February 12, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• There are some really fantastic nonfiction writing pieces in the 3rd grade hallway.  Way to go everyone!

• 5K made the 100th day of school full of lots of fun and engaging activities that had students excitedly describing them (in detail) to me this week!  

• Teachers reached out to colleagues and me looking for help and to problem-solve.  (See today's PD spotlight to learn more about how awesome this!)

• Students in art making their own designs and "screen printing" them to paper.  They looked so COOL!

• A 1st grader explained how to add 7 and 8 when he doesn't have enough fingers and used the strategy of making 10.  SO AWESOME to hear!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, Feb 15
• PD day  - Spring into Success Summit

• Tuesday, Feb 16
• Milwaukee Bucks attire day

• Wednesday, Feb 17
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, Feb 18
• Friday, Feb 19
• Summer School teaching form due

Nitty-Gritty

• Bridges Delivery
• Did you see Kari and Steve bringing that huge pallet to Mrs. O'Toole's room today?  So exciting!  Please let Sue or myself know if you want to help on a committee to organize materials.

• Monday's Spring into Success virtual summit
• Kay sent out an email on 2/10 regarding downloading and accessing zoom for Monday's virtual summit.  Click Here for her handout. You should have received an email today (2/11) with directions on how to access the summit.  Please let me know if you didn't get one.
• Reminder that you can participate in the summit from home.  If you need reliable internet, you can work in the building.  Please be aware though; there will be about 40 people in the building from different companies inspecting the areas of the building that will be renovated, so if you're here there may be distractions depending on where you are at.

• Diffusers
• I am aware of some of the research that has been done on the sense of smell and it's connection to memories, feelings of a calm environment, and emotional well-being.  In fact, I have a diffuser in my home and have used it often for some of those specific reasons.  However, at school it is impossible to contain the fragrance from a diffuser to a single classroom, and it has the potential to spread throughout many rooms of the building.  This can potentially cause significant issues with students and adults in our system. (allergies, sinus issues, asthma/breathing/lung issues, etc.). For this reason, please do not use a diffuser at school.  Thank you for your understanding and if you have any questions, please let me know.

PD Spotlight

This last week I listened to the latest episode from Ted Neitzke on his Smart Thinking podcast.  The topic was about asking for help.  He mentioned a brain study that was done regarding this and how the part of the brain that is triggered when you ask for help is the same sensory area of the brain that is activated when you feel pain.  So asking for help really is painful for some, which is why so many avoid it! On the flip side, offering to help and the person accepting your help activates a part of our brain that relates to pleasure and reward. There are ways to address this and that is what I am hoping we are building here as a team at Dodgeland. The more often we can ask and give help to others, the more we build healthy relationships with those around us and build a consistent climate of working together.  I know that I am not super good at this yet, but I will continue to reflect and work on this. How can this model help our students as well?  I am reminded of a quote that I heard last week while watching a rerun of Criminal Minds: 

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. ~ James Baldwin

Hmmm, makes you think huh?  (If the Criminal Minds reference seems weird, they end almost every episode with some reflective or inspiring quote.  Ella is a mega fan of this show, and she got me hooked on it too!)

Friday Funny

This week my Friday Funny is a quick story from working with one of our 4K students.  I am learning so much about this age group since starting this job!

Today I was working with a student and I figured out something that I didn't understand or could do very well before. (I don't want to publicly share what it is, but if you ask me I will tell you.  It's just a TAD embarrassing!) Anyway, I told this student that I finally figured out how this works!  I looked at him and said, "I'm learning something new today. Can you see my brain growing?"

He looks at me really seriously and with wide eyes, says, "Yep!  It is growing!"  Then he gives me a smile and says, "Can I learn it too?"

February 5, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 5K students are so proud of their writing pieces and sharing it with their families!

• Staff helping out others throughout the week.  When we work together everyone feels good and our students benefit greatly!

• 3rd graders were using fraction bars to prove statements about fractions.  They noticed that the bigger the denominator the smaller the fraction bar was. Their math language was so strong!

• 1st graders were playing a fun game in intervention to practice reading high frequency words.  They were so engaged in their learning.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Saturday, Feb 6
• Wrestling Sectional held at Dodgeland 
• (Please do not plan to come in to the building on Saturday.  Due to the sectional meet and the COVID protocols, there are no spectators allowed and a limited number of people will be allowed entry into the building to maintain a safe environment for all.)

