November 24, 2023

I hope all of you are getting LOTS of time to rest and play this weekend.  Personally, I just had two of the most relaxing and laughter filled days in months!  Thus, the blog is coming out later than normal! Thanks for being understanding...

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 27
• Bus Duty: TCaine, Riege, Juech, Vertz (4K/5K playground)
• Tech Week for Musical - Students in the multipurpose room, music wing, etc for extra time each day this week
• School Board meeting: 6:30pm

• Tuesday, November 28
• Social Media Posts due: Schwoerer, Braunschweig
• SEL Data mtg 1st Gr from 12:05-12:55pm
• Lunch Detention supervisors
• 12:00 - Miller
• 12:30 - Braunschweig
• 1:00 - Schwoerer

• Wednesday, November 29
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny in meeting from 8-9am
• Academic Data mtg 5K from 12:05-12:55pm
• Staff Meeting 3:10-3:55pm in IMC

• Thursday, November 30
• Lunch Detention supervisors
• 12:00-Schuett
• 12:30 - Donovan
• Extra duty Sheets go through 11/30 and due to me by 12/4

• Friday, December 1
• New Support Staff duties start:
• Breakfast 7:35-7:55am - JessicaB, Rose
• AM Circle Drive: Brittany
• PM Parent Pick up: Reilly, BethanyT
• Laptop and iPad device updates should be done by today!
• Elementary Assembly: Elf Musical preview
• Please have your students packed up before you come to the gym to watch. Please start arriving by 2:05 as it will start promptly at 2:10 pm and will end around 2:55pm.
• Musical performances this weekend
• Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Extra Duty Sheets
• All extra duty sheets for the first semester will include times through November 30.  Please turn in completed sheets to my mailbox by Monday, Dec 5.  These will be paid out on the Dec 15 pay check.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

• Holiday Planning
• As we are now in officially in the holiday season, I want to remind you of a few things as we are planning for this month.  This time of year can be very stressful for some of our families which in turn can cause stress for our students.  Some students come from families that do not celebrate Christmas, but other holidays.  Some students are anxious about whether Santa is coming to their house whether from behavior or from financial hardships from the family.  In addition, the more things go out of our regular routine, the more stressful it can be for some of our students as well.  As you are planning, please make sure to keep the focus on learning and consistent expectations for kindness, respect and behavior.  In addition, as you are planning celebrations, please use the word Holiday in the title rather than Christmas so that it is inclusive of all holidays that are celebrated at this time of year.  In addition, our December calendar will have dress up days for the week before break, but they will be as inclusive as we can but still developmentally appropriate for our students.  If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Click HERE to see this year's dress up days.

• Device Updates
• Brad sent out an email a couple of weeks ago with instructions on how to update your devices.  Your MacBooks should be updated to 14.1.1 and the iPads should be at 17.1.1.  Make sure to have this done by December 1, otherwise it may happen at a time that is very inconvenient for your teaching day.  If you need help, the how to videos are below.
• Updating your Laptop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2DXkPA93g
• Updating your iPad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps5ZwBdTp_E

• Activity Account
• I have been working on getting the activity account up to date so that you all have the information you need regarding the balance of the money that is available for your grade.  In addition, Laura has notified me that the district will pay $425 towards transportation for each grade 4K-5th.  This may or may not be the total for one trip per grade depending on the number of buses the grade uses and where you are going.  Also, the profit from the fundraiser has been added in to each grades balance sheet.  It worked out to be about $17/student.  If you need the link for your grades balance sheet, please let Trisha or myself know and we can send you the link.

TechKnow Tip

The holidays are coming up and with new technology coming out every year, what do we do with our old

ones? It is illegal to throw away certain electronics in Wisconsin, so what do we do? Do we sell them

online, or donate them to charity? Well, there's another option: E-recycling.E-recycling is the process of safely disposing of electronic waste and recovering valuable materials that

can be reused or recycled. E-recycling is not only good for the environment, but also for your wallet

and your community.

 

How do you e-recycle in Wisconsin? Well, it's easy and convenient. Wisconsin has a statewide e-waste

recycling program called E-Cycle Wisconsin, which was established in 2010. E-Cycle Wisconsin collects

fees from electronics manufacturers and uses them to reimburse registered collectors and recyclers who

accept eligible devices from households and schools. Eligible devices include TVs, computers, monitors,

keyboards, mice, printers, fax machines, DVD players, VCRs, DVRs, and cell phones. You can find a list

of registered collectors and recyclers near you on the E-Cycle Wisconsin websiteor by calling 1-800-RECYCLE. You can also check with your local municipality or waste hauler for

other e-recycling options in your area. Take a look at this helpful Infographic for more information!

PD Spotlight

I was reading a summary of a professional book a couple of weeks ago and thought about how different this is from when I was going to college and even more so from when I was a student in elementary school.  I also recognize quite a few things on this list from classrooms I have been in.  So I am sharing this one page pdf summary of the book, "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics" by Peter Liljedahl of 14 strategies to help do this in our classrooms.  I hope that it reinforces techniques you already do and adds ideas to your tool belt as well.

