April 26, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Shout out to Brenda Caine, Blasia, and others that worked so hard at getting all of the make-up testing done for Forward Testing.  I truly appreciate it!

• The staff act for the Talent Show was another great entry!  Way to go!  If you haven't seen it yet, it is on YouTube now.  Click HERE to see it and all of our students!

• Courtney added awards to the Art Show this year and it was so awesome to see the excited looks on students' faces.  The Art Show was well attended, but also I loved looking through the projects!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 29
• Bus Duty: Bingen, Ruplinger, Stampfl, Donovan (3K/4K playground)
• Happy Birthday Taylor!
• Jenny in a meeting from 8-9am
• Instrument Petting Zoo from 4:30-7pm in Band Room

• Tuesday, April 30
• Social Media Posts due: Klink, Mook
• Home HS Softball games and Track Meet = full parking lots :-)

• Wednesday, May 1
• Workout Wednesday
• 4th Gr Field Trip (9:30-12:30)
• New Support Staff Duties
• Breakfast AM - Lexi & Vicky
• Circle Drive/Playground AM - Eneida
• Circle Drive PM - Ann & Sandi
• Academic Data Mtg 2nd gr (12:05-12:55pm)

• Thursday, May 2
• Academic Data Mtg 1st gr (12:05-12:55pm)
• Concert Rehearsal on stage for grades 3-4-5 from 1:30-3pm
• MS Track Meet = Full parking lot

• Friday, May 3
• 4th Gr Field trip - All day
• Concert Rehearsal on stage for grades 3-4-5 from 8-8:30am

Nitty-Gritty

• SEL Data Request
• As I mentioned in the staff meeting, I am looking for some information regarding classroom teachers and other certified staff experience with teaching SEL outside of guidance lessons in your classroom.  If you do not teach it outside of that, please tell me that.  There is no expectation that you do have additional lessons, but I want to gather this information to have a good idea of what is occurring across grade levels and the building.  Click HERE to complete this very short survey.

• May is starting on Wednesday
• Please remember to take care of yourself.  The end of the school year is coming quickly and there are so many busy days in the coming weeks.  It is important that you are well.  If you need help or support, please let me know if I can do anything to assist in any way.

• Staff Meeting slides
• If you missed the meeting, or if you want to look at any of the pieces from the slides, click HERE.  Many of the pieces are reminders of upcoming things for the end of the year.  

LIBRARY UPDATE:

The week of May 6th will be the last week of library classes and book checkout. Christina will continue to collect books weekly, as well as provide you with small activities to do in the classroom at your convenience. All library books will be due Wednesday, May 22nd. 

On Thursday, May 23rd, we have special visitors from the community libraries who will be promoting their summer reading program. Flyers will be given to your students to take home after the presentation. Below is the schedule for that morning. Thank you for your flexibility as we tried to accommodate our school schedule as well as the schedule of the librarians coming to us even before the library opens!

Library Summer Program (20-25 minutes long)

4K @ 8:15

2 & 3 @ 8:45

4 & 5 @ 9:30

5K & 1 @ 10:00

Recess

4K @ 9:00

5K-1-2 @ 9:15

3-4-5 @ 10:00

TechKnow Tip

Looking to connect your students outside their known world and celebrate the amazing planet we live on? Try any of these 12 Websites for Virtual Field Trips. One highlight on the list is “The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks” where you go on an interactive tour (including videos, audio recording, activities, and 360* views) with a park ranger at one of our beautiful U.S. National Parks. Another favorite from the list is Explore.org Live Nature Cams which has an endless variety of staffed nature cameras including a kitten rescue sanctuary in California, an osprey nest in Montana, a puppy nursery in Maryland, or inside a honeybee hive in Germany. Many of these relaxing livecams have soothing music accompaniments, making them great to use at the start of the day, during work time, or a way to calm down in preparation of quality learning.

Recess Information

As the weather gets warmer and we are using our outdoor spaces for learning and/or rewards, please remember:

1. No additional classes or students should be on the playground during scheduled recess times.

1. 9-9:45 are the morning recess times

2. 12:00-1:00 are the lunch recess times (11:30 4k)

2. Students should be following our recess expectations including using the playground equipment as taught.

3. Let the office know if you will be outside of your classroom so Trisha can find your class in cases of an emergency or unexpected parent pick-up.