• Monday, Feb. 8
• Coloring Contest begins (see below)

• Tuesday, Feb 9
• Wednesday, Feb 10
• WorkOut Wednesday
• Elementary Staff meeting at 3pm @ BlueJeans 9203861003

• Thursday, Feb 11
• Friday, Feb 12

Nitty-Gritty

• Dismissal Next Week
• Next week the weather forecast is calling for very cold temperatures.  This is probably going to increase the number of parents coming to school to pick-up students.  In order to avoid the back up on Hwy 26 that we have had 2-3 times this week, we are going to dismiss bus riders at 2:25pm so that the buses can move to the MS/HS side earlier than normal to avoid back up on Hwy 26. Please help your students remember to take everything with them and to get to the bus quickly and carefully.  
• We will not give notice for parent pick-ups as earlier though because they do not need to arrive earlier.  That would not help us solve this issue.

• Coloring Contest
• Dodgeland High School's Skills USA president contacted me about a coloring contest that they are sponsoring the week of Feb 8.  The sheets will be handed out on Monday and are due on Friday, Feb 12.  This might be an option during any potential indoor recesses this week! :-)

• Read Across America
• This week we will celebrate Read Across America, although in a different way than in past years the week of March 1.  Cathy has a special menu planned for March 2 in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday.  If you would have any ideas for dress up days that week, please let me know.  

• Blended Learning Expectations
• At the elementary level, a letter has gone out in the mail and in the last newsletter regarding blended learning.  It seems like there may be some confusion for elementary parents. I will share another update with all families that explains that blended learning is for students quarantined, ill with communication for participating in blended learning or unique situations where students have been approved to be online.  Elementary teachers do not have to be logged on to BlueJeans for class unless they have students learning online because of one of these reasons.  The blended learning has been utilized for other reasons in the past semester and it has been problematic for student engagement and habits of school attendance that is not due to being ill or COVID symptoms.

• Bridges Math Training update
• The training dates for Bridges has been set for this summer.  
• 5K-2nd grade is Mon/Tues, June 7-8 from 8am-3pm, 
• 3rd-5th grade is Tues/Wed, June 8-9 from 8-3pm
• 4K teachers are Thursday, June 10 from 8-10am.
• There is a part of each day that is self study and parts that are live on Zoom.  A document will be shared with teachers this involves with specific details, but wanted you to have the dates for you to schedule now.

Friday Funny

Is anyone else a fan of the old cartoon, Dexter's Laboratory?  My oldest daughter, Lexi, LOVED this show when she was a kid and it was one of the few that I could sit through with her.  When I saw this meme, it made me giggle.  If you don't know this show, you should really check it out!  :-)

January 29, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 1st graders all engaged in reading when I stopped by this week.  It's so awesome to watch students enjoying their books.

• A visitor shared about how patient and empathetic our staff was working with a student that is struggling by maintaining high expectations, even though it would be much easier to just lower the expectations.

• 4K students showed me a fantastic creation they built in the block area.  I just love seeing and hearing their pride in their work!

• 2nd graders shared ideas with one another about how to write their introduction for their informational writing piece.

• So many students are showing tremendous growth on their i-Ready assessments.  Way to go everyone!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, February 1
• "Souper" Bowl begins
• The EL PLTW room is closed; The Tech team will begin moving into the room

• Tuesday, February 2
• Wednesday, February 3
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, February 4
• Jenny is at a virtual Conference 8am-12pm

• Friday, February 5
• National Wear Red Day
• Jenny is at a virtual Conference 8am-12pm

Nitty-Gritty

• End of the Day Reminders
• The number of cars that are waiting to get into the school circle drive is increasing every week. It is very important that the buses are able to move to the MS/HS side as soon as they can because cars are backing up to Hwy 26.  This is causing traffic issues and has the potential for causing an accident.  Please help make sure that your bus students are getting out to the bus as quickly as they can.  They should be ready to leave the building at 2:30, so that everyone is outside by 2:35pm and the buses can move.  This will allow our elementary parents to get into the circle drive sooner and avoid cars backed up on the highway.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• "Souper" Bowl Begins
• Our annual "Souper" Bowl will begin next week.  The flyer is here.  Thank you to Sue O'Toole for organizing this for us.  If you can, please share with your families.

