April 2, 2021 (or more like April 5...)

 Welcome Back!  :-)

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 5
• Library lessons start back up!
• District Office Entrance is closed, please send 1st-3rd graders to main entrance
• Thank You Banner Signing

• Tuesday, April 6
• Thank You Banner Signing

• Wednesday, April 7
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, April 8
• Friday, April 9
• Groundbreaking Ceremony at 1:30 (live-streamed into classrooms)
• Wear Purple/Dodgeland attire

Nitty-Gritty

• Review expectations
• I know that it has only been a week since we have seen our students last, but as they return to school and our routines/expectations, do not take anything for granted.  Please spend the time this week reviewing and reteaching procedures, routines and behavior expectations.  It will pay off exponentially in the weeks that we have left of school.

• Micro-fiber towel Reminder
• Before the break, Lance had sent out an email about finding the micro-fiber towels in places other than the green buckets at the end of the day.  Please remind students to put the used ones in the buckets to be washed.  Many were left in desks, on the floor, etc.  Thank you in advance for working together for this important part of our safety protocols.

• District Office entrance closed
• Another reminder:  1st-3rd graders should use the main entrance to enter and dismiss at the end of the day.

• Groundbreaking Ceremony
• A Thank You banner has been created for our students to sign to hang up during the ceremony and beyond.  On Monday/Tuesday (4/5-4/6), the elementary students will have the opportunity to sign the banner.  (Wed/Thur it moves to the MS/HS side of the building.) I will bring the banner to your classrooms throughout the day.  I apologize in advance for disrupting your classrooms/teaching.
• There are 7 students representing the elementary grades in the ground breaking ceremony on Friday, April 9th.  The ceremony will be live streamed on our Dodgeland Youtube channel and students will be able to enjoy cookies/milk during the ceremony.  Christina will be coming around to take pictures of students, but please take pictures as well that we can use for a video later.  The ceremony should be concluded by 2pm.

• Pledge policy
• The Dodgeland School District has a board policy about the Pledge of Allegiance.  The policy states that the pledge needs to be offered to students at the school daily.  The easiest way to do this is to include it with your morning announcements.  Please make sure that you are complying with this policy.  If you want to read it in more depth, please let me know.

• Safety during Construction
• If you did not see Dr. Thompson's email over break, it is important to note the safety precautions that are in place for the safety of all.  First, a fence will be put up starting on Monday, April 5 with a walk way for students to get through off of the bus to get to the playground.  Otherwise the fence is there to prevent students from getting hurt from the workers, the deliveries, or the traffic.  Please tell students to stay away from the fence.  If a ball/etc. goes over a fence, only an adult can go get it.
• Also, the area directly behind the building is an active construction zone.  Staff and Students should not be anywhere near this section which includes taking a walk around the building.  There is a walking labyrinth or trail on the grounds instead though.  Pictures will be shared periodically to update us on progress, please do not go there to see it for yourself.

• Week of the Young Child (April 10-16)
• We have not normally celebrated this week in the past, but this year we are.  You will see on the April Calendar a list of dress up days for the week.  I will have some other surprises in store for students as well.  Stay Tuned!

• FREE Power of Positive Parenting Seminar
• Our collaboration with the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation allows us to provide so many resources to our school, our students and our community.  This latest one is a virtual seminar for parents and families on Tuesday, April 13 from 5:30-7pm.  A flyer will be coming out for families as well. The seminar is geared for parents of children ages 0-12.  Share with any and all parents in your life.  

• Forward Testing
• Teachers that work with grades 3-5, please watch for an email early this week regarding a schedule for this year's Forward testing.  At this time it is planned for the week of April 12.

• ViewSonic Boards
• Over spring break, Josh and Brad worked very hard at getting the boards mounted in grades 2-5 classrooms.  The boards at grades 2-3 are at the 28" height and the boards for grades 4-5 they are hung at 33".  In order to do this, there may have been an item or two that needed to be moved.  They moved it carefully and respectfully.  This was only done if absolutely necessary.  Please see me if you need any help with the items moved.

PD Spotlight

I found this meme before break and I saved it for our blog this week.  I know I used my break to totally disconnect, watch WAY too much Criminal Minds, read for fun, and hang out with my kids.  I'm ready to go tomorrow.  This quote helps remind me of my purpose.  I can't wait to see you all this week!

Friday Funny

March 26, 2021

Next week is spring break.  I hope each and every one of you has a chance to rest, recharge and do something for yourself.  You deserve it!

When we return, it will be April already.  It will be just a few short weeks before the end of the school year.  Let's finish strong by making this week all about taking care of ourselves!