Behavior Specialist Information

Thanks to Nurse Leah and a grant, we were able to purchase Sensory Paths for our hallways (and they are AWESOME). We are planning to have them installed this summer. I am looking for one person from K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 and at least one special education teacher to help decide where they should be placed and determine expectations for how/when they will be used. Please let me know if you are interested in helping me with sensory paths decisions.

Friday Funny

This is another great comedian, but I love the story he tells about himself and his siblings when they were younger.  I think I can think of a few of our students that might try this too!

April 19, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• It was a long week of Forward Testing for our students, especially the 4th graders.  Thank you to everyone who made this long week happen and all of the flexibility in schedule changes this week!

• Shout out to Ashley Neis who helped us with some tricky situations this week.  Her listening ear, expertise and time is much appreciated every day, but especially this week!

• Shout out to our students and staff that made our new students feel so welcome this week.  It's always hard to start at a new school, but even harder when it is April already.  One of our new students' mom commented on how nice everyone was at school and she felt so much better as she left her child in our care.  

• Shout out to Sabrina and the 5th graders at the Biography Fair.  This is one of my favorite ways to hear kids' learning!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 22
• Bus Duty: Schweitzer, CaineB, O'Toole, Braunschweig (3K/4K playground)
• Makeup Testing for Forward Testing - Last Week
• Talent Show Dress Rehearsal - 3-5pm
• School Board Meeting - 6:30-7:30pm

• Tuesday, April 23
• Social Media Posts Due: Huso, Turcotte
• 3rd Grade Field Trip to Madison
• Lunch Detention Supervisor:
• 12:00 - Koenings
• 12:30 -Zastrow
• 1:00 - Open
• Talent Show Preview in Elem. gym starting at 2:30pm
• Art Show - 5-6pm
• Dodgeland's Got Talent Show @6pm

• Wednesday, April 24
• Early Release Day
• Workout Wednesday
• Administrative Assistant Day!  Time to show Trisha how much we appreciate her!
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• Staff meeting at 2:30 in IMC

• Thursday, April 25
• Academic and SEL mtg for 3rd gr from 12:05-12:55pm

• Friday, April 26
• 4K Mini-Concert in Elem. gym at 2:15pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Save the Date!
• This summer the Dodgeland Summit is planned for Thursday, August 15.  This will be an alternative compensation checkmark, and a perfect way to learn from each other.  It's also a great way to feed your brain!  If you have a topic you would like to present, please let me know!

• Technology Summer Book Club
• Did you sign up for this summer's book club with the Technology Department?  The book is called "EdTech Essentials: Top 10 Technology Strategies for All Learning Environments by Monica Burns.  Please see Christina's email from Wednesday for more information about the book.  Click HERE to sign up for the book club.

• School Safety Reminders
• On Wednesday, Brad sent out an email describing some upcoming safety improvements coming to Dodgeland, but also reminders of things we need to remember to do.  Please remember to update your class rosters in your GO Bag if you have had any changes to your classrooms.  Your keys/fob should never be given to a student so that items can be kept secure.  Finally, make sure that you know what the procedure is no matter where you are at the school, inside or outside.

• Early Release Day
• Our last early release day is next week Wednesday. We will have a staff meeting starting at 2:30 that afternoon.  The rest of the time is yours to meet and plan as teams.  (I am aware that there are a few IEP meetings that afternoon as well.). Please plan for instruction for the last few weeks.  What is the priority for your class? A schedule will be out early next week for paras and Dodgeland Den coverage.

• Spring District Assessments
• The Spring assessment windows are coming up.  The dates for this spring are May 6-17.  Please make sure to communicate with specialists and interventionists if you have students that need accommodations for these assessments.  If you need help or support, please let me know. 

• End of the Year Picnic
• Our end of the year picnic is planned for Tuesday, May 28 from 4:30-6:30pm.  We currently have 3 food trucks confirmed for families/staff to purchase food from, the NHS is creating and running about 6 carnival games, face painting from art students and Ms. Mook, Brad is helping to set up equipment for music on the playground, yard games will be set out for families and children to play with, the Scholastic BOGO Book Fair is open, and we will have a special guest, "The Bubble Lady" from 5-6pm on the grass soccer area for all.  I hope you all are able to attend and celebrate your hard work too.  Feel free to bring your families as well!