• February P/T Conferences
• Just a reminder, Parent Teacher conferences are canceled this month. However, it is important that you keep families informed on how your students are doing in school.  Please share their progress in writing (digitally or paper) by March 1.  This also may be their most recent i-Ready scores.  Please email when you have sent this to families.

• April Hygiene Lessons for Primary grades
• Later this semester, there will be student nurses from Maranatha at Dodgeland working with Lynnae.  They will be doing hygiene lessons with some of our grades at the elementary on April 15 and April 22.  Lynnae will be in contact with teachers as the dates get closer.

• Summer School Reminder
• Summer school is planned for June 14-July 22, Monday-Thursday from 8-11:55.  If you would like to teach this summer, please fill out this google form.  If you are unsure or have any questions, please let me know.

• Fridays
• It has come to my attention that there might be some misunderstandings about the time staff can leave on Friday afternoons.  Earlier this year (9-11-20) I had sent an email about this, but it has been awhile and thought I would give everyone a friendly reminder.  The time remains at 3pm for staff to leave.  (Although, if you have a goose pass or you use flex time, this may be different for some of you on specific days.)

PD Spotlight

This week's PD Spotlight is a little different than previous weeks.  In the past week or so, I have had many conversations with others, (including this teenage girl that looks and acts like me!) that have reminded of the Brene Brown videos that I have watched over the past few months.  (You can even find her on netflix now!). But as much as I try to model vulnerability and respectful discourse in my professional life, my personal life allowed me to see it in person.  I watched my daughter tell me something that I know was hard for her to say to me, she worried about hurting my feelings, but it was her truth and I needed to hear it.  I have never been more proud of her in my life.  While I have some reflecting to do and most definitely some changes to make, I have to say, she has taught me a lot about vulnerability and courage this week.  Here is a 5 min. video that just made me think and thought I would share it with you.

Friday Funny

This is me every. single. day.

January 22, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• A 5K teacher praised a student on her skill in retelling a story.  You could see her pride, even with the mask, as she shared her strengths with this skill.

• Teachers that worked so hard on report cards and comments for this first semester.  So many well-thought out questions, attention to detail, and strong feedback for students and families.  Your hard work was definitely noticed!

• A team of people came together to plan for a student that is really struggling right now.  Working with a strong team of compassionate adults makes me proud to be a Dodgeland staff member!

• There were many students that were happy to be back at school this week.  I checked in with many of them who were telling me how glad they are to be back at school.  I know it is because you all worked extra hard to have make a welcoming environment.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, January 25
• School Board meeting 6:30pm
• Tuesday, January 26
• Wednesday, January 27
• Workout Wednesday
• Staff meeting @ 3pm on BlueJeans 9203861003
• Thursday, January 28
• Friday, January 29

Nitty-Gritty

• Valentine's Day
• Valentine's Day is coming up.  If you are planning on students exchanging valentines this year, please plan ahead.  Since they will be coming from lots of different places, we want them to be COVID friendly when we give them to students.  This means that they should not include any baked items along with them and should be brought in to school in advance so that they can sit without being touched before handing them out to others.  All students should wash hands before handing out the valentines on 2/14.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• Recess Update for cold weather Days
• Now that it is January, it is typical for us to end up with indoor recess because of cold weather.  The standard for indoor recess is a temperature less than 0 degrees or a windchill of less than 0.  In order to be systematic about communicating any changes to recess, we are going to follow this plan.  
• Recess decisions will be made by 9:15 for 4K/5K recess and by 11:45am for the afternoon recesses (grades 1-5).  Staff will be notified through email or Marie on the intercom.  
• Chris V/Stephanie S/Jenny will check temp for the 4K/5K recess and communicate with Marie.  
• Alicia Hahn will check temp for the grades 1-5 recesses and communicate with Marie.
• Click Here to see the coverage for indoor recess. Indoor recess takes place within your classrooms and a staff member will come to supervise them. (The chart is on the supervision tab on the schedules spreadsheet.)
• Indoor recess could be brain break activities, Go Noodle movement breaks, board games, indoor playworks games, etc.

• Communication to Families from Lynnae
• On Thursday, 1/21, Nurse Lynnae Shaw sent a digital letter and visual to parents through school messenger.  To read this important note about when to keep students home, click here.