I plan to check emails on a limited basis next week.  If you need me, please text my cell phone.  ~Jenny~

March 19, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• A 3rd grader was using such great math talk to explain two different ways to solve a story problem.  The vocabulary was so specific too!

• 4K students are really getting more and more interested in writing.  Their joy is infectious!

• Story problems are being solved all over the building!  It is so impressive to see and hear the math talk happening as students are solving them.

• 5K students are writing a persuasive letter to convince their teacher to share her snack with them. I wonder if they were successful??

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, March 22
• Future is Bright; Wear Neon day for the start of College/Career Awareness Week
• School Board meeting @6:30 in Elementary gym

• Tuesday, March 23
• Wednesday, March 24
• Brief staff meeting @3pm on BlueJeans https://bluejeans.com/9203861003/6177
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, March 25
• College Gear Day 
• Newsletter articles and pictures due (EC/4K and 5K, others?)

• Friday, March 26
• Coach Jena visiting recess from 11:30-3:00

Nitty-Gritty

• District Office Entrance Update
• Starting on Monday, April 5, the district office entrance will be closed.  Students and staff will need to enter through the 4K/5K hallway or through the main elementary entrance.  Parents will be notified through the newsletter and Dojo.  Once the entrance is completed, the entrance will be reopened.

• Spring Cleaning
• As the year is coming to a close, many of us are going through our cabinets and classrooms.  Many of you are thinking about how you want to store your Bridges math curriculum supplies and others are looking towards the future with other construction/renovations taking place.  This might mean that you have furniture, supplies, teaching materials, etc. that you no longer need/want.  
• Any furniture that you are looking to repurpose or find a new home for, should be shared with Kimi.  At some point, there will be a google doc for repurposed items that are available for staff and a doc of items to be donated to Haiti.
• However, please do not put materials in the staff lounge at this point.  It gets in the way of social distancing during lunch and limits space for teachers to do their work. If you have materials that you no longer need, please see me and I can let you know if it is a donation item.  

• ViewSonic Boards
• Brad and Josh have started to hang the ViewSonic Boards and will do as many as they can during Spring Break.  The boards will be at the same height as the whiteboards that are in your rooms already.

• Parking
• On Monday, March 22, construction trailers and heavy equipment will arrive onsite.  This means that parking on the far west side lot will no longer be possible.  The elementary and MS/HS lots will be able to accommodate more cars.

• Summer School
• Summer School registration will open on Thursday, March 25 at 4pm.  There are some remedial courses for reading and writing.  If you have students that you would recommend a math or reading course this summer, please communicate this with parents.  Scholars on the Move is a 2-hr course that focuses on reading and math for students entering grades 1-2. Other courses for students entering grades 3-6 have separate reading and math courses. Click HERE for a form to send home with your students with the recommendations.

PD Spotlight

I read this article this week and it made me think of the SEL skills that we talk about each month with our students and reflect on in our own daily lives.  I am sharing it with you because I liked that it not only described some important SEL skills for all people to develop, but also ways that parents (or in our case, teachers) can help students practice using the skills.  Click here for the link online or the pdf HERE.  In addition to practical help, it also made me feel awesome being part of a school system that already emphasizes many of the skills on this list in our school system.  I do believe that over time our students will develop strong SEL skills that they can take with them for the rest of their lives. Thank you for your consistent support of this important teaching and life skill.

Friday Funny

This is from my cousin and right down to the bitmoji.  So funny.

March 12, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 4K/5K students having a great time learning new games during Playworks session on Thursday with Coach Jena.

• 4th graders organizing evidence for a literary essay by locating direct quotes to use for their evidence.

• 5th graders explaining the transfer of energy in the food chain in our ecosystem.

• 2nd graders explaining the difference between whole rests and half rests in Music. 

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, March 15
• PD Day, No School

• Tuesday, March 16
• Wednesday, March 17
• Workout Wednesday
• St. Patrick's Day

• Thursday, March 18
• Friday, March 19

Nitty-Gritty

• PD Day on Monday
• Click HERE for the agenda for Monday. There are a number of meetings scheduled throughout the day.  You may choose to work from home around those meetings if you would like.  I am sure that you all have very long to-do lists and you will choose the environment that works best for you to complete those tasks!

