August 20, 2024

 The First Dodgeland Download of the YEAR!  

I read this meme and thought of the people I get to work with every year.  I know that you are all working so hard, long before the first day of school, whether it is the things on this list or all the planning you do for instruction, routines, transitions, etc.  I want you to know how much this is appreciated by myself and the hundreds of families that will walk through our doors at Open House.  

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

I know this is going to be a VERY long post, but please read it carefully.  It has a lot of details about this upcoming year, including things you will need to sign up for, things to mark your calendars about, and information that will be explained in more detail at staff meetings during Inservice Week.  As always, if you have questions, please let me know!

Jenny's Note:

I have spent quite a bit of time this summer reflecting and thinking about the feedback from staff and the survey results from last spring.  I appreciate so much that so many of you took the time to take the surveys, talk to me in person, debrief during the PD days, and/or send me emails.  I have the same goal as you all, which is to make Dodgeland the best place for our students to thrive and for us to work.  I have always loved being at Dodgeland and it is much more than a place to go to work for me.  I care about the people I get to work with, currently and in the past.  I brag often about the staff and children at Dodgeland.  However, it doesn't mean that everything is perfect and that there aren't ways that we can continue to improve.

One of the things that I heard clearly from elementary staff is relating to student behavior, routines and procedures.  Many of the behaviors can be addressed through proactive measures including thought out procedures, relationship building and focusing on encouraging good attendance.  Many of you brainstormed ideas in the attendance committee last week and it was all brought to me.  You will see in the following section and in next week's staff meetings that I have thought about these things.  I also know that in order to continue to see improvements, we need to work together, communicate often, and share supervision responsibilities so that we are all on the same page for all of our students.  I also spent time making sure that I was cognizant of prep time minutes for staff so that you can do your planning but also what needs we have for our students as well.  I share this with you because you will see some changes in the schedule that is below.  If you have questions, concerns, comments, please be ready to share them on or before Monday, August 26 so they can be addressed at staff meetings.

Nitty-Gritty

• New Faces
• You may have seen this in Jessica's packet as well, but wanted to take this time to welcome our new elementary staff as well.  I know you will, but please help me welcome them to our school!
• Karissa Wagner - While she is not new to staff, she is taking on the teacher role in the 4K classroom she has been in for the past two years.  I'm glad she's here and taking on this role too!
• Eneida Conway - Eneida is a parent that we have been able to work with for a number of years, but now we get to see her everyday in the building.  Last year, she was a long term sub in 4K, and now she will be working with our 4K students full-time.  I am so excited she will be on staff with us!
• Tina Ellefson - Because our 4K student enrollment has been quite high this year, we have opened another 4K section.  Tina comes to us from St. Katharine Drexel with a number of years of experience in 4K and 5K and will be teaching out of Room 120.
• Melissa Uttech - Melissa will be joining our 4K team with Amber Jenkins and Ella.  She worked in the MS special education department last year, but she is joining us to work with our littlest learners.  It'll be a big change, but I know that she will do a fantastic job.  She gets to join the ranks of people that work alongside one of their children!  :-). She is Miss Alexis's mom.
• Kari Westphal - Kari is probably a familiar face and there are probably a number of us who got to be her teacher at one point too!  But, she is now ready to join our team as a colleague and take on teaching 3rd grade.  She will be teaching from Room 124. Help me to welcome her to the Elementary in this role!
• Ashley Heuer - Ashley is joining Bethany N. in the Reading Corps program.  She is also a former student.  She will be starting her training on the reading interventions soon and will be ready to work with our students at the beginning of the school year.  
• Julie Kaiser - She will be in the building periodically in Kathy Miller's room doing clinical hours as she works towards her teaching degree.  So, we will still get to see her too!
• Felicia Harmon - She is a Junior Practicum student from Maranatha that will be completing her hours with Mary Jo in 1st grade this fall.  If you see her around the building, please introduce yourself and make her feel welcome!
• Samantha Keberlein - Another familiar face!  Samantha has been a parent of students in our building for a number of years and she was doing long-term subbing last spring as well.  She is now joining us full-time, splitting her time between Ms. Vertz and Mrs. Caine-Arnes' room.  I'm so glad she is able to join us full-time this year!
• Klair Fortmann - Klair is joining our team as a 5th grade teacher in Room 141.  She spent the last year in Jefferson.  She also has been in the building working on getting her classroom ready and reading through teacher's guides. Please help me welcome her.  We are fortunate that she is joining our team as well!
• Carrie Houk - Carrie is joining us in the music department with Noah.  She gets to teach all of our elementary students, many of our MS students and some HS students as well.  She will be very busy, but I can't wait to see our students continue to enjoy music with her too!

• Google Classroom
• This year I will be using Google Classroom to communicate important resources, information, etc.  In fact, the blog will be posted in Google Classroom each week instead of sending out an email each Friday morning.  The more often we use the platform, the more comfortable we will all become.  When you go into Google Classroom, please enter my code to be a member of my "class."  If you need help let me know, and I can send you an invite as well.  The CODE is: 6qdbanp. Or you can accept the invite through your email from me to join the class.