TechKnow Tip

As we strive to improve communication and efficiency at Dodgeland, we’d like to encourage everyone to utilize the

power of our shared Google Drive. Shared driveare special folders in Google Drive that you can use to store, search, and access files with a team. Shared drive files

belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay in the shared drive so your team

can keep sharing information and work anywhere, from any device.

Benefits of Using Shared Google Drive:

• Enhanced Collaboration: Work together simultaneously on projects, lesson plans, and resources.

Team members can edit, suggest changes, and see revisions instantly.

• Improved Accessibility: Access files from anywhere, anytime, on any device with an internet

connection. No more struggling with lost USB drives or outdated versions!

• Increased Organization: Create folders and subfolders to keep everything organized and easy

to find. Share specific folders or documents with colleagues for targeted collaboration.

• Version Control: Never lose track of changes! Google Drive automatically saves revisions,

allowing you to revert to previous versions if needed.

• Streamlined Communication: Eliminate the need for multiple email attachments. Share files

directly within Google Drive for a more efficient workflow.

Get started with Google Shared Drives by logging into your Google Drive, locate “Shared drives” along the left-hand side. 

If you would like to set up a shared drive please reach out to anyone in the tech department. If you have additional

questions about how shared drive works don't hesitate to ask.

Friday Funny

Every day I am certain that all of us have moments where we hear or see something that a child does and it makes us stop and think, "Did that just happen?  Did I just see/hear that?"  Some of us make a note of all of those things and put them together into a fun book to read! :-) This past week, FaceBook reminded me of a memory of story that was of 1st Grade Ella.  I think the funniest part of this memory is listening to Ella 14 years later telling me what I got wrong about the story and how this becomes even more of a shaking my head moment. If you see her this week, be sure to ask her to retell this story! Anyone else have stories like these in your family or classroom? (Also just had to share a picture of her at the age that this story happened!)

April 12, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Our Jr. Coaches got to join other Jr. Coaches from around WI in Milwaukee to play and learn on Wednesday.  Shout out to Teresa for organizing this, supervising them and making it happen for them through PlayWorks! Also, shout out to Ann for going along to supervise and play too!

• 3K/4K Screening staff put in a lot of extra time, effort and work to welcome our new students and families!  It was a long couple of days, but our families were very appreciative!  Shout out to Amber, Bethany T, Chris, Stephanie S (who prepared for it and supported us while on maternity leave!), Brittany, Karissa, Jill, Ella, Chrissy, Hailey, Nicole, Teresa, Trisha and Lexi.

• Also shout out to James and Roxanne who were so helpful to us with the set up planning and with putting things away for the screening as well.

• Finally, screening would have been MUCH more difficult without Brad.  He taught Trisha and I how to get the pieces done for PowerSchool that we needed for future enrollment/registration.  He got the devices ready, answered all my annoying phone calls, and even stuck around at the beginning of the night to make sure everything went smoothly.  Thank you so very much!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Sunday, April 14
• Happy Birthday Mary Jo!

• Monday, April 15
• Happy Birthday Bethany D!
• Teresa Chambers will be out all week at a training
• Bus Duty: TCaine, Riege, Juech, Vertz (3K/4K playground)
• Forward Testing for Grades 3-4-5 (8am-11:30am)
• Recess for 3-4-5 at 9:45-10am
• Mentor/Mentee mtg @ 3:15 in IMC (Year 1, 2 and 3 teachers)
• HS Track meet today.  Parking lots will be quite full.