• Blended Learning Expectations
• As a reminder, the second semester comes with some revised expectations and procedures designed to help our students be successful and develop strong studying habits.  Click here to read the handout again.  One of the important parts of this document is the expectations related to work completion (in addition to the attendance pieces).  In order for us to be consistent, please let me know about any students that are failing to meet these expectations.
• 

PD Spotlight

This week when Sue sent out the link to the article about the Mathematic Practices, I thought, "Man, I wish I had read this years before now."  It was so much easier to imagine how students use these math practices and ways I could have been putting them into practice.  The other thing that the article reminded me was of our conversation last week during our Bridges math discussion.  We agreed that we wanted to have students participating more in discussions related to math.  If you were like me, you may have wondered ways to do this, especially as one of the practices is related to making sound arguments and critiquing others' reasoning.  I found the this resource to be especially helpful if I were to be working on ways to add more student talk in math.  What do you think?

Friday Funny

Dr. Thompson shared this with me.  I know there has got to be more than just me that would love their own rest time during the day, right?  Let's hope this thought runs through a few 4 year olds minds today!  :-)

January 17, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Thank you for your collegiality and reflective conversations last Friday.  I hope you found the day to be productive as well.

• Many of our classrooms are preparing for students to return next week.  Whether it is a blended or virtual student, there is a lot of work to prepare to welcome students back.  Thank you for all your hard work!

• Thoughtful questions about the grading system that fits with our professional learning.  The proficiency grading for academics is about the evidence you have regarding how proficient they are towards the standard.  Missing work, lack of participation online, etc, will all be reported in the citizenship skills.

What's Happening at Dodgeland this week?

• Monday, January 18
• Semester 2 begins
• Wear your Home Again t-shirts if you'd like
• Fill out Google Form for COVID vaccine by 4pm

• Tuesday, January 19

• Wednesday, January 20
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, January 21
• Milwaukee Bucks Day

• Friday, January 22
• Packer Day!  Go, Pack, Go! (I'll be rooting for them on Sunday!)

Nitty-Gritty

• Vaccine Update
• Please see Dr. Thompson's email from Friday, 1/15/21, with the most up-to-date information regarding the logistics and planning for educators to receive the COVID vaccine if they would like.  If you haven't already, please answer the short google form to indicate whether you are interested in it or not by clicking here.

• Student Teachers
• We have three new student teachers joining us for second semester from Maranatha.  Please welcome them to our building and our staff. 
• Ms. Michayla Collings will be in Mandy's room
• Mr. Nathan Crane will be in Shanalyn's room
• Ms. Kathryn Butler will be in Gabrielle's room

• Report Cards
• If all goes as planned, report cards will be ready to go home with students on Wednesday, January 20.  If anything changes about this, I will let you know ASAP.
• If you have a student from the virtual school, I will be talking with Brad about their grades for 1st semester from Between the Lakes Virtual Academy.  You do not have to do anything on your end.

• Bridges Math PD Review
• Below is a quick summary our Bridges session from Friday, 1/15/21.
• The Bridges Educator Site is open for all until 1/22/21 (until the purchasing has gone through)
• If you have time, please watch the getting started videos (17-20 min. each) under implementation -- Getting Started -- Find your grade level band.
• There is one on the curriculum, number corners, and assessments.
• Looking ahead, the training for this curriculum will occur in June.  When I have a solid date, I will share with you.  Click to see the training schedule from Bridges, Grades K-2 & Grades 3-5.
• If you would like to work with Sue O and I on planning for the organization of the materials, please let one of us know.
• As you think ahead, please let me know if you have any questions regarding implementation.

January 8, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• I listened to a 2nd grader give a detailed explanation of how coins relate to each other.  His explanation showed he truly understands how to count money and that there is more than one way to get to the same amount!

• A 5K student was "teaching" his classmates math.  He asked his classmates, "What do you see about this problem?  See how it is like the other one."  (3+2=5 and 2+3=5). I believe he is paying close attention to his teacher's lessons and her words!

• A group of 2nd graders helped me by explaining their routine for their classroom.  I was successful because they know exactly what to do.  Even after a long winter break, they were a joy to hang out with too!