• Change to BrainPOP
• There has been a recent change in how to log into BrainPOP for staff and students. Good news...you no longer have to remember separate login credentials! BrainPOP (including Jr., Espanol, and Francais) is a platform that provides animated movies, engaging learning games, and great vocabulary activities on a variety of topics. They do a great job of explaining a complicated idea in an efficient and entertaining way with most videos less than 5 minutes!
• Login process for staff and students will take place through Clever. Clever is a tool that connects outside services to our district login system. This means fewer usernames and passwords for you and your students to remember! It is an app on staff and student iPads and it is also located in staff self service bookmarks on laptops. Once you open Clever, log in with your Google credentials. Once logged in, you will see what looks a bit like an app "landing page" that shows all services you can access (BrainPOP, iReady, IXL, PLTW). From this Clever "landing page" you can login to any of these tools with one click!
• You can find more information about BrainPOP on our staff resource site.
• You will find great webinars to get you started with BrainPOP in the classroom HERE.
• You can find information about setting up classes within BrainPOP in order to assign tasks to your students HERE.

• Sharing with our Families
• As the school year continues, please share pictures and a sentence or two about the things your students are learning and accomplishing in your classrooms.  Our families love to see these things on FaceBook and Class Dojo.  Email them to Josh Kjornes or myself.

• Early Bird Students
• There are some students that are early to school in the mornings.  The doors are on an automatic timer to be unlocked at 7:35 for students to enter for breakfast.  Please do not let students into the building when you enter in the mornings.  There are some students that are arriving in classrooms before teachers return from their morning tasks. The only exception to this is if it is raining or cold, and they are waiting in the vestibules until 7:35am.

Friday Funny

March 5, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• A 2nd grade student stopped to help a 5K student who was struggling with a knot in her shoelace in the hall.  It was so sweet and kind!

• 4th graders are so engaged in their book clubs right now.  I wish I could sit in with them every day!

• Staff members willing to help out with students struggling to regulate emotions, even if it is not their student.  Thank you for the teamwork!

• Staff members welcoming students that have been absent for a number of days in a row with enthusiasm to let them know they were missed!

• 5th graders telling me the steps to calming down.  Stop, Name your feeling, calm down.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, March 8
• Black top only recess starts

• Tuesday, March 9
• Wednesday, March 10
• Workout Wednesday
• Elementary Staff meeting @ 3:00 @ 9203861003 

• Thursday, March 11
• Coach Jena from Playworks will be here from 8-12 working with 4K/5K students

• Friday, March 12
• Monday, March 15
• PD day

Nitty-Gritty

• Bridges Training Update
• I had an opportunity to talk with a member of the Math center at Cesa #6 this week named Kristine.  She has been working with me on helping me to prepare us for the Bridges implementation.  After sharing with her the PD training that is provided from The Math Learning Center - Bridges, we started talking about the self-study pieces of the training.  Kristine is also a trainer for the Bridges curriculum.  I couldn't resist having another expert, who would be in person, close by during the school year and extremely knowledgeable to help us with our training and learning as well.  What does this mean for the training?  It is the same days, but instead of self study for some parts, there will be a real live person to walk us through it and answer questions.  Below is the schedule again, but added in are the times with Kristine from Cesa 6.
• 5K-2nd grade: 
• Monday, June 7, 8:30-11am (Self-study, Sue/Jenny will be at school)
• Monday, June 7, 12:30-3:00pm (Zoom Session)
• Tuesday, June 8, 8:30-11am (Zoom Session)
• Tuesday, June 8, 12:30-3:00pm (Session with Kristine)
• 3rd-5th grade: 
• Tuesday, June 8, 8:30-11am (Session with Kristine)
• Tuesday, June 8, 12:30-3:00pm (Zoom Session)
• Wednesday, June 9, 8:30-11am (Zoom Session)
• Tuesday, June 9, 12:30-3:00pm (Session with Kristine)
• 4K grade:
• Thursday, June 10, 8am-10pm (Zoom session with Hartford teachers)
• Finally, there are other schools implementing Bridges this next school year.  I did tell Bridges that we enjoy collaborating and would welcome others to join us during the training as well.  There are a couple of teachers that will be joining the Zoom sessions on June 7-8 from Illinois that I know about.  Just keeping you in the loop.

• Important BlueJeans Update
• In order to maintain a safe virtual environment, including prohibiting random people from logging into BlueJeans, there are some changes that will be put into place on all elementary staff's BlueJeans accounts.  These changes will also affect parent and IEP meetings, in addition to students' blended learning environments.
• Moderators will have a default setting where only the moderator can screen share.  If you need to change this, there is a drop down menu next to the screen share button, uncheck the button.  It is safer to leave the default setting on for most lessons though.
• All participants to a meeting will need a passcode in order to log in to the meeting.  Click HERE for an updated video from Christina to describe this added security for the BlueJeans meetings.  Click HERE for a pdf of directions.
• Watch for an email from Brad/Josh next week with a confidential document that lists the passcodes for meeting ID's.  You will want to share this number with students that are logging in to BlueJeans for instruction.