• Tuesday, April 16
• Social Media Posts due: Juech, Braunschweig
• Forward Testing for Grades 3-4-5 (8am-11:30am)
• Recess for 3-4-5 at 9:45-10am
• CANCELED SEL mtg for 4th gr (combined with Wed. mtg)
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Huso
• 12:30 - Zastrow
• 1:00 - Anderson
• MS Track meet, parking lots will be quite full

• Wednesday, April 17
• Happy Birthday Lexi!
• Forward Testing for Grade 4 (8am-9:45am)
• Recess for 3-4-5 at 9:45-10am
• 4th gr. Academic data meeting (will talk SEL then too) from 12:35-1:25 pm
• 5th Gr Biography Fair @ 1:45pm (Sign up for a time HERE)

• Thursday, April 18
• Student Nurses will be here. (Here is the schedule)
• Run for State at 8:30am
• Forward Testing for Grade 4 (8:45 - 10:00am)
• Jenny in a meeting from 8-10am
• Guest Speaker for 1st Graders in the IMC from 11:30-12:00pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Anderson

• Friday, April 19
• Jenny in a meeting from 9-10am

• Saturday, April 20
• Happy Birthday Karissa!
• Happy Birthday Jerry K!

Nitty-Gritty

• Gallup Engagement Survey
• On Monday, April 8, you received an email from Gallup with a link to a survey. The survey is anonymous, but helps to give us feedback.  Please take the 5-10 minutes to complete the survey as soon as you are able.  Mrs. Johnson emailed us on April 3 with some additional details regarding this survey as well.  One of the clarifications relates to one of the questions.  Below is her message regarding this question.
• I will share again that one of the questions needs a bit of clarification (because I was confused when I saw it).  There will be a statement for you to respond to:  I have a best friend at work. This isn’t literally asking if your best friend works here, but is getting to if you have people at work that you do feel you can go to, whether it is to ask questions or get support. 

• Clearview Residents
• I know that 3rd grade and 1st grade are planning to visit residents next month.  If anyone else has an activity or idea for how to provide joy and learning for our students, please reach out to Amanda Stein, the Director of Life Enrichment at Clearview, at astein@co.dodge.wi.us

• Forward Testing
• Next week is our last full scale week of testing.  Even if you are not proctoring a test, we will all need to work together to provide a strong testing environment for our kids.  This might mean we need to move our schedules, our students may need to travel a new direction during testing times, quiet hallways are necessary at a higher level, our interventionists will not be able to take all of their groups, and our some of our staff and students will be under more stress.  Please support each other and our students with kind words and actions next week and every week!

Recess Information

4k - the grass zone and sidewalk zone will open on 4/22 weather permitting. 

5k-5th - the soccer zone will open on 4/22 weather permitting. Please continue to reinforce students lining up

behind the cones for kickball and gaga ball and remind students they should not be touching/playing with the

sticks, trees, or mud.

Behavior Specialist Information

I will be out at training from 4/15-4/19. Wishing you all a peaceful and engaging week full of regulation.

TechKnow Tip

A note from Christina: 

I don’t know if you are the same as me, but I always find myself with a clearer head in the summer.

Perhaps it is the fewer decisions that need to be made or the more fresh air I’m able to get, but I tend to do my

best “school year thinking” over summer. In the spirit of summer “school year thinking”, I would like to offer

up a group summer professional development opportunity: a book club around the book by Monica Burns titled EdTech Essentials: The Top 10 Technology Strategies for All Learning Environments. 

She states, “In this book, we will examine the EdTech skills and strategies that are essential for all students if we

want to prepare them to succeed in the digital world of today and tomorrow. With so much going on in the EdTech

space, focusing on the essentials is key. I have narrowed the list to 10 indispensable skills and strategies,

highlighting the roles of teachers and students.” Similar to her other book (Tasks Before Apps), Monica Burns

believes learning must be front and center and digital tools should be used with intention. In this book club,

we will work to find the balance of strategic use of technology and hands-on experience, all while being intentional

with technology.

The skills and strategies she has identified as essential (and will be discussing) are: 

• Help students navigate online spaces effectively

• Curate resources to support all students

• Introduce opportunities for students to explore the world

• Develop structures to give students the ability to collaborate

• Give students time and space to create products of learning

• Assess students to check for understanding and pivot instruction

• Provide opportunities for students to share what they have learned

• Connect student work to a relevant and authentic audience

• Help students develop skills they can transfer across digital spaces

• Plan for tech-rich learning experiences

Burns states, “Each chapter includes an overview of the skill or strategy being discussed and why it is essential,

connections to research, classroom examples for all grade levels, and websites and mobile apps to help build your

EdTech tool belt. 