Friday Funny (with a couple of Bonus ones)

So this week, I have three Friday Funnies for you.  All of them are from this past week in the Huelsman family vault of experiences.

1. Last Wednesday, I had a dr appt at 8am.  I arrived on time and the parking lot was pretty empty and I parked pretty close to the door.  The appt was about 90 min. long and when I left I had a LOT to think about. (I'm fine, but I might get to hear better very soon!) When I walk out the door, my first thought was, "Where did I park?"  I didn't see a single maroon SUV anywhere.  Then I notice that in the spot I thought I parked was a minivan with no hub caps and a sizable dent in the back and I realized that my dang kids have got to be behind this.  I immediately call Ella who answers the phone by cackling loudly and every time I ask where my car is, she responds with "What?  What do you mean?  You lost your car?"  (BTW, yes, they took it to see how long it would take for me to notice.  I did much better with this test than the missing items from my office test!)

2. I LOVE my hometown.  If you don't know, I am originally from Markesan and while I grew up on a farm right off Hwy 73 halfway between Markesan and Randolph, my parents moved into the "city" a few years ago and so that is where we spend most holidays.  At this time of the year, the town builds their own roundabout in the center of town, and I think it is just about the best small town thing I've ever seen right down to the spray painted tree in the middle of the sign!

3. Finally, I must tip my hat to the person or persons that are placing the ducks around the school.  I haven't given up, but I do need to publicly acknowledge that you are good.  Very good.  I haven't been able to find you yet, but I will.  When I got to my car after last Friday's admin meeting and saw a beautiful heart on the ground outside my car made of tiny ducks, I will admit to laughing hysterically at your bold actions.  Don't think I've let my guard down!  :-)

November 17, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 5th graders were playing Jeopardy to study for their upcoming math test.  They were engaged and working hard on the sample problems!

• 2nd Graders playing against their teacher in math and enjoying immensely that they tie so often with her, but still really want to beat her!

• Shout out to Rose Fobes who worked very hard this week helping our new students get enrolled and then she worked hard to help them transition to the school.

• Shout out to our 4K teachers, paras and Teresa who are working so hard with a number of students that are really struggling to follow the routines of the school and to keep their hands to themself.  I know it is exhausting, but there are small wins occurring, it is just not as easy to see each day.  But, trust me it is there!

• I have really enjoyed getting to spend extra time with some of your classes with the Monopoly Madness winners.  Thank you for sharing them with me!  It helps me remember what is really important about our jobs!

• The state report cards are officially out and we have received some really kind words of affirmation and pride from our community.  I hope you are hearing those words as well, but in case you haven't, let me tell you again how excited I am for you all and the results of your hard work!

What's Happening At Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 20
• Bus Duty - Since it is a short week, I am asking some of you that have alternate duties to help me out these two days.  Thank you in advance for your help.
• Schwoerer, Huelsman, Johnson (4K/5K playground) Rollins

• Tuesday, November 21
• Social Media posts due: Brenda Caine, Mook
• Biography Fair in IMC from 10:00-11:00 am

• Wednesday, November 22 - Friday November 24
• Thanksgiving Break - Enjoy your time off

Nitty-Gritty

• Thanksgiving Resources
• Below are some resources for different grade levels regarding Thanksgiving and ways to discuss the holiday with respect and authenticity.  
• DPI Website: Teaching Thanksgiving With Accuracy and Authenticity
• Wisconsin First Nations: American Indian Studies in Wisconsin
• National Education Association
• Plimoth Patuxet Museums: You Are the Historian Game (Upper Elementary)

• Elf the Musical Tickets
• This year the musical tickets are being sold online.  Every staff member can receive one free complimentary ticket to the musical.  To get a promotion code to use to get your ticket, make sure to fill out the form HERE.  You can choose the code to get tickets at our new online ticketing platform.  See below for the flyer.

• Winter Music Concerts
• Planning ahead for your calendars:  December 11 will be the winter concert for K/2/4 and December 12 will be the concert for 1/3/5.  Mrs. Hoffman and/or Mr. McKay will be in contact with more specifics as it comes closer.

• Kids Heart Challenge T-Shirts
• Mr. Schweitzer emailed out directions on how to order a shirt with this year's design for the Kids Heart Challenge.  If you have any questions about this, please see him.

Behavior Specialist Information

As you are creating your lesson plans for after break, please include time to review our school wide expectations. 

HERE is the link to our videos.

Recess Information

Please plan to review recess expectations after break. 

The updated videos will come out in a separate email.

TechKnow Tip

You might have seen some notifications on your devices asking you to update them. You might have also ignored

or delayed these updates, thinking that they are not that important or that they will take too much of your time.

But let me tell you, updating your devices is very important for your security and performance!