• Act 20 Reading Training
• The literacy training regarding the Science of Reading that is required for reading specialists and myself was actually pretty interesting and engaging.  We will spend our Early Releases working through the modules this school year.  We will start during the week of inservice.  We will be using an online program called Cox Campus.  If you get an email from them, please create an account so that you can watch the online courses as we go through the year.  More information will be shared at Act 20 training on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 8am.  Although not all of you teach literacy, I do want all certified elementary staff and all paras to attend this meeting on Tuesday.  

• Student Lockers
• As I was watching student enrollments coming in this year, I started to consider that we will need to plan for where students' lockers will be located due to classroom placement and so that there is room for each class.  Please check this doc to find your name and the locker range for your class.  It may be slightly different than past years to fit in the enrollment we have.  Let me know if you have any questions.

• Room Changes in the Elementary
• There are a few changes in where you will find some people and programs this year.  See the list below:
• Dodgeland Den for grades 1-5 will now be in Room 102 near the Gym.  This room will still be able to be used for indoor recess this year as well.
• PLTW Lab will be in room 137.  There is a magnetic lock on the wardrobe closet and all of the lower cabinets in the room.  The magnet is located near the top and side of the tall wardrobe closet.  
• Reading Interventionist/Specialist - They will be sharing a space in Room 139.  Brenda Caine and Andrea Schulte will be in this room, but will also be taking some groups in the MS and also over at St. Johns.  They will both have their own phone and voicemail though.
• Room 120 will now be a 4K classroom.  However, the team has a plan for rest time and the students will be moved to another location for rest time.  This way first graders in that hallway won't have to worry about waking up any students.

• Recess and Lunch Schedule Changes
• The morning recess schedule is between 9-9:45am and the afternoon recesses are between 11:30-1:00pm.  The groups will be consistent between all recesses.  4K students will have recess on the early learning playground outside Door #29.  The other recesses will be on the large playground/blacktop area.  The groups are: 5K/1st grade, 2nd/3rd grade, and 4th/5th grade students.  This was changed to help with supervision, developmental similarities and consistency between recess prior to lunch.

• For the past few years, we have had a number of students that have struggled in the lunch room.  Sometimes it is due to the noise, sometimes it is social conflicts, sometimes it is just an environment that sets off students and carries into their classrooms and learning after lunch.  To address this, Teresa and I talked about an idea that we are hoping will help and keep the office more calm during the lunch period. We have set up a consistent room (room 137) and supervisor for an alternate lunch space for each period.  The goal is to build relationships and have a successful lunch period that includes appropriate conversation, cleaning up after themselves, etc. It is not meant to be a punishment, but rather a proactive way to help students be successful.  We will continue to have lunch detentions for consequences, but this is a separate plan from the alternate lunch room. 

• The lunch period is 25 minutes long this year.  The 5 minutes between the end of lunch and the start of the academic period is built in to be able to transition students from the commons to the classroom and any bathroom runs that are needed. Classroom teachers (or specials teachers if you have a group right after lunch period) should be in the commons to pick up their class at 12:25/12:55 or 1:25 based on when your grade has lunch.

• Duties for this school year
• This school year there are a variety of duties to help with supervision, to be proactive with student behavior, and to provide united, consistent expectations across the entire building.  In addition, this will help us build relationships with our students that also help with student behavior.
• Bus Duty: Before school students will be able to leave their backpacks, etc in their line spots and play until the whistle blows at 7:44am.  Start having them enter the building at 7:45am.  After school, the buses should be at the playground outside as soon as school lets out.  Please stay outside until buses have left campus.  Our MS/HS students are dismissed at 3:05 and will exit through Door #26 (by 4th/5th gr doors) by coming down music hallway. (This year there are about 6 weeks during the school year.)

• Recess Duty: Please be on time to your recess duty.  If necessary, you may have to dismiss your own class one min. early to get outside when the recess starts.  When you enter the building, please call the office if you need someone to cover your class if you need to use the restroom.  While on duty, please constantly circulate through your assigned area to supervise students' behavior and the games they are playing. It is important that we are spread out and remain diligent in our supervision. Remember, any chasing game is called TAG and is not allowed on the equipment, regardless of what students say. (Most of us have 1-2 fifteen minute recesses in the morning and some have recesses during the Noon hour recesses as well.)

• Lunch Duty: This is a new duty for this year. I need your help in the commons so that we can have successful lunch periods.  Each staff member has 5 weeks of lunch duties during the school year, joining the paras that are consistent each week.  I tried to spread the weeks out and I made sure that they do not coincide with data meetings this school year. The first 3 weeks there is an extra person assigned in the commons to help with the transition to procedures and create routines.

• Lunch Detentions: This duty has a sheet for you to sign up for 3 days of lunch detentions during the school year. (Click HERE for the sheet.)  You will get a copy of the referral to use to meet with students regarding their behavior.  You will also have a copy of the reflection sheet that is appropriate to their age.  Teresa or myself will share with you who (if any) has been assigned to a lunch detention with you.  Please use your own classrooms for this detention.  The goal is to ask students to talk through the situation, think about what other choices they could have made, and send a consistent message.

• Event Planning Committee Sign Up
• This year, there are 8 planning committees for the school year.  If all of us sign up for 1 committee, we can share the work for the school year and provide events for our students and their families.  Please check out the Google Doc HERE to sign up for 1 committee. This is for certified staff, but as always, all support staff members are welcome to attend all events!