If learning together with the guide of good literature, listening to diverse thinking, and pushing your teaching practices is just what you are looking for this summer, please sign up here for this EdTech Essentials summer book club.

Friday Funny

I love to listen to kids' imaginations.  I watch grown adults get to play every day with our little ones and their imaginations.  From helping to "rotate tires" and "changing the oil" in their "car" which is really a scooter, or calling each other on their watch, or buying things from their "store, I am always so glad that I get to go to work and have conversations like these.  What other job would get to be that FUN!  So when I saw this joke, it reminded me of the many ways that we get to play pretend with our students each week.  Laughter is very good for for our souls and our stress levels.

April 5, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Teachers spent time welcoming our students back warmly and kindly.  We know that some of our students couldn't wait to get back to us.  Thank you for being the caring professionals you are each and every day!

• Shout out to Trisha C and Patrick S for advocating for their students!  Their students have the most testing to complete every year.  I appreciate that they advocate for them to have a schedule that will not over tax them and limit stress as much as possible.  Thank you!

• The 3K and 4K team has been working very hard at preparing to meet our new families.  The attention to detail, organization and the many ways that they are preparing to give families information, answer questions, and hopefully ease any anxiety for both kids and adults!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 8
• Bus Duty: Anderson, Miller, Huso, Mosher (3K/4K playground)
• EP Meeting at 3:15 in the IMC (Doc Log, SLO)
• Jenny in meeting from 12 - 3:15pm
• Summer School Registration begins

• Tuesday, April 9
• Seals on Wheels Visit - They will be coming around to classrooms all day.
• SEL/Academic Mtg for 5th gr - 12:35-1:25pm
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Stampfl
• 12:30 - Zastrow
• 1:00 - Open

• Wednesday, April 10
• Workout Wednesday
• JR Coach Field trip to Milwaukee
• Jenny in meeting from 8:30-10am
• 3K/4K Screening at Dodgeland in 3K/4K hallway from 3:30-6:30pm
• CANCELED STAFF MEETING

• Thursday, April 11
• Student Nurses from Maranatha here for the day
• Happy Birthday Melissa Caine-Arnes!
• Statewide Tornado Drill at 1:45
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Bingen
• 3K/4K Screening at Reeseville Community Center from 4-6:30pm

• Friday, April 12
• Complete the Everyday Speech survey by the end of the day

• Saturday, April 13
• Wheelchair Basketball Event 9am-noon in HS gym

Nitty-Gritty

• Everyday Speech Survey
• Sophie sent out an email asking for feedback regarding the SEL curriculum we have used for the past two years called Everyday Speech.  Your thoughts will be very helpful in this analysis.  Please complete this by April 12 so that the information can be gathered.  If you have any questions, please see Sophie or myself.

• Apparel Store for Staff
• Dodgeland Spirit Wear 2024 is now open!  Find items that were selected specifically for Dodgeland. Check out the shop details below:
• Shop Now: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/knLQUzBzPV
• Store Open from April 1-April 30, 2024

• 3K/4K Screening Days
• On Wednesday, April 10 there is a packed day of families with new 3K or 4K students coming in for the screening activities, see the classrooms, and meet staff.  For some, this will be there first time in a school.  I share this because there will be a number of visitors in the 3K/4K hallway. Dodgeland Den for grades 3K-5K will be relocated to the PLTW lab for the evening. On Thursday, the screening event will be held at the Reeseville Community Center from 4-6:30pm.  There are a number of open spots that evening if you know of anyone else that would like to attend.

• Maranatha Nursing Students
• The nursing students will be in the district on April 11 and April 18.  During their time here, they will be coming to classrooms to teach a 20 min. lesson on handwashing and/or preventing the sharing of germs.  Please sign up for a time for them to come to your classroom HERE.

Friday Funny

I have always been a very clumsy person.  I had some really dumb injuries as a child.  I broke my pinky toe running into my sister's heel racing to answer the phone.  (That was when it was a landline that was connected to the wall!) or I fell trying to do cartwheels in the kitchen and ended up on crutches for 3 weeks.  And, that is just a couple of klutzy moments.  However, when I came across this meme, I thought, "How true this is!"  Anyone else connect with this!  :-)

PS:  I am aware there is a typo, and I am doing my best to ignore it!