Updating your devices can help you avoid cyberattacks that can harm your data and devices. Cyberattacks can include

ransomware, malware, phishing, and more. You don’t want to lose your valuable data or have your device

locked by hackers, do you? Updating your devices can also help you access the newest features and improvements

that can improve your teaching experience. Updating your devices can also fix any issues or glitches that might

affect your device’s speed, stability, or compatibility. 

So, please don’t ignore and update your devices as soon as possible. By doing so, you can enjoy your teaching

experience and keep your digital environment safe and sound!

Friday Funny

I always seem to notice "faces" in things. In fact, there is a house on my way to work that I swear was designed

so that it has a grumpy face on it's side and it makes me smile each time I see it. So when I saw this picture,

it made me laugh and feel good that others do this too. Do you see what I mean? I'm not the only one, am I???

November 10, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Watson and Mrs. Rollins are such a great team and I love how much they affect our students.  This week, I saw Watson welcome students that were tardy for school.  One student looked like her morning was rough, but one minute with Watson and she was all smiles on her way to her classroom.  I am so glad to have this team at our school!

• Shout out to Chris V. who starts off our Dodgeland Den kids' days with consistency and a welcoming smile.  Thank you so much Chris!

• 2nd graders had a great conversation about how to make friends and examples of how to be kind to another. We read "How to Lose All Your Friends" by Nancy Carlson.  It was a great conversation starter!

• I was reminded of the Mailbox Buddies program that has been in place for a couple of summers now.  I can not believe I forgot to mention it at our staff meeting this week.  This was a great way to put new books into students hands over the summer. Thank you Christina, Sue and Mitch for working on this!

• Shout out to Stephanie Plewa for National School Psychologist Week! We are so lucky to have such an amazing psychologist at our school that keeps us all on track and supports our students and their learning!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 13
• Bus Duty: Anderson, Miller, Huso, Mosher (4K/5K playground)
• American Education Week begins

• Tuesday, November 14
• Social Media posts due to Jessica: Miller, Lucht, Riege
• SEL Data meeting - 2nd grade 12:05-12:55pm in Elem conf rm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• Huso - 12-12:30
• BCaine - 12:30-1:00
• Bingen - 1:00-1:30

• Wednesday, November 15
• Workout Wednesday
• Academic Data meeting - 1st gr 12:05-12:55pm in Elm conf rm

• Thursday, November 16
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• Schuett - 12-12:30
• Donovan - 12:30-1:00

• Friday, November 17
• Jenny in meeting from 10-11 am
• SEL Data mtg 4K 11:40-12:25pm in elem. conf rm
• Pyramid Model Leadership mtg @ 1pm in Elem. conf rm

Nitty-Gritty

• TA schedule for Friday, 11/10
• The schedule for High School has changed on Friday due to the assembly.  If you have a TA on Friday this may affect when they come to your classroom. See below:
  
• 1st hr: 7:50-8:17
• 2nd hr: 8:20-8:47
• 3rd hr: 8:50-9:19 (then transition to HS gym)
• 4th hr: 10:25-10:53
• 5th-8th hour are normal time periods

• Sound and Lighting Equipment
• On November 15, the audio and lighting equipment will be set up for the high school musical performance in the Multipurpose room.  It will be important for students to stay away from the system during PE and it also could affect any possible indoor recesses as well.  Please help remind / reinforce how important it is to be careful in PE around this equipment.

• JamBoard Alternative
• If any of you use JamBoard in your classrooms, you may have heard that it is planning to be discontinued by Google next year.  If you are looking for an alternative to this, there is a program called Kami.  Click HERE to see a blog post describing it and the main page is HERE.

• Clearview Request
• This week I had a call from the Director of Life Enrichment at Clearview.  She is looking for ways to provide some intergenerational activities for her residents.  They have not been able to have any children visitors in the past 3+ years due to COVID.  They are now open for visitors.  This could be in a variety of options.  Anything from singing/playing concerts, reader's theater, etc.  If you have an idea for ways that our students could show kindness, citizenship, leadership, etc and make their day as well, let's talk about ways to make this happen.  The director's name is Amanda Stein and her email address is astein@co.dodge.wi.us

• So, I am failing so far...
• These ducks just keep appearing.  And now they seem to have found some friends to join them in the shape of tiny colorful babies.  I will admit that I am enjoying the mystery of figuring this out.  Here is what I know.
• They have not made it to the district office.  
• The MS and HS level have no idea what I am talking about when I mention it.  (The looks on their face as I describe it tells me they think I am losing my mind as well!)
• They are appearing inside drawers, pockets, refrigerators and even the supply room.
• The ducks (and now babies) are noticed, but not always within a narrow enough time for me to narrow down my options.
• I am suspecting that the suspect is recruiting help.
• Just so you know, I do not give up easily. :-)

TechKnow Tip

Cult of Pedagogy is a great website by Jennifer Gonzalez for all things instruction, classroom management, and technology. She has outstanding blogs, podcasts, and videos about the art and science of teaching. I particularly love her article “What to Do on Lame Duck School Days” where she shares 30 alternatives to movie watching on “lame duck days” such as the days before a holiday break. She has the activities broken down into low, medium, and high-prep to help find a good fit for you and your classroom.