• Social Media Sign Up
• It is important to continue to tell "our story" to the community.  Please sign up on the Social Media sheet for 4 weeks out of the school year.  The pictures and a short write up should be submitted by Tuesday of that week to Sam Santana this year to be posted at some point during that week.  Sam will schedule the posts during the week.  Also, make sure to check your PowerSchool alerts to see if any of your students have a "No Photo Release" alert on file.

• Open House
• There are a number of details that we would like our families to know about this school year, including how important it is for students to have strong attendance at school.  One suggestion that staff had was for me to have a presentation for families during Open House.  I have scheduled a presentation in the IMC during Open House at 5pm and repeated at 6:30pm. I will share the slides with you when they are completed so that you are in the loop.  Also, please remind families to make sure they stop in the commons to get their child's picture taken.  We have a new company this year, Josten's, and we will have a retake day only during the school year.

• Staying the Same
• Not everything is changing though.  :-)
• Grade Level Data Meetings:  These will continue to occur during the middle of the day.  There are 3 of them this year and are on the meetings tab of the master schedule.  I put multiple ones in a week so that we can meet in a more timely manner to assessment results. (A 4th one is scheduled the week of Thanksgiving.)
• PLTW Goals: Our goal is to complete 2 modules for each grade before the end of the school year.  Please plan ahead for when you will do each module so that you do not run out of time.
• Workout Wednesdays: They will continue each week unless it lands on something special that requires more formal dress.
• Nutrition Lessons with Kimberly Laffler: She will continue to work with our 5K-3rd grade classrooms on nutrition.  She is also working with Natalie on a program called Harvest of the Month and will be supporting the fruit or vegetable of the month that Natalie has chosen!
• Citizenship Grades: We will continue to grade our class with our learning targets in citizenship at the end of each month. 
• Report Cards: Reports cards will continue to be done at semester and will be shared with parents digitally and through PowerSchool.

Technology Updates

• KnowBe4 Training
• You should have all received emails with the link to KnowBe4 to complete the online trainings.  Most of them are mandatory per DPI, and others are to help us remember/gain knowledge to protect our data and privacy from people trying to gain access to all of the data that is on our servers.  Please watch them carefully so that you are able to apply this information to your work.

• DSD Staff Resource Page
• Our Technology Dept is incredible and they keep our DSD Staff Resource page up to date with information for us on tools to use, how-to directions including how to login and passwords and even videos in some cases.  Please bookmark this page so that you can get back to it easily when looking for help.  There is info on Google Classroom as well which we all will want to know!

• iPad Roll-out
• iPads are in the process of being placed in lockers in the classrooms. For grades 5K-3, please use the template, or one of your own to post which number slot is for which student's iPad.  This will help the tech team be able to grab/return an ipad easily if the classroom is empty. Again this year, Christina will be coming to your class to go over iPad expectations with your classrooms.  
• Grade 5K - Connect with Christina when you're ready - absolutely no rush!
• Grades 1-2 - HERE are some resources used in the past.  Please sign up for a time and let Christina know which resources you'd like her to use to present with.
• Grade 3 - HERE are the documents that were used the past couple of years.  Let Christina know if you want anything changed.  Sign up HERE for a time.
• Grades 4-5 - Sign up for a time for Christina to come to your class.  HERE are the documents that were used last year.  If you want anything changed, please let her know.  Also, remember to hold onto the completed document and use it to facilitate conversations with students if issues arise throughout the school year.
• Once Christina has gone through expectations with your class, the ipad lockers will be unlocked for use.

• Lunch and Milk Count
• Heads up this year!!  We will not be using the Google sheets for lunch and milk count this year.  We will be using PowerSchool to send counts to Natalie. There is a spot for lunch and milk count.  Because we need to indicate white milk vs. chocolate milk (and we can not modify the names of the categories), we will use the milk box for chocolate milk and the ala carte box for white milk.  The cooler that is delivered to your room will have the class list in the pocket.  Each teacher should check off each student that takes a carton of milk for snack.  In PowerSchool, there will be a green shopping cart alert by a student's name if they are eligible to receive milk for snack.  All students can have milk for snack break until Friday, September 13.  After that, please be sure the alert is by their name or contact the office if you are not sure before ordering them a milk.

• Digital Citizenship Lessons
• We have taught the digital citizenship lessons from Common Sense Media for a number of years, but wanted to bring attention to the lessons as a quick reminder of our rationale.  The goal is to make sure that each student gets the instruction in these very important topics when it is developmentally appropriate.  Our students are technology natives and it is a critical skill for them to be safe online and using technology appropriately.  We will follow this curriculum (Click HERE) from 5K right through 12th grade and if we continue to review it throughout the school year, it has more of a chance to be second nature to them at school and at home!  Let me or Christina know if you have any questions regarding these lessons.

• FYI: Small Tech Changes This Year
• Students will not have the capability of printing this year.  Students should use Google Classroom or pdf's to submit work to teachers.  If things do need to be printed, it will need to go through adults in the system. Students can share their work with a teacher through Google Drive, Google Classroom, Air Drop, etc. If you need any assistance with printing student work, please submit a help desk ticket and they would be glad to help!
• Subs will be using iPads when they are subbing in the district this year.  They will not have individual emails this year either.  Please make sure that you have everything in the sub folder for them as they will not be able to get an email from you. This also means that if the sub needs to show a video, it needs to be digital with a link in the sub notes. We have a number of resources for this like Discovery Ed, Learn 360, etc.  (A super drive will not work with the iPad.)
• Elementary Student email will have a change this year as well.  All students in Grades 5K-2 will not have access to email.  All students in grades 3-5 will have the ability to email internally with teachers/staff within the district.  They will not have the ability to email to other students though. 