Week of April 1

 Spring Break is officially over.  I hope you all had a relaxing week that was filled with rest and joy!  This is a quick blog for this week.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, April 1
• Bus Duty: Caine-Arnes, Chambers, Zastrow, Koenings (3K/4K playground)
• New Para Duties for the month
• Breakfast in Commons - Rose, Jenny/Samantha
• AM 3K/4K playground - Brittany
• PM Circle Drive - Reilly, Bethany T
• Review Universal expectations in your classrooms, HERE is the checklist.

• Tuesday, April 2
• Brewers Opening Day! - Wear your Brewers Attire.
• SEL and Academic Data mtgs for 5K 12:05-12:55pm
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Schuett
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Bingen
• Paraeducator PD meeting at 3:15-3:45pm in the IMC

• Wednesday, April 3
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny in meeting from 12-3pm

• Thursday, April 4
• Lunch Detention Supervision - All Times are Open, Let us know if you are available to fill in for one of the spots.

• Friday, April 5
• Happy Birthday Mandy!
• Run for State - 8:30AM
• Complete the Dodgeland Summit Survey by the end of the day. 

• Saturday, April 6
• Happy Birthday Stephanie Plewa!

Nitty-Gritty

• Recess Reboot
• Please don't forget to sign up for Teresa to come in to review recess expectations.  Paraeducators and Support Staff, please make sure to attend one of the presentations as well so that we can be consistent in our message and enforcement of recess expectations.  Sign up HERE.

• NEW IMPORTANT Milk Break routines
• After the auditors were here last week to supervise the elementary for the Food Service dept, there are some routines that need to be adjusted based on their report.  In order for us to meet the requirements, we will need help from classroom teachers. 
• For the remainder of the year, there will be a class list tucked into the blue milk crates behind the name card on the side. When students get their milk, a teacher/adult must check off each student that gets a carton.  (It is considered a point of sale and Natalie has to submit a record for the next 30 school days.). Please keep the sheet in the blue crate and each day pull it out and check off behind each student's name that has a milk that day.  These sheets will be collected and submitted as the evidence as required.  If you have any questions, please let Natalie or myself know.

Friday Funny

In honor of Easter, I hope you find this as funny (and maybe a bit corny) as I do!

March 22, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• For Week 1 of Forward testing, it went as smoothly as it could.  Huge shout out to Brad and Jessica who spent so much time on the phone and computers to get it working smoothly again.  Another shout out to all proctors who continued to encourage students to do their best work and be resilient and limit frustration when it could easily take over!

• This week's College and Career Week was another success.  I have had so many parents and guests comment on how much they enjoyed coming in to speak to the classrooms.  I know that you had to rearrange schedules for this, but it was a wonderful way to connect with our community and for our students to learn about all kinds of career options. Thank you to all of you for making this a great week!

• Shout out to Sophie Mosher for putting together a bulletin board of staff members for our students to see all of the colleges staff has attended and graduated from.  Our students love to learn more about us!

• A few of our students have behavior charts to help communicate to them and their families about their behavior at school.  Today a 4K student was brought in to the office to share his good news of all smiley faces!  Shout out to Jill for making him the superstar today and allowing Trisha, Leah and I to celebrate with him.  I love when he said, "I wasn't in the office at all today!"  :-)

• Shout out to Jahra for taking on make-up testing for third graders today.  I appreciate your help with this and also for providing a wonderful testing environment for students to work in.  Shout out to Alexandra for teaching the math lesson and Taylor for working with them to get her students in the testing group as well!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, 3/25-3/29
• Spring Break!!!
• Happy Birthday to Shanalyn on Wednesday, 3/27
• Happy Birthday to Brad on Saturday, 3/30

Nitty-Gritty

• Talent Show
• This year's Talent Show is in the planning stage.  The dress rehearsal is scheduled for Monday, April 22 with the event planned for Wednesday, April 24 at 6 pm.  (The art show is planned for the hour before.) If you would like to participate in the staff entry, please make sure to let Sue O'Toole know right away.  She always comes up with something fun and amazing for staff to do.