PD Spotlight

So I had an experience this week where I felt like the most ineffective and worst teacher/principal in the world.  I had a small group of children who gave me a run for my money.  It was not a shining moment for me.  So I took a deep breath, admitted that I need help and then I started looking for research and help.  I started with my colleagues and then I started to look for other research as well.  Here is one thing that I found, that I am going to try.  This article describes ways to talk to students that will affect the culture of the classroom.  I especially like that it describes the way you want to say something and then follows with another way to say a similar thing and also explained why the suggestion may have better results.  I share this with you in case you find yourself in a similar situation.  As we talked about this week, we need each other and together we will move forward.  Please see Teresa, the pupil services team or myself if you want to talk through anything!

Friday Funny

And we wonder why it is so tricky to learn how to spell and read in English.  Bless you all for the work you do to help our students become strong readers and writers!

November 3, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 3rd grade students naming the genre they are reading and a description of it along with how they know the story they are reading fit in that genre!

• Kids are being bucket fillers and making good choices all over the building this week!

• Students were very patient waiting for their turn for the Vision Screening on Thursday!

• 1st graders were using their phonics skills to make new CVC words in their MyView books.

• Shout out to Amber, Mitch, Teresa, Sue, Brenda, Ella, Reilly, Patrick and the many others who stepped in to help cover classes, duties and students this week.  It is always appreciated.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, November 6
• Bus Duty: Arnes, Chambers, Zastrow, Koenings (4K/5K playground)
• Citizenship grades in the gradebook for October due by 3pm today.

• Tuesday, November 7
• Social Media posts due to Jessica: Juech, Stampfl, Schweitzer, Jenkins
• Fundraiser Pick up in Commons from 3-6pm
• SEL Data meeting for 3rd gr in Elem. conf. rm 12:05-12:55pm
• Paraprofessional meeting in IMC 3:15-3:45pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Miller
• 12:30 - Donovan
• 1:00 - Bingen

• Wednesday, November 8
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Early Release for students at 12:20pm
• Workout Wednesday
• Important Staff meeting for all certified staff and paras that are not assigned to the Dodgeland Den students @ 12:45pm

• Thursday, November 9
• Lunch Detention Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Juech

• Friday, November 10
• Veterans Assembly at 9:30am (It will start promptly at 9:30, please dress professionally due to our guests in the building.) - See below for recess times for the day.

Nitty-Gritty

• Looking Ahead for Planning
• During the week of November 20, all elementary classes will come in to the library for 15 min. book check out.  Watch your email for a link to sign up for a time to bring your class.  If you have library normally on Mondays or Tuesdays, you will not have a regular library lesson.

• PLTW Modules/Units
• About 25% of the school year has already passed this year.  Can you believe that? As you think about the rest of the year, please have a plan of when you plan to teach two PLTW modules this year.  Work with your team and other grades to in case you need to share materials and the PLTW lab as well.

• Early Release Next Week
• As we learned from the last early release in September, there is about a 30 min. period of time between our last lunch/recess period and when the MS/HS students finish their lunch to get on the bus.  Please watch for an email regarding this time period in the hopes that we can create a calmer end of the day.  Also, remember there are no morning recesses that day.
• Paraprofessionals - You will work your normal hours that day and will have a specific schedule similar to last time. However, there may be some differences depending on the number of students staying in Dodgeland Den for the afternoon and for some of you I need you to attend the staff meeting as well. Watch for an email regarding the specifics early next week.
• Finally, there is a VERY important staff meeting that I need certified staff and paras not assigned to the den to attend on Wednesday afternoon.  It will start around 12:45.  I realize that you have a lot of collaboration that you need to do with your team, so I will make this a concise meeting so that you can get to your to-do list. 

• Fundraiser Pick up
• If anyone is looking for something to do on Tuesday afternoon, please consider coming down to the commons to hand out fundraiser boxes to families.  Many of the families pick up right after school, so even if you can only help from 3:15-3:45/4pm, it would be helpful.  Thank you for considering it! (or if you know of some MS or HS students that would like to help, I will gladly take their help!)

Recess Information

Veteran’s Day Recess Times

4k - same

5k-2 8:50-9:05

3-5 9:05-9:20

Snack after the assembly or whenever you can fit it in.

TechKnow Tip

Gmail Tips and Tricks

Folders in Gmail are a great way to keep those important messages without them getting lost in the

endless inbox. This article takes you step-by-step on creating folders in a web browser as well as the app.

Reply vs. Reply All - there is a difference! Check out this videosharing a great trick to ensure you don’t reply all when it isn’t imperative. 