• A third grader waited to make sure the door didn't close on a student/teacher that were coming up behind him.  I love watching our students treating others with kindness.  They model what they see around them!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, January 11

• Tuesday, January 12

• Wednesday, January 13
• Workout Wednesday
• Elementary Staff meeting at 3pm at 9203861003

• Thursday, January 14
• Early Release at 12:10 for bus, 12:20 for pick up/walkers

• Friday, January 15
• Teacher PD day
• Grades due by Monday 1/18 @ 7am

Nitty-Gritty

• Early Release Day Reminders
• Recess is cancelled for the day.
• Lunch begins at 11am.
• Specials will remain the same until lunch period.  If you have an 11:30 special, please talk with your colleagues about plans for the day.

• PLTW Room
• Starting next Monday, 1/11/21, the PLTW tables will start to be moved and replaced by round tables.  I need to know ASAP if you would like any of the tables in the room for your classroom.  
• Reminder that as of Feb. 1, the tech department will be moving into this space to prepare for the construction.

• Extra Clothes
• Please encourage families to send an extra set of clothes with their child to keep in their locker.  We have limited extra clothes, especially for our primary level students.  We never know when a student will need them!

• Report Cards (A summary video will be available on Sunday to help as well.)
• Comments: There is not a single comment section like in our old report cards.  You can add comments in each subject area. 
• Learning Targets/Standards:  If you have not gotten to a LT/Standard yet for the entire class, please leave it blank.  This means that it will not print on the report card.  If a student has not provided any evidence for you to give a proficiency grading, You can use NONE as a grade.  If you are unsure about this, please see me to talk it through.
• Watch for an email from Brad that describes the last step of report card verification part.  This will notify the office when you are completed with grades.

• Elementary Staff Meeting
• The agenda for the staff meeting is summary of report card procedures and asking questions about 2nd semester.

• Blended Learning Expectations
• This week a letter was mailed home to all families with an update to the blended learning expectations.  Click here to read this letter for your information.

• Spring Into Success Summit
• Please register for the virtual summit for our PD day on President's Day (2/15) through the email you received from CESA 6.  You can attend this summit from home if you have internet connection.
• It will be virtual through Zoom.  CESA will send you a link to the Zoom meeting.  If you haven't used Zoom before, after clicking on the link you will be prompted to open Zoom on your device and then can connect to the summit.

• Student Teachers
• Our student teachers will be leaving us at the end of this week.  Please help me wish them luck in their future careers as educators.  It was a pleasure working alongside you all.  Good Luck Moriah, Chrissy and Amelia!

• Friday's PD day
• The agenda for Friday's PD day will be out soon.  There will be small group, in person, PD sessions throughout the day.

PD Spotlight

If you were like me, you disconnected for some or most of the winter break.  It felt great to me.  However, this week I started to stress about my to do list.  I came across this very old PinkCast.  I like how he can get right to the point, but also give me something practical to do and reflect on.  Click here to watch the 2 min. video.  I am going to try to make this my habit.  (BTW, did you see that Daniel Pink has a marker board in his office too? I bet he doesn't have cool drawings of dinosaurs, rainbows and stick people on his though!). :-)

Friday Funny

I'm with Joey!

December 18, 2020

**This week's Dodgeland Download is condensed.  If you have any questions, please let me know!**

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, December 21
• Flannel and/or Western Wear Day
• School board Mtg at 6:30pm
• Tuesday, December 22
• Ugly Christmas Sweater/Holiday Wear day
• Wednesday, December 23
• PJ Day
• Jenny has an virtual meeting 8:30-10:30am
• Thursday, December 24
• Winter Break Starts!  Merry Christmas everyone!  See you on Monday, January 4th, 2021!

Nitty-Gritty

• Safety Drill Reminder
• If you have not done a classroom lockdown drill in your classroom yet, please do so before winter break starts.  When you are finished, record it on the Google form HERE.  (This is necessary for our safety protocol documentation.). If you have any questions, please let me know.

• PLTW Planning
• This is just a quick reminder to plan out when you plan to teach your PLTW modules this school year.  Coordinate with your grade level, especially if you share materials or the PLTW lab.  If you have any questions about the units/content, Sue O'Toole is our internal expert.  I'm certain that she would be glad to meet with you!

• Prodigy Tournament
• The tournament will go through Jan 4th.  Students can continue to practice and answer math facts over the break.  Here is also your chance to give an assignment to your class to practice the teacher settings too.  There is a special contest for teachers as the tourney goes on too.  Let Taylor or Niki know if you need any help or support!

• Have a WONDERFUL RELAXING break.  See you in January!

Friday Funny

The pandemic has forever altered how I see some things!  You too??