• Recess Information
• This past week, we have enjoyed some really great weather for recess.  However, many of our students think that they no longer need to wear coats, boots, etc.  The snow is melting fast and it is getting muddy, wet and kind of messy!  Students should continue to wear boots outside until the snow is completely melted.
• To help students know how to dress for recess, a general rule of thumb is:  
• If the temperature is below 40 degrees, winter coats should be worn and a hat/gloves will keep them warm if under 32 degrees.
• If the outside temperature is above 40 Degrees, students need a jacket, but it does not need to be a winter coat.  
• If the temperature is above 50, students can go outside with a hoodie/sweatshirt, light jacket, etc.
• Starting the week of March 8, recess will be blacktop only until there is no melting snow and mud left.

• Dismissal Updates
• The buses will move by 2:35 to the MS/HS side each day.  There are some students that are not getting outside early enough to catch the bus before it moves, and have to walk all the way to the other side.  Today I found two fifth graders standing in the commons looking at their cell phone and they barely made it to the buses before they left.  Please have your bus students ready to walk out the door at 2:30, but also that they should go straight there as quickly as they can.
• Parent Pick-up/Walking students can be dismissed around 2:37pm. Please don't send them earlier than that, as I don't want them to be in the way of the beginning of the parent pick up line procedures.
• Lastly, please show this short video to students about expectations during dismissal in front of the building.

• Talent Show
• Last spring, we were able to hold our annual talent show virtually.  This year, we still can not hold the talent show in person, but a couple of people have asked about it. Is there anyone that would be willing to work on a team to put together another virtual talent show.  Perhaps this year we can record students performing their talent at school, or continue to take submissions, or a combination.  However, we will need support in order to make this happen.  Please click HERE to take a survey regarding your interest.

• Forward Testing
• Soon Forward testing planning will begin.  However, there are some changes in the testing that affects the suggested test times.  Click HERE to see a pdf of the changes that were made to these test times.  As soon as more details are finalized, they will be shared.

PD Spotlight

Lately I have spent a lot of time with children that have been struggling to calm down or control their emotions.  I came across this short video that describes for students why they lose control of their emotions.  I find it so fascinating how our brains work, but even more, I find this video gives me the language to help kids understand why this happens and what to do about it.  There is nothing that was totally new to me in the video, but the repetition was such a good reminder of what I know to help me with the kids that I get to see weekly.  They need our help to figure out how to take control of their emotions.  It is a constant battle for all people, not just kids, and they need to know that learning these strategies will help them for a very long time. 

Friday Funny

This week my daughter had to do an assignment where she shared a funny story about herself.  Ella and I had a nice stroll through memory lane trying to come up with a good story for this assignment.  Then, we came across this picture (I have her permission to share), and this picture made us both laugh.  Isn't that the brightest smile ever?!  She has no idea why her dad and I thought it was so hilarious, she just knew she was a pageant queen.  Now that she's 17, she understands the irony of our choice in sash for her Halloween costume!  :-)

February 26, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• A group of 4K students were reading a short story on the pocket chart practicing 1:1 correspondence and reading visuals.  Their excitement was inspiring and infectious!

• 5K students were using wholes and parts to determine a missing part.  It's so awesome to see them so engaged.

• 4th grade students were using the questions to start their answers in complete sentences.  They were getting really good at it!

• 2nd graders are working in Scratch Jr. to code characters.  They catch on so fast!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, March 1
• Pajama Day (I am Not getting Up Today)

• Tuesday, March 2
• Silly Socks Day (Fox in Socks)

• Wednesday, March 3
• Tie Dye or favorite color day (My Many Colored Days)
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, March 4
• Vacation T-Shirt (Oh, the Places you Will Go)
• Recess Academy for grades 4K/5K (Times to be determined)

• Friday, March 5
• Hat Day (Cat in the Hat)
• Seals on Wheels starts

Nitty Gritty

• Guidance with Ganser next week
• Guidance with Ganser will be canceled the week of March 1 to provide consistency for a group of students this next week.  On Monday morning,  Mindy will send out an email to teachers with links and ideas of things that you can do during your GG time period this next week. 

• Last Call: Engagement Survey
• The window closes on Friday, 2/26 for the staff and student engagement survey.  The student engagement survey is for grades 3-5. (See email for the link/QR code for your students.)
• Dr. Thompson sent the link in an email for the staff engagement survey.  Thank you in advance for taking the time to provide feedback.  it is so very valuable to us. Click here for survey.