An email signature makes your emails trustworthy by showing your recipients who they’re corresponding

with, providing recipients with your contact details. Learn how to create one here. 

We all have digital security on the brain after Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Don’t forget to use the Phish Alert Button () when you come across a fishy email. You can read more about it here.

Friday Funny

Lexi, Ella and I park in this parking lot in Beaver Dam.  Ella said to us, "Umm, something does not look right with those parked cars there."  And at that point, we looked over and started laughing.  This is a lot with angled parking spots with multiple rows outside the Dunham's Sports store.  Somebody's not in the right spot.  Lucky for the driver of the little gray car, the drivers of the white car came out first!  :-)

October 27, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• 3rd graders writing equations for multiplication and word problems and explaining how they knew this would work to solve the problem.  I love the math thinking I get to hear!

• Staff have shared how much they were able to accomplish on Monday's PD day including the ability to collaborate with each other.  When we plan and work together, we all thrive including our students!

• 4th grade team had a focused conversation and came up with some ideas of how to address the large number of students that were showing a phonics deficit.  Starting from where they are and providing them instruction in this area will be important for their future success and it was impressive listening to them problem solve together with a number of ideas to address this!

• 3rd grade teachers provided very specific observations of students' behavior and skills in their classes.  Getting to know our students personalities and also their strengths helps us to move them forward in their educational journey.

• Shout out to Becky Scholze for providing a fun October activity with the Pumpkin Bones song and activity.  It got them talking and definitely interested! I have answered that question only about 100 times this month!  :-)

• Shout out to Sam for recreating this flow chart from our handbook in a legible, accurate and so much better way than the one we had.  Click HERE to see the pdf of it.  I'll have paper copies in the office too if you want one.  Watch for an email with the screen recording of how to add log entries to PowerSchool.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, October 30
• Monopoly Madness event begins
• Bus Duty: Klink, Lucht, Wedel, Schuett (4K/5K playground)
• EP Meeting (Optional) Work time @ 3:15 in IMC
• School Board Meeting @ 6:30pm (Annual Meeting as well)

• Tuesday, October 31
• Social Media Posts due to Jessica - Huso, Donovan, Schuett
• SEL Data meeting (4th gr) in Elem Conf room 12:35-1:25pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Stampfl
• 12:30- Donovan
• 1:00 - Bingen

• Wednesday, November 1
• New Playworks coach (Maggie) will be observing recess from 9-1pm
• Junior Coach training/meeting with Coach Maggie from 10-11am
• Workout Wednesday
• Academic Data meeting (2nd gr) in Elem. conf room 12:05-12:55pm
• New Support Staff Duties start:
• Breakfast: Lexi and Vicky
• 4K/5K playground/Circle Drive: Karissa
• PM Parent Pick up: Ann & Sandi

• Thursday, November 2
• Vision Screening from 8-12:30, sign up sheet HERE
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Juech
• 12:30 - Huelsman
• 1:00 - Huelsman

• Friday, November 3
• Jenny at CESA - returning to the building at 12:00pm
• Last day of Monopoly Madness 

Nitty-Gritty

• New Team Member
• Please help me welcome a new part-time paraprofessional to our team.  She will be working with Shanalyn's team and will be in 5K and 1st grade primarily.  Her name is Bailey Foote.  She has her own business as a photographer as well as working as a respite home health worker for children with significant needs.  We are so excited for her join us.  Her first day is Friday, October 27.

• Staff Meeting Summary
• Here is the link to the slides from Wednesday's staff meeting.  We talked about the lunch detention procedures.  We made a few adjustments to help with this process.  The main thing to remember is that all majors should be documented in PowerSchool by the staff member that observed the behavior/incident.  Between Teresa and I we will assign the lunch detentions and communicated with the detention supervisors.  Trisha will have the binder with the information for you to reflect with our student.  A QR code will be on the binder to easily get to the powerpoint slides for walking students through the reflection sheets.  It is in the shared drive or click here to bookmark if you want.

• Apple TV & Air Play issue
• Just a reminder of Brad's email regarding the known issue of the Apple TV freezing with the last image from the laptop.  Please remember to disconnect from Apple TV from the Screen Mirroring section before closing laptop or walking away from the room.  Apple is working on a fix for this, but in the meantime, if you have any issues with this enter a Helpdesk Ticket or call ext. 1040.  Do not try to fix it yourself.

• Line Spots and Lining Up
• As we talked about in the staff meeting on Wednesday, our students are really struggling to quickly and quietly get lined up for transitions.  One of the reason that we are asking for line spots is to proactively address some combinations in line that may not be great for these unstructured times.  It is okay to have line leader/caboose "jobs" that rotate through students.  The lines do not have to be alphabetical, just done in a way that this becomes their routine.  If it is not working, it would be better to change the line spot to prevent further issues.  Second, if you can please practice and reteach how to quickly line up in their line spots and what they should be doing while they wait.  If you need help, support or have questions, please let me know.  
  