• Personnel Update
• After spring break, we will have a change in a couple of our classrooms. Karissa Wagner will be subbing for Stephanie Schuett while she is out on maternity leave.  While Karissa is teaching next door, Eneida Christner will be subbing as a para with Jill Koenings in 4K in room 107. She is a familiar face to some of us. Eneida has 3 children in the district, two of them in the elementary wing.  She is excited to join us.  She will start on April 1 and will be with us until May 31.  Please help make her feel welcome as a staff member!

• Dodgeland Summit Survey
• Earlier this week, an email was sent out from Christina regarding this summer's Dodgeland Summit.  The survey is very important and helpful for the planning of this event for staff professional development that occurs each summer.  Please complete the survey by April 5th.

• Virtual Field Trip Option
• The International Wolf Center is offering free virtual field trip programs to schools.  There are a few options to sign up for.  If this would be something that would fit with your instruction and you think your students would like it, please check it out HERE.  The tip from the center is that the wolves are usually more active in the mornings.  Just putting it out there for your consideration. 

• AI in Education
• I want to make one more message about encouraging you all to explore the AI tools that Sam, Christina and Brad have been presenting on for the past month.  I didn't get to go to all of them, but the ones I did attend were incredibly helpful.  Sam has spent a great deal of time adding a section with research, resources, tools, etc about AI onto the Staff Resources page.  Take the time to check them out and see if you can find a tool that just got faster by using it.  This past week I experimented with it to help me write a reply email to a parent and it was very helpful and efficient!  The staff resource page is HERE.

PD Spotlight

Spring Break is here.  If you are like me, you are planning to get some extra sleep this next week!  I wanted to share with you about the importance of self care and spring break is a great time to practice it!  This article HERE comes from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and describes some tips for self care.  It is not meant to only be done on breaks from work though.  I hope this helps give you some ideas for how to care for yourselves.  You are always giving so much of yourselves, your time and your talents, that I want to make sure that you have enough left in the tank for yourselves.  You are important!  My wish for you all is to have a relaxing, peaceful, and safe break.  See you all on April 1st!

Behavior Specialist Information

Please take some time to review universal expectations with your class after break. Here is the checklist.

Recess Information

Please sign-up for recess reboot after break. Paraeducators, please try to make one of the presentations as well so we can be consistent in our enforcement of recess expectations. Sign-up

Junior Coaches will be gone on a field trip on April 10th.

TechKnow Tip

This week’s mini-learning session centered around utilizing AI when interacting with parents. The best place to start is a solid prompt and HERE is a great list to start! Remember that prompts are meant to be a starting basis and are most effective when you tailor them specific to each individual situation.

Friday Funny

In honor of the 2024 baseball season that starts this next week, here is a funny meme with Hank Aaron, one of the best Brewers to play the game! (I can't wait for baseball to start again!)

March 15, 2024

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, March 18
• Bus Duty: Klink, Lucht, Wedel, Schuett (3K/4K playground)
• Future is Bright Day - Wear neon/bright colors
• Forward Testing for Grades 3-4-5 - Please be quiet in the hallways!
• EP Meeting at 3:15 in the IMC - Documentation log
• Pops Concert @ 6:30 - Our 5th grade Band has their 1st performance!
• School Board meeting @ 7pm

• Tuesday, March 19
• Happy Birthday Chris V!
• Forward Testing for Grades 3-4-5 - Please be quiet in the hallways!
• Rest Up for your Future - Wear Pajamas
• Elementary Lunch program audit - There will be visitors watching the lunch line, and may be asking questions about snack milk or the after school snack program.
• Last AI mini-session in the IMC at 3:15 on Parent Communication/ChatGPT
• Social Media Posts due: Donovan, Schwoerer, Zastrow, Schuett
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Schwoerer
• 12:30 - Rollins
• 1:00 - Rollins

• Wednesday, March 20
• Workout Wednesday - Wear College Gear
• Forward Testing for Grades 3-4-5 - Please be quiet in the hallways!
• Last day of the Elementary lunch program audit
• Combined SEL/Academic Mtg for 1st gr 12:05-12:55pm

• Thursday, March 21
• Happy Birthday Brittany!
• Wear Your medals or something you are Proud of
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Rollins
• 12:30 - Rollins
• 1:00 - Rollins

• Friday, March 22
• Jenny has a dr appt at 8 am.  She will be in right after that.
• Dress For Success - Wear What you want to be when you grow up
• College and Career Parade - Watch for details next week
• Progress Reports - Send home any reports to families for any students that are struggling today.