Master Schedule

Below is the link to the Google Sheet that contains the Master Schedule.  It is in View only mode, but you can make a copy to your own Drive if you need to.  However, Trisha and I will be using this document to make any changes if necessary, and to check on your schedules. (i.e. we need to find a student in your class, etc.) If you need or want to make any changes, please communicate with us so we can check that it doesn't conflict with other things and so that we can make the changes on the original Google sheet.

The document has tabs along the bottom for different parts of our master schedule: Grade Level Schedules with specials noted, duties, meetings for the year, recess/lunch times, etc.  If you have questions, please let me know!

Click HERE to see it!

I know what you are thinking.  "FINALLY, it's over!!"

May 31, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Shout out to Teresa and Sophie for organizing and putting on a fantastic Field Day for our students and staff.  Our students were so excited to share with me what they got to do.  Thank you again!

• Shout out to the picnic committee (and others that helped!).  Mary Jo, Teresa, Rachael, Blasia, Christina (and our awesome retirees Pam and Sue who came to help at the Book Fair!), Brenda, Lexi, Ella, Courtney (and Rachel C and Kelly from the HS), Brad all contributed to making the picnic a success.  Whether you helped plan an activity, a food truck, ordering supplies, setting up or cleaning up that day, it was all noticed and appreciated.  Thank you so much.  And for those that were able to attend our indoor rainy end of the year picnic, I hope you enjoyed yourselves!

• 5K Graduation was adorable and well-done tonight!  Shout out to Bethany and Mandy who put so much work into this project and our families LOVE it.  From the video that melts my heart to the sweet singing to the proudest smilest I've ever seen on a child's face.  It is one of my favorite events of the year!  (Did you know we have a Dodgeland YouTube page?  If you want to see it, click HERE to watch the live stream version from tonight!)

• Sam, Christina and Brad are always appreciated, but it is week's like this one where I can not possibly thank them enough.  They man the tech for practices, they set up the risers/platforms/audio/etc, they collect and organize all of our student iPads, and then train Watson to perform in a concert!  I wonder when they sleep?  :-)

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Sunday, June 2
• Graduation at 1pm (All staff are invited to attend!)

• Monday, June 3 (See PD Schedule for more details)
• Dodgeland Appreciation Breakfast - All staff (certified and non-certified) invited (7:30-8:30am)
• Staff meeting in IMC from 1-3pm 

• Tuesday, June 4
• Grades and Comments for Report Cards due at noon
• Pyramid Model meeting from 1-3pm in Elem. Conf. room

• Wednesday, June 5
• Dodgeland Debrief in Multi-purpose room 7:30-9am
• Class List Meetings in Elem. Conf. room 9:15-12:45pm (see schedule for specific grade level times.
• Last DAY!  Have a great summer!

Nitty-Gritty

• Extra Duty Forms
• Please complete these forms and turn them into Jenny's mailbox by Monday at 3pm.  I need to go through them and sign them for Laura by Tuesday morning so that you all can get paid on June 15.  If you do not turn it in on time, you will have to wait longer for your money for those duties.

• EP Forms
• If there are any forms that you need me to open so that you can complete them, please let me know.  I went through the ones I had, but I may have missed some.  I will be going through these as fast as I can.  Do not feel that you need to be super wordy on them, brief and concise is best!  :-)

• Staff Meeting on Monday
• Please bring a device with you to the staff meeting on Monday afternoon.  We will have a tech presentation first and then will be working together on some other pieces to prepare for next school year.  Also, please make sure that you have read through the rubrics and matrix for behavior before you get to the meeting.

• Class List meetings
• All staff that works with the grade level that is meeting to create class lists is welcome to join these meetings on Wednesday.  This includes specials teachers, special education, homeroom teachers, etc.  All voices are welcome as we create these lists.  We will use the Class Creator to make the first draft and then we will adjust it as we see fit.  Over the summer, I may have to make adjustments depending on move ins or move outs though.

PD Spotlight

Please spend time this summer taking care of you, relaxing, spending time with the people that make you happy, and ultimately taking a well-deserved BREAK!  Being an educator is a challenging career as you all know.  Yes, it is rewarding, and yes, it provides a regular schedule (for the most part...).  But it also demands a lot from you mentally, physically and emotionally.  I am in awe of how you all are able to make it look so effortless even though I KNOW it is not.  Taking care of yourself is NOT selfish, it is necessary.  Enjoy this time and I look forward to seeing you in August.  (Those of you in Summer School, we get to spend a few more weeks together!)

Friday Funny

So.  I go to the Dr today and it takes longer than I plan, but I enter the office around noon and some group called "The Parliament" has left a note on the door saying, "You're Welcome."  As I enter it is apparent that there has been a break-in.  The district administrator had to be notified, as well as our safety and crisis coordinator.  Then to find out that the "parliament of owls" that were all over my office were taken from a fellow teacher's CLASSROOM!  I was outraged!