• Also, let's work together and not allow students to convince us that we don't need to line up in line spots.  They may say, we don't have to in this class, or at this time, etc.  We are always requiring it, in every location and every time they line up.  Let's be consistent and not be convinced with possible inaccurate information that could be the equivalent of "if mom says no, let's ask dad."  :-)

• Monopoly Madness
• Starting Monday, we will be playing Monopoly Madness as a school.  The game will be last 5 days.  Game play is simple: Collect as many game pieces as you can to try to win prizes. Each homeroom class will receive a game board to display on your wall, and your class will play together as a team to collect matching game spaces and win the prizes. If your class wins a prize you will win a corresponding teacher/staff prize.  And if you are a staff member but not a homeroom teacher, don't worry, I will assign you to a class to play along with and win prizes as well!  The prizes include teacher lunch, Goose passes, gift card grab bag, extra prep period pass, Coupon for a duty coverage, and more!
• Teachers/staff will receive a handful of game pieces each morning for you to award to students for following behavior expectations, being a bucket filler, working hard on school work or any other reason you see fit to reward a student.  
• Instant Winners will be announced by a short video each day.  If students got a game piece with that number on it, they will win a small prize from the Instant Win Prize Area in the elementary office with Mrs. Pieper.
• The goal will be to collect as many game pieces as they can to try to cover spaces on the Monopoly Board of the same color.  (Think like the Monopoly game that McDonald's did in the past...)
• Why are we doing this?  This is about the time where we start to head into the part of the year where we are solidly into routines and may need some reminders, plus it's a good way for us to have a little fun together to build and strengthen our sense of community.  This helps us to achieve our ultimate goal - LEARNING!

• TA's and Attendance
• If you have a TA assigned to you for this semester (or next), it is important that attendance is taken for them as well.  However, I recognize that it is not always convenient or feasible to stop what you are doing to take attendance for your TA.  So, in order to get the attendance information correct, but make it less cumbersome, I need you to call the High School office (ext. 1031 or ext 1030) if your TA does not show up to your room at their given time or at least by the end of the day.

TechKnow Tip

Everyone receives those emails that you don't want. You mark them as SPAM or report the emails as Phishing. SPAM emails and phishing emails are both types of unwanted and potentially harmful messages that often end up in your email inbox. However, they serve different purposes and create distinct threats.

What's the Difference: 

SPAM emails are unsolicited and typically aim to promote products, services, or content to a large

number of recipients. They can be annoying and clutter your inbox, but their primary purpose
is usually advertising.

Phishing emails are a form of cyberattack that impersonates entities to trick recipients into
revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials, credit card details, or personal data.

They are deceptive and often disguise themselves as trustworthy sources.

What's the Purpose:

The main purpose of SPAM is to market or advertise products, services, or websites.

They may contain links to commercial websites or offers for various products.

The primary purpose of phishing emails is to deceive and defraud recipients.

They attempt to steal personal information, financial data, or login credentials.

Earlier this week the Tech Department shared further details about SPAM and Phishing emails. It's essential to be vigilant and practice good email etiquette to protect yourself and the district from the risks associated with both types of emails. If you think an email looks suspicious, report it to the PAB (Phish Alert Button) or simply delete the email.

Behavior Specialist Information

Field Trips

It is possible for Teresa to attend field trips as an additional support. If you have students that struggle to follow expectations, please meet with Teresa and/or Jenny ideally two weeks prior to the trip so we can come up with a support plan.

Recess Information

Veteran’s Day Recess

4k - same

5k-2 8:50-9:05

3-5 9:05-9:20

Snack after the assembly or whenever you can fit it in.

Recess Reminders:

PLEASE be on time to your recess duty and stay outside until all of the students have been dismissed. This is a change from last year, when certified staff could go in as soon as the whistle blew. The change is because any of our paras that are outside in the morning are there supporting specific students and are not the "general" supervisors like they were in the past. If you need a bathroom break please ask a colleague for help or call the office for coverage either before or after recess so that we have the adults we need outside during recess.

PLEASE also enforce our playground equipment expectations. 

The behaviors causing the most injuries are: 

• students running/chasing on the turf/equipment - running/chasing should only be in the tag zones
• more than one rider and one pusher on the spinning equipment (aside from the volta/merry go round)
• students climbing up slides and/or more than one student going down the slides at a time.

PLEASE also help reinforce our universal expectations to help with transitions. 

• Students should ALWAYS be their line spot. Line spots do not have to be alphabetical order; they should be set up so that students are set up for success. Any time students are transitioning they should be in their line spot. 
• When students line up after recess or lunch, they should be using that time to regulate for learning. Feel free to guide them through breathing exercises, shake downs, to this, or any other calming activity to get them ready for learning. 
• All times that students are in the hall during learning time, voices should be a level 0 (silent).