Nitty-Gritty

• College and Career Week
• The committee has been working hard on planning for this week and have some exciting things in the works for next week.  One of the things that is coming up is guest speakers, special bulletin board about staff and also a Career Parade.  
• If you haven't filled out the Google Form for the bulletin board, please do so today.  The link is HERE.
• If you have a parent or are looking for a guest speaker for your class, check the google doc that the committee has put together.  Click HERE to add or see options for speakers to your class.  When they arrive to speak, they should all sign in the office and Trisha will run their ID through our raptor system and give them a visitor badge.

• Forward Testing
• Starting Monday, students in grades 3, 4 & 5 will be taking the ELA portion of the Forward Assessment.  This test is very important and needs all of our staff to support the students and staff that is proctoring this test.  One way that we help our students do their best work is to set up the testing environment in a way that helps our students do their best work.  This means that it is an all hands on deck situation.  Many spaces are used for the testing, their are many small groups to limit distractions, and schedules are disrupted.  Thank you in advance for all of your help and flexibility.  The testing will be occurring in the building each morning from 8-11:30 Mon-Wed.  If our K-2nd graders can send words of encouragement (think short video from your classroom...) to our 3-5 gr classrooms, it would make the students day!

• Library for the Week
• In the spirit of all hands on deck, and needing spaces for the small testing groups, library lessons for elementary classrooms will be canceled this week. However, each class will still have a 15 minute book checkout time.  Please click HERE to sign up for a 15 min. time slot.  In addition, Christina will send you an activity that you can do with the kids at a time that is convenient for your classroom schedule.  Thank you in advance for your flexibility and doing your part to give our students what they need to be successful for this year's testing season!

• Summer School
• The summer school booklet will be ready for families in the coming week.  Registration will not start until April 8, but I wanted you to know that it is coming up soon! This year's registration will require a parent portal from PowerSchool.  If you have any parents asking about this, please have them contact Trisha or myself to help them.

TechKnow Tip

Today, more than ever, we need to remember that we are assessing the learning process, not just the product. The learning targets you have set in place help break students’ learning down in order to guide instruction and ensure student understanding. Quick checks or progress checks on longer projects can ensure timely feedback, early detection of misconceptions, and overall enhanced engagement. This week’s AI mini-learning session talked about two Chrome extensions that help aid in monitoring student progress when working in Google Docs. These tools are meant to help teachers guide their students through revisions as well to ensure that students are not just copy/pasting from generative AI. Be sure to take a moment to check them out!

• Draftback: This Chrome extension can be used on Google Docs that lets you playback the revision history you can edit. 

• Revision History: This Chrome extension can be used on Google Docs to help see students’ process through a playback function, as well as timestamped revisions.

Friday Funny

On a daily basis, there is a lot of activity happening in the elementary office. Many times it is not necessarily entertaining though. However, today, we had one of those situations that by the end of it, most of the adults in the office couldn't help but laugh. I was on the phone with Roni going over the yearbook proof that she sent me. The next thing I know one of our 4K twins walks in, starts talking to me and picking up pretty much everything he saw. (Yes, I am still on the phone.) Then Ella comes in to guide him back to his lunch and the next thing I know, the other twin is in my office. Pretty soon in runs the first twin with Ella hot on his tails. She is trying to communicate with both of them with the Spanish words that she knows and get them to leave the room. The twins have lots of energy together and they move very fast, so it is quite entertaining watching Ella trying to corral them into the front office. The twins continue to move all over the office and finally Ella walks out, the room is quiet, the door is shut. And then, just like that, up pops a twin from behind the easel in the corner of my office. Meanwhile, Ella is searching the front office trying to have both twins in the same place at the same time. I am now off the phone and start to help the situation so that the twin in my office can get to his lunch. I walk to the door and there is Ella who says, "Do you have a twin?" She was so exhausted by this point that I am pretty sure she would have been glad to take a nap! It was like herding cats in there today!