However, as the investigation continues (and you saw earlier today) it became apparent that this might have been an inside job.  As I start to conduct my investigation and conduct interviews, I am narrowing down my list of people of interest.  I am not sure that you all realize how many "true crime" shows I really watch in a given week!  I feel like I have SKILLS!  My first witness:  a sweet angelic little 2nd grader.  She immediately names the perpetrators!  I've never known her to lie to me before (even when it gets her into more trouble mind you!).  Then I watch the video evidence from Mrs. Johnson and I realize there are other witnesses as well.  Mr. Schweitzer and Mrs. Fobes, unfortunately, you seemed to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time as they say!  Then later, I find out that Miss Chrissy and Mrs. Lauth were eye witnesses to the preparation of this heist.  You poor, poor souls that were just thrown into this melee!  I am hoping you were able to sleep on Thursday night after watching such a flagrant crime!

After multiple interviews with the suspects, they continue to deny being the perpetrators. However, I believe that I have found the proof.  I submit for the final evidence, this 2 min. video.  I am confident that I have found the members of "The Parliament" gang.  (LH, EH, SV, TP, BD) Do you agree with my conclusion? 

Now, who is the Duck Master??  You, sir/madam, have dodged all of my attempts at solving your case.  I am sending that case into the cold case files until another lead presents itself or more evidence comes to light...

May 24, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Shout out to Trisha Caine and her class who wrote and submitted essays about a WI fruit to a contest from Wisconsin Agriculture in the classroom.  She had 2 winners from her class and they were surprised with their prize this week!

• If you see Laura Zank through the building this week, please help me telling her how much we appreciate her help this week!  She has stepped in for some very needy situations and I am so glad she is able to help us!

• Third graders were writing thank you notes for a number of people all over the building this week.  I love how happy they seemed to be to show appreciation for others as much as the person receiving those notes!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 27
• No School - Memorial Day
• Happy Birthday Vicky!

• Tuesday, May 28
• Bus Duty: CaineT, Riege, Juech Vertz (3K/4K playground)
• 2nd Grade Field Trip - 9-2:30pm
• Social Media Posts due:  Riege, CaineT
• iPad Collection Today! 
• Lunch Detention Supervisors
• 12:00 - Schweitzer
• 12:30- Open
• 1:00 - Open
• End of the Year Picnic - 4:30-6:30pm

• Wednesday, May 29
• Workout Wednesday
• 3rd Grade Field Trip (all day) to EAA
• 5th Grade Field Trip (all day) to UW-Madison

• Thursday, May 30
• Field Day (All Day, see below for details)
• No Morning Recess
• Jenny is at a Dr appt until 10:30am
• 5K Graduation at 6pm

• Friday, May 31
• Last Day of School!
• Graduation Walk with our Seniors and 5K students - 9am
• Class Creator Surveys Due

• Saturday, June 1
• Happy Birthday Kari!
• Happy Birthday Ella!

• Sunday, June 2
• Graduation at 1pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Wellness Committee
• Jessica sent out an email this week regarding forming a district wellness committee.  If this is something that you would be interested in joining, please let her know through email.  This will be an alt. comp checkmark for certified staff and support staff can submit a time sheet for the time spent outside of their regular schedule.

• Behavior Matrix and Rubric
• At Wednesday's staff meeting, we discussed some changes to our Behavior Matrix and Rubric. We will be discussing this and looking for feedback during our June PD days.  Please read it over and note anything you have comments, questions or modifications to suggest.  Thank you in advance!

• Budget Sheets
• Your budget sheets will be in your mailbox by Tuesday.  Anything that you would like ordered this summer should have a PO in my mailbox before you leave for the summer.  If you have any questions about something, please let me know.

• June PD Days
• The exact schedule will be sent out soon.  While you are getting ready for the break, please make sure to return any checked out technology pieces, etc.  Also, please make sure to have your grades complete by Tuesday at Noon.  Finally, we will begin on June 3 with an appreciation breakfast for ALL staff.

Behavior Specialist Information

As we near the end of the school year, many of our struggling students struggle more, and more of our students

display unexpected behaviors as they anticipate summer. This was a helpful thought from a colleague to help me

refresh my mindset: “Remember, no student asked to be placed at risk (wants to have hard days) so we have a moral

duty to guide them, support them, listen to them, and ultimately be there for them (even when they are trying hard

to push us away).”

Field Day Schedule is here: Field Day

*3k, we will provide popsicles for you. Enjoy them when you feel it is best for your group. 

*4k-3rd will run 8:30-11. 

*4th-5th will run 11-2:30.

*No morning recess (4th and 5th grade teachers if you want to arrange something over by the pond/memory tree,

go for it).

*lunch/recess times mid-day will be as normally scheduled.

*4k-3rd grade teachers, please plan to be with your class for field day. Junior coaches will be facilitating the

activities. Specials teachers and interventionists, please coordinate with classroom teachers to help cover their

class if field day during your normally scheduled class time.

*4th/5th grade teachers, we will be asking your help to facilitate a station. Specials teachers, please coordinate

with classroom teachers if you typically have class during field day to cover their station during your scheduled time. 