• Seals on Wheels
• Starting Friday, March 5, the next round of free dental services is coming to Dodgeland for the students that signed up during registration before school starts.  Because our office area is getting full, this service will be relocated to the distance learning lab near the former tech offices.
• They will continue into Mon-Wed, 3/1-3/3 until they are able to see every student 4K-12 that has signed up.

• Heads Up
• I want everyone to be aware that plans have been developed (that hopefully will never need to be used) to respond to a student's medical needs in our elementary wing.  If this would occur, the elementary would be on an administrative hold and a classroom of students may need to relocate temporarily to the bench in the commons area until they can be moved to a different classroom.  

Friday Funny

I love this!  It just makes me smile!

February 19, 2021

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• A 4K student tried to help a friend to calm down by singing a "Calm Down" song to him.  It didn't work, but it was so kind of him to try.

• Kindness week has had so many wonderful examples of how kind our students/staff can be with one another.  It would be wonderful if it spills to every week of the year!

• A 5K student let me listen in while he was reading in the hallway.  He was sounding out CVC words, used the pictures and read the star words automatically.  His pride in his reading was heartwarming!

• 1st graders were making numbers in more than one way on their marker boards.  When I stopped in, a student in the back row showed me her board and said, "I got this!"  :-)

• There were so many great conversations around the building this week about the CESA 6 Spring into Success summit.  There were some of you that incorporated your new learning into your rooms already.  I love to hear about this learning and how it is helping you in your classrooms.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, Feb 22
• Articles for newsletter due (4th gr, 3rd gr, counselor, anyone else?)
• School board meeting @ 7:30pm

• Tuesday, Feb 23
• Wednesday, Feb 24
• Staff meeting Cancelled
• Workout Wednesday

• Thursday, Feb 25
• Jenny out from 7:30-9am

• Friday, Feb 26
• Playworks visit - Coach Jena visits 
• Engagement survey closes

Nitty-Gritty

• Engagement Surveys
• Dr. Thompson sent out an email earlier this week with the link for the employee engagement survey.  Please complete this survey (should take about 10 min.) before Friday, Feb 26 to provide feedback for us on ways to continue to make Dodgeland a great place to be.  
• If you teach grades 3-5, I sent an email out this week with a link/QR code for students to provide feedback as well.  If you need these links again, please let me know.
• Finally, thank you for taking the time to do this.  Your feedback and information is not only helpful, it is much appreciated and valued.

• It's that Time of Year!
• It seems like every year there is a stretch of time where kids are cooped up inside a lot, they have spent a lot of time together and students struggle to remain regulated more often than a couple of months ago.  This year is unique in that there are limited opportunities for students to see/work/learn/play with students from other classrooms.  Because of this, other unique COVID situations and the time of year, students may seem more emotional or need more breaks or support.  Please continue to practice, teach and help students apply their SEL skills when they are struggling.  I will continue to support you and your students and will reinforce the same messages that you are sending to your students as well.  If you want to brainstorm or talk through any situations, please let me know.

• Where's Waldo?
• Or really, maybe it should be "Where's Jenny?" Many of you have expressed to me that you don't know how to find me anymore.  I am diligent about having the radio with me and Marie or Paula can always radio for me.  My phone is connected in the District Office conference room, and I will rarely be by it when it rings.  However, if you leave a voicemail it will come to my email and I can listen to it without being near the phone.  I have used a table in the records room more and more to have a spot to keep limited supplies handy.  Otherwise I am mostly in other classrooms throughout the building.  If you need to see me, the best way to make sure I am in the office and available is to put your name on my calendar.  Click Here for the link.

PD Spotlight

There were so many awesome sessions that I participated in last Monday.  I almost couldn't decide what to talk about this week.  However, the one session that really stood out was the session that I participated in with Sarah Ward regarding executive functioning skills.  It was full of practical ideas to incorporate but also her descriptions felt like she had been in our classrooms at Dodgeland too!  Her website is HERE that has more information.  One of the things that I took away from this was that 9-% of the time task planning takes place in a different space than where the task plan is executed.  How does this translate to students in the classroom?  They need to make a plan (and a visual of themselves doing it) in their heads in a space different from where they actually participate in the task.  I find myself using this a lot when I speak to students in the office.  When they struggle to verbalize what they plan to do next, I know that the transition back to class will not go well.  This provides me information to review provide more support before they return to your classrooms.  I know there were many people that participated in one or both of her sessions on Monday.  If you had other take aways, I'd love to hear them and be sure to share with your colleagues as well!

Friday Funny

I don't know why, but I feel like this is exactly the kind of mistake I would make.