Friday Funny

Last weekend, the Huelsman family met to spend a few hours together in West Bend.  We tried a new to us restaurant, did an escape room (successfully I might add) and did some axe throwing as well!  Why is it in the Friday Funny section?  Because it feels like perhaps they took one look at our group and thought, "I don't know if we should mix them in with our regular people!"  The place was packed when we walked in and we waited for a host to help us and seat us.  There were a bunch of TV's showing the Badger game and some very invested fans.  So where do they seat us?  They take us to a side room that is narrow and long and has absolutely ZERO people.  We couldn't see anyone and when they started seating others, they took them to a different room from us.  We blamed it on Mason, since the rest of us are just so sweet and are never annoying!  :-)

October 20, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Paula and Jessica Shout-Out!  Thank you so much for stepping in for me and the elementary team this week.  I truly appreciate you!

• Monday night there were a number of parents coming through to speak with you about how their child is doing in school.  In 2 nights, we have met with 90% of the students in the elementary.  That is a lot of teamwork!

• Staff working together to come up with routines and solutions for how to help a student when they get frustrated during the school day.  When we work together, our students benefit the most.

• 4th graders doing an SEL lesson where they could apply how we all have different ways of seeing the same thing, and celebrating our differences.  It was so interesting to see the many creative drawings they came up with!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, October 23
• No School for Students (Dodgeland Den is open though)
• PD Agenda HERE
• Bus Duty this week: Bingen, Lisiecki, Stampfl, Donovan (4K/5K playground)

• Tuesday, October 24
• Social Media posts due to Jessica: Turcotte, BCaine, Lucht
• SEL Data meeting (5th gr) 12:35-1:25pm in Elem. conf. room
• Nurse Leah out all day for a conference

• Wednesday, October 25
• 4K field trip to Busy Barns all day
• Workout Wednesday
• Nurse Leah out all day for a conference
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Academic 3rd Grade data mtg 12:05-12:55pm
• Jenny in virtual training from 1-3pm
• Staff meeting 3:10-3:55pm in IMC

• Thursday, October 26
• Jenny will be at a dr appt in the morning
• Academic 4th Gr data mtg 12:35-1:25pm

• Friday, October 27
• 1st grade field trip to the zoo
• 1pm Site Assessment for 3K/4K staff and Mental Health Consultant

Nitty-Gritty

• PD Day on Monday, 10/23
• A number of you have asked for time to collaborate with one another and plan lessons and so there is time built in to Monday's schedule for you to do these things that will help you accomplish your goals and to reconnect with your teams. If you need to see me, please let me know.  HERE is the schedule for the day.  This could also be a good time to make sure that you have completed the KnowB4 online training modules, complete the Gallup Survey that comes out at 1pm on Monday, and finish up the SAEBRS assessment if you haven't yet.  Don't forget to take some time for your own wellbeing as well between 1:30-2pm.

• EP Documents
• If you haven't had a chance to complete the EP documents for Rapid Cycle Feedback or the SLO/PPG and/or survey, please consider doing this soon.  I am doing my best to read through them in a timely manner.  If you have any questions about anything in them, please let me know.  Another optional work session is coming up on October 30 as well.

• Citizenship Skills
• If you haven't added scores for your homeroom for citizenship skills, please do so by the end of October.  It is okay if you didn't have any in the gradebook for September, but there should be an "assignment" for October.  If you need assistance with this, please see a colleague or let me know.

• Phish Alert Button
• Last week, Brad emailed us information regarding the Phish Alert button in our email.  As we continue to learn ways to be safe online, this tool is another way we can help our system.  Please consider using this if you receive an email that is asking you to take action that has the potential to cause damage to our system.
  
  
  

TechKnow Tip

Happy Digital Citizenship Week! We do so many great things here at Dodgeland that every week could be considered Digital Citizenship Week. Not only do we teach our students grades K-12 the Common Sense Media digital citizenship lessons every year, you all have meaningful conversations with our students about their digital lives. We know that the best way for students to learn about themselves as digital citizens is for adults to demonstrate what a digital citizen is through examples and discussions, as well as reinforcing ideas throughout the year in your content specific lessons. Remember that any of the Common Sense Media lessons can be retaught through the lens of your content specific lesson. Looking for some more resources to use throughout the year? BrainPOP digital citizenship has a variety of short videos that are always accompanied by a quiz and activities. Google’s “Be Internet Awesome” includes interactive lessons accompanied by online games which give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge. Finally, Discovery Education has a great teacher portal which breaks down different topics within digital citizenship and suggests resources to support each topic.

Friday Funny

I came across this online and thought, "This can't be real."  But, then I entered the rabbit hole of the internet and have learned  a lot about these creatures.  I don't know which is more funny, their "smiles" or the fact that I have wasted sooooo much time on learning about these marsupials! Feel like learning more too?  :-)

October 13, 2023

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Teachers putting together information for parents to guide wonderful conversations with them to work as a team so that our students benefit.  Thank you all!

• Shout out to Courtney for bringing a great idea of how to display our elementary artists' work in the building for us all to enjoy!  Watch for it in the near future!

