October 9, 2026

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Supportive, Encouraging, Positive

• Shout out to Jackson who stepped in to support me with a 4K student.  He was positive and encouraging to our little one and made my struggle easier because I had a positive colleague to support me.  PLUS, he also helped support our 4th/5th graders during the admin hold on Thurs.  Thank you for all the teamwork!

• I just want you all to know that I am continually impressed by the depth of the conversations in the collab. meetings each week.  I love to see the learning we are doing with and from each other.  We are also keeping students' learning at the forefront of the planning and modifications are made with a strong rationale and clear steps. 

• Shout out to Christina for giving Ella the support and guidance to get the copy machines "fixed" for us today.  She used the tried-and-true method of shutting it off and turning it back on again as the solution.  (Ella may have other versions of this story, but this is the one I am going with!)

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, October 12
• Happy Birthday Teresa!
• Mentor/Mentee Meeting in the IMC 3:15-4pm (for Teachers in year 1-2-3 and their mentors)
• 5K Collab Mtg @ 11am (SEL)
• AM Duties
• Big Playground: O'Toole, Fortmann, Arnes
• 3K/4K playground: Braunschweig, Houk
• Breakfast: Schellpfeffer
• Lunch Duties
• 12:00: Schulz
• 12:30: Vetter
• 1:00: BCaine
• PM Duties
• Big Playground: Huso, Jenkins
• Circle Drive: Rollins
• Lunch Detention Duty this week: Schuett, Miller, Neis
• Social Media Posts due this week: Miller, Vetter
• Special Board Meeting @ 6:30pm

• Tuesday, October 13
• 5th gr Rdg Collab mtg @ 8:35am
• Jenny in a mtg from 9-11am
• 2nd gr Math Collab mtg @ 12:00pm
• Jenny in a webinar at 3pm on Attendance.  Anyone is welcome to join me! :-)

• Wednesday, October 14
• 4th gr Rdg Collab mtg @ 11:35am
• Workout Wednesday
• Elem. Staff mtg from 3:15-4pm

• Thursday, October 15
• 1st gr. SEL Collab mtg @ 9:35am
• 3rd gr Math Collab mtg @ 2:05pm
• 2nd gr Field trip to Milwaukee Museum (8:15-2:45pm)
• Effectiveness Project forms are due in Frontline

• Friday, October 16
• Jenny in mtg from 9:15-10:30
• 4K Pyramid Model Collab mtg @ 1:15pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Juneau library
• The Juneau public library is looking for people that would be interested in serving on a strategic planning committee. The commitment is approximately an hour or so each month for meetings and drafting a written plan in the spring of 2027. If you are interested, please let Todd know.

• Integrity Tickets
• As students are bringing their tickets into the office, we have the privilege of praising them again. We started to ask each student (when we can) how they earned the ticket. Our goal is to reinforce the behaviors that show integrity. When you hand out the tickets, please be explicit with why you are giving them the ticket. The more they hear about the behaviors that show integrity, they more they will replicate it with or without a ticket.  Thank you for implementing this program with consistency and with students' well being and future in mind!

• Amazon Purchases Update
• There is a slightly new process in place for Amazon purchases. Still make sure to add a Purchase req number and your name to the Deliver to spot. (I know it says optional, but it is very helpful to us when it comes in and to pay the invoices.). The new part is that I will be able to approve the orders when you submit, so please make sure that the Purchase reqs get to me so that I can get them all in the right spot. Thank you!

• Inside Dodgeland Video Series
• Please consider being a part of the video series for our community that we will post online.  The videos will be short and will ask you questions about your role at Dodgeland, why you enjoy your work and the district and your hopes for the Dodgeland School District and its students.  Please contact me or Brad if you are willing and interested in being recorded for this series.  We would like to have 1 staff member for each month for the rest of the school year.

• Volunteers and Visitors
• With field trips coming up, please share with your chaperones/volunteers that they should stop in the office with their ID to sign in and get a badge.  If they have not completed a volunteer form online, please have them do this as soon as possible so that the background check can be done before the trip. Once they have used the Visitor Aware system (the iPad in front of Patti/Ella's computer screens) they will not need their ID each time. (If they had completed one previously, still have them do the volunteer online form so that they are in the system for checking in.) If you have questions, please let Ella, Brad or myself know.

• PTC Update
• At this month's PTC meeting, the group is moving forward to become a nonprofit, recognized PTO group. They updated the group on the Parent-Teacher Conference suppers.  One night they are providing soups/salads and the other is a Taco night.  Please help me express our gratitude for this incredibly generous and thoughtful gesture.  Second, the group is planning a Fun Run fundraiser to be held on Friday, May 7 during the school day.  More details come later, but wanted you to have this on your calendar.  Please do not plan a field trip for that day.

• Citizenship Grades
• Please make sure that citizenship grades have been added to Homeroom teachers' gradebooks for September.  For new teachers, please talk to your mentor if you need assistance with grading for each of the learning targets in our citizenship rubric. Click HERE to see the most recent grading rubric for citizenship that we have been using for our students.

• Project Energy Assembly
• Please mark your calendars for the Project Energy assembly that is sponsored by Juneau Utilities presented on Thursday, October 29.  Grades 4K-2 will attend the assembly at 8:30 in the Elem. gym and grades 3-5 will attend the assembly at 9:55am in the same place.  PE classes that are scheduled during these times will be in alternate locations.  Watch for more information regarding this later this month.

TechKnow Tip

Have you tried out Swank?! It is one of our district’s approved platforms for playing movies, documentaries, and instructional videos in the classroom! Personal streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+ are strictly licensed for private, home use only, making it a copyright violation to show them on school grounds. Swank provides the public performance licensing required by law to legally show films for educational and extracurricular activities. You can access Swank through ClassLink today to search our curated film library and safely assign or stream content for your students. Feel free to request a specific video which gets approved by your building principal. Remember to include a detailed purpose for viewing it in the classroom.

Friday Funny

A staff member sent me this picture today and it made me laugh so much.  It was like the perfect illustration for how this week seems to have gone.  And today was the Thursdayest Thursday I have ever had!  (If this is your first year at Dodgeland, please ask someone about our trend of Thursdays at the elementary school! :-))

The metaphor of this picture is that it is just like an average week at school.  It starts out fine and then proceeds to the end of the week where it just ends in chaos and/or confusion. At this point is when you think, "Whatever!" throw up your hands and know that next week you can start fresh!  (There may have been more colorful language to describe it, but you get the gist!)