*All classroom teachers and students (special teachers and interventions feel free to celebrate with us too and/or

cover classroom teachers if they normally have a special during that time) will be outside from 2:30-2:55 for a

treat and dance party. After students have their treats, they may play. 4k should play in the 4k playground and or

grass area, 5k-5th may play on the big playground, black top, or soccer field area. Please help supervise and

enforce expectations. 

*Ms. Mosher and I will have stations set-up. Please bring your class to their first station at the listed time and then

we will rotate stations in number order. 

*Ms. Mosher will be running an appreciation station and art station in the gymnastics zone. All students will

participate in the appreciation zone as part of rotations. Students that need a break from field day activities can

go to the art zone and take a break as needed.

*Thanks in advance for all the support and flexibility to make Field Day a success.

Recess Information

PLEASE continue to hold students accountable to following expectations at recess. 

Bus duty expectations are K-2 on the playground; 3-5 4 square, gaga, or basketball only. Kickball is not open

at the end of the day.

Just a friendly reminder, please do not take your students outside on the playground during any scheduled recesses. 

Here are the recess times:

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

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

TechKnow Tip

Friday Funny

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching (and rewatching) Golden Girls.  I often put it on while I'm working or cleaning because I know most of the lines now.  When I saw this meme, it made me laugh out loud!  

May 17, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• I know that this time of year is so busy and the number of things on your to do lists is so long.  However, I want to thank you for putting so much time and effort into making these last few weeks full of learning.  When we prioritize that we are here for learning, it sends the message that every day is important!

• So many of you are continually communicating with parents to keep them in the loop on things that are happening at school.  I have spoken to so many teachers and some parents as well, that have described how receptive and happy parents are to be notified of what is happening at school.  I know that this takes time, but it is so important for the kids and their development!

• Shout out to Brent for being so helpful all over the building again this week.  If you see him on Friday, please help me thanking him for filling in so many places!

• Shout out to Michael Schweitzer for problem solving with me about a student that has been working hard at avoiding work.  Thank you for talking through this with me, now let's hope it works!  :-)

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 20
• Bus Duty: Anderson, Miller, Huso, Mosher (3K/4K playground)
• EP Meeting - Supported work time in IMC @ 3:15pm
• School Board Meeting at 6:30pm

• Tuesday, May 21
• Happy Birthday Noah
• 5K field trip from 8-12:30pm
• Lunch Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Schweitzer
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open

• Wednesday, May 22
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny in a meeting from 8:30-10am
• 1st Grade field trip from 9-12:15am
• Staff Meeting at 3:10pm

• Thursday, May 23
• Jenny in meeting from 9-10am
• Juneau Library Presentation
• 4K@ 8:15
• 2/3 @ 8:45
• 4/5 @ 9:30
• 5K/1 @ 10:00
• Morning Recess Times
• 4K @ 9:00
• 5K-1-2 @ 9:15
• 3-4-5 @ 10:00
• Lunch Supervisors:
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open

• Friday, May 24
• Jenny in meeting from 10-11am
• iPad Turn in starts in the Elementary (Schedule is HERE.)

Nitty-Gritty

• Extra Recess Reminders
• Please remember if you plan to take your class outside for an activity or extra recess, please sign up on the schedule HERE.  Use the tab on the bottom for your grade that corresponds to the 3K/4K playground vs. the blacktop and big playground.  The times are listed outside of the regular recess times for the building though.  Also, please let Trisha know in the office if you leave the building so that she can find you if need be.

• Class Creator Surveys
• This week all homeroom teachers should have received an email from Class Creator to complete the survey for their students.  This information will be used to create draft class lists for next year.  These meetings are planned for Wednesday, June 5, but please complete the surveys by 3pm on Monday, June 3. If you didn't get it, please let me know and I can try to send it again.

• Staff Meeting Information
• On Wednesday, we will have our last Wednesday afternoon staff meeting.  In this meeting, a portion of it will be a presentation from Mystery Science representative to share with us all of the pieces of this site including a new piece that is available for purchase to accompany this site for possible science experiments to use in our classrooms to supplement PLTW or as an additional piece for science lessons.  We will also be talking about plans for the last week, some new information for next fall, including Act 20 details, and the plans for June PD days.  

• Budget Information
• I have gone through the budget documents that you have turned in to me.  I will be returning them to you next week along with a description of what the total budget amount is for your classroom and any items that are approved for as non-capital items or Professional development activities.  Please remember that with our budget for the future, you may have to make decisions regarding what is most important for your classroom based on the amount of money available.  In addition, I need to know some information regarding who would like to have access to some school wide programs.  If there is not enough interest, we may have to cut it or buy individual subscriptions vs. school-wide access.  Please click HERE to share with me what items you want/need.

Recess Information

There is a new storage item on the blacktop to hold recess items.  Adults should be the only ones to use and open this wooden box.  The cover is heavy and would not be safe for students to go in.  Please remind them to stay away from the box and anything that needs to come out of it will be done by adults.  Thank you for your help!

TechKnow Tip

Looking for something to strengthen cooperative learning, problem solving, encourages persistence, and an outstanding alternative to movies?! Look no further than BreakoutEDU!! BreakoutEDU is an immersive learning game platform with both physical and digital puzzle elements to solve. A physical BreakoutEDU “room” can be time consuming to set up, so that’s where a digital BreakoutEDU “room” can come in handy. BreakoutEDU is provided to all classroom teachers through the IMC- that means you can use the pre-created materials from the site, you can create digital breakout “rooms” specific to your content, and you can create classes of students to view progress and statistics of any of the BreakoutEDU puzzles. Digital BreakoutEDU puzzles can be shared with students via link or QR code- what a fun way to keep them thinking as the school year commences. Try this BreakoutEDU - send Ms. Rollins a screenshot of a completed room (5 puzzles) for a fun prize!

