personal Microwaves/Refrigerators
• A reminder that if you have a microwave or refrigerator in your classroom, it needs to be taken home/removed from the building when you leave for summer vacation. It can be brought back next fall, but needs to be removed for the custodial staff while they are cleaning rooms this summer.

ML Information

Reflect, Recharge, and Say Goodbye
The Year in Review
Use this week to help students realize just how much their "language muscles" have grown. MLs often don’t notice their own progress until it’s mapped out for them.
Intentional Goodbyes
Teacher Reflection: You Made a Difference

As we reach the final stretch of the school year, the focus shifts from new content to closure. For Multilingual Learners (MLs), these final two weeks are a critical time to solidify their sense of belonging and reflect on their linguistic journey before the summer break.

• Language Snapshots: Revisit a writing sample or a recording from Week 1. Have students compare it to their work today. Use the prompt: "I used to say/write..., but now I can say/write..."

• "My Favorite Word" Gallery: Ask each student to choose one new academic or "fun" English word they learned this year. They can illustrate it and explain why they chose it, creating a colorful visual of the class's collective vocabulary growth.

For many MLs, the classroom is their safest space to practice English. Leaving that "safety net" for the summer can be emotional.

• Appreciation Circles: Practice social language by having students give specific compliments to one another.

• Sentence Frame: "I appreciated it when you helped me with ______ this year."

• Summer Connections: Provide a "Summer Resource Card" with local library hours, free English-learning apps, or community centers. Knowing where they can continue to practice helps maintain their confidence during the break.

• The "See You Later" Ritual: Ensure every student receives a personal acknowledgement of their hard work. A simple, hand-written note or a high-five with a specific "I'm proud of you" goes a long way in validating their identity as a learner.

Take a moment for yourself, too. Teaching MLs requires immense patience, creativity, and advocacy. Whether your students moved up a whole proficiency level or simply found the courage to ask a question in class, that growth happened because of the environment you built.

The Big Picture: The goal of these final weeks isn't just to finish the curriculum—it’s to ensure your students walk out the door feeling successful, valued, and ready for whatever comes next.

TechKnow Tip

How is your inbox looking?  Is it time to do some spring cleaning there too?  My inbox looks awful, so I get how daunting a task it is!  Here are a few tips to help:

• Give yourself a time limit and work diligently on it for that time. Then be done for the day!
• Are there any sites that you can unsubscribe from to prevent them from entering your inbox in the first place?
• Create labels to create multiple inboxes to store them in and find what you need later.

Last here, is a short article that has some helpful hints too if you are like me and need some advice.  Enjoy!

https://www.katheats.com/how-to-clean-up-gmail-inbox

Friday Funny

Have any of you ever heard of my "purse cards?"  This is a stack of cards that I keep in my purse that have kind messages in them that I can pull out whenever I need to read them.  I will admit though, that I mostly save the cards that my children give me that tell me things like, "I love you so much!" or "You are the greatest Mom!" or "You are AWESOME!"  As their mom, there have been plenty of times where they tell me that they don't like something, or that I am the worst, or that I am SOOOO embarrassing, or whatever.  Those are the times that those purse cards come in handy!  I pull them out and show them "PROOF" that I am in fact pretty great.  It is in writing and kept by me in a safe location to utilize whenever necessary.  I am pretty sure it is one of my very best ideas! :-)

So, when Mothers' Day came around this year, my children handed me a card that was 8"x12". At first I was like, WOW, I am very special this year!... Then I open the card...Well, now you know why it is the size it is.  I'll let you read it below.  (In addition, the side that tells about all the reasons they love me has some backhanded compliments, but since they are so true, I can't fault them for that!)  :-)

PS:  I NEVER hit Ella with my car.  She walked into a moving car and then blames me.  Those of you that know Ella, doesn't that sound exactly like her?  Doesn't it???