• Shout out to Chris V for using her skills and teamwork to assist with a 4K student during rest time!  Thank you so much!

• Lately, I have needed to ask some of you to cover a lot of classes or parts of the days for colleagues.  I know this is not convenient, but I truly am appreciative for your help and support so that kids have a great day.  Shout out to Sue, Brenda, Mitch, and Teresa that I feel like I am always asking to help.  Also thank you to Patrick who picks up a lot of extra recesses, lunches, etc (and even a Dodgeland Den duty!).  Thank you to all that I may have missed here.  Please know that it is noticed and appreciated.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, October 16
• Bus Duty: Schweitzer, CaineB, O'Toole, Braunschweig (4K/5K playground)
• Parent Teacher Conferences - 4-7:30pm
• Last day for the Book Fair 
• Jenny providing supper for all staff for P/T night
  
• No Fruit/Veggie snack today (Moved to Wed and Friday this week)

• Tuesday, October 17
• Social Media posts due to Jessica: Lisiecki, Chambers
• Jenny, Teresa, Amber and Bethany T are gone to a conference

• Wednesday, October 18
• Workout Wednesday
• Unity Day - Wear Orange for uniting against bullying 
• Jenny, Teresa, Amber and Bethany T are gone to a conference
• Petting Zoo (Sign up sheet is HERE)
• 4th Grade Academic Data meeting moved to Thursday, 10/26

• Thursday, October 19
• SEL Data Meeting 5K 12:05-12:55pm

• Friday, October 20
• SAEBRS assessment is due for grades 5K-5th grade.  Students in Grades 2-5 should also complete My SAEBRS as well.

Nitty-Gritty

• SAEBRS and My SAEBRS
• Please complete the SAEBRS assessment for your homerooms before next week Friday.  This will be done again in Winter and Spring, but this will give us baseline for the beginning of the year.  For students, they will self evaluate themselves as well. Both students and staff should go to FastBridge under Clever.  If you need assistance with this, please let me know.

• Parent Teacher Conference Night
• On Monday night, I will provide supper for all of the staff that are working that evening.  All you need to provide is something to drink, everything else will be ready for you after school and throughout the evening.  I know that there is a LOT of work put into these evenings and this is just a small way for me to show my appreciation to you for all that you do for our students and school.  Thank you so much!

• XPD Registration
• Did you sign up for the XPD's you plan to attend this school year?  If not, please turn this in ASAP.  Kimi is tabulating these registration pages so that everything is ready for staff to learn new things this year.  There are a LOT of awesome options this school year.

• KnowB4 Training
• Did you complete your cybersecurity training yet?  This training takes about 15-20 minutes to complete and is very important for us to continue to learn how to stay safe online that helps us in our professional and personal lives!  Please plan to complete this by Oct 31.

• Digital Signage
• If there is an event, or other notices that we need to make sure our students and/or staff know, please get the information or the digital sign document to Sam Santana in the tech department.  He can help make sure that they are on the signs around the building and can even help with creating the signage as well.  This can include recess expectations, reminders of things coming up, etc.  Please see Sam if you have any questions about options for the digital signage and he will be able to help your event/idea come to life!

Behavior Specialist Information

Oasis Procedures

If a student needs an Oasis break, please call the office to see if anyone can come and get them. The Oasis should be locked at all times it is not in use. All of the staff keys open the Oasis. Thanks in advance for helping us keep the Oasis secure. Some of our little loves have been helping themselves to a break.

Recess Information

5k-2nd grade (please share with your students)

Soccer is closed during the morning recess. At the lunch recess, soccer is only open for

Hot Shot Soccer (one student is the goalie, students line up behind a cone and one at a time

and take one shot at the goal. If the student makes it, they are the new goalie, if not they get

back in line to try again) with a junior coach. This change is because students are getting out of

control and hurting each other.

TechKnow Tip

Outstanding news! The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has just made more than 48 million images, videos, and texts available for students as open-source materials. The DPLA provides online exhibits as well as curated sets of primary sources that come with teaching guides. When we use primary sources, we help students relate in a personal way to events of the past and promote a deeper understanding of history as a series of human events. When we use reliable sites such as DPLA or Badger Link, we are teaching our students where to go for quality research, ultimately setting them up for future successes when on their own. Check out the amazing Digital Public Library of America HERE!

PD Spotlight

When this article showed up in my email inbox, my first thought after reading the title was "Yeah, right!"  And then I started reading the article and there were parts that spoke right to me!  So then I was hooked and I had to read to see if it had something that would help me.  In fact, I wanted to be able to rely on a strategy, especially on one of those days where I was feeling so exhausted.  Of course, it seems like it might be easier said than done.  However, I share this with you here, because I think it is something that we all need to know these things.  Click HERE to read the article yourself.

Friday Funny

And yet, there are so many of you that don't bat an eye at sitting at a tiny chair to do just about anything!