Friday Funny

I have yawned through so many things lately.  Parent meetings, phone calls, student discipline conversations... You name it.  When I came across this, it made me laugh. And then I realized, I got BINGO today too!  Anyone else?

May 10, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Shout out to Gail for putting together 2 concerts this week (plus a third one for the MS/HS this week).  The kids sounded good and our families had a lot of great comments at the conclusion of the concerts.  Nice Job Gail!

• Shout out to our one and only School Nurse!  Even if she is attending her own professional development meetings and out of the building, she continues to keep track of doctor orders, student injuries and even takes care of us staff.  It's a big job but she always has a smile for our students and staff.  Thank you for all you do Leah!

• This week, Teresa has worked hard on making plans for students that are struggling, watching the weather, attending evaluation meetings and even had time to plan for things for the end of the year for our staff and students!  Thank you for all of your hard work!

• There are so many comings and goings in the office and I know it is all in good hands with Trisha. Even with a couple of students that are doing their best to drive us crazy, she continues to keep me on track (no tall order) and accomplish the many tasks that keep on coming!  Thank you Trisha!

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 13
• Bus Duty: Caine-Arnes, Zastrow, Chambers, Koenings (3K/4K Playground)
• 5th Grade Band Concert at 7 pm

• Tuesday, May 14
• Brewers Day!
• Social Media Posts due: Chambers, Jenkins
• Jenny in meetings from 7:30-8:45 and 12-1:30pm
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Koenings
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open

• Wednesday, May 15
• 4th and 5th graders Field Trip for the day
• Workout Wednesday
• NHS Blood Drive 8:30am-1:30pm

• Thursday, May 16
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Open

• Friday, May 17
• Happy Birthday Rachael!
• SAEBRS rating scales due
• Interventionist meeting @ 12:30pm
• Pyramid Leadership Meeting from 1-2p

Nitty-Gritty

• Elementary Yearbooks
• The yearbooks for elementary have arrived in the building.  Mrs. Kohlhoff and her yearbook team will be bringing them to the elementary tomorrow.  Trisha will be putting them in mailboxes when she gets them.  If there are any extras, she will let you know.  Let's hand them. out on Tues, May 14.

• Survey of Teachers from Grace/Lily
• Today 2 Fifth grade students came to ask if on the last day of school, if teachers could dress up as students.  I asked them what this would mean, and they weren't quite sure.  However, I told them that I would survey teachers to see how they feel about this.  I think I just like that they are taking initiative and are acting like Middle School students already!  :-). Let me know what you think!

• Supply Lists for 2024-25 School Year
• Please meet as a grade level to talk about the supply lists for families and update the document for Ms. Bentz. Click HERE for her document to revise for your grade.  As you are discussing this, please think about what items are used the most and what is rarely used so that the list is as manageable as possible for our families and their finances.  Please let me know when your grade has looked at the list and completed the editing process.

• Quizizz - Any Interest?
• I am not sure if anyone has any experience with this tech tool.  However, we are looking to see if there is any interest in this tool at the elementary level.  It may be something that fits better with 3rd and up perhaps.  Click HERE to see some details about it.  In addition there is a pdf of specifics HERE as well.

TechKnow Tip

As you look towards the end of they year, this is a friendly reminder about what technology needs to be turned in and what items you will take home with you over the summer. Please make sure you take care of this before leaving for summer vacation.

Staff technology turn-in:

• Document camera

• Superdrive (disk reader)

• Wireless mouse

• Hotspot

Staff technology that will go home with you over summer:

• Laptop with charger

• iPad with charger 

• Apple Pencil (if you have one checked out)

Behavior Specialist Information

As a heads up for planning purposes, Ms. Mosher and Mrs. Chambers are tentatively planning a field day/Bucket Filler celebration for Thursday, May 30th. 4k-3rd would have activities from approximately 8:30-11 and 4th-5th would have activities from approximately 11-3. A confirmation email with more details will be sent out next week.

Recess Information

If you are taking students out for extra recess, PLEASE remind them that the playground/recess rules are the same as during scheduled recesses and PLEASE enforce the rules. Please also remember to let Trisha know if your class is out of the building and do not take them out during already scheduled recess times.

Friday Funny

How many of you have proctored the district assessments in May and you know that the student has been able to do a certain skill or you have spent many hours on instruction in an area, but yet you watch them take the test as if they have never heard these words before.  That is what this short video reminds me of!

May 3, 2024

 Hear Ye, Hear Ye

• Shout out to Stacey for looking ahead and sharing with me reminders for things to think ahead about before it happens.  We will avoid some serious schedule conflicts and situations because of her forward thinking!  Thank you!

• Have you seen Leah's cool new Ear tool?  Shout out to her for getting this for our school and also for how she uses it to help our parents know when to get them to see a dr.  It's been used quite a few times already!

• Today a 2nd grader was in the office to see the nurse quickly and came back to say hi to me before leaving.  I was with a 4K student that was having a rough day, but this 2nd grader was so kind, patient and such a good role model for how to follow directions and respond to redirection.  Since she at times can struggle with this herself, it was so great to praise her for this and watching how she kindly said goodbye brought a huge smile to my face.  It reminds me to watch for these moments in the middle of stressful situations too!

• A teacher came to share with me a concern she had about a situation in the building.  I appreciate that she took the time to do this even though she has millions of things on her to-do list.  I want you all to feel comfortable to share with me concerns and we can talk about it and come up with a solution for it together.

What's Happening at Dodgeland?

• Monday, May 6
• Bus Duty: Klink, Lucht, Wedel
• Teacher Appreciation Week Begins!
• Jenny leaving at noon for a Dr appt
• Spring Concert for Grades 3-4-5 (students arrive at 6:15, performance starts at 6:30)
• District Assessment Window opens today (Last week of Intervention from the interventionists)

• Tuesday, May 7
• Social Media Posts due: Stampfl
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Schweitzer
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Anderson
• Last Paraeducator Meeting for the year @ 3:15-3:45pm
• Spring Concert for Grades 5K-1-2 (students arrive at 6:15, performance starts at 6:30)

• Wednesday, May 8
• Workout Wednesday
• Jenny's in a meeting from 8:30-10:30am
• Academic Meeting for 5K (12:05-12:55pm)
• Staff meeting @ 3:10-3:55pm

• Thursday, May 9
• Jenny at Cesa from 7:30-12:30pm
• Lunch Detention Supervision
• 12:00 - Open
• 12:30 - Open
• 1:00 - Anderson

• Friday, May 10
• Jenny's getting older!
• FFA Teacher Appreciation Breakfast (Sign up by Thursday to get it delivered to you.)
• 4K Field trip to the zoo
• 1st/3rd gr Field trip to Clearview (1:45-2:45pm)
• Jenny in meeting from 1-2pm

Nitty-Gritty

• Safety Drills
• This week, we were sadly reminded why we must continue to do the drills each year.  If you haven't read Brad's email from Thursday morning, please read through it carefully.  There are a lot of important reminders for us to keep in mind.  The most important is that by following the procedures in place consistently the whole system and building is much safer for everyone.  If you have questions, please reach out.

• Personnel Update
• As changes occur to prepare for next year, I will share with you as I am able.  The one change that I want you to know about at this time is regarding next year's 3rd grade.  There will be three sections of 3rd grade next year and Sabrina Anderson will be moving from 5th grade to 3rd grade to join that team.  In addition, she will be moving classrooms and will be located in Room 124 next school year.

• Window Decals
• Reminder that Anna Vitale and her students will be coming around to our classrooms to affix the window decals of the room numbers on the outside of our classrooms as an additional safety measure.  There may be a slight disturbance to your class while they are completing this task.  This will take them some time to get around to all of the rooms, but will be complete by the end of the school year.

• iPad Turn in - Looking Ahead
• For the elementary wing, iPad turn in will be from Thursday, May 23rd - Tuesday, May 28th. As you plan for the end of the year, please start to think about when you will have students turn in their iPads. The available times are HERE. You can find details of the iPad collection process HERE. A copy of these directions will be handed out at the staff meeting. (or in mailboxes for those that are absent.)

• Americorps Reading Tutors
• I applied to keep Americorps in our school and have been approved!  Americorps/Reading Corps is looking for new tutors for our school (and others). If you know of anyone that is interested please share with them the application site or send them my way!  I am SO GLAD our students get to benefit from our Reading Corps tutors this year and every year!

• Reading A-Z & Raz Kids
• This week I received a message from Learning A-Z that shared that it is possible for our students to access their accounts from home during the summer.  In order to help them with this, you can download the student login cards and caregiver letters to explain to parents.  Under the Student Management Page click on My Classroom > Class Roster > Student & Parent Documents to print the documents for your students.

Recess Information

This time of year, many of us like to use our outdoor space for additional learning or for extra recess for students. To help us communicate with each other, I have updated our sign up sheet for using the playgrounds/blacktop area at school.  Please write your name on the times where you are taking your students outside so that we do not have too many students at one time there and so that you know who else is outside. Thank you!

TechKnow Tip

As you work through sorting, saving, and organizing this year’s materials for next year, be sure you are logged into iCloud! You may notice a red notification bubble on your settings app (iPad) or you may be prompted with a pop-up (laptop). These frequent logins with iCloud are set for security measures. Be sure to log into your Apple ID on your iPad or laptop whenever you see the notification or you get a pop-up notification. Being logged into your Apple ID ensures proper iPad backup of your files, photos, and apps. This is the same for students too, so feel free to encourage them to stop tapping “Later” and log in to ensure their priceless work is saved.

Friday Funny

I am getting more observant, I think.  Or there are so many kids in and out of the office that I am starting to notice things.--Although to be fair, I have no idea how long this has been there.--  There are now a gaggle (is that what it's called?) of owls that have taken residence in my office.  I don't know when they arrived, and I don't know how they got there, but it is like the ducks all over again.  Which I am okay with sharing that I NEVER figured out how they all got there and around the school, which drives me a bit batty too. So, I am looking for any ideas for how to catch the owls "flying" into my room--especially since I failed so spectacularly with the duck person!